PHOTO PLACEHOLDER — replace with a licensed image. Do not use unlicensed stock. — The nightly rate, and everything that is not in it
Money
The nightly rate, and everything that is not in it
Budgets at this level do not get caught out by the camps. They get caught out by the joins.
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Nightly
Per person per night, fully inclusive
| Level | Per night | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Fine lodges and classic camps | US$800 – 1,200 | Established camps in genuinely good locations, a private vehicle throughout, light-aircraft hops between parks rather than long road transfers, and guiding that is a profession rather than a job. The entry point to a safari that does not compromise. |
| Private conservancy | US$1,200 – 1,800 | Camps on private land, where the rules change: off-road driving to a sighting, night drives, walking with an armed guide, and a cap on how many vehicles may attend anything. Usually the point at which people stop comparing safaris on price. |
| Owner-run and design-led | US$1,800 – 2,500 | The camps people name when they get home. Six to ten tents, an owner or manager who is present, a guide assigned to you for the stay, and food that would hold its own in a city. |
| Exclusive-use and private-guided | US$2,500 – 4,000 | A guide who travels with you from park to park rather than being handed over at each one, private charters on your own schedule, and small camps taken whole for your party. |
| Whole-camp and villa | US$4,000 and up | Exclusive-use houses and villas with their own staff, mobile expedition camps built for your route, and private aircraft between countries. Bought for privacy and control rather than for thread count. |
Indicative planning ranges only, per person per night sharing, for a fully inclusive safari — accommodation, meals, park and conservancy fees, guiding, and transport between parks. They are what we see in the market, not a quote and not an official tariff. Your quote will be exact and itemised. International flights are not included.
The costs outside the nightly rate
| Item | Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Internal flights | 15–25% of the trip | The thing that makes three parks in ten days possible |
| Private charter | Priced per aircraft, not per person | Far better value for six than for two |
| Gorilla permits | Several hundred to over US$1,000 per person, per trek | Rwanda and Uganda price them very differently; neither negotiates |
| Private vehicle | Often a few hundred US$ a day per party | The best-value line on this table |
| Private guide | Daily rate plus their travel and accommodation | Priced for the whole trip, not per park |
| Conservancy fees | Usually inside the rate | Ask — where they are not, they are significant |
| International flights | Often the largest single line | Never included in a safari quote |
| Tips | Budget deliberately | Guides and camp staff; your quote will suggest a scale |
The two cost mistakes we see most
- Budgeting per night and forgetting the joins. A ten-night trip across three parks can carry four internal flights. At this level they are not rounding errors.
- Buying the rate and skipping the vehicle. A shared vehicle at US$2,000 a night is a worse trip than a private one at US$1,400. This happens constantly, because the rate is on the website and the vehicle is not.
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