ArticleKenya8 min read

How to Choose an Ethical Safari

Ten questions to ask before you book

Average rating 5.0 out of 5
5.01 review
Wanjiru Kamau
forPublisher Wildside Expeditions
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A line of safari vehicles crowded around a sighting on the Maasai Mara plains
A line of safari vehicles crowded around a sighting on the Maasai Mara plains
A "safari jam" in the Mara: what responsible guiding avoids. Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

A safari can protect wildlife and support communities, or quietly harm both. The questions we ask every camp and operator we work with.

Tourism pays for the wild

Across East and southern Africa, tourism money pays for a large share of the anti-poaching patrols, research and community programmes that keep wild places wild. The Maasai Mara conservancies are a good example: landowners lease their land to camps instead of fencing and farming it, and earn more from wildlife than they would from cattle or wheat.
But not all safari money does good. Camps that crowd sightings, operators who pay guides so little they depend on tips for big-cat "chases", and attractions that let you walk with lions or cuddle cubs all do harm. Cub-petting in particular is linked to the captive-bred lion industry and canned hunting in South Africa. If you can touch a wild animal, it is not wild.
We ask the same questions of every camp and operator before we sell them, and you should too.

Ten questions to ask

  1. Who owns the land, and how are they paid?
  2. How many beds share each sighting area?
  3. Are guides employed full time and paid a fair salary?
  4. What share of staff come from local communities?
  5. Is there an off-road policy, and is it enforced?
  6. How is water heated, and where does the waste go?
  7. Does any part of my fee go directly to conservation?
  8. Are there animal interactions, and are they with wild or captive animals?
  9. How does the camp handle plastic?
  10. Can I meet the community on their terms, not as a show?
Safari vehicles crowded around a sighting in the Mara
A sighting shared by a dozen vehicles is not the safari anyone came for.
The best safari leaves the animals exactly as you found them.Wanjiru Kamau, founder of Wildside Expeditions

No cub petting

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Wanjiru KamauAuthor
Wildside ExpeditionsPublisher
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Average rating 5.0 out of 5
1 review
  • Rafael Moreno
    5 out of 5 stars
    2 Oct

    The packing and photography tips were spot on: a soft bag and a beanbag for the camera were the best advice.

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2 comments
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  • James O'Connor

    Great guide. One small update: the ferry now leaves twenty minutes earlier.

  • Arjun Mehta

    We did this last month and the timings were spot on. Thank you for the tip about going early.

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