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Travelling Solo

A Selection of new ideas for travel in 2008

Have you always wanted to go on safari but not been able to persuade the right person to share your dream with you?

A number of our clients are single travellers and choose to head to Africa alone. We also spend a lot of time travelling solo in Africa ourselves, so really do know that you don’t necessarily need travelling companions to have a great African holiday.   In fact, solo travel can be a very liberating and rewarding experience. It’s a great way to meet other like-minded people and several clients have made friendships with other wildlife enthusiasts on trips arranged by us over the years.

Solo traveller Sophie Brewer at the summit of Kilimanjaro Tanzania There are many ways to enjoy the delights of Africa on your own, but one of the best is to join a small group – typically no more than eight – on a set departure dates.  These trips tend to operate on frequent dates throughout the year, run across Africa and vary in length, style and topic.

Some of our current favourites include:

Uganda and Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas and other primates

Botswana and Tanzania on a mobile camping safari

Walking safaris in Zambia’s South Luangwa

A flying safari along the remote and vast Skeleton Coast of Namibia

Mount Kilimanjaro Climb.  Aardvark’s Victoria travelled solo to Tanzania in September 2007 to join a small group of climbers who all shared the common goal of wanting to reach the roof of Africa

Riding Safaris in Botswana, South Africa or Kenya

You are hosted by a guide who will be an expert on the local wildlife and culture but who is also on hand to ensure everyone in the group is happy. These trips offer excellent value for money, with most of your meals, safari activities and drinks included in the price. The other big advantage is that many small group trips charge either no single supplement or only a smll one.  

If you prefer not to travel as part of a group, we can create tailor made itineraries to give you the flexibility to go where you want and for how long.  The camps we offer are small, off the beaten track and often owner run. The atmosphere is a bit like an informal dinner party, and in our experience wildlife and game drive sightings can be an excellent ice breaker to kick off conversations.  Single guests quickly feel a part of it rather than self-conscious or out of place.

Although a tailor made trip for a single traveller can be expensive, don’t despair as we can recommend ways of minimising costs without compromising the safari experience. One suggestion would be to choose areas linked by scheduled internal flights, negating the need for potentially expensive private planes.  Another tip is to choose camps and lodges that don’t charge single supplements. In our experience travelling in low or shoulder seasons can be advantageous as some camps charge single supplements only in high season.

So you don’t need to worry about going on a solo safari.

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