Safari with young kids
 

Thinking about a Safari with my family, youngest is 2 and the toddler is 6. I know the young one will not be able to go out for the safari but has anyone done this before? Did you feel comfortable leaving your kid daily twice with baby sitting?

Any kids friendly resorts in Kenya or South Africa?

Hi There,

Plenty of people do this so don't worry! Jeanie Fundora from our office has already taken her four year old daughter on safari twice. When she was one, they went to South Africa and last April when her daughter was three they went on a tiger safari in India.

Last summer I booked a family of 13 with an infant on safari in Kenya and I just made sure they had pop-top land cruisers for them. They used two seven seat land cruisers and the baby sat in a car seat in the middle of the back row. The young kids were safe and contained inside the land rover and could still pop out the top if the adults wanted them too.

I often recommend the private conservancies adjacent to the Masai Mara but, for you, I actually think a safari in the Mara National Reserve would be good. Although the lodge is a bit larger than most that I recommend, you could stay at Mara Intrepids with a private guide (vs. using the normal camp guides and vehicles). They have a special full board rate just for this scenario. The tour operator you choose could hire the private guide for you and the guide would come from Nairobi. I hired Stanley Kariithi and he guided a family of nine for me several years ago from Mara Intrepids. He knows the Talek River valley and area around Intrepids like the back of his hand and Intrepids has a big pool!

For a second lodge, perhaps Lewa House in Lewa Downs would be a good choice. The owners, Sophie and Callum McFarlane are raising their very small children on the property and they own it and manage it. So, it is very child friendly! It also has a pool.

Don’t be discouraged. You can easily do this and have the time of your life! I took my kids on safari for the first time when they were 3 & 5 in South Africa. I don’t remember my first two (of 38) safaris because I was 1 and 3!

Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond

See,
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/afric...fari-kids.html

I would still recommend Kwandwe for the same reasons discussed previously.

To me personally, six is a bit young for the following reasons/questions - how often will you get to go? Are you traveling a great distance/is this a "once-in-lifetime" trip? IMO, six is a bit young for the child to soak it all in and truly remember it all. Maybe a little older would do as a memory maker.

No issues with childcare in SA. But, I'm a bit biased as I have family, friends, folks who are top notch and my kids have grown up with.

Thank you for your thorough reply. Lewa House in Lewa Downs looks fantastic. In regards to safety there aren't any issues when you take toddlers on safari are there?

We travel quite a few times a year so if we like it then I could see us going every couple of years. Not really a great distance as I am based in Europe so both are >10 hrs for me.

To be honest it's more to do with me as I am the one who gets itchy feet after being home for a couple of months. I have never been on a Safari before and wanted to try one out.

Funny, Jeanie took her daughter to Kwandwe as well (when she was 1).

The real safety concern is just never to leave kids unattended out in the bush. Animals that would normally steer clear of adults may not be so frightened of little ones.

Like I said, the people that own Lewa House (I know them personally) have small kids living on the property. Sirikoi is very close to Lewa Downs and they have an electric fence that keeps out some of the animals from the common areas. The managers at Lewa House also raise their small kids on property. Like I said, in many ways, Kenya is the most family friendly safari destination IMO.

Statistically, the most dangerous part of any safari is the drive from your home to the airport while in the USA.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond.

Thank you Craig ^

We are headed to South Africa in two weeks with a 4 year old and a 7 year old. Will let you know our experience.

One thing there, is that we needed to pay for a private safari vehicle from the lodge if we wanted to take the 4 year old on drives. No dramas.

I understand that, for safety reasons, rangers will sometimes avoid certain places/things b/c kids are in the vehicle. I suppose it is not "fair" to other unrelated paying guests who want to do/see it all. Hence, the need for your own vehicle.

On some vehicles, people are VERY serious about what they're looking at and how they're looking (e.g. serious video/photographers, birders) and don't want kids mucking about "ruining" the drive. I was once on a drive with serious birders (me, I'd rather watch paint dry) and an all-too-happy to abide ranger. By the end of the stay, I was going mad over the differences between yellow-bellied whatever and the blue-billed flying thingy's various calls, colors, etc. Wanted to rip the birder book out of their hands and throw it in the dam.

jynydcsa - Just so you know, many upscale safari lodges require any party with kids under 12 to pay for and utilize a private safari vehicle. For those lodges that don't require this, they would be very unlikely to a party of adults on a game drive vehicle with a family with young kids. Some small lodges, especially in places like Botswana, may not even allow kids unless the family takes over the entire camp on an exclusive use basis.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

Hilarious! :D

Yeah, not complaining, I would have purchased a private vehicle anyways. I prefer family time. And I definitely want to avoid your situation. LOL. :D:D

How much does a private vehicle run? Roughly?

Anyone been to the Virgin resort in South Africa?

I'm not really sure as it's all part of the package and it's not transparent.

Private vehicles are typically $400-$600 per day per vehicle on top of the normal rates. What you get when you pay for a private vehicle is usually the afternoon game drive on the first day and the morning game drive on the second day. That would be "one day".

