End to end
Four stages, and what each one needs from you
Most of the elapsed time is you thinking, not us working.
1. The brief
Twenty minutes of yours. The single highest-leverage input in the whole process, and the one people skip.
2. The first draft
Within 24 hours. Named camps, a day-by-day outline, the land each camp sits on, and an itemised price.
3. Revisions
Two or three is normal. This is where the trip actually gets designed, not where you correct mistakes.
4. Booking
Space is held, deposits are taken by the agency, documents are issued. Nothing is owed before this point.
What a good first draft contains
- Named camps, not "a luxury tented camp in the Mara"
- The land each camp sits on — reserve, conservancy, private concession — because that decides what you may do
- A day-by-day outline with the transfers in it, so you can see where the days go
- An itemised price, with internal flights broken out rather than folded in
- At least one thing you did not ask for, if the brief implied it
- At least one thing you did not want to hear, if it is true
That last one is the real test. A draft with no bad news in it means either you got lucky or nobody read the brief properly.
How to revise
Revisions are where the trip gets designed. Push back specifically rather than generally.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| "Can we see some other options?" | "The second camp feels too big — what is the same area at eight tents?" |
| "It is a bit expensive" | "Can we get this under X by taking a night out rather than dropping a level?" |
| "We are not sure about the third stop" | "Three moves feels like a lot. What does this look like with two?" |
| "Something more special" | "We would pay more for the guide and less for the room" |
What is genuinely not negotiable
- Availability. A camp that is full is full, and peak dates go a year ahead.
- Camp minimum ages, which are set by the camp and are usually about vehicle safety.
- Park and conservancy fees, which are set by the authority or the landowner.
- Gorilla permit numbers, which are limited daily and centrally allocated.
- Flight schedules, which decide more of the route than anybody would like.
More from our Africa guides
Specialist guides across our Africa network
Each of these is a focused guide we publish. Same Africa specialist behind every enquiry.
Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our Africa specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.