South Africa in 2026

[Mike D Texas]

My wife & I along with another couple are looking at a South Africa trip in spring 2026. We just got back from the Dallas Safari Club Convention in Atlanta and are still a bit overwhelmed with the information we received from multiple outfitters.

We each have our desired animal lists and have built hunts around those animals but the costs are all over the place.

We are weighting “package” hunts vs a la carté hunts. I like the flexibility of being able to choose animals rather than what is typically included in the packages.

The biggest thing I don’t know where to look for the best yet affordable item is flights. Each airlines have their own rules, stops and pricing. Also depending on if there are any stops along the way, the countries vary so much regarding firearms. We’ve looked primarily at Delta for non-stop flights from Atlanta to Johannesburg. What we don’t know is what level of seating we should choose. It’s a 16-18 hour flight so we want to be comfortable but don’t have any experience with the varying levels of accommodations. First class is not an option from a cost perspective. Currently we are looking at the comfort + seats on Delta but it really only looks like you get a little extra leg room: no substantial reclining or leg/footrests. Not sure how big a deal that is but to upgrade to the next level nearly doubles the ticket price.

If anyone has any personal experiences with any of the items above and can offer their experience that would be greatly appreciated.

Currently looking at the Limpopo province with Limcroma Safaris. They seem to have the best amentities outside the hunting that the wives would enjoy. My wife will hunt but the other couple wife does not.

We also have a very attractive quote from Infinito Safaris, but I get a high pressure car salesman vibe from them.

Is anyone has any feedback from either of these, this would be appreciated as well.


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[BRTreedogs]

If you listen to podcasts Shoot2hunt did like a 4 part series on there trip.
Lots of info, worth the listen.

 

[WCB]

#1 if you got time to plan and do some snooping on online hunting auctions or go to local SCI banquets etc. You could pick up a package hunt with all daily fees, transportation, non-hunter costs, and a few animals thrown in for really cheap like 1/2-1/3 or less of the hunt cost. Then spend the saved money on animals on your list. I have never seen a package that would interest those other than wide eyed caught up in Africa first timers. Keep your golden wildebeest, black impala b.s...

 

[Northpark]

Sent you a PM.

 

[HandgunHTR]

If Delta offers a Premium Economy option for the flight, that gives the most balance between cost and comfort. The Delta Comfort only gives you a tiny bit of legroom and the drinks are free. In Premium Economy, you get a seat that is similar to a domestic First Class seat (wider with better leg room and better recline), free drinks, plated meals (similar to Business and First Class), and bigger entertainment screens.
Business Class gives you lay-flat seating and your own little pod, but are usually $1-3K more expensive/per seat than Premium Economy.

 

[Mojave]

Just do the biggest package you can afford.

You are lying o yourself if you think you are only going once.

Don't go crazy on taxidermy, just go back. 2nd-18th time.

I am fairly sure I am done with taxidermy except birds, sheep, cats that type of thing.

 

[Samson7x]

Your best bet is to get a package and add animals as they present themselves if desired. They will also quote you custom packages based on what animals you are interested in. I've heard good things about Limcroma. They were one of the outfitters I was considering when I went.

I flew Delta in economy but chose the seat without one in front of me so I had ample leg room. That changed when they switched to a different airplane. With the new layout, there's a row next to the galley with no rows in front. I'll have to confirm which one, but that's what I selected for this year's trip. From what I gather, comfort+ isn't enough of an upgrade and premium select is where you want to be. However, that comes with a significant upcharge. I'm cheap so I don't even consider premium.

Edit- Mojave is correct, taxidermy cost is very high now. I went with euro mounts to reduce costs and I don't have enough room for shoulder mounts anyway. Factor in another few thousand dollars for that regardless.

 

[HNTR918]

I took me three DFC Conventions to ask the right questions.

#1 questions to ask!

How many hectares of non high fenced contiguous land do you hunt on?

I wanted to focus on free range "actual" hunting like I do in the Rockies. I didn't want to be driving from one high fenced enclosure to another...

I hunted an area that was twice the size of Rocky Mountain National Park.

You don't need to go with THEIR package, tell them what animals you want to hunt and they can make you a custom package. You can typically get 15-18% off if you book directly.

