So you have a special anniversary, birthday or occasion like retirement to celebrate?
An African safari holiday is a great idea. We understand that very special safari holidays are filled with hopes, meaning and expectations. Our service promise to you ensures that the Encompass Africa provides the commitment and care you deserve.
We design a bespoke Africa safari trip that will realise dreams, exceed expectations and create unforgettable, meaningful memories.
From birthdays in the bush to epic, multi-country, bucket list retirement safaris, Africa has something for everyone. As seasoned travellers, you may have come to expect the best.
With life experience we know the level of service you crave. The absolute best knowledge, experienced people and a polished professional service is exactly what Encompass Africa will grant you access to.
The holiday absolutely met and exceeded our expectations. It was a bucket list trip, but we’ve planned and travelled twice now with Encompass Africa. We know the saying ‘This is Africa’ and things happen, and even when it does, you know you’re in good hands and continue to have a great time. Thanks again!
When to Go
Whenever you want to celebrate, there’s something to do in Africa. In fact why not join in local celebrations and get an insight into culture, traditions and new found experiences. See the Explore list to get a feel for what Africa has on offer throughout the year. Alternatively we’ll design the trip around the things you would like to see and do in Africa. An itinerary can combine as much or as little as you’d like to experience on a safari holiday to Africa.
Good to Know
Africa offers great experiences and service and special occasions are always cause for celebration. Imagine a birthday cake in the bush, an anniversary under the stars in Lake Malawi or a once in a lifetime epic retirement celebration exploring your favourite dream Africa safari holiday destinations. The more we know about you the better we can tailor something exactly right for you. Our safari briefing ensures time chatting together to go over what you have thought about so far, your preferred modes of travel, style of accommodation and list of places to go.
Bucketlist Retirement Safaris
A huge portion of our guests have or are about to retire and Africa rates highly on their bucketlist. The most popular retirement safari is an epic, multi-country trip spanning multiple countries, unique landscapes, outstanding wildlife activities over a number of weeks, the average 3 – 4. If an Africa safari holiday is something you wish to do, we highly recommend embracing the planning phase as it’s exciting to incorporate all of the places you want to go. We always start and think big, easier to scale down than up, so with a blank piece of paper we work with you to create the ultimate retirement safari holiday.
Birthdays in the Bush or Beach
Many of our guests celebrate milestone birthdays in the bush or on one of Africa’s outstanding beaches and nothing beats it! Imagine waking to a glorious African sunrise, heading out on safari and returning to a special birthday brunch? Topped off with an afternoon safari and evening birthday dinner that staff make very special for you and your family or friends. Or if you prefer a barefoot beach birthday celebration, spend the day at leisure where your birthday will be made very special by the friendly staff at your luxury beach resort.
Seasons Greetings Safaris
Christmas is an outstanding celebration on safari and we can ensure it’s the type of experience you crave for yourself and fellow travellers. Whether you crave the festive season in a luxurious lodge in a fabulous wilderness setting or an adventure style camping Christmas, Africa is the ideal continent! Many of our guests choose to have Christmas on an island or beach before their safari so they are well rested. Choices are endless!
Find the beautiful
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Browse our Itinerary Collection for Celebration or Retirement Safari inspiration
First Quarter
January is Ethiopia’s Timket, or the Feast of the Epiphany. A three day event, Timket celebrates the baptism of Christ and is one of the most colourful festivals. Ringing of bells, trumpeting, burning of incense to enormous mass services with oil lit lanterns. It is also South Africa’s famous Stellenbosch wine festival. February sees the Sauti Za Busara Music Festival in Zanzibar, a celebration of African Music. On offer are multiple stage areas, events and workshops plus a bustling market place. March is South Africa’s International Jazz festival with some 40 international and African acts performing on five different stages plus photographic and art exhibitions creating a real buzz in an already vibrant cosmopolitan city.
Second Quarter
April is the Prince Albert Town and Olive Festival. This picturesque region is home to outstanding farm produce including olives of course and wine. With food stalls, beer tents, art exhibitions and life music it’s a fun one to incorporate into a self drive South Africa itinerary. Late May/June is South Africa’s gourmet event, Cape Town Good Food and Wine Show. Celebrity chefs, local produce, cooking demonstrations, tastings and more.
