If you are booking a very private or luxury safari

The type of safari vehicle or overland truck you use on an Africa overland trip will vary depending on your style of tour and the African destination. These vehicles are designed to enhance your game viewing and wildlife experience, with features like extra-large windows and pop up roofs. On specialist photographic safaris you will often find features like padded bars for resting cameras on and a jump seat for your guide.

When you book a tour, you will need to decide which type of safari vehicle to book, and what size. For most safari tours, the optimal number of seats is six, all forward-facing. This ensures that every passenger will get a window seat and a great view of the action.

If you are booking a very private or luxury safari, you will likely want to have more than six people in your vehicle. This is not a problem, but it does mean that you will have less space to move around in. It is also a good idea to ask what the maximum number of passengers is, so that you can be sure that you will not have to travel with too many people in your car.

For most standard safari tours, you will be travelling in a 4x4 safari vehicle. These are modified pickup trucks which have been extended to allow for extra seating. They are designed to be able to handle the rough terrain of Africa, and most are equipped with a fridge to keep water and food cold. They are usually also fitted with a stove, and some even have a built in kitchen area where you can prepare meals.

While these are the most popular safari vehicles, there are other options available. Some people prefer to travel in fully open safari vehicles, which are completely open with no windows or doors, and some even have a canvas sunroof which can be rolled down for photography purposes. Some of these are more suitable for East Africa than Southern Africa, as some parks, such as Ngorongoro Crater, do not allow fully open vehicles.

There is also the option to use a local dugout mokoro, horseback or air safaris for your explorations. These offer a completely different experience than what you can expect in an overland vehicle, and are well worth considering for those looking to explore more of the African bush.

While the safari vehicle you will use on your tour will vary depending on the type of tour and African destination, one thing that is always the same is your guide. A guide is essential to your safari experience, and they will be able to tell you a huge amount about the animals you encounter and the unique ecosystems that you will be seeing. A closed cab vehicle can make it difficult to talk with your guide, and this will certainly have a negative impact on the overall experience. A guide is like a live, human Wikipedia page, and being able to speak with them throughout your safari is really what makes the difference.