I spent a lot of time in Africa in the military but never got to do a safari. My son loves animals and wants to be a vet so we thought it would be cool to get him out of the comfort zone and see something new after he turns 13.

Any experienced travelers have recommendations for a safari trip or travel agency to work with for a trip like this? I want to take the 13 year old and 7 year old and have a little luxury and a little roughing it.

I've been to:
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, The Gambia

Debating Tanzania for this trip but would love recommendations.

Group of 4 guys did a few days at Mashatu in Botswana in June a couple years ago, so it was their winter. We stayed in their tent camp, so it was more "rugged" than their lodge, but we weren't sleeping on the ground by any means. It was just cold most of the time and definitely spooky in the bush with hyenas and other things very nearby. The guides and rangers were great, we really enjoyed our time.

Going back to trek up Kilimanjaro in February and part of our group is staying for a safari in Tanzania afterwards. Using Thomson Safaris for both and so far they've been excellent to work with regarding logistics, communication, etc so we have high hopes. We shall see.

I would be happy to assist! I've had clients do luxury safaris before. I can help find a great tour operator that works with your wants. If you like, my emails is in my profile.

I have done Zambia, Tanzania (including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and climbing Kilimanjaro), Botswana, and South Africa. To me, the best experience for seeing wildlife is in the private camps outside of Kruger in South Africa. The bonus of South Africa is that you can also do Cape Town and go down to the Cape for stunning beauty and Soweto tours in Johannesburg are really meaningful. Ngorongoro Crater is an amazing sight, but it is full of other tourists. The migrations in the Serengeti (and the Masai Mari side, in Kenya) can be amazing as well, but in general the ability to venture out at night and off road isn't as great as what you get in the private camps outside of Kruger. Botswana is a great experience, as they have gone for a high dollar, low environmental impact tourism, but in my opinion the game viewing isn't as good as what you get in South Africa. My experience MIGHT be a bit jaded as we had to get evacuated because of a wildfire that burned our camp to the ground. Your family will love Africa, whatever you choose to do.

Good info. Who did you use for Tanzania and South Africa?

For Tanzania, including Kilimanjaro, I used a company called United Travel. A friend had used them before.

For the first trip to South Africa (and Botswana), I got hooked up with a couple of park rangers who were retiring from Hluhluwe-Imfolozi park. They did everything with us until they dropped us off at the airport to go to MalaMala outside Kruger. It was really a great trip, they drove us all over the country and we got to stay in tree houses at night in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi park that were for rangers only. Lots of interesting noises in the park at night. I'm sure they are long retired from that business now. That park has a very successful rhino breeding program, we got to see rhinos that had just been captured a few hours before (they were pissed off!), go on walks with the rangers during the day, etc.

I am sorry, but I absolutely cannot recall who I used the second time in South Africa and Zambia. One thing I DO remember, however, was that there was a group traveling with Costco who was at our same camp. That seemed funny to me.

Interestingly, I just met a lady in an AMEX lounge who owns her own travel agency and was heading to check out the hotels at Victoria Falls. Sounds as if she does bespoke travel and is very familiar with the area.
Plan Your Perfect Vacation
Owner is Samantha Schultz, email was her first name at planyourperfectvacation dot com. If you reach out to her, tell her you got her name from the guy she met in the AMEX lounge in Atlanta.

I would give JMac03 a shot, sounds as if this is within her bailiwick.
True story, JMac03?????

ETA: A colleague of mine just got back from Africa and gave high praise to her travel agent for the trip. Apparently, he specializes in African travel. Michael Distler at avonturr dot com. 941 444-0280

I don't have too much insight other than I can't wait to take my kids to Africa.

I had the opportunity while traveling for work a decade ago to do some game drives in Pilanesberg National Park in northwest South Africa. We stayed at Bakubung Lodge. I traveled all over South Africa and really enjoyed everything.

If I go back, I think we'll go to Botswana to the Okavango Delta or to Tanzania.

Here's my favorite elephant photo I took.

If you are looking to go to South Africa again, I would recommend Ivy Safaris. It is a family run outfit, and Mark and his family host the TAMU study abroad trips for a few days each summer.

They can do hunting and photo/ecotourism trips and a all around great people.