How We Work

Every safari is different, so the planning process won't look exactly the same for every traveller.

Your Africa Safari Specialist will work from what you already know, ask the questions needed to fill in the gaps and help turn those ideas into a practical itinerary.

You don't need to have your safari figured out before you contact us. Some travellers arrive with specific dates, destinations and lodges in mind. Others have a rough idea of what they'd like to experience and need help working out where to begin.

Both are perfectly good places to start.

Your Africa Safari Specialist will introduce themselves and ask a few questions to understand what you're looking for. Who is travelling? When would you like to go, and are your dates flexible? Are there children in the group, and how old are they? What sort of budget are you working with? What interests you most, and are there particular places or experiences you already have in mind?

These aren't questions we ask simply to complete a form. The answers help your specialist work out which destinations, routes and accommodation options are likely to suit you, and just as importantly, which ones probably won't.

Sometimes that means helping you narrow down a long list of possibilities. Sometimes it means suggesting an alternative you hadn't considered. And sometimes it means confirming that the safari you already have in mind makes good sense.

You don't have to make every decision at this stage. The aim of the first conversation is to give your Africa Safari Specialist enough information to start turning your ideas into a safari that works in the real world.

Once your Africa Safari Specialist understands what you're looking for, they start turning those ideas into a workable itinerary.

That means thinking about more than which lodges look appealing. They consider how much time you have, the pace of the trip, how the destinations fit together, the logistics of getting between them and where your time and budget are best spent. They'll recommend accommodation and experiences based on what you've told them, drawing on our team's first-hand destination knowledge and experience of planning safaris across Africa.

They also check availability. Safari lodges and camps can be small, and availability often influences what is possible for particular dates. Your specialist contacts the relevant properties and suppliers and, where appropriate, may provisionally hold space while putting your proposal together. A provisional hold does not commit you to booking; it simply helps keep the option available while you consider the itinerary. 

You'll then receive a detailed itinerary and quotation showing how the journey fits together, the accommodation and arrangements we've recommended, and what is included and excluded.

If you're comparing different safari proposals, our Comparing Safari Quotes guide explains what to look for beyond the headline price. 

This is a proposal, not a take-it-or-leave-it package. If something doesn't feel right, tell us. You might want a different lodge, more time in one destination or a slower pace. You may decide you'd like to add something new to the trip; perhaps turning a Kruger safari into Kruger and Cape Town. A friend might decide to join you, or your dates or flights might change.

Your Africa Safari Specialist will work through those changes with you and revise the arrangements as needed. There isn't a set number of revisions. The aim is to arrive at an itinerary that you're comfortable with before you commit to booking it.

Once you're happy with your itinerary and ready to go ahead, your Africa Safari Specialist will guide you through the booking process. They'll explain what is required to confirm your safari, including the deposit and any relevant booking terms, and take care of confirming the arrangements with the accommodation providers and other suppliers involved in your trip.

And importantly, the person looking after your safari doesn't change.

Once your safari is confirmed, your Africa Safari Specialist doesn't hand your trip over to a separate booking or operations department.

They continue managing the arrangements they've planned with you. That includes keeping track of the different elements of your itinerary, liaising with suppliers, following up on payments and making sure the information connected to your booking remains accurate as your travel date approaches.

If you've told us about dietary requirements, mobility considerations or other important needs, your specialist makes sure the relevant suppliers know about them.

They'll also pass on special requests where appropriate. If you're celebrating a honeymoon, birthday or anniversary, let us know.

Meet the people behind your safari planning → Meet The Wild Wings Safaris Team

As your departure gets closer, your Africa Safari Specialist brings together the practical information you'll need for your journey.

You'll receive your booking and travel documents, including the details relevant to your itinerary such as accommodation, transfers, pick-up and drop-off arrangements, activities, inclusions and exclusions.

We'll also help you prepare for the practical realities of travelling on safari, with information relevant to your trip such as what to pack, expected weather conditions and guidance on tipping.

Before you travel, your specialist will follow up with you and make sure you have the information you need.

Once your safari begins, your Africa Safari Specialist is still there if you need them.

Your travel documents will contain the important contact details and information for your trip, and we'll make sure you know how to reach us if you need assistance while you're travelling. If something unexpected happens that affects arrangements we've made for you, your specialist can help work through the problem and liaise with the relevant suppliers on your behalf.

Most of the time, of course, you won't need us. You'll be too busy enjoying your safari. But knowing there is a real person who knows you, knows your itinerary and understands the arrangements behind it can make a complicated trip feel considerably less complicated.

And our involvement doesn't end when your flight home takes off. Once you're back, your Africa Safari Specialist will get in touch to find out how everything went. Your feedback helps us understand your experience and continues to inform the advice and recommendations we give future travellers.

Read what our guests say about travelling with Wild Wings → Guest Reviews

Technology has changed how people research, plan and book travel, and we use it where it helps us work more efficiently, manage information and make the planning process easier for our guests.

But we don't outsource the judgement behind your safari to technology.

The recommendations you receive, the decisions about how your itinerary fits together and the advice we give you come from an experienced Africa Safari Specialist who understands your trip and takes responsibility for planning it with you.

That distinction matters to us. Safari planning often involves choices that don't have a single right answer. Two lodges may look equally suitable on paper but offer very different experiences. A route that seems logical on a map may be unnecessarily tiring in practice. Something that suits one family, couple or solo traveller perfectly may be completely wrong for another.

Technology can help us do our jobs better. It doesn't replace the first-hand knowledge, judgement, conversations and relationships that good safari planning depends on.

When you communicate with Wild Wings about your safari, you're dealing with real people. And when we recommend an itinerary, a real person stands behind that recommendation.

Why Book With Wild Wings Safaris? → Why Book With Us

From the first questions about where to go to the final conversation after you return, your Africa Safari Specialist remains involved in your journey.

They get to know what matters to you, help shape the itinerary, check that the arrangements work, manage the details and help you prepare for your trip. And if plans change along the way, you're not starting again with someone new who doesn't know you or your safari.

For us, that's what a dedicated Africa Safari Specialist means: one person who knows your trip and remains responsible for helping you through the process from start to finish.

You don't need to have everything figured out before you enquire. Tell us what you already know, even if that's simply when you'd like to travel and the kind of safari you're hoping for, and one of our Africa Safari Specialists will help you work out the rest.