While COVID-19 still continues to disrupt life and economies, people have equally continued to adjust to the new normal and are learning to live life during the COVID-19 outbreak. WHO organisation has made recommendations on how best to keep safe from contracting the disease which policies if followed well have proven effective. This means life can continue even in the presently darker COVID-19 times. In this article, we bring you a bouquet of advice on Planning a Safari during COVID-19 times.
1. Decide where you want to go on safari. Planning a Safari during COVID-19
First, you need to decide what country you want to visit for your African safari: Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania – Each country offers unique experiences, amazing wildlife, and cultural encounters.
During normal times – before COVI-19, you couldn’t go wrong with any country—but these are not normal times. Instead, you need to consider the following when deciding on your destination:
- The impact of the coronavirus.
- Travel ability.
- Safety guidelines.
For most people travellers especially first-timers, Kenya is their gateway to an East African safari experience. Almost everyone flies into Nairobi as a launching point to exploring East Africa. It’s a favourite of many and we like to think it is the most visited destination in East Africa. That means that, until Kenya opens up its borders to tourists, getting anywhere in Africa could be difficult.
As of 01/August/ 2020, Kenya opened its airspace for international travel and is allowing visitors to traverse the safari parks.
Countries such as Uganda are almost completely dependent on Entebbe International Airports reopening to restart safaris. Until that time, travel for safari is going to be difficult if not impossible.
As for safety, we recommend choosing a destination where the pandemic has had very little impact. For example, in Rwanda which currently (08/August/2020) has only registered 4,409 cases with only 19 deaths.
2. Decide when to go Planning a Safari during COVID-19
Depending on where you choose to go on safari you need to get the timings right. For instance, right now, most African countries are still closed to tourists and outside travel. Until borders open back up, you won’t be going anywhere.
While it’s difficult, if not impossible, to predict when you can go on an African safari after coronavirus, that doesn’t mean you should completely write-off 2020. If you are willing to push back your dates toward the end of the year—October and later—there is a chance that you could be one of the only people on safari.
Some experts are predicting that there could be a start to normalizing life at the end of 2020, and there could be nothing better than being on one of our private Safaris —just you, your guide, and the wildlife.
If that still seems too risky for you, you can plan your safari for 2021, instead. Just be sure to book early and quickly. Since many safari-goers who had planned to come out in 2020 had to push back their dates until next year, availability is becoming tight. If you want to get your preferred dates, you should book as soon as possible.
And if you don’t know when to plan your next safari after coronavirus in 2021, check out our blog, “Post COVID-19 Bucketlist experiences not worth missing“
3. Check to see if your tour operator is taking coronavirus seriously?
While there’s no definitive information about how risky it is to travel on an aeroplane during the pandemic, we do know that airports, TSA, airlines, and tourism gateways will all do what they can to decrease infection risk once the world starts travelling again. A key will be avoiding crowded settings as much as possible.
The good news is that going on a safari is a guaranteed way to get away from crowds while remaining safe. Especially if you choose to book one of our top-range Luxury Camping safaris in a place like Murchison Falls National Park you can expect the crowds to be small and you will only stay with travellers in your party. While some of our COVID-19 Era Safaris still stay at selected safari Lodges, we prefer the smaller ones that sometimes tend to be overly-priced because of the exclusivity they offer. Most safari camps and safari lodges in the area have a low maximum number of guests, tents, and vehicles.
For example, at Realm Africa Safaris™, our safari Luxury Camping Safaris admit a maximum capacity of 06 tents (sleeping 12 guests) travelling as a family. Your safari vehicle is also maxed out at six guests (two guests per row—no occupied middle seat). This means that we’re already ideally set up for social distancing on vacation.
On top of that, because we are a mobile-tented safari, our main tent and vehicles are open-air, which greatly diminishes your risk of getting an airborne infectious disease—such as coronavirus.
But that’s just the bare minimum. If you want to feel comfortable going on a safari after coronavirus, you also want to ask what the safari operator is doing to increase their health and safety measures. At Realm Africa Safaris™, we’ve implemented additional processes and procedures, including:
- Increased availability of hand sanitizer at the camp and In the vehicle.
- Masks available to use as-needed / desired included in safari cost.
- Enhanced staff training on safety and health protocols.
- Heightened cleaning and hygiene processes.
- Our team will carefully wipe down and sanitize vehicle armrests, seats, and handles after every game drive.
- All shared surfaces at camp will be cleaned and sanitized between uses.
- Sanitization of hard surfaces during daily guest tent cleaning.
In addition, every Realm Africa Safaris™ guest will receive a Health Amenity Kit upon arrival. This kit includes a mask, a personal hand sanitizer, and a personalized water bottle for use during your trip with us.
4. Is there any reason not to book or Plan my safari during COVID-19?
In Our opinion, now is the best time to plan your next safari. This is why we think so;
With extremely low deposits required, flexible rescheduling policies, and great discounts, now are the ideal time to book your dream vacation. If you’re willing to go with the flow, change your plans as required, and go on safari sometime in the next 18 months, then there’s no reason to delay.
Many of the special safari deals and offerings are only available for a limited time. Once travel gets back to normal, so too will the booking policies of most safari operators.
Also, if you have been watching the news at all, you know how stir-crazy everyone has gone. When travel resumes fully, we can only imagine how busy things could get for a little while as everyone tries to get away from home. If you book early, you will have your choice of dates, locations, operators, and more.
PLUS, by booking early, you could really help out safari operators who are struggling right now. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the safari industry, including conservation efforts.
By making the commitment right now to go on safari in 2020 or 2021, not only do you enjoy the benefits of the coronavirus deals only available for a limited time, but you are also saying that you care about the African wildlife and are willing to commit to protecting it.
When you book a safari with Realm Africa Safaris™, we donate $5 a day per guest to various charities. (see: some of the charities benefiting from this) Planning a Safari during COVID-19
There’s no reason not to go on an African safari after coronavirus! And there has never been a better time to plan for your dream vacation. Just be sure to choose your destination, safari camp or safari lodge, and timing carefully.
