How do you get between safari camps without losing whole days?

When I flew into Mahali Mzuri in Kenya's Maasai Mara, we landed on grass.

The plane rolled to a stop and I looked around for a building. There wasn't one. Our guides were standing next to the vehicles, waiting for us, and that was the whole airport. You feel like you're in the middle of nowhere (because you are).

That's how you get between camps on a good safari. You fly.

And it's one of the first questions my clients ask, usually right after "how long is the flight to Africa?" How do we get from camp to camp without losing whole days of the trip? After 31 years as a travel advisor, here's what I tell them.

A 40-minute hop saves you a full day in a vehicle

This is 100% true. Safari camps are spread out, and the roads between them are long and bumpy. Driving can eat an entire day you could have spent on game drives.

So most safari itineraries are built around small planes. Every camp I've stayed at had an airstrip close by. You finish your morning game drive, have lunch, hop a short flight, and you're out on an afternoon drive at your next camp.

On my own trips, the only time I was on a standard commercial flight was between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Everything else was a bush plane.

What the small planes are actually like

The planes we flew held 4 to 6 people. You're not super high up, so you can see the ground clearly, and the pilots point out animals as you go.

I LOVE it.

I'll be honest, I had a head start. My dad had his pilot's license, so I'd been in small planes many times before I ever went to Africa. But even if you haven't, this is one of the parts of the trip people end up talking about when they get home.

It looks more expensive on paper

Here's the part that surprises people. The flight can look pricier than a transfer by car. But the person driving you across is typically a guide.

So you're paying for that guide's whole day: driving out to get you, driving you to the next camp, and driving back. Add that up and the flight usually comes out ahead. You also get the day back.

"But I'm nervous about small planes"

Many of my clients are. You're not the first, and you won't be the last.

My client Christine was VERY nervous about it. She ended up sitting right next to the pilot. She told me afterward it was scary and magical, both at once. And she felt safer up front, because the pilot explained everything to her as they went, instead of her sitting in the back wondering what every bump meant.

If small planes worry you, tell me before you go. I'd much rather plan for it than have you white-knuckling it over the Mara.

Pack for the plane (it's small)

The luggage rules on bush flights are real.

Soft bags only. Hard-sided suitcases don't fit in the plane.

25 to 30 pounds is ideal. Plus a backpack.

Bring less than you think. We give our clients clothing guides with pieces that wash easily and can be worn again and again.

Where the planning gets tricky

More of the safari itineraries I build now are designed around private air links that didn't exist 5 years ago. That opens up camp combinations that used to cost you a travel day.

But it also means more moving parts. Which camps connect easily? Do the flight times work with your game drives? Does it make sense to pair Botswana with South Africa, the way I usually do, or is Kenya better as a trip on its own (you can fly nonstop from JFK)?

I always start with one question: what is important to you? More animals, fewer camps, less time in transit? Then we build the routing around that, with realistic connections and someone watching your flights the whole way.

That's my job.

So tell me, what worries you more: the long flight over, or the little plane once you're there?