African Safari for First Timers

African Safari for First Timers - Female cheetah with her cubs in South Africa

What to expect on this itinerary

Indulge in the intimate sparkle of wildlife and wilderness during this 10-day South Africa tour. Atmospheric Cape Town will dazzle and charm you before offering a journey through penguin covered peninsulas and indulgent Winelands. Kruger National Park will provide breathtaking safari experiences before allowing you to discover how Victoria Falls epitomizes the natural wonder of the continent.

Countries Visited

South Africa, Zimbabwe

Places Visited

Cape Town, Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Johannesburg, Victoria Falls

Suggested Duration

10 Days

Customizable Itinerary

Expand All
Day 1

Cape Town - Day at Leisure

Your private transfer will meet you at the Cape Town International Airport upon your arrival. You will settle into the comforts of your luxury accommodations located in the heart of the bustling city before taking the remainder of the day at your leisure. You can bask in the iconic Cape Town skyline of its two sister mountains, Lion's Head and Devil's Peak, or wander through the floral aromas and bright blossoming petals of the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens offering the perfect introduction that captures Cape Town’s distinctive image of South Africa.

What's Included:

Accommodation
Activity
Breakfast
Day 2

Cape Town – Cape Peninsula Tour

Day 3

Cape Town – Cape Winelands Tour

Day 4

Sabi Sands – Enjoy Safari Excursions

Day 5 - 6

Sabi Sands – The Wildlife of Sabi Sands

Day 7

Johannesburg – Culture and History

Day 8 - 9

Victoria Falls – Majestic Victoria Falls

Day 10

Victoria Falls – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Sabi Sands shares an unfenced border with Kruger where you will enjoy a Big Five safari exploring wilderness teeming with rhinos, lion prides, and leopards
  • Savor the unique atmosphere of Cape Town, one of the world's most iconic and beautiful cities nestled between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean
  • Take an enchanting journey to the south western tip of Africa passing deserted beaches, cute fishing villages, and a colony of African penguins
  • Go on a sensual journey through the Cape Winelands to discover some of the country's finest cuisine and celebrated wines
  • Explore Johannesburg to find the overlooked showing a different side of South Africa, as the thought-provoking home of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu
  • Admire the thundering water of Victoria Falls, one of the world's new seven natural wonders and the most powerful waterfall on the planet
  • Indulge in the comforts and exciting scenery of your luxury safari lodge blending natural beauty with attentive services

Starting Price

$5,200 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

4.9

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 517 reviews

Review: Luxury Africa Safari, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Cape Town, Victoria Falls

Our agent was friendly, knowledgable, responsive and worked hard to put together a great trip that did not blow our budget. The trip was incredible. We started with 3 nights in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe at a lodge that provided 5 star service and accomodations. The game drives there were a bit more tame than our later safari activity at Sabi Sands but we saw lots of elephants, Zebra, Giraffe and even a lion. Every transfer was arranged and if anything could have been upgraded perhaps it was in this area though the transfers were private and vehicles adequate. 

Our next stop was Sabi Sands reserve where we stayed at Savanah lodge. They were terrific in every way. The guides and trackers were top notch. We saw all of the big five as well as wild dogs and other animals. Great food and room as well as personal touches made this place special and overall a great value and choice among the many options. 

We flew to Capetown where we started at an elegant old world hotel on the waterfront, great choice. Trips to the cape point and wine country were very nice. If we were to change our itinerary at all it would have been to stay one less night in Capetown and stay one night in wine country on our way to the next stop which was at Grootbos a world class high end resort on the whale coast. Terrific high end cuisine, wonderful private suites and incredible views were the highlights and a great way to finish our trip. 

Thanks to our agent for making our vacation the best one yet!!

See more

Luxury Africa Safari Review: South Africa, Zambia, Dulini Lodge, Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Cape Town, Victoria Falls

Our trip to South Africa was planned and booked through this Africa safari tour operator. After lots of discussion and planning we spent 3 days in Cape Town, 2 days at Victoria Falls, and 3 days at Dulini Lodge in Sabi Sands game reserve. Our travel agent did a great job helping plan everything. She also was extremely helpful when we had inbound flight delays. This required juggling our schedule in Cape Town and rearranging our in country flights.