My wife hunted ALOT, but all of her animals were "culls". Half were females and the other half were smaller males. This saves you alot! One was $500 versus $3,750. She got more hunting experience in 14 days then 10 years out west.

If you are booking with a US airline, see what airline is actually operating the plane. I'd highly recommend any middle eastern owned airlines over african owned airlines.

Don't take the vaccines and drugs some recommend, it could ruin your entire trip! This happened to another couple in camp.

Visit their preferred taxidermist the first day in country with your wives before hunting.

Springbok pelts are incredibly soft, and my wife wished we shot more for throw pillows in the house.

We did Euro only mounts and with all the fees and transit the total cost was more than the hunt... and it fit into 1 pallet crate.

 

[rifletuner]

I have hunted Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia. I cant help with flight info - I am in Australia, so nothing relevant to add. I haven't bothered with Taxidermy on most of my hunts. Between the cost of taxidermy and the amount of wall space needed to display everything, its more important to me to put that money into future hunts.

I think there is a lot of merit in keeping your list of species a bit fluid as you never know what will come your way. Prior to hunting SA, I had no interest in a red hartebeest, but once I saw them in the wild I warmed up to the idea and pretty quickly had the opportunity to shoot a really nice hartebeest bull. Its good to be able to see a few different animals in the wild and decide what appeals to you.

I prefer to hunt species that are naturally occurring in a given area. I am also not a fan of things like a species "slam", eg shoot 3-4 different colour phase springbok. A lot of properties in SA cater to typical hunters who have limited knowledge of the different species available. These places have a large amount of species available, but many of them would not have been found in that area prior to white settlement.

For example I really enjoy hunting the Kalahari region, but the planes game species you would expect to find there would be limited to springbok, gemsbok, kudu, black wildebeest and the occasional eland and red hartebeest. If a property has a long list of animals in addition to these species, they have brought them in to become a destination that can cater to everything the hunter has on their list. None of that is bad, its just not what appeals to me.

Whatever you decide to do up front, you will learn a heap on the trip, and come away thinking you would have done it differently knowing what you have learned. Your first time in Africa is an awesome experience. Just go enjoy the whole thing. But expect to be planning your next visit on your what back home

 

[Mike D Texas]

If you listen to podcasts Shoot2hunt did like a 4 part series on there trip.
Lots of info, worth the listen.

Yes I did. I went to their website (Red Sand) and found it VERY lacking in information.


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[Packin_packout]

Not SA but namibia. Qatar had a daily from dfw to doha then windhoek. Got the layover in doha and stayed in terminal hotel. Dfw teeminal e? Or d? Cannot remember. Super easy rifles in one case, ammo in locked box separate case onside off another checked bag. There is a cbp office on south end of airport for doing your form 4457 for rifles and optics before you go. Qatar is way better than AA for overseas. Don't gripe about you standing up and waking around on flight. Doha let's you break it up and get on timezone and get a shower in between.

 

[Mike D Texas]

If Delta offers a Premium Economy option for the flight, that gives the most balance between cost and comfort. The Delta Comfort only gives you a tiny bit of legroom and the drinks are free. In Premium Economy, you get a seat that is similar to a domestic First Class seat (wider with better leg room and better recline), free drinks, plated meals (similar to Business and First Class), and bigger entertainment screens.
Business Class gives you lay-flat seating and your own little pod, but are usually $1-3K more expensive/per seat than Premium Economy.

If Delta offers a Premium Economy option for the flight, that gives the most balance between cost and comfort. The Delta Comfort only gives you a tiny bit of legroom and the drinks are free. In Premium Economy, you get a seat that is similar to a domestic First Class seat (wider with better leg room and better recline), free drinks, plated meals (similar to Business and First Class), and bigger entertainment screens.
Business Class gives you lay-flat seating and your own little pod, but are usually $1-3K more expensive/per seat than Premium Economy.

They do offer what they call premium select but it double the comfort + seating.


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[Mike D Texas]

Just do the biggest package you can afford.

You are lying o yourself if you think you are only going once.

Don't go crazy on taxidermy, just go back. 2nd-18th time.

I am fairly sure I am done with taxidermy except birds, sheep, cats that type of thing.

We have picked 5 animals each.

Mine are Kudu, Gemsbok, Nyala, Impala and Blesbuck.

I have no African mounts and a room that needs some so there will be taxidermy. Luckily, that comes a while after the cost of the hunt.


