10-Day Safari & Wildlife Expedition
A comprehensive ten-day safari across three different game reserves with internal flights, varied accommodation (luxury lodge, tented camp, mobile camp), morning and afternoon game drives, bush walks, boat safaris, and a cultural village visit.
How to read this template
This is a real itinerary, not a preview. Everything below is what an operator would send — and what their guides would carry.
- 10 days
- Each day is a segment. Reorder them, drop one, insert a rest day — the rest of the itinerary follows.
- 62 blocks
- Everything inside a day is a block: a transfer, an activity, a meal, a night, a briefing. Blocks carry their own type and colour.
- 145 fields
- Distances, ascent, times, prices and notes are structured fields, not prose — so they total, sort and export instead of only reading well.
- 16 internal notes
- Marked Internal — guides onlybelow. Your guides get them; your clients never see them.
One itinerary, three audiences
The same content exports three ways without being rewritten: a client PDF with the internal notes and cost lines stripped, a guide sheet that keeps them, and an internal ops sheet with margins. Most tools give you the first one and leave the other two to a spreadsheet.
The itinerary, day by day
Light aircraft from the regional hub to Reserve A bush airstrip. Soft bags only, 15 kg limit. Aerial views of the savanna during approach.
Charter weight limit 15 kg in soft bags, weighed at the strip. Reconfirm 24 h out — single-engine schedules move with the weather and the operator will not call you.
Premium lodge overlooking a waterhole. Spacious suites, private verandas, pool, spa. Full board with house wines and local beers. The waterhole attracts animals day and night.
Request the three rooms on the waterhole side and confirm the nets were re-treated this season. This lodge allocates on arrival unless the rooms are named in the booking.
Head ranger safety briefing. Vehicle rules, camp behavior after dark, malaria prevention. Sign the indemnity form. Collect binoculars and wildlife guide from the lodge library.
Confirm all guides and trackers for 10 days. Brief group on photography etiquette. Verify vehicle allocation. Check first aid supplies in each vehicle. Collect emergency contact info for the nearest medical facility.
First game drive at 15:30. Orientation to the reserve — vegetation zones, animal territories, and driving routes. Plains game and birds dominate the first afternoon.
Dinner in the boma with introductions all round. The guides join the table on the first night — it is the easiest moment to tell them what you most want to see, which shapes where the vehicles go for the next three days.
Pre-dawn departure. Predators most active at dawn — lions, leopards, cheetahs. Dress in warm layers for the open vehicle.
Coffee and blankets loaded the night before; wake-up 05:00, rolling 05:30. Radio the second vehicle before splitting so both are not sitting at the same sighting — on a ten-day trip the group notices repetition faster than you expect.
Full breakfast cooked in the bush at a scenic spot. An iconic safari experience.
Return to lodge. Pool, waterhole watching, or siesta. Wildlife rests midday too.
Explore different terrain. Sundowner drinks at a hilltop viewpoint as the sun sets.
Four-course dinner. Check the sighting board for what others saw today.
On-foot safari with armed guide. Tracks, dung, plants, and insects — a completely different perspective. Max 8 people for safety.
Single file behind guide. Whisper only. Neutral colors. No perfume. If charged by an elephant — stand your ground and follow the guide. If separated — stay put.
Carry satellite phone and snakebite kit. Brief participants individually on fitness. Maximum 3 hours walking. If anyone is uncomfortable, they stay in the follow vehicle.
Rest before tonight's night drive. Last afternoon at this lodge.
After-dark drive with spotlight. Eyeshine reveals nocturnal species: owls, bushbabies, genets, porcupines, hunting hyenas.
Red filter on spotlight for predators (less disturbance). Keep beam moving. No flash photography. Maintain 30 m from all animals at night. Engine off for sightings — whisper only.
Late dinner once the vehicles are back in. The kitchen holds service until the night drive returns, so eat when you arrive rather than waiting for the group.
Morning flight from Reserve A airstrip to Reserve B. Different ecosystem — riverine woodland and floodplains. New species to find.
Charter limit is 15 kg in soft bags and it is weighed. Anything over goes on the supply run and arrives a day later, so warn the group at the day-three dinner, not at the strip. Reconfirm the slot 24 h out.
15 kg soft bag limit strictly enforced. Check in at airstrip 30 min before departure. Excess luggage stored at Reserve A lodge (collected on return). Bring camera and binoculars in hand luggage — the flight over the delta is spectacular.
Luxury tented camp on the river. Canvas walls, wooden deck, en-suite with hot water. 8 tents — intimate and close to nature. Full board included.
Tented camp is seasonal — confirm it is pitched at the river site and not the ridge site before sending the transfer; the two are ninety minutes apart.
First drive in Reserve B. Different landscape, different species. The guide knows this terrain intimately.
Dinner by lantern light at the river camp. Hippo grunts from the water.
Dawn drive focusing on the floodplain edge where predators hunt in the morning mist.
Afternoon boat safari on the river. Hippos, crocodiles, fish eagles, and kingfishers. A completely different viewing angle from the water.
Water levels decide whether this runs at all — check with the camp two days out and have the extended game drive ready as the substitute. Life jackets are the camp's, and there are rarely enough child sizes.
Drinks and snacks on a river sandbank as the sun sets. Wildlife continues past you in the golden light.
