Insights & Stories on African Travel | Blog

As 2026 approaches, travelers are looking for destinations that offer authenticity, exclusivity, and transformative experiences. At Experiential Travel, we curate journeys beyond the obvious, where wildlife thrives, landscapes remain unspoiled, and immersive cultural connections create unforgettable memories.

This guide highlights 10 of the best places to visit in 2026, each offering something truly unique. Whether you're a seasoned safari-goer or planning your first African adventure, these destinations promise extraordinary encounters.

🎭 Travel is Live Theatre – Why a Safari is More Than a Documentary 🎥

With today’s high-definition documentaries, you can see Africa’s wildlife in breathtaking detail without leaving your couch. So why do travelers still invest in a safari? Because watching is not the same as experiencing.

A safari is like live theatre—organic, unscripted, and immersive. Unlike a film, where every scene is edited for perfection, a journey into the wild unfolds in real time. The lions aren’t following a script, the herd’s movement isn’t staged, and nature doesn’t cut to the next highlight.

Just as theatre has a backstage crew, a safari has its back of house—guides, camp staff, and expert planners working behind the scenes. And when the unexpected happens (because it always does), Safari Sentinel ensures that the journey continues seamlessly.

This article explores the parallels between travel and live theatre, diving into what makes a safari so much more than what a camera lens can capture.

Would love to hear your thoughts—have you had a travel experience that felt more like a live performance than a scripted event?

No safari operator can guarantee that nothing unplanned will happen. Weather, wild animals, remote locations and more can conspire to interrupt a perfect safari, regardless of how much effort goes into the planning.

We spend countless hours understanding our guests' dreams, expectations and preferences. We spend even more time planning their movements and activities for every minute of their safari. But despite all this, occasionally things do indeed go wrong. That's when our guests see the full benefit of booking with a reputable and highly experienced operator like Experiential Travel.

Here is one guest's first-hand account of such an intervention.

This vacation was a series of four adventures: The Rovos Rail, the Victoria Falls, the safari camp, and the visit to Cape Town. We spent time in the Republic of South Africa and Zimbabwe. The trip was supposed to be the prelude to another Oceania cruise, which was to sail from Cape Town up the West coast of Africa to Lisbon. However, covid killed the cruise; it was cancelled. After discussion, we decided to take what was to be the second part of the trip anyway. Hence, the journey.

South Africa is up there with the best when it comes to their sporting teams and Big 5 safaris, however, they’re a nation of self-drivers, road trippers and backyard explorers - and it’s no surprise, considering their vast road network and diverse landscapes.