Africa’s Best Safari Country of 2025

For the fourth time Botswana has been voted Africa’s best country for going on safari. In second place, behind Botswana, was Tanzania, followed by Kenya, which moved up from fifth last year to third place in 2025. Every year SafariBookings carries out the largest survey of its kind to determine which country is Africa’s best safari country. In this year’s detailed study more than 3,100 reviews were examined. With so many countries offering unique and unforgettable safari experiences it is always a tight race and this year was no different.

Botswana, the clear winner of Africa’s top safari country for 2025, is a place of extreme contrasts. Its landscapes include baking hot desert and a maze of watery channels known as the Okavango Delta, which create a haven for local wildlife. Botswana has enormous areas of untamed wilderness, and plenty of big cats, including the famed Kalahari black-maned lion. Three little-known highlights of the country include: prehistoric rock art, magical canoe rides exploring the Okavango Delta, and rare wild dogs, which lucky observers may spot on safari. Botswana is also famed for its conservation programs – sustainability goes to the heart of Botswana’s safari model and is a major reason why travelers love going on safari in the country.

The views of both first-time and experienced safari-goers were taken into account when compiling the survey, alongside those of professionals with years of experience in the African safari industry. These experts are mainly guidebook writers who contribute regularly to Lonely Planet, Bradt Guides, Rough Guides, Frommer’s and Footprint. These industry professionals are well represented on the SafariBookings expert panel.

Ratings for the Major African Safari Countries

Botswana Rated the Best Safari Country

For the fourth time, and the third year in a row, Botswana has been crowned Africa’s best safari country. An astonishing variety of wildlife can be found in the huge tracts of wilderness that dominate this country, making travelers feel as though they are really off the beaten track. Annual floods bring the parched waterways of the Okavango Delta to life. All manner of animals become visible, including the big cats (cheetah, leopard and lion) and very big elephants – in fact the area supports the largest population of elephants on the continent. It is truly a celebration of nature, and includes islands, woodlands, channels and rivers to explore. The Chobe River is another fertile region filled with wildlife, while arid Savuti, the salt pans of Makgadikgadi, and the vast grasslands and sands of the Kalahari provide habitat for a thrilling cast of animals that will remain with you long after you’ve returned home.

Botswana is also known for taking a different approach to safaris, and it is one that, according to our research, travelers really appreciate. In an attempt to prevent the overcrowding from mass tourism that can affect some other safari countries, Botswana has adopted a low-density, low-impact model of safari tourism. What this means in reality is that in Botswana you may get wildlife sightings all to yourself, or at worst share them with just a small handful of other vehicles.

A Botswana safari can be expensive and limited to high-end accommodations. But Botswana is also one of the best places to go on a cheaper self-drive safari. And the Botswana safari model not only makes for a more enjoyable safari, it also reduces tourism’s footprint on the country’s superb natural resources. Many operators of safari tours and accommodations use their profits to build conservation programs that focus on preventing human-wildlife conflict, engaging with local communities, and protecting wildlife and their habitats.

Tanzania Voted Second-best Safari Country

Safari travelers of every kind love Tanzania, so much so that in 2025 they voted Tanzania as Africa’s second-best place to go on safari for the third consecutive year. This makes it the best place for going on safari in East Africa. Tanzania’s success is no secret – its popularity has everything to do with the country’s combination of iconic safari parks, scenic natural beauty, and exceptional variety and numbers of wildlife. If you’ve ever stood on the grasslands of Serengeti National Park, where the horizon touches the sky in every direction, you probably would agree with their verdict.

Tanzania is home to the great wildebeest migration, when wildlife including wildebeest are present in their millions. The country also contains the scenic wonders that are Ngorongoro Crater and the savannah grasslands and koppies of the Serengeti. An extended Indian Ocean coastline, the classic savannahs of the north, the continent’s highest mountain, and dense rainforests out west make Tanzania epic. And when it comes to safaris, these soul-stirring landscapes provide habitats for wildlife on a vast and incredibly diverse scale.

Kenya Climbs to Third Place

Kenya was the birthplace of the African safari, and its third place on the list of Africa’s best safari countries for 2025 (up from fifth in 2024) showed that it is still one to watch. Its variety and quality of safari opportunities give it an edge over many other safari countries. Its experienced and highly professional safari industry is among the best on the continent.

Kenya is home to the Masai Mara National Reserve, which is separated by the Mara River from the Serengeti in Tanzania. It is most famous for hosting, along with the Serengeti, the great wildebeest migration, which is often called the greatest wildlife spectacle on Earth. But Kenya also spans some of East Africa’s signature landscapes (and their accompanying wildlife populations), from the deserts of the north, the tropical coastline in the east, and the dense, bird-rich forests of Kakamega in the west, to the safari heartland of the Great Rift Valley and the south. The latter, which includes Maasailand, encompasses parks such as Lake Nakuru, Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks, as well as Amboseli National Park with its rich wildlife set against a backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro views.

Demographics of the Reviewers (Interactive Charts)

User reviews: 1,763
Expert reviews: 1,342
Nationalities: 103

By Anita Kovalevska

Anita is a data researcher and content manager at SafariBookings with a background in editing and translation.

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