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Best Travel Insurance Plans for a Safari

These are the top policies on Squaremouth that cover the most common risks of safari travel, including 100% cancellation reimbursement for high-dollar trips, and high limits for emergency medical care and evacuation from remote destinations.



See a complete breakdown of these plans and more in our full review of the Best Adventure Travel Insurance Companies of 2026.



What Is Safari Travel Insurance?

Safari insurance is a type of travel insurance that includes safaris as a covered activity, which are often excluded by standard travel insurance. These plans often include higher limits for medical costs and medical evacuations. They may also cover risky activities excluded by standard travel insurance, like a gorilla trek in the rainforest.

The best safari plans also include high limits for cancellations and interruptions to protect your investment, since safaris can be expensive.

The benefits of safari insurance include protection from common disruptions like:

  • Cancellations or interruptions of your trip due to illness, injury, or severe weather
  • Hospital expenses due to an injury or illness, like malaria
  • Emergency air lifts from a remote location
  • Missing your safari departure due to a flight delay
  • Risky activities, like safari trekking and hunting
  • Loss or damage of high-value gear, like cameras, lenses, and binoculars

Safari Travel Insurance Topics



Do I Need a Safari Travel Insurance Plan?

We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance for your safari, due to the high trip costs and potential medical risks.

Safaris often exceed $11,000 per person and are generally non-refundable, especially close to the departure date. You’ll need a generous amount of Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage to protect your investment, noting that these coverages are often capped at $10,000 per person but can range much higher.

Medical Evacuation coverage is crucial, since you’ll be traveling to remote areas with limited access to medical care. The CDC notes that medical evacuation costs can exceed $100,000 from a remote area, and some sources cite bills over $500,000 for evacuation from spots like Mount Kilimanjaro, which is why having the proper travel medical coverage is very important.

Travel insurance can also protect you if a delay from a bush flight, a weather-related schedule change, or a missed connection between remote camps causes you to miss part of your trip.



What Benefits Should I Look For When Buying Safari Travel Insurance?

When choosing travel insurance for an African safari, focus on a plan’s cancellation, medical, and adventure activity coverage. Look for the following benefits:

Safari trips can cost well over $11,000 per person, according to our internal sales data from the past 12 months, making Trip Cancellation coverage one of the most important components of safari insurance.

This benefit reimburses you for prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if your trip is cancelled for a covered reason, like an unexpected illness or severe weather.

  • Recommended coverage: 100% of your trip cost. Some policies have a lower trip cost limit per person, so be sure to opt for a plan with sufficient limits, such as the one we list above.

Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) & Interrupt for Any Reason (IFAR) are optional coverages that you can add to your trip to cover situations that aren’t covered by your plan’s Trip Cancellation or Interruption coverage. Depending on the plan, you can get reimbursed for 50-75% of non-refundable costs if you need to cancel or interrupt your trip for a traditionally non-covered reason.

These benefits can be valuable for safaris where non-covered trip disruptions are common, especially when travelling to regions with:

  • Government travel advisories
  • Political instability
  • Personal uncertainty around travel plans
  • Level 4 travel advisories (“Do Not Travel” warnings)

Emergency Medical insurance reimburses you for medical costs on your safari, like doctor fees for minor illnesses, ambulance fees, and hospital stays due to serious conditions like malaria or injuries from a jeep crash.

This coverage is essential since many safaris take place far from medical facilities and U.S. health insurance often doesn’t apply abroad. If you’re an older traveler, keep in mind that Medicare doesn’t cover medical care abroad. You’ll need a safari plan with sufficient medical coverage for seniors to fill this gap.

  • Recommended coverage: $100,000+ per person

Medical Evacuation insurance can cover your transportation to a hospital from a remote location due to an illness or injury, like a jeep rollover on your way to a national park. This coverage is critical for safaris, where you may be hours from proper care and evacuation costs can be extremely high.

  • Recommended coverage: $250,000+ per person

Similar to Trip Cancellation protection, Trip Interruption protection reimburses you for non-refundable costs in case you need to cut your trip short due to a covered reason, like an illness or injury. This not only protects the unused costs of your safari, but also covers the potentially high cost of returning home from a very remote location. For instance, if you cut your trip short due to the death of a close relative, this coverage could reimburse the cost of returning to the airport, your return ticket home, the remainder of the non-refundable cost for your safari, and other non-refundable activities and accommodations.

  • Typically covers 150%-200% of your trip cost

You should make sure that your plan includes sports and activities coverage for any risky activities that you’ll be participating in, since standard travel insurance plans won’t cover these. You’ll find policies on Squaremouth targeted to activities like:

  • Animal sanctuary/refuge work
  • Camel/elephant riding/trekking
  • Gorilla trekking
  • Hot air balloon rides
  • Hunting safaris
  • Kilimanjaro (trekking ascent)
  • Overland trips
  • Safari trekking (where guns are carried by safari guides for safety)
  • Scuba diving and parasailing
  • Off-road car driving (4x4, dune buggying etc)

Sports Equipment coverage reimburses you for loss or damage of pricey safari equipment, which may not be covered by a standard baggage policy. On the policy certificate, you’ll find it listed under the baggage coverage, or as a separate benefit.

  • Look for higher per-item limits of at least $500-$700, or the option to insure valuables separately.
  • Watch out for limits on expensive equipment, like cameras and laptops.

24/7 Emergency Assistance gives you access to a 24-hour assistance hotline, which is especially important for remote travel. This matters for safaris because you’ll need the hotline to coordinate a medical evacuation and hospital care in case of an emergency. You can also get help for a variety of other travel needs, like walking directions, emergency cash replacement, help connecting to the U.S. embassy in case of civil unrest, or assistance with a non-medical evacuation.



