Mara River crossings peak August – September · limited northern camps remain
Tanzania · Choose Your Star
Enter to open first result · Esc to close
By Style — 04
Group Departures
Fixed dates, shared vehicles capped at six, and roughly half the cost of the same route travelled privately. The most sensible safari on a budget.
Sharing a vehicle costs you some flexibility. It saves you a great deal of money.
The economics of safari are dominated by two fixed costs: the vehicle and the guide. Both cost the same whether one person or six are using them. Splitting them across a group is the single most effective way to reduce what a safari costs without reducing where it goes.
Our scheduled departures run set dates through the year on the northern circuit, with vehicles capped at six passengers so everyone has a window seat and room for cameras. Groups are typically four to twelve people across two vehicles.
The trade is real and we won't pretend otherwise. You leave when the group leaves. You stay at a sighting as long as the group stays. If someone wants to head back for lunch and you'd rather not, the majority wins. For a lot of travellers that's a perfectly reasonable exchange for saving several thousand dollars.
Group departures also suit solo travellers particularly well, both financially and socially. We charge a modest single supplement rather than the punitive ones common in the industry, and by day two most groups are eating together by choice.
01 / The cost
Roughly Half the Private Price
The same parks, the same guides and the same wildlife at a fraction of the cost, because the vehicle and guide are split between four to six people rather than paid for by two.
02 / The vehicle
Capped at Six, Window Seat Guaranteed
We cap our shared vehicles at six rather than the eight or nine some operators use. Everyone gets a window, everyone can stand through the roof hatch, and there is room for camera bags.
03 / Solo travellers
A Fair Single Supplement
Solo travel is normally punished on safari. We charge a modest supplement and will pair same-sex solo travellers on request to remove it entirely. Around a third of our group guests travel alone.
04 / The company
You Will Probably Like Them
Small groups of people who have chosen the same trip tend to get on. Most departures end with a shared dinner in Arusha and a WhatsApp group that stays alive for years.
An honest comparison
Group vs Private — the Real Trade
We sell both. This is the comparison we give people on the phone.
What changes
Group
Private
Lower cost per person
✓
–
Same parks and wildlife
✓
✓
Choose your own departure time
–
✓
Stay at a sighting indefinitely
–
✓
Meet other travellers
✓
–
Fixed dates only
✓
–
Good for solo travellers
✓
–
Itinerary built around you
–
✓
I booked alone and worried about it for weeks. By the second evening we were six people who'd known each other for years.Solo traveller, 7-day northern circuit
Suggested Journeys
Scheduled Departures
Fixed dates through the year. Ask us for the current departure calendar.
5 nights
5-Day Northern Circuit
Tarangire, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The classic route, shared vehicle, set departures monthly.
From $1,450 pp
7 nights
7-Day Complete Circuit
Adds Lake Manyara and a fourth night in the Serengeti, so no day is spent entirely driving.
From $2,100 pp
8 nights
Migration Departure
Timed for the Mara River crossings in August and September, with four nights in the north.
From $2,900 pp
Questions
Group Departure Questions
A maximum of six, and often four. We cap it deliberately — some operators run eight or nine to a vehicle, which means middle seats with no window and no room for a camera bag. If a departure fills beyond six we add a second vehicle rather than squeezing.
You'll be in good company — roughly a third of our group guests are solo. The single supplement is modest, and if you'd like to avoid it entirely we'll pair you with a same-sex traveller in a twin room where one is available. Say so when you book and we'll try.
Yes, and many people do. Common additions are a few days in Zanzibar afterwards, a Kilimanjaro climb before, or a day trip around Arusha at either end. The group portion runs on fixed dates but everything either side is yours to shape.
It varies enormously — we've run departures with everyone between twenty-two and seventy-eight. There's no typical guest. Families with children under twelve are usually better served by a private trip, simply because the fixed pace is hard on younger children.
We run departures from a minimum of two people, so a trip won't be cancelled for lack of numbers once you've booked. If numbers stay low you effectively get a semi-private safari at the group price, which is a good problem to have.
Yes, and it's excellent value. Four to six friends taking a whole vehicle pay close to the group rate but get private-trip flexibility, because the group is you. This is the single best-value way to travel with us.
Ask us for the departure calendar.
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and we will send the dates that are running, with how many places are left on each.
