TANZANIA OR KENYA FOR SAFARI

Kenya and Tanzania are two of the most popular safari destinations in Africa: both offer extraordinary game viewing, spectacular scenery and superb camps and lodges. But whether you’re a first-timer or a safari veteran, which one should you choose? We’ve rounded up the best places to visit determined by what type of holiday you are looking for.

BEST FOR FAMILIES

KENYA

Kenya is perfect for families with young children. In the Laikipia plateau, game may be more sparse but there’s plenty to do, including mountain biking, camel safaris, quad biking and visits to meet local Samburu tribespeople. Many of the region’s lodges and camps have masses of space for children to roam free, like Ol Malo Lodge, set on a 5,000-acre working ranch and run as a family home. Down on the coast, Kinondo Kwetu backs onto a quiet stretch of beach and is run by a lovely Swedish family with kids of their own.

TANZANIA

Offering a more wildlife-focused safari experience, Tanzania is well suited to families with teenagers with a greater attention span for game viewing. Take a tour of Northern Tanzania's game-rich national parks including Kuro Tarangire. Lamala Ngorongoro Tented Camp and Serengeti Safari Camp for an unforgettable adventure under canvas. . On Pemba Island, all-villa resort The Aiyana has plenty to keep teens entertained including snorkelling, cycling and kayaking – while for grown-ups, there’s a superb spa.

BEST FOR COUPLES & HONEYMOONERS

KENYA

For the ultimate Out of Africa experience, choose Kenya. Standout camps include Cottar's 1920, with cream canvas tents, campaign furniture and colonial antiques, while the more contemporary &Beyond Bateleur Camp has a sleek elliptical infinity pool and a cosy cocktail lounge. For downtime, Lamu’s Peponi has been the focal point of the island for decades. With a fabulous seafood restaurant and hammocks strung up between coconut trees fringing a pancake-flat bay, this modest hotel is the perfect place to unwind.

TANZANIA

Tanzania’s upscale camps provide a more modern take on a romantic safari holiday. Strung along the banks of the Rufiji River, open-fronted rooms at Sand Rivers Selous offer brilliant armchair game viewing, while Ruaha National Park’s Jabali Ridge breaks the traditional safari lodge mould with its design-forward suites built around a cluster of rugged granite boulders. For R&R, fly down to Zanzibar’s Pemba Island – each of the stylish villas at Xanadu comes with a private plunge pool and tropical gardens overlooking the white-sand beach.

BEST FOR DOWNTIME IN THE WILDERNESS

KENYA

For proper, thrilling seclusion, Ol Donyo Lodge certainly fits the bill. Set in 275,000 acres of wild African bushland, the lodge’s land is owned by a community of Masai tribesmen, and views stretch all the way across to Mount Kilimanjaro. There are plenty of alternative ways to explore the wildlife-rich plains around here too, including on foot, by bicycle and on horseback.

TANZANIA

With its epic landscape of spiky palms and giant baobabs, Tanzania’s southerly Ruaha National Park is one of Africa’s largest conservation areas – and home to a tenth of the world’s lion population. Tucked cleverly into a rocky outcrop, Jabali Ridge is almost invisible on approach – and the perfect off-grid base for exploring this wilderness.

BEST FOR ALTERNATIVE SAFARIS

KENYA

Ditch the 4x4 and choose a safari in the saddle, meandering through Laikipia’s savannah plains by camel or cantering alongside wildebeest and zebra on a Kenyan riding safari. For Big Five viewing away from the crowds, Red Savannah’s Adventure and fly camping includes a flight over inaccessible forests and ravines in an open cockpit biplane and nights under the stars in unplugged mobile camps.

TANZANIA

For the full raw African experience, Tanzania offers fantastic walking and river safaris in the Nyerere National Park and Ruaha. If you’ve already ticked off the Big Five, head to Greystoke Mahale on the shores of Lake Tanhanyika. With its incredibly unique blend of safari and beach, guests can track chimpanzees in the thickly forested surrounding Mahale Mountains before returning to fish for supper while watching hippos wallowing in the lake.

BEST FOR UNIQUE STANDOUT PROPERTIES

KENYA

Named after the lioness in Born Free, Elsa’s Kopje is set on the site of the original camp where George and Joy Adamson raised orphaned lions in the sixties and has a museum dedicated to one of the world’s best-loved big cats. Nairobi’s Giraffe Manor is one of Africa’s most unique hotels – huge Rothschild giraffes graze on the ivy-clad manor house’s parkland and poke their necks through the windows of the dining room to be fed!

TANZANIA

With its opulent French baroque-meets-African design scheme, &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge sits on the rim of one of the planet’s most dramatic calderas and boasts breath-taking views over the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Break up game drives with picnics on the crater floor – if you’re lucky, you’ll be joined by a flock of hot-pink flamingos.

BEST FOR WOW MOMENTS

KENYA

Many camps can arrange day trips flying over the rim of Silale Crater, the top of sacred Ol Lolokwe Mountain and the shores of Lake Turkana – and after enjoying a spectacular bird’s eye view of the savannah plains, stop for a glass of champagne in the extraordinarily remote Kenyan ‘desert’.

TANZANIA

Stay in one of Singita’s lodges or camps situated in their 350,000-acre concession in Grumeti and enjoy a scenic private flight over the annual migratory passage between the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. The density of game in the region is extraordinarily high and few experiences can compare to the drama and magnitude of one of nature’s greatest spectacles.

BEST FOR PRIVATE HOUSES & ESTATES 

KENYA

Created by world-renowned architects and interior designers, Arijiju is one of Africa’s premier private villas. With a spa, infinity pool and light-filled cloistered courtyard, the estate borders the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy – home to one of the world’s largest populations of black rhino. Over on Kenya’s wild south coast, the rustic chic Alfajiri Cliff Villa comes with an army of staff and use of a traditional ngalawa sailing boat for jaunts offshore.

TANZANIA

For the freedom to do as you please, stay at Singita Serengeti House, a four-bedroom exclusive-use retreat set in the Grumeti Reserve. Guests have access to their own personal safari guide and vehicle, while a watering hole right in front of the property provides excellent game viewing. For the ultimate splurge, stay at Thanda Private Island, a fully-staffed desert island located in the southern reaches of the Zanzibar archipelago.

WHAT ARE KENYA & TANZANIA EQUALLY GOOD FOR?

There’s one thing that Kenya and Tanzania are equally well-known for, and that’s the Great Migration. Each year between July and October over a million wildebeest, zebra and other game migrate between Kenya’s Maasai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti, thundering across the border in search of fresh food and water. Close to the convergence of the Mara and Talek Rivers, Kenya’s traditional tented Rekero Camp is just 150 metres from a crossing point, while Tanzania’s Lamai Serengeti offers ringside seats of the final stage of the animals’ journey before they risk the clutches of the crocodiles lurking in the waters. Visit our Serengeti Safari for a suggested itinerary.

To find out more about holidays to Kenya or Tanzania, contact our Africa specialist on +44 (0)1242 787 845.