Overall, it was a great vacation.

See more

South Africa & Zimbabwe Travel Review: Cape Town, Victoria Falls, Safari, Wildlife, 12-Day Tour
Our trip was fantastic.  We went to South Africa, Cape Town, then did safaris in Timbavati and Sabi-Sands before heading to Zimbabwe and going to Victoria Falls.  Our Trip adviser Justin was terrific.  He did a great job helping us pick locations to go.  We loved the hotels we were booked in, and the Safari locations.  Justin did a great job.  The hotel on the waterfront in Cape Town was exceptional.  Our transportation was marvelous while we were there and out tour guide in Cape Town.  I cannot say enough about the safari camp in Timbavati, they were a 10 out of 10!  It was outstanding.  The accomodations in Sabi-Sands was wonderful.  The lodge in Victoria Falls was a perfect location.  Justin did a great job answering all of our questions and putting our itinerary together.  I wouldn't hesitate to use him and this travel company in the future.

See more

South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe Luxury Tour Review: 2 Weeks
"Our trip was magical! We were a blank slate and Zicasso’s travel company did a fantastic job of putting together a bucket-list trip for us."

See more

Travel Review: Luxury Africa Safari, South Africa, Bostwana, Cape Town, Chobe National Park

I had a great experience with this safari tour planner and Zicasso. My sons and I wanted to go to South Africa and Botswana on two weeks notice at the end of July, 2017. I knew we needed to create a bespoke itinerary but I was a little bit intimidated by not knowing my way around South Africa at all. I had done some preliminary searching and received multiple quotes that were absurdly expensive. Somehow I came across this travel planner and from the outset I could see that he was extremely knowledgeable and understood what I did want and what I did not want. I wanted luxury but at sane price; to be in the hands of people I could trust on the ground; great game viewing; adventure for my sons. Our travel planner booked us at Sabi Sabi Selati in Sabi Sands in South Africa and Mashatu in Botswana. We loved both camps. Selati is like an old world safari experience as I had always imagined it to be in terms of decor. The food was great, the evening meals with other guests at the lodge were cozy. Mashatu is a different experience altogether - the game viewing is more plentiful and less of a trek to find, the suites more luxurious, the compound more extensive and overall less expensive than Sabi Sabi. In addition, there are bicycling treks at Mashatu which my sons really liked as well as a dug out they call a hide where you can view the game up close as the animals drink at a watering hole. I had insisted that I did not want to fly from Sabi Sabi to Mashatu and our planner did arrange for a great driver to get transport us by road but I would not recommend doing that - the trip is too long (6 hours) and we ran into some difficulties on the road so if we go back, and I hope we do, we will fly from Sabi Sands to Mashatu. He also arranged for drivers to pick us up at the airport when we flew into Johannesburg, to pick us up the next day to take us back to the airport for the flight to Skukuza, to drive us to Mashatu, to get us to Polykwane Airport for our flight to Capetown and to pick us up at the Capetown airport and every one of those drivers were prompt, courteous, polite, knowledgeable about the area. I had made my own arrangements to stay overnight at the in Johannesburg and highly recommend that hotel - fabulous rooms and suites, great rooftop bar, gorgeous views of the city from throughout the resort. Overall, five stars to this safari tour planner - he will listen to you and steer you in the right direction.

See more

Travel Review: Africa Safari Honeymoon, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Sabi Sands, Victoria Falls

They planed the most amazing honeymoon for us. It was everything and more! Our trip was great all the guides, hotels and tours were great. We learned so much about the culture from our guides! They planned our trip just how we wanted, we went to Victoria Falls, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Bazaruto Island and Johannesburg and everything was perfect! We had someone at every airport to pick us up, the hotels that were arranged for us were beautiful and great service, the food delicious, all our guides really knowledgeable and thoughtful, it was a trip of a lifetime! 

I highly recommend this travel agency, they are really organized, respond to emails and your questions very quickly and great service. If you have a problem in your trip there is someone in Africa to help you solve it. 

See more

Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

28,000+ Verified Traveler Reviews