Africa safari vehicles are either open-sided or closed. The closed land cruisers are the more commonly used in East Africa due to their suitability for road based trips.  Open-sided safari vehicles are more common in south African destinations namely south Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Why go for an open-sided vehicle instead of closed 4X4 during a photography safari in East Africa?

Closed Land cruisers are better for travelers going for road-based safaris as you can drive between destinations in dusty and windy roads. The longest road transfers in Kenya, Uganda and nothern Tanzania do not take more than 6 hours. Road transfer are also more pocket friendly than air transfers which informs the reason why most travelers go for closed Land cruisers. However, open sided vehicles are better for game viewing especially during a photography safari due to several reasons:

• Photo timing. In an open safari with your camera set on your tripod you can quickly take a shot.  For a closed vehicle you will have to open the pop up to take a photoshoot. This might not be very dependable for actions photos like when there is a hunting scenes.
• It gives a natural touch. The beauty of a photography safari is the ability to interact with nature and feel at close range with your subject. With clearer sounds of animals, unobstructed view and feel of floral scents open-sided safari vehicle gives a greater connect with the wilderness.
• Positioning. An open-sided safari vehicle allows you to take different sitting position for the best photoshoots. Taking photos from the level of your seat also gives better quality images than when taken from rooftop. A well customized open sided photo safari vehicle should give you the flexibility to take images while lying on the vehicle floor. Notably, some open-sided vehicles are completely doorless which gives you the lowest ground level you can achieve in a vehicle.

Where to go for open-sided safari in East Africa?

Open-sided safari vehicles are more common in private conservancies. In public parks like Ngorongoro conservation where there are high populations of climbing animals like cheetah and Baboons; open-sided safari vehicles are illegal. Notably, tour operators only offer closed tour vehicles due to their suitability for road-based safaris which are more popular and cost effective. Open-sided safaris are offered by individual camps in various destinations. Confirm availability and customization of vehicles offered by different safari camps in your chosen photography destination.

East Africa best destinations where you can go for open-sided photography safari?

1.      Mara triangle

The southwestern section of Masai Mara presents great wild photo opportunities. The triangle is the first stop for migrating herds from serengeti heading to the mara conservancies. Some of the most revered mara river crossing images were taken from the triangle. Here little governors camp one of the two accommodation facilities found in this section has a range of open-sided 4X4 Landcruisers which are customized to meet your photography needs. Importantly, the mara triangle receives fewer visitors than the main reserve which saves you the stress of trying to beat around snaking traffics for best photo position in an action scene. Some of the photo opportunities you will have in this wilderness include:

• Images of columns of wildebeest aggressively plunging into the steep mara river banks clouded by a huge deposit of dust rising from the falling flakes of the river banks.
• Photos of crocodile subduing a victim in one of the most chilling hunting epics
• Herds grazing in the triangle plains.

2.      Serengeti national park

This park is part of the mara serengeti ecosystem known for the great wildebeest migration. The large size of the park give some of the most diverse natural photo scenes flanked by changing terrains and vegetations. Here you will get photo opportunities like

• Gatherings of calving female wildebeests in Ndutu plains
• Crossing of river Grumeti
• Hunting scenes
• Mara river crossings
• Kopjes and hills

3.      Meru National park

 The unspoilt wilderness 530 kms from Nairobi has great wildlife photo opportunities. Here the hotel Elsa Kopje provides a range of open-sided safari vehicle customized with 360 degrees rotating swivel seats. The hotel is also set in granite rocks elevation with an open sided deck on the front giving you a sweeping view of the untouched Meru wilderness. Some of the images you will be able to photograph include:

• Wildlife especially elephants, buffalos, hippos and zebras.
• Varieties of rich flora
• Spectacular rocky out crops

Ol Pejeta conservancy

The conservancy on the western slopes of mt Kenya has one of the best wildlife photo scene. The Sweetwater serena camp provides a range of open-sided safari land cruisers which are customized to fit your photography needs. Here some of the photo opportunities include:

• Lions headshots. Most of the lions in Ol Pejeta are fitted with radio collar which makes it easy to track them with a receiver.
• Rhino photography. The conservancy is a stronghold for both southern white and black rhinos
• Night hunting images. You will have an opportunity to go for after night fall game drives.

Ruha national park

The park is set on the remote southern Tanzania. Ruha is a great choice if you are seeking to have authentic bush experience without the spoils of the huge crowds found in the northern circuits. Most destinations in the southern part of Southern Tanzania largely depends on fly-in guest and majority of camps offers highly customized open-sided 4X4 vehicles. Some of the photo opportunity you will enjoy in Ruha includes:

• Flora photography in one of the most extensive and diverse ecosystems
• Wildlife photos
• Images of safari camps set in isolate bush locations.

Lake Manyara

The lake park is part of Tanzania northern circuit. Lake Manyara tree camp is our best open-sided photography safari recommendation. Despite being one of Tanzania’s smallest parks by area coverage. Lake Manyara comes with endless photo opportunities which include:

• Images of beautiful flora from a series of diverse ecosystems that makes up the park.
• Bird photography especially flamingos and other photography.
• Wildlife photography. Lake Manyara is a stronghold for elephants and the tree climbing lions.

How much does a photography open-sided safari cost

The fact that you will be using a flight for transfers makes an open-sided safari quite costly. Your flight cost will be mainly determined by amongst other factors whether there is a scheduled direct flight between airstrips you are hoping between. On average a return flight from Nairobi wilson airport cost an average 500 USD. For the open-sided safari most safari camp charges about 75 USD when sharing the vehicle in a group of  up to 8 others and 330 USD to 550 USD for a private safari depending on the camp you are checked into. We however recommend a private photography safari if you can afford it.