Third Quarter
July sees Zanzibar host the festival of dhow countries and is East Africa’s largest cultural event. It is also the month of South Africa’s famous Knysna Oyster Festival for seafood lovers. August for the obscure Camel Derby held in a little gem of a town, Maralal, Northern Kenya. Learn about the camel, its importance to cultural life, its habitat and the people who live in the Samburu. This now international event attracts competitors from all over the globe who camp and bring the kids to enjoy horse riding, camel riding, cycling and more! September is our secret Lake of the Stars Festival, first held back in 2004, now a music festival hosting artists from all around Malawi and further afield. The festival is held on the beautiful shoreline of Lake Malawi and is a biannual event in late September / October.
Last Quarter
October is the Hermanus Whale Festival, South Africa. November sees South Africa’s most established festival, Ficksburg Cherry Festival take place attracting over 20,000 people. It is also the month of Kenya’s Mombasa Carnival. December sees the Ncwala Festival in Swaziland, celebrating the fruit harvest, honouring the King and enjoying life. Ethiopia hosts a three day music festival called Thousand Stars Rift Valley where musicians and dancers come together (in excess of 50 tribes) to celebrate heritage and culture.
Browse our Itinerary Collection for Celebration or Retirement Safari inspiration
First class all the way – we had a great time and the safari exceeded all expectations and your work was so detailed and not one stone was left unturned. We felt safe the entire time, saw everything and more from our bucket list and now love talking about our experience in Africa with family and friends and anyone who will listen. I suppose life goes back to normality again, but the great trip will never be forgotten.
I’ve just arrived home and had to email to say thank you for all the organising you did. It was a truly memorable trip, just what we needed to celebrate our university graduation! Pom Pom Camp and Elephant Plains were brilliant with excellent standard and different styles so it gave us a varied experience. The guides were terrific at Pom Pom and we only appreciated how good they were when we arrived at Elephant Plains because by comparison they were not as well trained in spotlighting on the night drives and the tracker and guide didn’t talk much about what animals they were attempting to follow or give a sense of what we should be looking for. The Zambezi Sun is a winner for one night and you were so right – it’s all about the location not the actual lodge.
Thank you for everything! we had an amazing glamping safari in the Botswana bush !! This really was camping at its most glamorous and the “Honeymoon Tent” with the outside bath tub was the icing on the cake. The Camp Managers were so welcoming – fantastic hosts and helped us create wonderful memories of our time in the Okavango Delta. Special thanks to our fabulous guides / trackers – Max & Clifford – they were genuinely keen to share their knowledge of the bush and we saw elephants, giraffes, warthogs, buffalo and a leopard on our last night! In fact one morning an elephant was grazing literally 4 feet from the breakfast table and the hippos were just outside our tent at night. I will not hesitate to recommend Encompass Africa to anyone thinking of travelling and we’re already saving for the next adventure.
Africa has always been on our bucketlist and when we retired, it was an easy decision where to go quite early on because we wanted good physical health to enjoy the sometimes gruelling hours of being on safari in our choice of really remote spots. Not even getting stuck in the mud in the Serengeti bothered us, every moment was true to the Africa holiday adventure we’d dreamt of. We saw everything we wanted and more. We sat in 4x4s, walked, canoed and boated in many different regions across multiple countries East and South. Epic for sure and worth every moment. Thanks Encompass Africa. You made our dream a reality.
The holiday absolutely met and exceeded our expectations. It was a bucket list trip, but we’ve planned and travelled twice now with Encompass Africa. We know the saying ‘This is Africa’ and things happen, and even when it does, you know you’re in good hands and continue to have a great time with just a few delays on flights, so nothing major. Chongwe House was fabulous – the people, the environment, food, wildlife including close elephant encounters, the Zambezi River, we just loved it. Only issue – we had to leave. Thanks again!
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Get in touch today so we can customise a Celebration Safari holiday for you.
