Category: 4 Best African Photographic Safari Locations For Your Next Trip

For many photographers, going on an African photographic safari is a lifelong dream. This particular trip earns a place on quite a few bucket lists, and for good reason. It’s the chance to personally take photos of some of the most magnificent creatures on Earth in their native habitat. The images that result are often some of the most stunning pieces of work a photographer can ever hope to put into their overall portfolio of work, and a great shot or two can be the envy of fellow photographers.

Amateur photographers love any chance to practice and hone their craft. For many shutterbugs, taking pictures is simply a creative outlet that relaxes them to no end, as they enjoy making memorable moments stand the test of time in a still image. Quite a few people are great with their cameras, but just don’t want to do it professionally. They might already have cozy careers or like having control over their schedules, which professionals admittedly do not always get to enjoy. Taking an African photographic safari is just a rare chance for them to snap shots of nature in settings and environments they just don’t get back home.

For professionals, it’s not just a matter of improving their technique and craft. Not every professional photographer has safari images in their portfolio or on their website, and the ones that do tend gain more respect. Not only can the prestige lead to more respect, but more business. Such a photographer proves themself as someone that can take great pictures in all kinds of places, and an obvious willingness to travel intercontinentally can lead to projects and shoots that they might have never dreamed of ever having access to before.

So, while the benefits of an African photographic safari trip are obvious, what locations are the best for such an adventure? There are certainly plenty of options, given the size of the continent. Africa is the second-largest of the seven continents after all, in terms of both geographic size and overall human population. The countries and nations that offer safari locations number in the dozens, as the continent also has more individual countries than any other continent.

If you’re looking for the best African photographic safari possibilities, it’s good to try and not narrow down one, but instead come up with a list of four. The reason for this is that unless you have already decided on a very specific time your trip is going to take place, then having a small group of contenders is a good thing to do. As you get close to finalizing your trip, you might find that your target location is all booked up, so you’d need alternatives. The possibility of currency spikes, severe weather, natural disaster, border closings, and political instability are all also realities that might dictate you having to pick a plan B, C, or even D when it comes time to actually take the trip.

A simple Internet search is enough to start your list of possible African photographic safari options, and you can start whittling it down immediately based on online reviews from both travelers and professional critics alike, knowing your own personal expectations and needs. Pricing is another factor you can use to narrow the list, as you likely are on a budget of some sort.

Past all that, there are three primary considerations you want to look at. The first is the languages spoken on a particular safari. The second is what kinds of animals you want to photograph, and the third is when the local rainy season is, since it might conflict with when you’re able to travel.

Doing all of this should help you find the four best possible African photographic safari options. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to go on your first option and then use the others as future vacations or trips.