Private, tailor-made safaris across Africa
We plan private trips to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zanzibar, Victoria Falls, Botswana and South Africa. One Australian company, one contract, one invoice in Australian dollars.
Licensed Tour Operator 036650 · 5.0 from 37 Google & Tripadvisor reviews · No middlemen
Flying from Australia
No airline flies nonstop from Australia to East Africa. Plan on one stop each way, and a long first day. The exception is Johannesburg, where Qantas flies nonstop from Sydney and Perth, and that is the way into Southern Africa.
Southern Africa
Qantas flies nonstop to Johannesburg from Sydney, about four times a week and around 14 hours 50 minutes, and from Perth, three times a week and around 11 hours 15 minutes. Perth is the quickest way from Australia to Africa. From Johannesburg, Airlink carries on to Victoria Falls, Cape Town and Windhoek, usually on the same booking as the Qantas flight with your bags checked through.
From Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, Singapore Airlines through Singapore is the usual one-stop route to Johannesburg.
East Africa
We usually start with Ethiopian Airlines through Addis Ababa, joined from Singapore, and Kenya Airways through Nairobi, joined from Bangkok. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad through the Gulf also work well, and from some cities they are the simplest single-ticket option. Qantas to Johannesburg, then on to East Africa, is a third way.
Ethiopian and Kenya Airways do not fly to Australia, so the first leg is on another airline. We leave a generous gap at the connection and tell you which legs are on one ticket and which are separate.
Where you land
Flights from Australia change with the season, so these are the routes we plan around, not a timetable. We check the days and times for your dates before we put anything in a quote. You can book your own international flights or we can arrange them with you, and either way we plan your first and last days around when you land and when you leave.
The first day after a long flight is a soft landing: a hotel close to the airport and nothing much beyond dinner. The safari starts properly the next morning.
Where we take you
Every trip is built from scratch around your dates, your group and what you want to see. These are the places we plan most, and what each one is for.
Tanzania
The Serengeti plains, the Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire's elephants among the baobabs, with the Great Migration moving through the year. It is where most of our guests start, and where our own team, guides and vehicles are based. Seven to ten nights suits most first trips.
Kenya
Big-cat country in the Mara and its private conservancies, and elephants in Amboseli with Kilimanjaro behind them. The Mara River crossings run from July to October. Kenya pairs well with the Serengeti in Tanzania on one trip.
Uganda and Rwanda
An hour with a gorilla family in Bwindi in Uganda or in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Permits are limited and book out early, so we secure them first and build the rest of the trip around the date. Many guests do both countries, in through Entebbe and out through Kigali.
Zanzibar
Stone Town's old lanes, white sand and reefs. Most guests spend three or four nights here at the end of a Tanzania safari, a short flight from the Serengeti or Kilimanjaro. The long rains, from mid-March to May, are best avoided.
Victoria Falls
One of the great waterfalls of the world, usually two or three nights between safari blocks or at the end of a trip. Add a Zambezi cruise, a helicopter flight or a day with the elephants in Chobe. Joining it to a Tanzania safari takes a connecting flight and a night in transit, which we plan for you.
Botswana
The Delta by boat and mokoro, Chobe's elephants along the river, and the Kalahari salt pans. Botswana keeps its visitor numbers low and its rates high, so it costs more than most safaris and feels quieter for it. Most Delta camps are reached by light aircraft.
South Africa
Qantas flies nonstop from Sydney and Perth, you drive on the left as you do at home, and the same trip can end in Cape Town and the Winelands. Kruger and the private reserves beside it, or the quieter reserves further west, then the Cape.
No middlemen, just us
We design your trip from the Gold Coast. In Tanzania our own team, guides and vehicles run it on the ground. In every other country we plan, book and look after the whole trip ourselves, with local guides who know their patch. No agents, no call centre, nobody taking a cut in the middle.
Licensed and insured
Tanzania Class A Tour Operator Licence 036650. Kingse Safaris Pty Ltd, ABN 37 698 821 886, insured for tour operator liability.
One contract, one invoice
Quoted in Australian dollars with the exchange rate fixed. Payments go to our Australian company account, by bank transfer or card.
The practical questions
Tell us a little about your trip and the Kingse team will come back to you personally, usually the same day.
Call us or message us
Pick up the phone if you'd rather talk it through. We spend a good part of the year moving between Australia and Africa, so if we miss you, WhatsApp Samara and we'll come back to you whatever the time zone.
Samara Imhoof
Bookings & Client Care
Free call from Australia
1800 KINGSE(1800 546 473)