Definitions
Three different things, three different prices
Conflating them is how people end up disappointed by a quote they agreed to.
1. Private vehicle
Your party alone in the vehicle. The guide is the camp’s, and if you move camps you get a different one.
This is what most people mean and it is the one that changes a day the most per pound spent. Priced per vehicle, so the cost per head falls sharply as your party grows.
At many conservancy camps it is already included in the rate. Elsewhere it is a daily supplement — which is why two quotes for the same camps can differ so much.
2. Private guide
One guide for the whole trip, who travels with you between camps and parks — meeting you in Nairobi, flying with you, driving you throughout.
What it buys is continuity. A camp guide starts from nothing each time you move; a private guide knows by day three what you want and builds the day around it. They also run your logistics when something goes wrong.
Priced as a daily rate plus their flights and accommodation, so again it improves with party size.
3. Exclusive use
A whole house or camp taken by your party, with its own cook, guide and vehicle.
Priced for the property rather than per head, which means the per-person cost falls as the party grows — the crossover against camp rates is usually around six people.
| Level | Priced by | Gets better value as… |
|---|---|---|
| Private vehicle | Per vehicle per day | Your party grows |
| Private guide | Per day, plus their travel | Your party grows and your trip lengthens |
| Exclusive use | Per property per night | Your party grows — sharply |
Six questions that reveal what you are being sold
- Is the vehicle private for every game drive, or only some?
- Is it private on the road transfers as well?
- Is the guide assigned to me for the whole stay, or allocated each morning?
- If I move camps, do I get the same guide?
- Is "private on request" a supplement, and exactly how much?
- How many seats does the vehicle have, and will anyone else use them?
Where the ambiguity lives
"Private on request" is the phrase to watch. It means shared unless you pay, and the supplement is often not quoted until after you have compared totals.
Get it in writing before you compare two quotes, or you are comparing different products.
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