Africa Adventure Consultants Announces Five Top African Safari Travel Trends for 2013

From a taste of luxury to safari romance to babes in the bush, the African safari experts at Africa Adventure Consultants have put together their forecast of five top safari travel trends for 2013.

Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) - Toddlers on safari in Africa? Yes, says Kent Redding, president of Africa Adventure Consultants (AAC), who named more family travel to Africa, especially including younger kids, as one of his top African safari travel trends for 2013. Redding and the Africa safari travel experts at AAC put their years of African travel experience to the test to offer their take on the five hottest African safari travel trends to watch for in the coming new year:

Babes in the bush: Traveling on safari with children seems like a natural choice for Redding and wife/AAC co-founder Kelly McElroy, whose first Africa trip as parents involved the Serengeti and their then-seven-month-old son swathed in mosquito netting. Redding is seeing an increase in families following suit. “For those primarily interested in wildlife viewing, a trip like our nine-day malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve itinerary works well for younger families,” he says, but adds that people are often surprised to learn the scope of unique kid-accessible adventures to be had in Africa, including on his company’s family itineraries in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. And those who act fast still have a chance to win a 10-day South African family safari for four by entering AAC’s “Monkey See, Monkey Do African Safari Contest” through January 31.

Luxury makes a comeback: “Luxury is no longer a dirty word,” says Redding who notes that top end camps have been quietly filling up so travelers should book early if they want to stay in top offerings like the Singitas, the Mombos, and the Ngorongoro Crater lodges. Itineraries like AAC’s new eight-day 2013 “Maasai meets Versailles”Tanzania Luxury safari offers amenities like personal butlers, infinity pools with Serengeti views, chandelier-lit bathtubs, the opportunity to ride indigenous African horses, and rare black rhino tracking.

Eat, drink, travel: Tours with a culinary bent have become hugely popular, and Africa has its share of delicious and unusual fare. One of the newest might be called “beer is the new wine.” People have been visiting South Africa’s Cape Winelands for years, and with good reason. The region oozes great wine, food and scenery. But watch out for South Africa’s craft breweries, says Redding, which have begun attracting the attention of beer geeks, casual beer drinkers and even “The New York Times.” In step with the trend, AAC offers a new-for-2013 South Africa Hops & Hippos safari.

Africa is for lovers: Celebrities have been leading the African romance trend with recent high-profile visits like Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake’s Tanzania honeymoon and reports of Jennifer Aniston scouting Kenya locations for a possible destination wedding. To help ensure the perfect romantic escape, AAC just released a tip sheet of 10 suggestions for a worry-free safari honeymoon – and offers a variety of romantic-adventurous 8-to-11-day honeymoon itineraries based in Victoria Falls/Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.

Travel with a cause: More and more travelers are embracing gives-back travel opportunities that allow them to travel with a purpose and still have a great vacation featuring authentic cultural interactions, a sense of contribution and fantastic game viewing. Redding suggests checking out the nonprofit website Pack for a Purpose for suggestions on turning extra suitcase space into much-needed gifts, as well as two new AAC tours that combine charitable donations and firsthand visits: the June 2013 AfricAid’s Tanzania: Come Walk with Me safari, supporting the education of Tanzanian girls, and the February 2013 Kenya Makindu Children’s Program safari, helping children orphaned by AIDS.

Company Information: Africa Adventure Consultants is a leading safari company specializing in crafting custom itineraries to 13 countries in Africa, from classic photo safaris and adventure trekking to luxury honeymoons and family holidays. The staff at Africa Adventures Consultants has lived, worked, and traveled throughout Africa, giving them an insider’s perspective on how to create the best safaris in the continent’s top destinations. AAC offers personalized tour planning to Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia. In addition to creating customized private journeys, AAC offers more than 20 group trips, including gorilla safaris in Uganda and Rwanda, Kilimanjaro climbs and migration safaris. For additional information, visit http://www.adventuresinafrica.com.