You want immersive, authentic experiences but might end up at the tourist treadmill. You don’t want to book the wrong hotel and end up with poor service and accommodation. You want to focus less on the details and more on the people traveling with you. You don’t want a cookie-cutter vacation but you don’t know where to find safe, yet exceptional spots to visit. Many say that Africa is “a trip of a lifetime.” Yes, and no, actually. The first visit is often just the prelude, after which the continent beckons, again and again. As one of our favorite places to travel, we love helping clients discover the diversity of Africa. South Africa, including breathtaking Cape Town, its Winelands and magical safari reserves, is a perfect introduction. The plains of Kenya and Tanzania offer animal herds a million-strong, a Hemingway-esque sense of romance and adventure, and a privileged look inside beautiful tribal cultures. Botswana’s inland delta ecosystem is truly unique, as animals adapt to a world of islands, reeds and marshes. In contrast, Nambia’s stunning deserts offer stark beauty and a front row seat to the evolution of both man and beast. The “Z’s,” Zimbabwe and Zambia, are a collection of pristine safari experiences, where the phenomenal game is pursued in all manners: on foot, on horseback, by boat, in a Land Rover, by air, or from a canoe. Let us not forget the gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda, where we can observe in primates what we observe in ourselves.