Africa Round Trips in 3 Weeks: Exciting Tour Recommendations & Tips

Discover Africa round trips in 3 weeks! From wild safaris and dreamy beaches to fascinating cultures – here you will find tour recommendations, tips and highlights for your unforgettable adventure.

Why three weeks is ideal for discovering Africa

Africa round trips in 3 weeks are the perfect length of trip to discover Africa in a balanced and in-depth way. Africa is vast, and the diversity the continent has to offer is best experienced when you have enough time to take in different landscapes, cultures and wildlife.

In three weeks you can even include several countries in your trip without feeling you are rushing from one place to the next. Especially when it comes to wildlife, cultures and landscapes, geographical borders rarely reflect the respective habitats.

For example, in Kenya you could go on safari in the famous Masai Mara National Park to see the “Big Five” – lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and rhinos – and get to know the fascinating culture of the Maasai. But the Masai Mara also forms a huge ecosystem with the Serengeti in Tanzania.

Together they are where you can witness the most famous of all wildlife migrations : millions of wildebeest and other antelopes as well as hundreds of thousands of zebras, who set off each year on a journey of around 1,000 km.

Here they face countless opportunists such as lions, hyenas and crocodiles, who would rather eat vegetarians than live as vegetarians.

Visiting Kenya and Tanzania together on one trip is therefore a natural fit. Rounding off this holiday with a relaxing beach stay is then the obvious next step.

For example with a visit to the Zanzibar archipelago, with its paradisiacal islands, exotic beaches and the UNESCO World Heritage city of Stone Town.

There are similar examples in southern Africa too. With three weeks you can enjoy all these experiences at a balanced pace. You have enough time to enjoy the safari without feeling rushed, but also enough room to really let the continent's different cultures, natural wonders and people sink in.

Our 3-week Africa round trips

As a travel company that not only sells its trips but also puts them together itself, we place great importance on exciting, eventful round trips of different kinds with plenty of room for adventure and encounters. There are various ways in which we can design Africa round trips in 3 weeks for you.

Guided small-group tours

The emphasis here is on small groups, shared experiences, experienced guides and a balanced mix of comfort and adventure. In our mini-group and small-group tours you travel with a maximum of 7, 10 or 12 participants respectively and your guide, and experience Africa round trips in 3 weeks in an individual and personal way.

Besides the famous highlights we also visit lesser-known and remote areas. Awaiting you are spectacular wildlife viewing, picturesque landscapes, the discovery of fascinating cultures and getting to know the locals.

Our Africa round trips in 3 weeks are also always an excellent fit for solo travellers who want to discover the African continent, travel with like-minded people and meet new people.

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Africa's Many Facets tour

A gentle start to longer small-group tours is our “Africa's Many Facets” tour, which lasts 16 days but leaves room for 2 additional days each in Windhoek (Namibia) and at Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe).

From Windhoek the trip leads to the unique sea of sand and dunes at Sossusvlei, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will discover how alive a “dead pan” can be at Deadvlei.

It continues through the Namib Desert and Swakopmund to picturesque Damaraland and into Etosha National Park, where you experience Namibia's fascinating wildlife.

Your journey then takes you into the Zambezi Strip and through Bwabwata National Park. You pass villages where big game not infrequently roams and crosses the road. You stop at idyllically located spots and experience magical river landscapes on a boat tour.

The journey continues in just this way in Botswana, where you encounter the wonders of African wildlife along the Chobe River in Chobe National Park.

The river winds gently through the wide plain and provides a livelihood for numerous wild animals – including hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffalo, lions, African wild dogs and antelope species such as lechwe, reedbuck and sitatunga. Look forward to an incredibly rich birdlife too!

The tour ends at the famous Victoria Falls, the gigantic waterfalls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Comfortable from the Cape to Victoria Falls tour

This Africa round trip in 3 weeks is one of the classics of all tours in southern Africa: from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. The very sound of it makes the hearts of all Africa lovers vibrate. Simple, well-kept accommodation but luxurious travel experiences – that is the formula for success here.

Cape Town is one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world. The vibe of the city is breathtaking: lively, culturally diverse, culinarily limitless. From here the journey begins to some of the most beautiful natural highlights in southern Africa:

The picturesque Cape Peninsula, the riverside idyll of the Orange River, where once not only the water but also diamonds glittered in the sun. Spectacular views over the Fish River Canyon, the sea of sand and dunes of the Namib and the unique Etosha National Park follow.

