Great for beginners

First Choice (0871 6649020, www.firstchoice.co.uk/kenya) offers a fortnight’s trip with some meals covering a week’s safari in the Tsavo National Park in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania, followed by a week at a hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean in Mombasa, from £1,692pp.

A Best of Kenya Air Safari, lasting seven nights and visiting Nairobi, Amboseli National Park, Samburu Reserve and Masai Mara Reserve, costs from £1,779pp, including flights. Thomson Tailor-made Africa (0870 1607313, www.thomson.co.uk).

Going in style

Mix game drives, walks and luxury lodge spa treatments at the Singita private reserve in South Africa. Three nights from £3,140pp, for full board and flights. Available from Essential Escapes (020-7284 3344, www.essentialescapes.com).

Visit the Guludo Lodge in northern Mozambique in July and get in before the rush of the peak season. The weather is sunny and you can see plenty of lemurs. A 12-night trip costs from £2,700pp with a full-board stay and flights, with Audley (01993 838500, www.audleytravel.com).

Off the beaten track

Kuoni (01306 747008, www.kuoni.co.uk) offers a five-night trip to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda from £1,968pp; some meals and flights included.

Visitors to Madagascar arriving from now until September will stand a good chance of spotting humpback whales that visit the bay of Sainte Marie Island looking for mates. A 16-day trip costs from £2,995pp with B&B, 11 dinners and nine lunches, guided excursions and flights. Book with Cox & Kings (020-7873 5000, www.coxandkings.co.uk).

Eco-trips

No noisy four-wheel-drive vehicles on this five-night horse safari in the Okavango delta in Botswana, including light aircraft transfers and flights from London. It costs from £3,045pp with Rainbow Tours (020-7226 1004, www.rainbowtours.co.uk).

Tribes Travel (01728 685971, www.tribes.co.uk) has a 12-day trip to see gorillas and chimps in Uganda with trekking permit cash going towards the conservation of the animals, and overnight stays in eco-lodges. Trips start at £2,350pp, excluding flights.

Brush with nature

Expert Africa (020-8232 9777, www.expertafrica.com) has 12-day tailor-made safaris in Zambia, including a three-day “painting safari” in which a guide who is also an artist provides instruction. The trip costs from £2,731pp. Guests stay in “comfortable bush camps”. The local operator is Remote Africa Safaris (www.remoteafrica.com).

Walk with camels on a four-night safari with Samburu warriors in northern Kenya, from £1,623pp, including flights, from Okavango Tours and Safaris (020-8343 3283, www.okavango.com).

What about Asia?

Kuoni (01306 747008, www.kuoni.co.uk) offers 13 nights on a “Tiger tour” of northern India in Ranthambore and Corbett national parks as well as visits to temples, churches and the Taj Mahal from £1,459pp; some meals and flights included.

In Khao Sok National Park in Thailand you can study elephant conservation at a safari camp for three nights, with an elephant trek at the heart of the trip from £252pp, flights extra. Essence of Asia (01865 268949, www. essenceofasiatravel.co.uk).

When to go The world’s top safaris

In eastern Africa the best time to see game is from January to March and from July to October – this is during the dry season, when animals head for water holes. The best months for game viewing in northern Kenya are August and September. November and April are to be avoided.

In southern Africa the dry season runs from May to October. The best time in South Africa itself is after Easter until the end of September when the crowds have vanished and the rain has subsided. The vegetation thins, the air is crisp and the animals are more visible as they gather around the remaining waterholes.

Medical requirements

Antimalarial tablets are necessary in most safari destinations. Tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and typhoid updates are also usually required. Consult your GP for full information. Or see the MASTA website: www.masta.org.

What to take Binoculars, camera (with tripod), warm clothing (it can be cold on early starts), sunblock, sunhat, mosquito repellent, money for tipping porters and guides (a major source of income; US$10 per day per person with a guide is about right).

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