Safari holidays are an increasingly popular holiday activity. They involve the primary goal of watching wild animals in their natural habitat. Kenya claims to have had the first commercial safari holidays, a form of recreation that grew out of big game hunting at the turn of the century. As animal stocks diminished and hunting became less fashionable, people turned to viewing the animals instead.

Safari now generates an important amount of revenue for several African countries. These include Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia.

Types of safari vary, from small tented camps that are seasonal and removed during the rainy seasons, to large permanent structures with over 100 rooms. The game-viewing can be done on foot, horseback, in vehicles or indeed by elephant back or boat, depending on the type of terrain and the animals being viewed.

The goal of safari is to see the Big Five, a term that has been borrowed from the days of hunting and refers to: Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard, Lion and Rhino.