A kid’s view of travelling in Africa

Christine Tucker, B&R’s Experience Designer for Eastern and Southern Africa, often plans family trips in her regions. The question she gets asked most: “What age is the right age for safari?” The answer, she says, is simple: the earlier the better. “You might be limited in certain countries, Botswana is better perhaps with teens, but places like Tanzania and Kenya is a paradise for families and younger kids,” she explains.   

She speaks from first-hand experience. Starting at the age of 2, her own kids often tagged along on her research trips for B&R. Her youngest daughter Amélie, for instance, took her first trip to Tanzania at age 4, and she has travelled to the continent seven times (not always for work though!). 

Now 11, Amélie most recently joined Christine earlier this year for two weeks in Kenya. “When I needed to go to Kenya to check out some new e-bike rides for our growing active Africa portfolio, Amélie jumped at the chance. Kids are great sounding boards for what I do—from their honest opinions of camps to how much is too much car time. For kids who love the natural world, or even for those who don’t and could use some outdoor time in their lives, a trip to the African bush is the best gift you can give your kids.”  

Below, a Q&A with Christine and adventure-loving Amélie about the young explorer’s experiences in Africa. 

What do you love about travelling on the African continent?  

Every time I go, I learn something new. I feel myself getting smarter and I understand more and more nature’s giant web and how I am a part of it. I love being a kid in Africa because everyone is so kind and smiling all the time. Everyone who works at the lodges really takes time to talk to me. 

Why do you think other families should travel to Africa?  

We seem to think we are at the centre of the universe and our way of life is how it should be. The trip we took to Tanzania in 2020 was the moment I remembered that people lived differently and took note of how happy and smiley they are. When we got back to Switzerland everyone was frowning in the train. Plus, sundowners are the best thing ever. You get to pick your drink and snacks to take out on the evening game drive or bike ride or walk. The guide always finds a beautiful spot to pull over and watch the sunset, every night the chef surprises you with a different sundowner snack. It’s the best.  

What are some of the most vivid images you have from your Africa travels?  

This past trip to Kenya we went to visit the Singing Wells where the young Samburu warriors meet and dig these huge holes with small buckets down to the water. The whole time they are working they chant and sing as a way to pass time and call their cows to come drink. It was incredible to see them working so hard and being so happy. I also love to sing when I do my homework and when I clean my room. So, like that, we are similar. Even though I was very young on my first trip to Africa, I feel that it somehow opened my mind. Luckily, I continually have the privilege to visit these beautiful places. It has made me very in tune with the differences in the world and how to appreciate them.  

Name a few things you’ve learned over the years.  

The smallest of the antelope—the dik-dik—mate for life. A lion’s roar can be heard over eight kilometres away. And sometimes kids in the bush have to walk 10 kms to school and back. Oh, and I learned on this last trip to Kenya that giraffes do not have voice boxes and make no sound.  

What has been your favourite trip to Africa?  

I have a few but the commonality is when we are all together with my Uncle John and grandma who live in the United States. We met in Tanzania when I was four, and Kenya when I was eight. These are the best trips as everyone is so relaxed and there is something for everyone to do each day, but we can always have meals together. There are no distractions or decisions to be made so we can just chill and be together, it’s so fun. I also like watching my grandma try and dance with the Maasai. She can’t dance, hahaha.  

How do you like to spend your days while on safari?  

I really enjoyed the e-biking in Kenya on a trip in March 2025. We went for a fun morning ride to these giant rocks called Kopjes, which are like rocky hills, and the camp staff surprised us with a bush breakfast. It was perfect timing as I was so hungry. Between activities I also like to play Mancala, one of the oldest board games on Earth that originated in Africa, with the staff. I really enjoy an evening game drive, too. It’s so peaceful and I always look forward to the sundowner.  

Any recommendations for kids travelling to Africa for the first time on safari?  

Talk with everyone—from your guide to the camp staff. People are so friendly, and they love to joke. Don’t take your iPads, you don’t need them. Go to one of the private conservancies that are more flexible for younger kids and do a bush walk to see all the small things, like how a dung beetle rolls a big ball of poop and moves it to a safe place to bury it.  

Where would you like to visit next?  

When I am older, I really want to do a walking safari in Zambia, but I have to be 16. So, for now, I think I would like to return to Kenya and Tanzania and keep helping my mom create fun itineraries for families.