African Safari Specialists in Australia

Why book an African safari with an Australian company?

Experiential Travel is a specialist safari travel agent and tour operator, based in Australia and focused exclusively on Africa. Since 2014 we have planned and booked custom safaris across twelve African countries. Our founder, Neville Jones, has personally planned and led more than 130 of them.

If you live in Australia and you’re planning a safari, you can book with a company here, with a company in Africa, or directly with each lodge. Here is why we think the first makes sense.

We don’t have a home side

Africa is a continent, not a country. A safari company based in Africa works in its own territory: usually one country, sometimes several. None we know of covers every country we plan for. So it can only recommend where it operates. Ask whether Botswana or Tanzania would suit you better, and a company that works in only one of them can’t give you a real answer.

We stand outside Africa and travel there often, across twelve countries. That lets us compare a camp in Botswana with one in Tanzania, or the Greater Kruger with the Masai Mara, on their merits and against what you want from your trip. Our advice starts with you, not with where we happen to be based.

If something goes wrong, your rights are close to home

When you book with us, your contract is with an Australian company, under Australian Consumer Law. If there’s ever a dispute, it’s handled here, in your own legal system and your own time zone.

Book directly with lodges and operators in several countries and each booking sits under that country’s law. Those laws may be every bit as good as ours. But pursuing a claim from the other side of the world, in a foreign legal system, is complicated, slow and expensive, and for most travellers it simply isn’t practical.

One company, one price, in your own currency

A safari can involve a dozen suppliers in three or four countries. We contract every one of them ourselves, so you deal with one company that is accountable for the whole journey.

Australian guests pay us in Australian dollars, to an Australian account. Guests in the United States can choose to pay in US dollars, into a US dollar account.

We plan from where you’re starting

We know the journey from Australia because we’ve made it ourselves on practically every path: via Perth, Sydney, Singapore, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and the USA. So we can tell you what each route is really like, and plan your first days around the flight you’ve chosen.

We tell you which entry documents your itinerary requires at each border. And we don’t rely on one source for safety advice. We monitor the Australian Government’s Smartraveller, and also agencies with larger resources, such as the US State Department and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

We’re here when you’re planning, and on call when you’re travelling

While you’re planning, you can reach us in Australian hours.

While you’re travelling, you have structured support around the clock. Your first call is the lodge or service provider in front of you. Behind them is our ground-handling partner in that country. Behind them is us, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Alongside that, Safari Sentinel, our own journey-monitoring service, follows your trip in real time. If a flight is delayed or a connection is at risk, we are already working on it.

Local knowledge is still at the heart of it

We don’t replace the people on the ground. In every country we work with established local partners who know their region intimately. The difference is that we choose among them for you, and stand between you and them if anything needs sorting out.

It typically costs no more, and here’s why

Most people assume a specialist adds to the price. Usually we don’t.

Experienced safari operators know that service starts long before a guest arrives. There are transfers to arrange, requirements to understand and preferences to learn, and all of it takes time. That work has to be done by someone, and its cost is already in the price of your stay.

When you book with us, we take on that part of the work. We aren’t taking a share of the lodge’s revenue; we are taking on a share of its workload, and the revenue is shared for that reason.

So planning with us typically costs no more than booking directly with the lodges and operators.

Accredited, and you can check

We are accredited by the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), and we are members of the African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA) and the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). You can verify our ATIA accreditation at TravelTick.

What our guests say

“Definitely exceeded my expectations.”
Russell, Sydney

“He knows his stuff.”
Greg, Melbourne

“We called it the ‘Neville bubble’.”
Narelle, Sydney

Read more from our guests

Common questions

Why book an African safari with an Australian company?

You deal with one Australian company under Australian Consumer Law, you pay in Australian dollars, and you get advice that compares countries across Africa on their merits, from people who travel there often. It typically costs no more than booking directly with the lodges and operators.

Are you a travel agent?

Yes. We are a specialist safari travel agent and tour operator. We plan and book African safaris from start to finish, and we do more than a typical travel agent: we design the itinerary, contract the suppliers and monitor the journey.

Do you only plan African safaris?

Yes. Africa is all we do.

Which countries do you plan safaris to?

South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Madagascar, Ethiopia and Egypt.

Do you arrange international flights?

We’ll help you book them. We advise on routes, timing and connections, and we can introduce you to a ticketing specialist we trust. Our safari prices don’t include international flights, so you stay free to use points or shop for the fare that suits you.

Why book with Experiential Travel? · More questions and answers

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