What Safari Travel Insurance Typically Doesn’t Cover

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How Much Does Safari Travel Insurance Cost?

According to Squaremouth’s year-to-date sales data for 2026, the average cost of an Africa trip is $11,000 with an average premium of $45 per day and a total premium of $678 for an average 15-day trip, including plans with CFAR coverage. However, the cost of safari insurance depends primarily on your trip price, age, and the level of coverage you choose.

In general, you should expect to pay between 4%-10% of your total trip costs for travel insurance for an international trip.



How to Choose the Right Safari Insurance Plan

Buy Safari Insurance Early

Timing is critical for purchasing travel insurance for African safaris, because many travel insurance benefits have time limits.

Plans will often waive pre-existing conditions if you buy the policy within 14-21 days from your first deposit. You can add on CFAR coverage if you purchase early, and you may even get a rider for cancellation due to financial default. Buying early also ensures that any new medical issues or unforeseen events aren’t excluded from coverage.

Note, if the cost of your trip increases after you purchase insurance, we recommend contacting your provider to boost the insured trip cost on your policy.

Plan for the Remote Nature of Your Trip

Your safari will likely take you to a remote location hours from civilization and medical care. That means the medical costs of evacuating you and getting you to a hospital can be high. Look for plans with high coverage for Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation. You can also customize policies on Squaremouth to increase these coverages.

Consider CFAR

Given the high price tag of a safari, it may make financial sense to add CFAR coverage to your trip. CFAR can cover trip cancellations for any scenario, as long as you cancel at least 2-3 days before your departure date. That includes things like airline strikes, political instability in a country, and government travel warnings. Most policies have a two-week window from your first trip deposit to add CFAR coverage, so be sure to purchase your plan early.

Compare Your Options

Regardless of where you purchase travel insurance, it’s crucial to compare plans to make sure you’re getting the right coverage for the best price, especially for a pricey safari package. You can compare policies on Squaremouth, check directly with travel insurance providers and also check with your safari operator. Keep a close eye on: * Coverage limits (especially medical and evacuation) * Included vs. excluded activities * Total premium vs. trip cost

Confirm Coverage with Safari Operator

Some safari operators require proof of travel insurance before allowing you to participate, particularly coverage for medical emergencies or evacuation. Make sure your plan meets their requirements.




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FAQs: Safari Travel Insurance

Yes, we strongly recommend purchasing safari-specific travel insurance that offers high cancellation limits, adequate coverage for Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation, and adventure coverage. You should also make sure your policy covers activities on your trip like trekking and hot air ballooning.

Travel insurance may cover you for an animal attack, especially if you purchase a safari-specific plan. Your plan may cover medical treatment, an emergency evacuation, and return home if necessary.

The process for providing proof of safari insurance depends on your safari operator. When you buy travel insurance from Squaremouth, you’ll receive a confirmation email from your provider with your certificate and a summary of coverage from us. Your operator may ask you to email a copy of this insurance certificate, or you may be able to submit your certificate via a form on their site. You may also need to bring a physical copy of your insurance certificate to show the operator upon arrival. The operator may also ask for the insurance company’s name, Emergency Assistance phone number and your policy number.

Many travel insurance plans offer Emergency Medical coverage that can cover your malaria treatment, provided the limits are high enough to meet the costs of your treatment. Note, coverage only applies during your trip, and will not cover malaria treatment that you receive after you return home.

It depends. If you cancel your safari booking due to a covered reason, like illness or injury, or a weather disruption, your travel insurance plan will refund you. But if you cancel for a non-covered reason, like political instability or fear of getting malaria, most standard plans will not reimburse you for a safari. You can purchase CFAR coverage to have the flexibility to cancel your safari for other reasons.

Travel insurance can cover evacuation from a remote area on your safari, as long as you purchase a plan that covers safaris. You should ensure that your travel insurance plan includes Medical Evacuation coverage, and that the limit is enough (we recommend at least $250,000 in coverage) to cover most evacuation scenarios.

You should buy safari insurance as soon as possible after making your initial trip deposit. We recommend purchasing your policy within the first two weeks of your deposit to be eligible for time-sensitive benefits like CFAR, pre-existing condition coverage, and financial default coverage.

No, your health insurance is unlikely to cover medical care in Africa. Most U.S. health insurance plans offer no or limited coverage for medical care abroad. Medicare in particular doesn’t cover healthcare outside the U.S. You should check with your insurer ahead of your trip to see if medical care is covered, and consider purchasing Travel Medical Insurance.

No, credit card travel insurance is not sufficient for a safari. Your card’s insurance may be able to cover things like trip cancellation and interruption, provided the cost of your safari isn’t too high. But your card likely won’t cover Emergency Medical or Medical Evacuation, or coverage will be very limited.

AMREF Flying Doctors (AFD) is the world’s leading international humanitarian air ambulance service based in Africa. It provides air evacuation for critically ill and injured patients in remote locations across East Africa. You can purchase a tourist plan directly from AFD that will cover the costs of an evacuation. Travel insurance with Medical Evacuation coverage should also cover AFD evacuations, though you may consider purchasing directly from AFD if you want faster service. AFD may not dispatch a flight to rescue you until it receives guaranteed payment from your insurer.

Depending on your travel insurance policy, you may be able to get reimbursed for your trip costs if your safari operator declares bankruptcy before your trip. Some policies offer riders for cancellations due to financial default of travel operators. These riders are generally time-sensitive and require you to purchase the plan within a couple of weeks of your initial deposit.



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Last updated: May 11, 2026