Pricing and Planning

Aardvark specializes in planning tailor-made, high quality safaris in the heart of Africa, far from any mass-market crowds. Our safaris are designed to a standard, not to a price: we use small lodges and camps and concentrate on providing the best possible safari experience.

This may be your first African safari. We'll spend as long as you like designing an itinerary that matches your interests and help you start sorting through the alternatives. You may be an experienced safari traveler looking for a new experience. In that case, we can talk to you about new developments in Africa and new discoveries we have made through our frequent travels. Even if you have barely an inkling of an idea for a journey into Africa, we are very happy to talk to you: our input might help you decide where to go and what to do. The earlier in your planning stage we can contribute our experience and knowledge, the more help we can be in building your ultimate African safari.

To get an idea of the costs involved, it is quite possible to do a good safari for US$6,000 per person for ten to twelve nights, but last year our clients usually spent slightly more than US$9,800. We have also planned safaris costing more than US$12,000 per person, but this level of expenditure is usually incurred by exceptional factors, such as private internal light aircraft flights or lodges that, for reasons of remoteness or exclusivity, are particularly expensive. These prices exclude international flights, but include internal light aircraft flights, accommodations, meals, and game activities such as game drives and walks. In many countries and lodges, drinks are also included.

Once we've outlined and agreed a particular itinerary, we will proceed to generate a detailed quote and issue a booking form. If this is all satisfactory we will ask you to complete the booking form and pay a 25% deposit to allow us to finalize all tickets, reservations and transfers. Final payment is due 10 weeks before departure. We accept payment by check, credit card, or wire transfer.

Our advice and expertise doesn't cost you a cent. Because we are able to negotiate good rates with airlines, lodges and camps you won't pay any more than if you booked the trip yourself. The advantages of using Aardvark include: