With luxurious and handcrafted safaris that can range from air to land safaris, Africa provides authentic and immersive experiences of the wild in their natural habitat. If you’re planning a trip to Africa, or to any place for that matter, don’t make the mistake that most people often make – choosing a tour package with the lowest price possible. While this may seem like savings at first, it can end up being quite the opposite.

Mostly, the information given on travel network websites will prove enough to answer your questions, but it is best to check each and every aspect of an African travel package and compare multiple ones to find and choose the most suitable one. The best African travel package should have locals to guide you, but it is also subjective to your needs and preferences, so it is better to have a list of all your doubts and questions. Here’s a list of things that you need to consider while selecting the best African travel package and ensuring that you make the most of the time and money you invest.

Price
The primary concern is to check whether the African travel package fits into your budget. Secondly, you should check the facilities and activities included in the package. For example, remember to check whether or not your African travel package covers the traveling fares. If it does, does it cover only air, only land, or both?

There are many other factors that can also add to the overall cost of the trip, including service charges, taxes, high season supplements, weekend airfare charges, and optional excursions. Furthermore, you might have to incur a supplement fee if you wish to travel alone.

Tour itineraries
Ensure that you receive a day-to-day itinerary on booking a particular travel package. An itinerary is a helpful guide that tells you what you will see and do on a tour. Check the places you will be visiting, and also remember to note the duration and the nature of your stay there. Know which sites you will be spending considerable time at and which ones you will be simply driving through. This difference is often indicated in an itinerary as “see” and “view.” As a traveler, you should be aware of these distinctions to have a pleasant African safari experience.

Here are some other vital questions you should ask while checking tour itineraries for an African safari:

• Are you comfortable with traveling for a specified amount of time over land, in a safari vehicle, rail, or other modes of transportation?
• Do you have just the right amount of free time to indulge in shopping or exploring by yourself?
• Does the travel plan require a lot of walking?

Accommodation
Without a doubt, accommodation is a major factor in the success or failure of a trip. Remember to pay special attention to the location and type of the hotels mentioned in the itinerary. Also, ensure that the accommodation offered is hygienic and safe. For example, if your hotel is away from the center of a city, you might require a sightseeing bus or rental car service to go around. On the other hand, if you are set to have a good amount of free time in a city, hotels in the central part of the city are great options.

Meals
Dining is an integral part of all expeditions and vacations, and the same applies to African safari tours. It is important to check the availability and take stock of any dietary restrictions that you might have to follow as everything you need might not be readily available.

Conditions
Conditions, or “terms and conditions” as it is commonly referred to, are usually provided at the time of a reservation inquiry. While many choose to ignore this section, it is essential to go through it to ensure that you’re selecting the right African travel package. Most travel network sites present a compact version of these conditions on their web page.

These conditions cover major points about travel packages, including reservation details, refund policy, cancelations, and insurance availability, among many others. Ensure that you have a thorough understanding of policies related to cancelations, departure and arrival date changes, refund, and the penalties that may apply.

Other vital information provided by the terms and conditions page includes specifications about the accommodation, air transport, land transport, meals, sightseeing, health information, and baggage allowance. Furthermore, the conditions page will also include all the items that are not covered in the package price. This page may not be as visually appealing as the rest of the specifications, but the information it holds plays a major part when you have to make the decision of choosing an African travel package.