The best times to go on safari

The African safari sits in prime position atop many people’s bucket lists.

Whether its trekking through the jungle in search of gorillas or stalking the plains to catch a glimpse of the big five, there’s something about this quintessentially African experience that brings out the five year old adventurer in all of us.

For most of us though, that’s all a safari ever is – a point on our bucket list that we never get the chance to tick off.

Price and time are two of the most common stumbling blocks, but they just mean we need to be smarter about where, when and who we travel with.

The first step is to pick which sights you want to see and go from there.

Here are some of the most popular sights:

Botswana - Okavango Delta
Kenya - Masai Mara, wildebeest migration, Mara River crossing
Rwanda - Gorillas in the Virunga Mountains
South Africa - Cape Town, Kruger National Park
Tanzania - Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Kilimanjaro
Zimbabwe - Victoria Falls

Next up, you need to pick when you want to travel.

If money is a concern, travelling in the low season is your most cost effective option. Most of the animals are present and accounted for, but some sights such as the great migrations and thundering waterfalls are not.

RELATED: Take an African safari without leaving your seat

Some of the more affordable safari operators are Go2Africa, Game Tracker Safaris and Matoke Tours. Intrepid Travel also have a fantastic range of African adventures to choose from. Scroll down to see the cheapest times to go on safari.

If money isn’t a big issue, your biggest decision is to choose how you want to travel. A guided tour is a fantastic option as these can be highly customised to fit in exactly what you want to see and none of the things that you don’t.

Tour operators such as Bench International have a huge range of pre-arranged and custom itineraries to choose from, while Destinations Africa opt for a wholly bespoke safari experience by customising every trip to the traveller.

If you’d rather go it alone, Sanctuary Retreats have stunning properties such as the Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp in Tanzania and Gorilla Forest Camp in Uganda, while &Beyond have the Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in Botswana and Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp in Kenya. Both brands are at the luxury end of the scale.

Here are the best times to go on safari:

Low Season:

• Gorillas in Uganda/Rwanda – March to May, October to November

• Big Five in South Africa – April to September

• Wildlife in Namibia – December to April

• Okavango Delta in Botswana – December to April

High Season:

• Gorillas in Uganda/Rwanda –December to late February, June to late September

• Wildebeest migration in Tanzania – January to February

• Flamingos in Kenya – January to March

• Big Five in South Africa – June to September

• Etosha National Park in Namibia – July to October

• Okavango Delta in Botswana – July to October

To key to a great African safari is all down to the planning. Research, read and compare different hotels and operators before making your final decision.

Recommended Tour Operators

• Bench International: benchinternational.com.au

• Destinations Africa: destinationsafrica.com.au

• Intrepid Travel: intrepidtravel.com

Recommended Safari Camps

• Sanctuary Retreats: sanctuaryretreats.com

• &Beyond: andbeyond.com