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Safari Education For A New Generation Of Africa Travel Advisors |
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Inside Group or Private Safaris?
Group or Private Safaris?
An air-conditioned bus tour in Europe is a relaxing way to take in the sights. Comfortable reclining seats with head and foot rests, curtains to block the sun, flushing toilets, ice cold drinks, soft conversations with your fellow tour mates, clear communications from your English-speaking tour guide. Itineraries are fixed with daily programs to take in all the sights with carefully orchestrated rest-stops and meal times. Most tours have plenty of "at leisure" hours for clients to explore on their own and to get away from the group. The mixture of comradie between tour members, the safety aspect, ease of planning and free time to explore is very alluring and contributes to the success of international tour companies.
Group
travel in Africa is different.
Very
bumpy roads, noisy vehicles, dust everywhere, hot sun, biting tsetse
flies, soft-spoken guides with broken English, inconvenient bathroom stops
and no air-conditioning! Unlike coach tours in Europe, itineraries can be
influenced by strong personalities - if the majority in a vehicle with 6
or 7 tourists decide to leave a game drive early and head back to the
lodge, the minority can do nothing about it!
Tough
conditions sometime bring out the worst in people. On safari, spending 14
days in a small vehicle with one bad apple is not our idea of having fun.
Remember there are very few, if any, opportunities to break away from the
group and explore on one's own. Every moment of the day will be spend with
the group unless one decides to skip game drives and stay at the lodge to
rest.
The
bathroom situation is particularly challenging. In the African heat
tourists must drink a lot of water to rehydrate - translating to frequent
bathroom stops. The larger the group the more frequent the stops and when
6 people have to take turns behind a single bush on the Serengeti plains
there will be several 30-minute pit stops during game drives and travel
days on the road!
While
it is true that some benefits of group travel are still relevant, for
example the ease of planning, companionship, and safety in numbers, these
are superficial reasons for choosing a group safari. Travel Advisors
do all the planning, clients are taken care of from the moment they arrive
at the airport until they depart, they are always escorted and a
private safari
can be a very social event if needs be!
The use of "tour directors" is overrated unless the itinerary uses large tourist-style lodges (and many do). It takes good organization to keep 12 to 24 guests happy and because tourist lodges often have issues with anything from misplaced luggage to a lack of hot water to inexperienced staff to musty smells in the rooms, a tour director is an invaluable asset to help resolve the many complaints. Clients on private safaris with experienced guides do not need tour directors! The better camps and lodges have well-trained managers who take care of client issues and concerns.
With a private vehicle and guide a client is in complete control of the safari OR the guide can make all the decisions. It is up to the client! Those who miss the company of others will find it easy to socialize at the lodges & camps with very interesting couples and individuals from around the world; stimulating conversations on safari often lead to lifelong friendships. Stories of animal sightings are shared around camp fires and many dinners are served using family style tables with 4 to 20 guests depending on the size of the camp! Private safaris are all about flexibility and being flexible on safari is a necessity.
If clients absolutely want travel companions then book them on "packaged" rate plans. They will fly from camp to camp (or drive where it makes sense using transfer vehicles) and do game drives according to the camp/lodge schedules. These game drives are shared and provide wonderful opportunities to establish new friendships. Or not - depending on the fellow companions!
There is no such thing as a "positive cultural interaction" when a convoy of 4 vehicles and 24 people show up at a Maasai village! Have you been in Cancun or Cozumel on days when cruise ships arrive? Have you seen the higher cruise ship rate sheets replace the standard rates? Did you notice a change in the behavior of the local vendors and population?
Single
clients do not have to choose group tours. The safari guide is always
around to converse with and can join a single guest during meal times - it
is a great way to learn more about your guide, his family and his culture
on a more personal level. Unlike many other types of vacations,
singles on safari tend to just blend in - they never feel lonely!
Single supplements are an issue in Africa much like elsewhere but there
are many lodges that don't have single surcharges!
Finally
and most importantly, there is a huge misconception that group safaris are
cheaper than private safaris! Don't believe this for one moment!
Please visit our
safari review section and you will
find many examples of this misconception! In fact, group safaris from
international safari companies reviewed by us are without exception more
expensive than private safaris for the same itineraries.
There are budget-oriented international group tours but these receive mixed reviews. Many are designed for young people and others suffer from several trade-offs - cheaper prices but larger groups, tourist lodges, fewer game drives inside the parks and longer road transfers because of lodge locations and the lack of inter-park flights. Please read the fine print when looking at budget group safaris. Many budget tours have minimum size requirements and will cancel at the last minute if the numbers don't add up.
The message for travel Advisors is clear: When talking to prospects, explain the positives and negatives of groups in Africa, address the inaccurate assumption about cost and explain the benefits of having a private vehicle & guide and/or a custom itinerary.