What a safari costs, in one honest table.
Indicative land-only day rates and classic-trip totals across Africa’s great safari countries — versioned, methodology-stamped, and kept consistent with our destination cost guides so it can be cited with confidence.
v0.5Compiled July 2026 · USD, per person, land-only
Day rates across the great safari countries
Each row aggregates the figures on that destination's full cost guide — follow the link for sample trips, cost drivers and honest ways to save.
| Destination | From / day | Day-rate bands (pp, land-only) | Classic trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| KenyaEast Africa | from $450 |
| $3,500 – 8,000 · 7 daysThe classic first safari |
| TanzaniaEast Africa | from $550 |
| $4,500 – 9,500 · 8 daysThe classic |
| South AfricaSouthern Africa | from $350 |
| $2,100 – 5,400 · 6 daysThe classic |
| BotswanaSouthern Africa | from $900 |
| $6,500 – 14,000+ · 7 daysThe classic circuit |
| RwandaEast Africa | from $800 |
| $5,500 – 11,500+ · 5 daysGorillas + golden monkeys |
Figures exclude international flights, visas and insurance. For what moves the number — season, lodge tier, park fees — start with the full cost guide.
How this index is built — and what it is not
A cost index is only as useful as its honesty about where the numbers come from.
What the figures are
Indicative editorial ranges in US dollars, per person, land-only — excluding international flights, visas and insurance. They are bands, not quotes: within any band, season, lodge tier and park fees move the real number.
Where they come from
Each row aggregates the same figures published on our per-destination cost guides, which are maintained editorially and kept consistent with the day rates and fee ranges across this site. The index introduces no numbers of its own, so it can never disagree with the guides it summarises.
What this edition is not
Version 0.5 is directional. It is not yet built from audited operator rate cards — that is the planned full edition, which will version this dataset against real quoted prices while keeping this methodology note honest about the difference.
How it stays current
The index carries a version and a compile date. When the underlying guides change, the index changes with them and the version is bumped — cite the version you used.
Cite as: Safarimondo Safari Cost Index v0.5, July 2026 — safarimondo.com/safari-cost-index
Cost Index questions, answered
- Which safari country is cheapest?
- South Africa offers the strongest value among the great safari countries, with real, well-run Big Five safaris from around $350 per person per day land-only — and Kenya starts close behind from around $450. Both deliver honest safaris at those rates; the difference is season and lodge tier, not corners cut.
- Which safari country is most expensive?
- Botswana, by design. Its low-volume tourism model caps beds and vehicles across vast private concessions, so expect $900–3,000+ per person per day. Rwanda is a special case: lodging runs $800–2,000+ per day and the gorilla permit adds $1,500 per person per trek.
- Do these figures include flights?
- No. Every figure in the index is land-only, per person, in US dollars — international flights, visas and travel insurance are excluded, because they vary with your departure city. Internal light-aircraft hops are part of many itineraries and are covered in each destination guide.
- How often is the Safari Cost Index updated?
- The index is versioned — this is v0.5, compiled July 2026. It aggregates the figures on our per-destination cost guides, so whenever those guides are re-checked and updated, the index updates with them and the version is bumped.
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