Guided or self-drive Tour - What is best for me?

From this month on we will start a new blog and mainly present some of our destinations and our tours to you. All feedback is highly welcome!

Wanting to travel to Africa can be quite confusing since there are so many different things to see and do and of course various countries to visit with their numerous destinations, possibilities, advantages but also disadvantages. Today we would like to start explaining the two main types of tours that we offer to our customers.

The first option is fully guided tours during which a guide will be at your side at all times. These tours have the advantage that you really do not need to worry about anything, just get in the car and off you go! Your guide will drive, cook, assist, pitch up your tents if you are camping (with a little help from you nevertheless) and just do anything else that is necessary to make your trip as smooth as possible. There always is a certain flexibility in the day to day routine but the main frame needs to be kept throughout the trip. This type of tour often suits first timers to Africa and people who like the extended comfort while enjoying some of Africa's most iconic places. Your guide will be a qualified and certified professional with many years of experience in the industry who will take great care of you at all times. Depending on the country you want to visit this is the recommended type of holiday we offer for various reasons. The main reason are the bad roads, long distances and lack of other infrastructures at the destinations of your trip which may make it advisable to go for this option.

The second option is the classic self-drive or self-navigated tour which is a much more economic way of traveling. You still follow a given itinerary provided by us with detailed driving instructions and information about your destinations in your rental car. It leaves you more flexibility to go with the flow for most destinations with the one exception of the game lodges where the daily routine is fixed for all guests. Apart from that you drive from destination to destination at your own pace and stop on the way, eat on the way, do activities on the way, it is all up to you. At the destinations however we can include guided activities like wine tasting, gin tasting, extreme sports or other activities you might enjoy. If you opt for a tour that includes game drives (safaris) they will always be performed by the lodges and their professional guides to keep you safe at all times and make sure you get the bush experience you deserve. Especially in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana this is a very popular option since most roads are quite good and no special driving skills are required.

Everybody of course has different needs, wishes and desires when it comes to a holiday. This is why we try to find out in personal chats what we can do to adjust our standard tours or simply design a whole new itinerary for you so that they meet your requirements. For most destinations we have several accommodation options from rustic but charming to the great luxurious lodges and guest houses you may have seen in magazines and on tv. We try to work with small accommodations as much as possible because we feel that large hotels take away the free spirit of traveling in Africa and kind of take away the unique charm and personal touch smaller lodgings often provide that in the end make the whole experience just so much more worth it.

Generally, there is no valid answer to the question asked in the title because the one doesn't exclude the other. It all depends on where you intend to travel to, the way you are used to traveling and last but not least what you expect from a holiday in Africa. Both tour types work very well and are equally popular with our customers. Both may come with certain advantages or disadvantages depending on your mindset and what you expect. The guided tour might be a little more conservative option while the self-drive tour leaves more to discover once you reached your destination.

So what would be your prefered way of traveling? Simply post your answer below and let us know what you think about it. I hope you enjoyed reading and will engage in an interesting conversation below.

Have a nice day,

Romain