Top 9 African Savanna Tours

The famous grasslands of Africa have appeared on every nature lover’s television or computer at some stage or another. The endless golden grass swaying in the breeze breached only by the dark eyes of a predatory stalking cat is one of the most famous predator-prey images we have.

Mirroring this, African savanna tours are one of the world’s most memorable wildlife experiences. To see lions laying in the shade or hunting prey, elephants foraging for food, or giraffes blocking your jeep for a photo or two offers not just a vacation, but a lifetime of memories.

Here, we present a selection of a few top African Savanna tours to help you make the most of this amazing ecosystem. To focus on South Africa, you can see the top 5 savanna tours in South Africa.

With abundant wildlife, beautiful scenery and some of the world’s best lodges, what better place to spend your free time. The savanna crosses many African countries and some of the most loved places for your savanna safari include South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.

So let’s go TourTheTropics of the most famous tropical grasslands.

South Africa’s Savanna

Covering almost half of the country, many tourists visit South Africa to see the famous African savanna. This is South Africa’s oldest conserved habitat and was protected 100 years ago by the famous Kruger National Park, which is home to the Big 5 African animals and many others. Here you will find elephants, rhinos, lions, cheetah, giraffes, hippopotamus, zebra and a fantastic diversity of birds and other animals.

Kruger is a very large protected area covering almost 2 million hectares. This is where you can find large concentrations of famous animals. To put its wildlife into perspective, the park contains around 10,000 blue-wildebeest, 9,000 kudu, 100,000 impala, 25,000 zebra, which support around 200 cheetah and 1,500 lions, and of course many more species live within these boundaries.

And there are some fantastic lodges for the Greater Kruger National Park. This Greater Kruger National Park includes the surrounding reserves in continuous, unfenced savanna habitat. And the surrounding reserves are often the best choice for your safari.

Of the entire Greater Kruger National Park, the most wildlife-rich area for the best safari is named the Sabi Sand Game Reserve or simply the Sabi Sands for short. And there are some fantastic Sabi Sands safari lodges to enjoy for an exciting Big 5 safari.

This region has one of the highest concentrations of large mammals of any game reserve in Africa. And it's a fantastic choice to make the most of your safari. Being home to all of the Big 5, the region is particularly famous for leopard sightings, which you can see in the images on this page.

And our recommendations to make the most of this region are the luxury-class experience of the Dulini Moya or Dulini River Lodge. The Dulini Moya Lodge offers a traditional safari feel with luxurious decor. And the lodge is proud of its dining experience and selection of South African wines to complement your safari.

For a more immersive experience of the region, the Dulini Moya also offers you exciting bush walks led by professional rangers (featured in the header image).

You're also welcome to combine this with the Dulini River Lodge offering a similar experience a little closer to the Sand River itself.

Check availability for your travel dates direct to the Dulini Moya using the tour bubble below.

As another option, offering a little less luxury and elegance, but still providing a comfortable lodge with fantastic guides, trackers and wildlife is the Inyati Game Lodge.

This is found in a similar area to the Dulini Moya above. And the lodge makes a great option for a family safari of the Sabi Sands.

Shamwari Reserve

Shamwari Reserve conserves a fantastic area of South Africa’s savanna that you can experience from luxury camps like the Bayethe Lodge or walking tours from Shamwari Camp. To help see the differences compared to Kruger above, we have written a guide to Shamwari Reserve and Kruger National Park. From the explorer camp, you will enjoy an original and traditional safari by walking across the savanna and staying in a traditional safari camp. From your base, you will head out to find savanna wildlife, including some Big 5 encounters. Your guide will talk about the birds, cultural history and wildlife around you. To explore the area, there are also some fantastic luxury lodges for the Shamwari Game Reserve.

Sanbona Reserve

Considered the best wildlife destination on the western cape, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is located at the base of the Warmwaterberg Mountain Range and pays tribute to the San people who roamed this arid land for centuries. One of South Africa’s largest privately owned game reserves, Sanbona covers 54,000 hectares where you can find fantastic ancient rock art of the San, and learn about these highly skilled and knowledgeable bushmen. On walking safaris from the Sanbona Explorer Camp, your guide will teach you about the area, its cultural history and help you experience wildlife of the reserve, including the Sanbona’s White Lions.

Uganda Savanna

You can enjoy Ugandan savanna and its wildlife by visiting the Mihingo Lodge. Here you don’t even need to go on their guided tours to see the wildlife. You can relax in the Mihingo’s pool gazing out at the waterhole to see many different savanna animals, including waterbuck, topi, buffalo, hippo, duiker, and bushbuck. The water hole is also frequented by crocodiles, oribi, reedbuck, and leopards.

Tanzania Savanna

Tanzania is probably better known for the Serengeti National Park where the great wildebeest migration makes its way to Kenya. Around two million wildebeest, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle, cross the serengeti on their way to the fresher grass of the Masai Mara in Kenya. This is a fantastic place to see famous hunting scenes as lions, cheetah and hyena ambush the herds in the hopes of picking off weaker animals.

Kenya Savanna

Tanzania’s Serengeti continues in Kenya as the Masai Mara where the migration stops to feed. The vast herds of wildebeest, gazelle and zebra pass through Africa’s largest concentration of lions and other big cats, including Nile crocodiles as they cross the Mara River, culminating in incredible wildlife spectacles and photography opportunities.

When the fresh grasses return to Tanzania in about late October, the migration changes course back to the Serengeti in an endless cycle chasing the favored and constantly changing feeding grounds. The best time to see the migration depends on exactly where you are, but also on the ever-changing and unpredictable weather patterns. The best bet is to contact the exact lodge you’re interested in for their recommendation on when to maximize your chances. Even when there is no migration, the Masai Mara is a fantastic destination to view elephants, rhino, hippopotamus, lions and other big cats. You will head out on the Mara for game drives to find fantastic wildlife with your highly trained safari guide.

The Masai Mara is home to fantastic camps where you will be treated to the highest service available on your African safari. At enjoyable lodges like the Mara Eden Safari Camp, you will tour the Masai Mara to see fantastic wildlife, including elephants, hippos, and other iconic Masai Mara wildlife.

The best time to see the migration is from July to October, but we recommend contacting the tour to make sure, as the exact time varies each year and is often hard to predict. You will enjoy game safaris, community visits and, as an additional activity, you can enjoy a hot air balloon ride over the Mara as a truly unforgettable experience.