About planning for two

Close to universal. Nobody we have planned for has agreed on all six questions, and we would be slightly suspicious of a couple who did.

What is unusual is having said it out loud before the itinerary was written, which is the only thing that lets somebody design around it.

Yes. It makes the work easier, not harder. Disagreement is information; a composite is not.

Say both. A specialist can build to the lower one and show what the higher one would add, which is a much easier conversation than discovering the gap on revision four when camps already have names.

Less than most couples expect, and it is often self-funding. The commonest fix — a private vehicle — is frequently paid for by removing one internal flight, which is itself the fix for the second commonest disagreement.

Then say so, early, and consider a shorter bush section with a longer coast — four nights in the bush is a real safari, and it is a very different proposition from ten.

We would rather plan four good bush nights for someone ambivalent than eight that one of you endures.

A Africa safari is usually quoted fully inclusive: accommodation, all meals, park and conservancy fees, your guide and vehicle, and transport between parks. Most camps include soft drinks, house wine, beer and laundry.

Not included: international flights, visas or travel authorisation, travel insurance, tips, premium drinks, and extras like balloon flights and spa treatments.

For July to October — the migration months in the Masai Mara — six to twelve months is normal, and the best small camps sell out first. Christmas and New Year book up just as early.

For the shoulder months, three to four months is usually comfortable. Inside eight weeks we can still put a very good trip together, but you are choosing from what is left rather than from everything.

This site is a planning guide. When you send an enquiry it goes to Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Kenya, who prepare your itinerary and quote and handle the booking, the payments and you on the ground.

You deal with one team from the first email to the airport transfer home.

No. Sending your dates, getting an itinerary and getting a costed quote is free and carries no obligation. Money only changes hands when you decide to hold space at a camp.