How to Get the Best Tour Guide in Africa?
While in Africa looking for the best guide, travelers are required to do enough research and plan accordingly. Finding the best guide can be a challenging task in Africa. Africa is one of the world’s destinations where travelers engage in adventures within the coastal and mainland of the continent. A guide is a person who assists a traveler on a destination. In Africa, there are safari guides that enhance the traveler’s experience during a safari. At Native Africa Tours Ltd, we believe that having the best safari or tour guide on your Africa trip is key to having the best trip. In this article, we delve into some of the tips for getting the best tour guide in Africa.
What are the qualifications of the best tour guide in Africa?
There are several qualifications that travelers can consider to choose the best guide for a safari in Africa and these include;
Communication skills
This is one of the key qualifications for the travelers where they are supposed to provide clear information to the travelers for them to have a better experience during a safari. The guides should be audible enough for the travelers for them to understand. Guides should also be good at storytelling since through storytelling where the travelers offer information to travelers.
Experience
This is another form or way that the travelers engage with travelers. High levels of exposure make a guide to be the best because the guide knows how to handle travelers during the safari. Research your Africa tour guide from globally recognized travel platforms. Ask them whether they are affiliated with any local guide associations like the Uganda Safari Guides Association.
Physical fitness
One of the potentials that makes a guide perfect and essential for the safari is physical fitness. This is in the form of flexibility and mobility to engage in any activity relating to nature walks, hiking, cycling, and many others.
Licensed and assessed
The assessment of the guides to be the best starts with the training and taking them through the fields of work and how to handle travelers. During the assessment process guides will gain the certificates which will allow them to work as guides. The guides are given licenses to certify them as guides in the different associations.
What language do the tour guides speak?
The safari guides in Africa mainly speak English, Swahili, and their local languages. Usually, some guides tend to specialize in foreign languages like Spanish, German, French, Italian, and many others. It is the choice of travelers to choose the best kind of language that they prefer using according to the foreign state they are coming from.
How can a traveler choose the best tour guide?
Travelers usually have several factors in choosing the best guide that would suit a safari and make the vacation interesting for travelers. Some of the factors include;
Recommendation from friends who have ever used such a guide. Most travelers engage with friends who have ever visited the destination for advice. During this time, travelers will be recommended a person who will take them through the best guide to engage with them. Engaging with the tour operator to inquire about the best guides the company or travel agency can offer to travelers. Visiting the websites of the safari guides where these websites offer information which is about the guides and what they do.
How do guides handle emergencies while on safari?
Guides are professionals trained to handle travelers on their safari and ensure a safe and enjoyable safari. Some of the ways how the guides handle the emergencies include;
- Guides must brief travelers on the procedures, and protocols travelers must follow in any emergency.
- Guides also have to do the environmental risk assessment to inform travelers on handling any emergency during a safari.
- Guides should have several communication devices that can be used in any emergency of the safari like radio calls, satellite phones, and many others.
- Guides are supposed to have emergency response plans in case of any emergency like wild attacks, health complications, and many others.
- Guides should be equipped with the knowledge on how to use the first aid kit in case of emergency.
- They are also supposed to be equipped with guest monitoring to know if there is a form of discomfort during a safari.
What do travelers expect from the safari guides during a safari?
There are several things that travelers expect from their safari guides and these include;
- Knowledge about the destination so that travelers can engage in it.
- Wildlife siting since most travelers have different attractions like birds, predators, and many others.
- Safety from the destination for travelers.
- The guides should show travelers a high level of expertise.
Are travelers supposed to tip a guide at the end of the safari?
Travelers tip guides based on personal preferences towards the guide. Travelers usually tip the guides when they want or wish to do it. Tipping is optional but also a kind service offered to travelers to appreciate the expertise of how the guests have been handled during a safari. Usually, the tips are not part of the safari package cost. The tips are usually offered to travelers usually at the end of the safari.
