These Are the Best Safaris in the World, According to a New Study

For those looking to book their dream safari adventure, there has been a seismic announcement. Market-leading travel firm SafariBookings.com has ranked the best safaris on Earth, following an exhaustive process. The study involved combing through 2,665 customer reviews and international safari expert analyses, covering 205 safari experiences.

Subsequently, a conclusive top 50 safari destinations across 15 African countries received a score out of five points. According to the review, worldwide interest in safari increased 34% in the past year; Americans are especially keen. Furthermore, a 2024 Scott Dunn survey found that 93% of 18-34-year-olds wish to one day embark on the ultimate wildlife experience.

Therefore, safaris are firmly in our imagination; the question for the lucky few is: which one should you choose? Chances are it will be in Tanzania or Botswana, which have three locations each in the top 10 selections. Moreover, South Africa would also be a wise choice: it was the best overall country, with 12 of the top 50 spots.

Serengeti National Park

Tanzanians will be happy, much less unsurprised, at the results of this study: Serengeti National Park retains a winning crown. Alongside Kruger National Park (which is curiously absent from the upper tier), the Serengeti is one of the world’s safari titans. Its elite ranking stems from a host of factors.

Primarily, the Serengeti is host to the so-called “Great Migration,” the largest wildebeest movement on the continent and a must-see for any affluent nature champion.

Furthermore, visitors here have the best chance of seeing the so-called “Big Five” safari bucket list mammals: lions, leopards, cape buffalo, elephants, and rhinos. The latter is one of the rarest safari sightings, thanks to a poacher-induced decline in numbers across Africa.

Lower Zambezi National Park

The jewel in the crown of Zambia, Lower Zambezi National Park, comes in second place this year. The park, which hugs the Zambezi River border of the southern neighbor Zimbabwe, made the headlines in 2023 when a controversial mining project was annulled. According to BirdLife International, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) “brought the 12-year standoff to a halt.”

Thankfully, it means no threat to the park’s wealth of diverse species. “Elephant herds, sometimes up to one hundred strong, hippo, leopard, lion, buffalo, over 400 bird species – they all gather in this mesmerizing wilderness,” reads the official park website.

Options here include classic, walking, and canoe safaris up the Zambezi River, where much of the wildlife congregates.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

The phonetically pleasing Okavango Delta in Botswana wins the bronze gong this year, based on its Big Five status and extensive, protected wetlands. This area is rich with safari operations: SafariBookings offers 190 choices here alone. Yet, quantity doesn’t necessarily negate quality when it comes to this dreamscape of a region.

To illustrate what visitors here can expect,  National Geographic’s Into the Okavango film depicts a landscape of unparalleled beauty, albeit one always under threat from human encroachment. Further, a recent industry feature by CoStar highlights the success of the area’s sustainable wilderness hotels.

The Delta, which snakes through the Kalahari Desert, is a UNESCO World Heritage site teeming with biodiverse wildlife to complement its big-five appeal. We need to enjoy this one while we can.

Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, South Africa

The leading pick from the overall best safari country, Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, makes the top five ranking. Kruger National Park’s border-sharing reserve overtakes its more famous rival this year. It isn’t a fluke: Sabi Sands Game Reserve is the lesser-known yet more endowed of the two neighbors, in one aspect at least.

“The area is home to more species of large mammals than any other wildlife area in South Africa: a total number of 147 species has been recorded,” states the park’s web portal. Sabi Sands’ high season is May through October.

This period is South Africa’s winter and the best time to enjoy cooler weather and photo-friendly, flatter terrain. Sadly, you really don’t want to be there anytime else, when rainstorms and malaria become a risk.

Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Tanzania completes a commendable record this year of two national parks in the top five. Ruaha National Park is not quite as high up as the Serengeti Plain, yet it doesn’t get as crowded, and its more limited lodges are well spread out. It means higher prices but a distinctly exclusive feeling.

Travel and Leisure’s Nicholas DeRenzo recommends exploring on foot and cites barely seeing any other groups at big spotting encounters. What’s more, the park is one for the cat and dog lovers: Ruaha provides a good opportunity to see wild canines and abundant lion prides.

“Chances are that you’ll have lion sightings completely to yourself at Ruaha,” reads a Go2Africa guide feature, confirming DeRenzo’s observations.

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Botswana and Tanzania share many winning safari features, and Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta is no exception. Norwegian travel platform Grown Up Travel heralds Moremi as an “unforgettable Botswana safari” in its detailed account of a trip there: an article deserving of attention for any would-be visitor.

Richard Holmes also raves about the place in an Afar feature, not least the Tawana Lodge, one of many sustainable new ecotourism designs in the region.

A South African safari aficionado, Holmes says Moremi Game Reserve is one of the best he has visited. He adds that it is unique thanks to an “unusual offering of savanna grasslands, forests, and Delta waterways.”

Chobe National Park, Botswana

Sitting on Botswana’s River Chobe and Savuti Nature Reserve is the Chobe National Park, a wildlife goldmine. If feedback from the safari forum Expert Africa is anything to go by, the park has maintained an impressive 100% score record since the site’s 2007 founding.

Late afternoons and evenings at the Chobe riverfront are especially magical, where hippos and crocs rub shoulders with a wide array of winged creatures. Yet, big cats and wild dogs are always on the itinerary.

While the rhino is absent from the Chobe National Park call sheet, other big names like impalas, giraffes, and plains zebras more than make up for it.

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

The next entry is a current Conde Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards winner, as well as SafariBooking’s official top 10 candidate. Ngorongoro Crater National Park is, according to AndBeyond, the largest intact caldera on the planet. Under the rim, visitors will find the experience of a lifetime.

“It is not unusual to see the Big Five in one day here,” writes Bradt Guidebook to Tanzania author Philip Briggs. “And all this is in the most amazing setting with a backdrop of the 1,968ft-high crater wall.”

A safari inside a high-altitude crater sounds like the perfect adventure. To cap it off, the park has a massive 6,363 tours listed on the SafariBookings platform.