Finally the route leads through the Kalahari to the watery world of the Okavango Delta, to the wildlife-rich Chobe National Park and to the impressive Victoria Falls.

Over these 21 days you cover large distances, partly on remote roads that are not always in the very best condition. The beauty of nature and exciting wildlife viewing will more than make up for it, however.

Africa's Diversity: round trip through Namibia, Botswana & Victoria Falls

A real gem among Africa round trips in 3 weeks is also this tour. It starts in Livingstone in Zambia and ends there again.

It begins with the famous Victoria Falls in the border area with Zimbabwe. Across a width of more than 1.7 kilometres, the mighty Zambezi thunders down more than 100 metres – an impressive spectacle.

From there it goes across the Zambezi Strip, past landscape-defining baobabs, forests, swamps and savannahs into Bwabwata National Park. Along the way you enjoy the glorious river ambience and the rich wildlife from a boat.

Back in the off-road truck, the journey continues to Etosha National Park, whose unmistakable feature is the huge, vegetation-free salt pan. Cities such as Vienna, Zurich and Berlin together would fit here with room to spare. Elephants need days to cross it, while ostriches love to run out into the endless expanse.

Namibia's cultural highlight follows in picturesque Damaraland with the thousands-of-years-old San rock paintings at the Brandberg, where a short hike leads you to the famous “White Lady”.

Then it continues to Swakopmund and into the sea of sand and dunes of the Namib, before heading via Windhoek into the Kalahari to the watery world of the Okavango Delta. Here, of all times in the country's dry season from June to September, the belatedly arriving rainwater from the highlands of Angola, 1,000 km away, brings about a wonderful transformation of the natural landscape.

Via the wildlife-rich Chobe National Park, the last leg takes you back to Livingstone.

Best of Tanzania & Kenya – East Africa safari

Safaris in East Africa are often shorter than in southern Africa, with a very special focus on the fabled wildlife there. Travellers can, however, easily combine them with trekking options, such as climbing Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, or with a beach holiday, such as on the Kenyan coast or the Tanzanian island archipelago of Zanzibar.

So the Best of Tanzania & Kenya is admittedly not an Africa round trip in 3 weeks but a 13-day lodge safari that focuses above all on the highlights of northern Tanzania and south-western Kenya. On this eventful tour through Kenya's and Tanzania's most beautiful national parks and landscapes you get to know the best-known safari destinations in East Africa.

Starting from Arusha in Tanzania you head straight to the first safari highlight in Tarangire National Park, famous for the largest elephant population in northern Tanzania, admired for its biodiversity and loved for its seasonal swamps, tree savannahs and the mighty baobab trees found everywhere, which define the landscape.

Unique is the Ngorongoro Crater, an amphitheatre-like setting with an incredibly rich wildlife and the Big Five centre stage. Right next door the Serengeti awaits with its famous Great Migration – where millions of wildebeest and other antelopes as well as hundreds of thousands of zebras set off each year on a journey of around 1,000 km.

The safari in the 4×4 off-road vehicle then continues via Lake Victoria to Kenya and the Masai Mara. Here the Great Migration not only makes a stopover, but many other stars of African wildlife are at home too.

It continues to Amboseli National Park, where you can see the panorama of snow-capped Kilimanjaro in the background of the fascinating wildlife – a highlight and safari classic.

The trip ends in Kenya's bustling capital Nairobi. If you would like to make a detour from there to the country's tropical beaches, for example to Diani Beach, simply let our travel experts know. They will organise it in no time.

Private trips

Private safaris on Africa round trips in 3 weeks have one thing in common: you have the guide and the vehicle all to yourself. You and your travel companions follow only your own wishes.

You can experience the first game drive at sunrise, and start the next morning at a leisurely pace instead. You can enjoy quiet moments of stillness in the middle of nature, wait several hours as a photographer for the perfect moment, or enjoy romantic sunsets for two – flexibly and following your personal interests.

On private safaris in Africa you decide how you want to experience your dream of an Africa trip – entirely individually, without other travellers. Your guide adapts to you and gives you and your family his full attention.

This also includes the personal support of our team of travel experts, who are happy to assist you with planning and realising your dream trip. All of our small-group tours can also be booked as private trips. Let yourself be inspired and browse our offering, or combine several shorter tours to put together your perfect private trip.

