Best trips to see African elephants

For many visitors, catching sight of a great herd of African elephants in the wild is the highlight of any safari holiday. At Rainbow, we work with hand-picked lodges and conservancies that are making a concerted effort to protect and conserve their elephant populations because we, like you, want to see these gentle giants roaming the landscapes and flourishing in their natural habitats safely, for many years to come.

One of our key charity partners this year is African Parks, with a donation from every mainland Africa booking with Rainbow supporting the NGO. This non-profit conservation organisation is the largest counter-poaching force in Africa, managing 10 protected areas that cover six million hectares. Success stories include their 500 Elephants campaign, one of the largest elephant translocations in history, during which up to 500 elephants are being moved over 350 kilometres across Malawi into Majete Wildlife Reserve, where the population can thrive. Find out more about the project and see how Prince Harry himself got involved by watching their short film, The Journey of Giants.

Best for Families: Elephants in Chobe National Park, Botswana

Chobe Elephant Camp is on the western side of the Chobe National Park in a private concession in the Ngoma area with spectacular views of the floodplains below. Using solar energy and timber from renewable sources or reclaimed wood, the lodge’s carbon footprint is kept to a minimum whilst giving the lodge a rustic, farmhouse style. On this holiday visitors are able to combine game drives in search of the huge elephant populations found in Chobe National Park with a visit to the iconic Victoria Falls.

Our 16-day Botswana & Victoria Falls Family Safari includes three nights in Chobe Elephant Camp

Okavango Delta, Botswana

Drift down the Okavango Delta with a traditional mokoro canoe ride and spend a few nights in Sanctuary Stanley's Camp, a beautifully classic, luxury tented camp overlooking the delta. Alongside offering spectacular wild elephant viewings, here guests are afforded a truly extraordinary elephant encounter. As part of the Living With Elephants Foundation, the camp is home to three semi-habituated elephants, each rescued from culling operations and given a new life. Take a walk with a local guide and learn about elephant habits and social structures - joined by the three orphans, if they feel like accompanying your trip!

Amboseli National Reserve, Kenya

Each camp and reserve on our elephant safari plays a role in the conservation of Kenya’s wild giants and their habitat. At the eco-lux Elephant Watch Camp in Samburu, meet the researchers and conservationists who monitor the reserve’s 66 elephant families. Then, experience conservation in action and come face-to-face with elephants and predators that had previously disappeared from the region at the Maasai-owned Selenkay Conservancy ecotourism project in the Amboseli National Reserve, as one of just 18 guests permitted daily in the 15,000-acre private game reserve.

Our 11-day Kenya Elephant Safari includes 3 nights at Elephant Watch Camp