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[wysongdog]

Limcroma is a good outfit. Hunted with them in 19. Feel free to send me a pm. Contact
https://www.travelexpressagency.com/ To take care of your flights. They make it easy.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I took me three DFC Conventions to ask the right questions.

#1 questions to ask!

How many hectares of non high fenced contiguous land do you hunt on?

I wanted to focus on free range "actual" hunting like I do in the Rockies. I didn't want to be driving from one high fenced enclosure to another...

I hunted an area that was twice the size of Rocky Mountain National Park.

You don't need to go with THEIR package, tell them what animals you want to hunt and they can make you a custom package. You can typically get 15-18% off if you book directly.

My wife hunted ALOT, but all of her animals were "culls". Half were females and the other half were smaller males. This saves you alot! One was $500 versus $3,750. She got more hunting experience in 14 days then 10 years out west.

If you are booking with a US airline, see what airline is actually operating the plane. I'd highly recommend any middle eastern owned airlines over african owned airlines.

Don't take the vaccines and drugs some recommend, it could ruin your entire trip! This happened to another couple in camp.

Visit their preferred taxidermist the first day in country with your wives before hunting.

Springbok pelts are incredibly soft, and my wife wished we shot more for throw pillows in the house.

We did Euro only mounts and with all the fees and transit the total cost was more than the hunt... and it fit into 1 pallet crate.

Fences don’t bother me AT ALL.

Limcroma has 250k acres with the smallest fenced are being over 20k acres if I recall. And they own it all. They do not lease any properties.


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[Ralphie]

Check out game4africa.

I flew on United Newark to Jburg. From what I saw on the plane unless you are paying the big bucks for a better seat the best option is the front row of the economy plus I think it was. Lots of leg room. Both ways my brother and I had the window and middle seat. We could get up and get in the aisle without the aisle seat passenger even knowing what we were doing. And I got up and in the aisle a lot.

I didn’t bring anything home but lots of pictures. Yes it would be nice to have some taxidermy but I don’t regret it given the cost.

And be VERY cautious of SA taxidermy. It mostly sucks. Euros would probably be fine.

 

[HydeParkHunter]

I won a South African hunt at a banquet, basically stole it on auction and did the trip last June. I never had any desire to hunt in Africa, I did it primarily as an adventure. I only shot 1 animal, my buddy shot 3. Just to provide some context:

We flew Delta from Atlanta direct to Cape Town. Just seemed the easiest all the way around. I believe it was 14 hours wheels up to wheels down, 14.5 coming back? I had economy aisle seats. I can't sleep on planes, hate flying, so a bunch more money for a little leg room wasn't worth it. Flew an Airlink commuter jet from Cape Town to Kimberley and felt comfortable with it.

We rented rifles from the outfitter and glad we did. Traveling with them wasn't worth the work or hassle, to us.

Great you got your animal list, but remain flexible. In talking with outfitter, he said his biggest frustration was hunters (especially first-timers) arriving with absolute expectations, in the animals they want to hunt and other items.

Find out who their preferred taxidermist is. Then do your research BEFORE you go over if you want to go through them. If you have any hesitation, prepare to bring it back here. I went with a European, so I just had it done there.

To each their own... but I would strongly recommend doing some traveling before or after the hunt. We did a few days around Cape Town and also drove a rental car to Gansbaai to go shark cage diving and visit coastal parks. I hear so many people flying to Johannesburg... and honestly, I don't get it. Cape Town is safer and has more to offer a tourist, I felt. I've only been overseas once before, so this was a hell of an adventure for me. So glad we spent the extra time traveling around and it was affordable. Just a thought.

Good luck on your trip!!

 

[Sinistram]

I've hunted Namibia and South Africa for plains and dangerous game. If I can make one recommendation, it would be to contact a travel agent in our space who is familiar with the process. Gracy Travel is the go-to in this regard, and their knowledge is limitless. Also, Travel with Guns is well worth their modest fee to help navigate the silly processes of various African countries and their firearms regulations.

Gracy can tell you the best airline and times to fly from both a cost and convenience perspective. Personally, I would tell you to avoid London Heathrow at all costs and do not fly Qatar airlines. The flights are fine, but the travel to Doha is needlessly long and takes you out of the way to get to JNB.