Dinner at camp under canvas. Confirm the morning arrangements over dinner: the fishing runs alongside the morning drive rather than after it, so the group splits at breakfast.
Morning drive targeting species specific to this reserve's ecosystem.
Catch-and-release fishing on the river. Tigerfish and bream. Guide supervises. Even non-anglers enjoy the riverbank at this time.
Fishing runs at the same time as the morning drive, so the group splits at breakfast. Confirm numbers the night before: the camp allocates one boat and one guide, and a late change leaves someone behind.
Quiet afternoon at camp. Read, photograph birds from the deck, or have a spa treatment.
Last dinner at the river camp. Campfire stories and night sounds.
Game-drive style transfer between reserves. The guide stops for sightings throughout the 3-hour drive.
Six hours on unpaved road with one fuel stop. Carry the full day's water and the packed lunch — nothing is available en route. This is the crossing between fee zones, so have both reserves' cash separated before departure.
Stop at a traditional village en route. Meet community elders, see traditional crafts, understand the relationship between people and wildlife. A respectful, enriching cultural exchange.
Mobile tented camp — the most remote accommodation of the trip. Canvas tents, bucket showers, and paraffin lanterns. Closest to the wild experience possible with comfort. No electricity — embrace it.
Mobile camp moves through the season. Get current coordinates from the operator the week before and pass them to the overland driver in writing — a wrong site here costs the group half a day.
First drive in Reserve C. More remote, wilder, fewer vehicles. Different vegetation and potentially different species.
Dinner around the fire. The camp chef creates magic with limited facilities. Stars in every direction.
Extended dawn drive in the remote area. The guide pursues specific sightings — the elusive species on the group's wish list.
Late brunch in the bush. The drive doesn't return to camp — eat where the wildlife takes you.
Afternoon rest at camp. Journal, photograph camp birds, listen to the bush.
Walking safari from the mobile camp. More adventurous than the lodge walk — deeper bush, no follow vehicle.
Armed ranger leads, guide walks last, guests single file and silent on approach. Brief the stop-and-freeze signal before leaving camp rather than on the trail. Anyone whose insurance excludes walking safari stays in camp.
Campfire dinner on the second-to-last night. The mobile camp cooks over open fire and serves one set menu — dietary requirements need to reach the camp manager by lunchtime, not at the table.
Final morning drive. The guide focuses on photography opportunities and any species not yet seen.
The reserve's conservation manager gives a talk on wildlife protection, anti-poaching efforts, community partnerships, and how tourism supports conservation. Learn what your visit contributes to the ecosystem.
Final game drive. The guide takes you to the reserve's best sundowner spot. A toast to the wildlife, the guides, and the African bush.
Final dinner at the mobile camp. Star-lit, fire-warmed, wild. The last night of the safari.
Compile the final species list with the guide. Big five status, total species count, and any rare sightings. The guide signs the checklist as a keepsake.
Collect feedback forms tonight. Note: guide quality per reserve, food ratings, accommodation comfort, logistics issues. Calculate tip amounts per staff member. Prepare final expense summary.
Last game drive. Short but sweet. The guide aims for one final special sighting to close the safari.
Back by 08:30 hard stop — the airstrip transfer plus the charter has no slack, and a missed slot on a single-engine schedule means an extra night nobody has budgeted for.
Brunch at camp. Sign the guest book. Say goodbye to the camp team — personal connections with camp staff are part of the safari magic.
Drive to the airstrip for the return flight. Keep cameras ready — the drive often produces surprise sightings.
Flight back to the regional hub. Aerial farewell to the reserves. Connect to international flight or continue to next destination.
Ten-day safari complete: 3 reserves, 15 game drives, 2 bush walks, 1 boat safari, 1 night drive, 1 cultural visit. Share photos via the group album.
Charter flights in and out plus the internal flight to Reserve B, the overland crossing to Reserve C, nine nights across a lodge, a tented camp and a mobile camp, all meals from the day-one dinner to the day-ten brunch, and the cultural village visit. Guided activities are priced individually above so a base rate can be quoted and built on, which is how most guests buy a trip of this length.
Conservation and park fees for all three reserves, charged per person per day and collected at each gate in cash — the three rates differ and together they are the largest excluded cost on this itinerary, so budget 60–120 EUR per day and confirm each before travel. Also excluded: international flights, drinks beyond tea and coffee, travel and medical insurance, laundry, curios, and gratuities for guides, trackers and camp staff.
Three reserves means three fee schedules and three gates. Carry the cash for each in a separate labelled envelope and reconcile at every crossing — this is where trips of this length lose money quietly. Put the daily figure in the quote in writing; guests read a camp rate as all-inclusive without exception.
Travel and medical insurance with emergency air evacuation is mandatory, and on this itinerary it is not a formality: the mobile camp in Reserve C is a full day from a road and evacuation is by air only. The policy must also cover walking safari, which several insurers class as an adventure activity and exclude by default. Bring a passport valid six months beyond departure with four blank pages for three reserve entries, printed visa confirmation, and a yellow-fever certificate if your routing requires it.
Check walking-safari cover before day three and again before day eight — both walks are on the itinerary and an excluded guest cannot join either. Photograph every passport and policy on day one and keep copies on both guides phones; between days seven and nine there is no signal to retrieve anything.