I have been to Mahale Mzuri, the Virgin Camp in Kenya. It is nice and in one of the best game viewing areas in the Mara ecosystem. It is on a private conservancy so no crowds. I have not been to Ulusaba but they conduct their game drives in the western sector of the Sabi Sands along with six other properties. I have been on safari in the same place where they drive but I have not stayed at the property.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

Cheers Craig. ^

I took my 7 y.o to Thanda. He loved every minute of it. We had private drivers and spotters and the staff looked after him when some adult time was needed. Wouldn't hesitate to go back.

I am sure my 7yr old would love it its the 2yr old that I was worried about. Thoughts on that?

I doubt a 2 y.o would be interested in a safari drive however if you do go to Thanda the staff will go out of their way to look after the young one whilst the rest of you head out.

Looks like a nice resort.

Hi!

We took our son on his first safari when he was 5 and he remembers quite a bit of the trip. Finding the right lodge is the most important thing. Some lodges claim to be family-friendly but you need to dig a little deeper to ensure they truly are welcoming of children.

In addition to the Kenya recommendations above, you can also consider the malaria free reserves of South Africa. Kwandwe has been mentioned which would be a great choice. Also, Madikwe would be a good one too. We went to Jaci's Lodge in Madikwe for our son's first safari. Incredibly family friendly with a strong reputation on all other fronts (service, food, accommodation, guide knowledge etc).

Happy to help!

Best
Dianne
Africa Direct USA

Jaci's looks awesome. Ok I think I have finalised on South Africa this time around. Would you know how much the flight to Jaci's costs? Can't find the information on their website.

They say its a 4hr drive. Recommended?

Could you kindly suggest any other Family friendly resorts in SA? Jaci's seems to be sold out for Feb 17 or do you think they might not have released the dates yet?

We are booked into Lukimbi which has a child's program and seems to be family oriented. We will be going two weeks from now I will be sure to report back here. http://www.lukimbi.com

That looks nice too. Just out of interest is it best to book these direct or through OTA's? Or would you (Craig) be able to get better rates?

We booked through an actual TA, but we just paid a lump sum for land arrangements that include time in cape town as well so no way to tell if we were getting a better deal or not.

Really starting to like Jaci's. ^

Yes, Jaci's is great. Very familiar with them if you'd like me to reach out on your behalf.

Other options to consider would be Madikwe Safari Lodge (also in Madikwe), Phinda Mountain Lodge (Phinda Private Game Reserve), Ngala Safari Lodge (Timbavati Private Game Reserve). Both Phinda and Ngala are in the AndBeyond collection and have their WILDchild programme. Very family friendly places! Just a few more ideas for you!

Best
Dianne
Africa Direct USA

Perfect. Thank you

Our kids have been going on safari in SA since before they could walk. We revisit every couple of years or so.

In Madikwe, they've stayed at Bush House, Jaci's and Thakadu. In both Bush House and Jaci's, we used babysitting services as they were very young. But they did enjoy the kid friendly activities at Jaci's including the child friendly game drives. We didn't go for a private vehicle as we didn't feel it was value and we knew we'd be back as they got older. Certainly by 7yo, they revelled in going on proper game drives and asked endless questions of the ranger so going to place which actively welcomes kids and has rangers which are used to handling their enthusiasm is essential.

We always drove to Madikwe, it's 4-5 hrs drive from Jo'burg, depending exactly where you're starting and if you're heading to the east or west of the reserve.

But really, the best option when they were young was going to reserves where we could self drive. We visited Pilanesberg frequently and drove ourselves around. At2yo though, they'd frequently just fall asleep. Pilanesberg and Madikwe work well together as you can drive to Madikwe first and learn how to spot and drive near the animals and then do it yourself at Pilanesberg on the return trip. Both are non-malarial.

Ideally how many days safari would you plan? 3 or 4?

If I am thinking about Jaci's is that on the way to sun city?

Serious birders should have the decency to book a private vehicle. Very few people survive more than one game drive with them without going apoplectic. I say this as an quite experienced but relaxed and casual birder.

People who do not want to stop to view a rhino unless it has a yellow-billed oxpecker on its back deserve their very own entry in DSM-5.

Johan

Johan!!! Long time! Used to see your posts 10-12yrs ago on the KLM FD forum!

This may sound like a silly question but the Madikwe game reserve looks quite small compared to Kruger. We will still get to see plenty of the big 5 here?

Out of idle curiosity I went on one of those once at Madikwe River Lodge. An interesting experience. Every time an animal was spotted, a couple held up a baby under a year of age, pointed and repeatedly shouted "Warthog! Warthog! Look! A warthog". I'm sure the kids cherishes the memories of this exciting experience to this day.

Needless to say, this drive was conducted after brunch, i.e. in the heat of day.

Johan

Sun City is on the way (or way back) from Jaci's (Madikwe).

All of the private reserves are small compared to Kruger.

I've always had good elephant, rhino and lion sightings in Madikwe, less buffalo and I've never seen a leopard there.

Definetely not for those without young kids! I'm glad those days are behind us.

Thank you.

So far I have planned 7 days in SA. 3 nights safari, 2 sun city and 1 in JNB both ways? Anything else ?