Types of African Safari Vehicles

TYPES OF AFRICAN SAFARI VEHICLES

No matter where you travel in Africa, your type of African safari vehicle will be of key importance. Depending on your destination and where you will be going on safari, you could be in any number of safari vehicle types. Below is a list and brief overview.

BOTSWANA

For fly-in safaris or road-based safaris, open-sided 4WD’s are almost exclusively used at most camps and lodges in the Okavango Delta, Savuti, Chobe and Kalahari areas.

For small group set-departure tours, which do not go through rugged areas, you may be in an adapted mini-bus, such as a Toyota Quantum or Mercedes Sprinter, that seat up to 10 people. Or, you may be in a small truck that can seat between 12 and 16 people. Depending on the itinerary, you then have the opportunity to do game-drives in Open 4WD at your lodge/camp accommodation.

Some Botswana lodges and camps offer motor boat and mokoro excursions.

NAMIBIA

Namibia is a very large country, just under 900,000 square kilometres. Due to the big driving distances, closed vehicles are used for road-based itineraries. The type of closed vehicle will depend on your itinerary and can range from a small truck (seating 12 to 16 people) to a Toyota Quantum/Mercedes Sprinters (seating up to 10 people) to closed 4WD’s.

Fly-in safaris use a combination of light aircraft and either open-sided 4WD’s or closed 4WD’s depending on the area as not all areas permit open sided vehicles.

Fly-in lodge and tented camp safaris use small planes, and either open-sided 4WD’s or closed 4WD’s depending on the area as not all areas permit open sided vehicles.

KENYA

Many Kenya safaris’ that visit national parks and reserves (as opposed to private wildlife conservancies) use safari mini-vans that have a photographic hatch. As a company, we do not offer any Kenya safaris that use 2WD minivans. These are only used in Nairobi for transfers. All our Kenya safaris are in 4WD’s.

Road-based safaris use closed 4WD’s, typically Toyota Landcruisers with a pop-top roof. For fly-in safaris, a combination of light aircraft and open-sided 4WD’s with a sun canopy, are used. Open-sided 4WD’s vehicles offer greater visibility and provide unobstructed photography opportunities in all directions.

TANZANIA

Similar to Kenya, road-based safaris use closed 4WD’s, typically Toyota Landcruisers with a pop-top roof. Road-based safaris involve a lot of travelling on main roads (tarmac and dirt) and therefore closed vehicles are a necessity.

For fly-in safaris, a combination of light aircraft and open-sided 4WD’s with a sun canopy , are used. Open-sided 4WD’s vehicles offer greater visibility and provide unobstructed photography opportunities in all directions.