Questions about the duration of time to get to Africa are often asked by people traveling from the US. Of course, booking an African Safari trip from California or New York need a good deal of preparation. The main concern, nonetheless, is whether you need recovery time once you arrived. Jet lag and flight length is another issue for those traveling from the US. Well, the African continent is far from North America. It will take you a whole day by plane to reach Africa. To be more specific, the actual plane ride will take about 15 hours up to 21 hours, depending on where in the US you live. For example, a flight from New York to South Africa will cover 15 hours flight. It is when you choose a direct flight. But if you want cheaper flights, a connecting flight through Europe from LAX to Europe is 11 hours. Then your next flight will take another 10 to 11 hours to finally reach South Africa. Since the US is our point of departure, there are various flight paths that you can take to reach the continent. It will depend on which airline you choose.