Tailor-made tours

We are specialists in putting together hand-picked, individual trips. Simply get in touch with one of our travel experts and tell him or her about your dream trip – we will turn it into an unforgettable tour, exactly to your wishes. This is how perfect Africa round trips in 3 weeks come about. Of course this too can be planned individually and can be longer or shorter.

Our tour offerings often serve interested travellers as a template for developing their own ideas and weighing up interests. Together with our team of travel experts, we then get down to the individual adaptation: one more night here, a detour via there, an additional activity at this place, simply peace and quiet at that place, and so on …

A tailor-made private trip combines all the advantages of a private safari – a professional guide, privacy and independence from other travellers – with individual and flexible planning of activities, destinations and types of accommodation.

Self-drive round trips

For adventurers with a spirit of discovery who are not afraid of being completely on their own in a foreign country, travelling as a self-driver on an Africa round trip in 3 weeks is an exciting option. A self-drive (rental car) round trip is especially ideal for travellers who want to learn more about the country they are visiting, its culture and its people, and to do so individually and at their own travel pace.

All of our self-drive (rental car) round trips have been carefully worked out by our Africa experts and tested with a view to stress-free feasibility, driving distances and road conditions. Nevertheless, road conditions can occasionally be challenging, and navigation also requires attention. Driving on the left-hand side of the road is entirely your responsibility.

But if you have a certain amount of travel experience, some talent for organising and improvising and are open to new experiences, then as a self-driver you will have an exciting trip on a self-drive (rental car) round trip.

In East Africa, however, we continue to advise against self-drive tours until the situation in these countries meets professional service standards and fulfils the necessary safety conditions that exist in southern Africa for responsible travel.

Highlights of Namibia and Botswana

Among our self-drive (rental car) trips you will also find a series of offers of different lengths. The Highlights of Namibia and Botswana tour is an Africa round trip in 3 weeks that starts in Windhoek and ends at Victoria Falls.

On this tour you first drive into the beautiful red dune landscape of the Kalahari, before heading across to the other side to the unique UNESCO World Heritage Site Sand Sea at Sossusvlei.

Through the Namib Desert and via Swakopmund you continue your journey to picturesque Damaraland and visit another UNESCO World Heritage Site there, the thousands-of-years-old rock engravings of the San people at Twyfelfontein.

Next comes the fascinating wildlife of Etosha National Park, then into the Zambezi Strip and through Bwabwata National Park, past villages that live in peaceful, though not always easy, coexistence with the big game of the surroundings.

The route takes you to Botswana and Chobe National Park, where along the Chobe River you can encounter the wonders of African wildlife.

Tailor-made self-drive (rental car) trips

For tailor-made tours, too, existing offers can serve as inspiration. In principle, however, there are no limits to your ideas. In our team of travel experts you will always find willing people who are happy to help you realise all your ideas.

Routes are not always as straightforward as they may appear on a map. International routes in particular, such as from Cape Town to Windhoek or from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, can have their pitfalls, where good advice and good planning help. Our expert advice takes into account experience with international border crossings and seasonal conditions. In the dry season, routes can be tackled differently than in the rainy season.

The quality of the highlights can also differ greatly depending on the season when it comes to the question of when animals are best observed.

Best time to travel for a 3-week Africa round trip

The best time to travel for an Africa round trip in 3 weeks depends greatly on your interests and the regions visited. In southern and East Africa there are seasonal differences that should be taken into account when planning.

Southern Africa (Namibia, South Africa, Botswana): The ideal time to travel for safaris and wildlife viewing in the most important safari destinations in southern Africa – whether Kruger National Park, Etosha National Park, Chobe National Park or the Okavango Delta – is the dry season from May to October.

During this time animals are easier to see, as the vegetation thins out and many water holes dry up, so that they gather around ever fewer remaining water holes. The temperatures are also pleasantly mild, especially in the African winter from June to August.

Those who prefer more green landscapes and fewer tourists, on the other hand, should consider the rainy season from November to March. Then the vegetation is lusher, but some parks can be harder to access in heavy rain.

It is the time for Cape Town fans who, in the African summer, are looking for the vibe of the city, the beaches of the surrounding area and the fascination of the vineyards in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek. But unlike in the safari areas, this is high season here and there is a lot going on.

East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania): Here too the dry season from June to October is optimal for safaris, as wildlife viewing in the big national parks – whether Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Masai Mara or Amboseli National Park – is at its best.

If you are looking for green landscapes and fewer tourists, however, the rainy season from March to May is particularly suitable. For beach holidaymakers in Tanzania and Kenya, the best time is December to March and June/July to October, as the weather is warm and dry.

