For a Jewish family planning a safari, the question can sound simple.

But underneath it is something more important: Will I really be able to observe Shabbat properly when I'm thousands of miles from home?

The answer can be yes, when the journey is planned properly from the beginning.

Fresh challah does not have to disappear simply because your family is sleeping beneath African skies. For carefully arranged kosher safaris, challah can be prepared in advance or baked specifically for your arrival, depending on the destination, lodge, and available kosher facilities. The important part is that it is discussed before you travel, not improvised on Friday afternoon.

The same principle applies to the rest of your kosher experience.

Kosher meat can be sourced through established kosher suppliers, including suppliers such as Moishe's Butchery in South Africa, or through Chabad communities and kosher networks in East Africa when appropriate to the itinerary. Private chefs and lodge kitchens can coordinate the preparation of meals according to your requirements, with provisions arranged well before your family arrives.

By Friday afternoon, you should not be wondering whether someone remembered the challah.

You should be watching the African light change.

Perhaps your children are returning from an afternoon game drive, still talking about the elephants they saw beside the river. Your family gathers as the sun lowers. Fresh challah is waiting. Kosher wine has already been arranged. The lodge has prepared your private dining space before sundown.

There is no frantic phone call.

No last-minute search.

No feeling that Shabbat is being squeezed around the safari.

Just the familiar rhythm of Friday evening, surrounded by an extraordinary landscape.

That is what thoughtful kosher safari planning should provide: not an accommodation, but the freedom to observe your traditions naturally, privately, and with dignity wherever in Africa your family chooses to go.

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