Africa is wonderful right now, as recent testimonials affirm there really is no better time to travel.

For many of our clients the burning question is ‘but HOW can we travel to Africa?’ With hotel quarantine on return to the UK as the first stumbling block but Mauritius on the amber list, we got thinking……how about a safari, followed by ‘quarantining’ on an Indian Ocean beach?

A lion in the Mara North Conservancy

We’ve done the leg work for you and unravelled the confusing travel rules. Below we put together some ideas of how you can escape the impending British winter for the endless African plains and sun soaked Indian Ocean without the need to quarantine when you return. If you are even a little bit tempted, please read on to find out how we can turn that safari dream into a reality.

Mauritius is currently on the Amber list, which allows fully vaccinated travellers to return to the UK without the need for quarantine as long as they provide a negative Covid-19 test when they get home. Kenya and South Africa make it easy to combine a few nights on safari in some of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves, with a beach holiday on the sandy shores of Mauritius. Spend 10 nights on this island paradise with its sweeping white sands and swaying palm trees, before returning home to the UK.

Belle Mare Plage beach on Mauritius

Kenya and Mauritius
With direct flights from London Heathrow to Nairobi, the open plains of the Masai Mara are a short internal flight away. We would recommend four nights in the Masai Mara, one of the finest places on earth for seeing a high concentration of wildlife. Offbeat Ndoto is a brand new tented camp in the exclusive Mara North Conservancy. With just four tents this camp is the ultimate in privacy, expert hospitality and wildlife viewing. Renowned for its exceptional guides, Offbeat Ndoto guests will see more wildlife they can shake a stick at. The Offbeat Lion Pride reside very near camp and are frequently spotted on wildlife drives and bush walks.

Picnic in the Masai Mara

Returning to Nairobi, you spend a night here before flying to Mauritius. The timeless charm of Trou Aux Biches Beachcomber on the north west coast has something for everyone and works brilliantly for couples, honeymooners and families alike. The hotel has six different restaurants, a number of swimming pools, watersports, spa and complimentary kids club. The exclusive ‘escape package’ means all your meals and drinks are catered for from afternoon tea at the pool bar to sundowners at the beach club. Trou Aux Biches has a number of different room categories including private villas which offer good WiFi and plenty of space to plug in should you need to work remotely.

Gorgeous beach front at Trou aux Biches Beachcomber

Prices from £5,000 per person to include internal flights, four nights at Offbeat Ndoto on an all-inclusive basis, transfers, overnight at Nairobi hotel and ten nights at Trou Aux Biches on an all-inclusive basis.

South Africa and Mauritius
There are overnight flights from London Heathrow to Johannesburg which work perfectly to connect with the scheduled flight to the Kruger National Park. This region is home to an abundance of wildlife including the iconic African wildlife combination of lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. You would have the chance to see all the animals you could wish for and more.

We recommend smaller lodges in the private game reserves adjacent to the Kruger National Park itself. Although not separated from the park, so animals move freely, these areas are quieter and have fewer vehicles. Tanda Tula in the 20,000 acre private Timbavati Reserve, is a favourite of ours. It is somewhere you can expect superb wildlife viewing from a vehicle with an experienced guide, walking safaris and sleep outs under the stars.

Rhino at Tanda Tula

Combining the Kruger National Park with Mauritius is very straightforward, you can enjoy a wildlife drive and bush breakfast in the morning and be sipping a cocktail on the beach by sunset. Constance Belle Mare Plage is situated on a beautiful stretch of beach on the eastern side of the island of Mauritius. You can be as active or relaxed as you wish here, whether it’s chilling on the beach or sipping a sundowner at one of the trendy bars, pampering at the spa or enjoying one of the many watersports on offer. Over ten nights you have a choice of seven restaurants to pick from, each with a unique setting and specialising in a different culinary delight.

Villa pool at Constance Belle Mare Plage

Prices from £5,500 per person to include four nights at Tanda Tula on an all-inclusive basis, internal flights from Johannesburg to Kruger, transfers, ten nights at Constance Belle Mare Plage including dinner and breakfast.

The testing nitty gritty
If still required after the UK government hinted it may soon not be, we can assist with arranging the relevant pre-travel tests for you in Mauritius. We can arrange for a nurse to come to your hotel to take a swab with the results returned to you in time for your departure. We are ready and waiting to create lifelong memories for you, here to navigate the complexities of international travel on your behalf, and make those extraordinary pipedream, hassle free safaris in Africa happen.

What next?
We would be delighted to help you plan a safari and beach holiday which avoids the need to quarantine on return to the UK.

Our team of experts has travelled widely throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean and can offer expert advice on every type of safari from family and beach holidays to riding and primate safaris.

Do get in touch – chatting to people by phone or email is what we do best. We listen, we explain, we answer all sorts of questions even those you didn’t know to ask, and finally we make suggestions. If this is your first time to Africa or your twenty first, we have a team standing by to help make the planning easy and the journey the best ever. Please get in touch whatever stage you’re at.

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