Your first African safari should not leave you wondering whether you chose the right country, the right lodge, or the right people to handle the details.

For a first-time Jewish traveller, the question is often more personal: **Can I experience Africa fully without compromising the way I travel, eat, observe Shabbat, or spend time with my family?**

The answer begins with choosing the right safari rather than simply the most famous one.

For many first-time travellers, Tanzania offers an extraordinary introduction. The Serengeti gives you vast open plains, abundant wildlife and the possibility of seeing lions, elephants, cheetahs and, seasonally, the Great Migration. Nearby, the Ngorongoro Crater places an extraordinary concentration of wildlife within an ancient volcanic landscape.

More importantly, a thoughtfully designed private safari allows the journey to move at your family's pace.

Kosher arrangements can be coordinated well before departure, including sourcing kosher meat through established suppliers such as Moishe's Butchery in South Africa or, where appropriate, Chabad communities in East Africa. Private chefs and lodges can prepare meals around your requirements, while Shabbat can be planned into the itinerary rather than treated as an interruption.

That preparation changes the experience.

You are not calling ahead from the bush trying to solve dinner. You are watching the sun disappear over the Serengeti while everything has already been arranged.

Your children are watching elephants instead of screens.

You are sitting beside them, completely present.

For a first safari, that combination matters. Extraordinary wildlife creates the memories, but thoughtful planning gives you the freedom to actually experience them.

The best first African safari is not necessarily the one with the longest itinerary.

It is the one where you arrive knowing that someone experienced has already thought through the details you never should have had to worry about.

Kosher food in Africa is certified by the Beth Din of South Africa which is the Jewish religious court responsible for ensuring that food and other products meet the standards of Jewish dietary laws.

Stainless steel pots and pans are boiled and torched clean between each meal or for a nominal fee new pots, pans, plates, and cutlery/flatware will be supplied and be inspected by you when you check into the safari lodge or camp, or if you prefer you can bring in your own pots & pans.  After every use, they are washed in a special designated area.  During your stay, you are more than welcome to inspect the kitchen to ensure you are pleased with how your meals are being prepared.

Deluxe Option

At our approved Kosher Safari Lodges, Pareve meals will be prepared fresh on-site by chefs who have been trained in kosher catering, and at your request, kosher milk products as well as kosher meat from a Mehadrin Commission Kosher Butchery will be brought in.

Private & Exclusive

A Mashgiach who is Shomer Shabbat and has completed the Mashgiach kashrut course will be flown into the safari lodge.  If the lodge doesn't have a dedicated kosher kitchen, he will set up a temporary separated kitchen with new cooking utensils & equipment as well as import the Kosher approved ingredients including Chalav Yisrael & Mehadrin meat as well as shabbos candles and fragrance for havdalah.  He will supervise all the cooking.

If needed we can also get a private Jewish Kosher chef from a recognized kashrut authority to accompany him.  Both of them are very involved in the Jewish community in South Africa and work with full permission of their overseeing Rabbi. 

Shabbat While On Safari:

For all lodges & camps that we recommend Eruv is key, so we ensure the lodges/camps we select are on enclosed grounds.  To avoid elevators we book rooms at lower levels as well ensuring they don’t have electric pass keys or they are electronically disconnected during Shabbat.

To ensure compliance with Jewish dietary laws Shabbat dinner and lunch are cooked before Shabbat starts. A stove or grill with a blech or an oven will be used to keep food warm over Shabbat.

Hot water for tea or coffee over Shabbat will be boiled and preserved in flasks.

Activities during Shabbat

Whenever available we will select kosher safari Lodges that have watering holes where animals visit and from the comfort of your chair, you will have a wildlife viewing experience during Shabbat.  Another option during Shabbat is to have a Walking Safari in the Masai Mara or Serengeti escorted by an armed guard