My travel tips:

• For safari: travel between May and October.
  
• For a beach holiday: December to March is ideal in eastern Africa and in the Cape Town region in southern Africa. May/June to September/October is very good in eastern Africa and on the north-east coast of South Africa.
  
• For hiking: the best conditions are from June to September, especially on Kilimanjaro or in the Drakensberg mountains.

Guest feedback

“Our round trip through southern Africa was an unforgettable experience! The route offered a perfect mix of desert, sea, safari adventure and the majestic Victoria Falls – plus impressive landscapes and fascinating flora and fauna.”

Africa round trips in 3 weeks:

FAQ – frequently asked questions about 3-week Africa round trips

Do I need a visa for several countries?

Visa requirements vary depending on nationality and destination. Some countries offer visas on arrival, while others require a visa in advance. Find out about the respective visa regulations early on from the website of the embassy concerned or the German Federal Foreign Office.

Special visa combinations such as the “East African Tourist Visa” for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are also available.

Namibia offers travellers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland a multiple-entry visa. And Zimbabwe offers visa discounts if you can state straight away how often you want to enter and leave.

Which vaccinations are recommended?

For trips to Africa, vaccinations against yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, and malaria prophylaxis in particular are often recommended. Make sure you have tetanus protection. Further vaccinations may be advisable.

It is therefore recommended that you seek advice from a tropical institute or travel doctor at least 8–12 weeks before departure. You can find more information and advice on the website of a tropical institute.

What support does Elefant-Tours provide during the trip?

Elefant-Tours offers comprehensive support throughout the entire trip. On the ground you can count on experienced teams from our subsidiaries and partners, who are on hand with help and advice.

You will also receive an emergency number on which you can get support around the clock. The team on the ground makes sure all transfers, accommodation and excursions run smoothly, so you can concentrate fully on your adventure.

What should I pack for a 3-week round trip?

For a safari and round trip in Africa you should pack functional, lightweight clothing for the day and warmer clothing for the evenings. Good walking shoes, a hat, sunglasses, insect repellent and a high-quality camera or smartphone battery for photos are also important.

In your hand luggage you should keep personal medication, a copy of your passport and important documents.

You can find a detailed packing list in our travel blog “Safari packing list: travelling in Africa (checklist)”

Which animals can I see on a 3-week Africa trip?

In eastern and southern Africa you can experience the “Big Five” – lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino – in many national parks. Depending on the region, there are also rare animals such as cheetahs, wild dogs, sable antelopes or rhinos.

In Botswana, in the Okavango Delta you may also be able to marvel at wild cats hunting elephants.

In Tanzania and Kenya, with a bit of luck, you can watch the famous “Great Migration” of wildebeest and zebras. Every country has its unique highlights.

How do I combine safari and beach holiday?

After an intense safari, a relaxing beach holiday is a perfect follow-on. Typical extensions are the islands of Zanzibar and Diani Beach, which tempt with dreamy beaches and historic towns.

In Mozambique there are also beautiful coastal regions for a peaceful end to the trip. Alternatively, the Cape region in South Africa, with its dreamy beaches and wine regions, can also offer an ideal combination with a safari.

Conclusion: your Africa round trip in 3 weeks

A 3-week Africa round trip offers the perfect balance between adventure and relaxation. In this time you can not only experience the famous “Big Five” on safari, but also immerse yourself in Africa's diverse cultures and breathtaking landscapes.

From the endless savannahs of Kenya and Tanzania, across the vast deserts of Namibia, to the lush landscapes of Botswana and South Africa – every region has its own charm.

With enough time to enjoy the highlights of each country at your leisure, you can look forward to unforgettable wildlife viewing, authentic encounters with the local people and impressive natural spectacles.

Whether you opt for a mix of safari and beach holiday or use the time for intense nature experiences – Africa round trips in 3 weeks will give you unforgettable memories and bring Africa closer to you in all its splendour. Everything is ready! Ready to begin your adventure?

Our travel experts are happy to help you even before your trip begins to shape the perfect holiday to your wishes.

So if you still have any questions, we are of course ready, supporting you with planning and accompanying you throughout the tour, whether you travel on a privately guided round trip, a group tour or a self-drive tour.

Thanks to our close contact with our subsidiaries in Africa we always know exactly what the current situation is. So get in touch with us! Your dream, our expertise – your very own individual Africa experience.