Golf and safari: how to combine them without compromise

The most common mistake people make when combining golf and safari is trying to do both simultaneously. You end up playing distracted golf and going on rushed game drives. Neither works.

The structure we use, refined over fourteen years: golf first, safari second. Here's why that order matters.

Your golf is better at the start of a trip when your back isn't stiff from Land Rover game drives and your sleep schedule is settled. More importantly, coming off a genuinely great golf experience at Leopard Creek or Fancourt and then moving into a private game reserve for three nights gives the whole trip a progression — each phase enhances the memory of the previous one.

The classic South Africa structure is five or six nights of golf (Cape Town, Garden Route, or Kruger boundary) followed by three nights at a private lodge inside or adjacent to a game reserve. Phinda, Singita, or Madikwe for real luxury. Thornybush or Hoedspruit for excellent quality at a more accessible price.

The Kenya alternative works on an even shorter timeline. Two days of golf at Windsor Golf Club or Muthaiga in Nairobi (both excellent, both properly maintained), then a domestic flight to Nairobi Wilson and on to the Masai Mara. You can have breakfast on a course in Nairobi and be watching wildebeest cross the Mara River by mid-afternoon.

The budget: a proper golf-and-safari trip to South Africa starts at around £4,500 per person for 10 nights, including flights. The equivalent in Kenya — Nairobi golf plus Mara lodge — comes in at £3,800–£4,500 for 8 nights. Long haul, but not eye-watering for what you get.

What I tell every client: you will come back from this trip a different person about African travel. Every single client I've sent has come back asking when they can go again.