Travel Review: Luxury South Africa Safari with Zambia - Cape Town, Victoria Falls (Toka Leya Camp),...
Dear Reader,
I am writing to unconditionally recommend the services of this travel company so that you may have the same exceptional experience that I was lucky enough to have by utilizing the services of this South Africa safari tour company. As a piece of background before the details of this letter, it is appropriate to detail that I work in the travel industry as the Vice President of Revenue Management and Operations for LeisureLink who owns and operates a niche lodging site called A Better Stay. My business caters to specialty lodging providers predominately in North America and the Caribbean. As part of my role, I do site visits at a majority of resorts and vacation rental properties as well as run a call center. The point I am making is that service is the utmost importance to me.
Another point to frame this prior to diving in is that this trip was for four people from San Diego, CA traveling to South Africa. Now that the above formality is out of the way, I can move on to my experience with this South Africa safari travel company and the trip itself.
From the get go, the travel company provided vastly superior service than any of the other providers we looked at for the trip. They provided knowledgeable recommendations on itinerary rather than simply a canned tour program. Deb from this South Africa safari travel company personally planned our trip. Would you rather have someone who is intimately familiar with the region plan the trip or some call center agent reading a script plan your trip? In fact, several of the planning discussions with Deb occurred when she was on site in South Africa scouting new lodges and locations. Deb's intimate knowledge of South Africa was obvious. Her knowledge made us comfortable.
Upon receiving the completed itinerary and full trip proposal from Deb and her team, we realized how truly personalized of a trip we had requested. They came through with an itinerary that no other provider came close to matching in terms of quality, personalization and "soup to nuts" travel planning. We were planning on doing the Garden Route, but given that we live on the beach, Deb recommended we take advantage of the trip and visit Victoria Falls. All other operators, simply offered us a canned Garden Route package. Without their recommendation, we would have missed major highlights of the trip, including all of Zambia.
Another item that was quite pleasing, if not shocking, is that the superlative service from the travel company continued even after they had secured our business. We made changes slight modifications to day tours and itinerary and they made it happen. Not only did they make it happen, but the the team was able secure surprise upgrades for us throughout. They made dinner reservations for us -- we got the best tables. We were on wait lists for upgrades (travel was during the World Cup) -- we got that even at the 5 Star Ivory Lodge at Lion Sands. We were even upgraded to first class on a couple of the flights within Africa. I could go on, but I assure more detail will come out in the description of my trip of a lifetime by this travel company. Now on to the trip...
We were picked up by our guide at the airport and taken directly to the hotel for the early check in which pre-arranged by the travel company. Our guide, Brian, was phenomenal. The guide can often make or break a trip and Brian definitely made ours. He was great. His knowledge of the country, its history, and general pleasant nature really set us at ease. Brian adjusted any schedule based on our desires. I don't know if we will be able to travel again without a personalized guide of Brian's caliber. He was able to provide additional insight on every aspect of our stay in and around Capetown. Again, this travel company exemplifies a dedication to service and personalized travel with the highest quality guide.
We stayed for 4 nights in Capetown at More Quarters ( Cape Cadogan ). The service was at the Cape Cadogan was fantastic. The entire team made us feel right at home. In Capetown, we went to the Waterfront, Table Mountain, the noon gun, Cape Flats, the Winelands, a World Cup game, and much more...The Hotel is in walking distance from great bars, clubs and restaurants. It is basically in the heart of the nightlife of Capetown, but on a quiet side street. It was perfect: a quiet, side street location, within a short walk of the heart of the city, just as we had requested. We were upgraded to the More Quarters for fully catered apartment style living rather than that of a simple hotel. The extra space in the More Quarters allowed us to relax and adjust to the massive time change. Another unexpected touch from this travel company were nightly dinner reservations at fantastic restaurants in the area. We received the best table at prime time at each restaurant, clearly exhibiting this travel company's partnership with the local businesses. The food and wine at each was top notch. We are an indecisive group, so having these made really added to the relaxation of our trip and the sense of vacation.
From Capetown, we spent two nights in a quiet boutique guest house in Franschoek. The Winelands are beautiful and Brian arranged for several tastings at quality wineries with either private tastings or tours. We were thrilled with the Reserve tasting at Spier. We almost skipped Spier as it had the feel of a tourist trap with Cheetah petting, etc., but their reserve tasting was one of the best wines we have had in quite some time. We came home with the limit of Pinotage. They also arranged dinners at phenomenal restaurants: Reubens and The tasting room. The dinner at The Tasting Room was more of an experience than dinner. It was a 9 course blind tasting. They do 1 seating a night. Our dinner experience lasted 4 1/2 hours. Without this travel company, we would have missed our "dinner experience," which, by the way, we would recommend to any food and wine lover. We concluded our wine country experience with exceptional wine and cheese reserve tasting at Fairview . It was simply a great way to wind down before safari.
We moved on to Sabi Sands. The Ivory Lodge at Lion Sands is unforgettable. We were thrilled to be able to experience Ivory as the original reservation was at the River Lodge at Lion Sands. The upgrade landed us at what has to be one of the most exclusive lodges in all of southern Africa, let alone South Africa. With only six units, you have a huge degree of privacy at Ivory Lodge. Upon arrival we did an abbreviated night game drive and saw 3 of the big 5 within 2 hours. After an hour of the morning game drive, we had seen the big five. Landon, our ranger, was great. Not only did we see the Big 5, but we experienced them. We would stay with the animals for at least 15-20 minutes to see how they behave. This is not a drive by safari. It was beyond expectations. We also saw giraffe, zebra, hippo, and many more. Breakfast and happy hour in the bush are not to be missed.
Ivory Lodge provides the utmost in service. We had in room dinner and massage. We also did a bar-b-que where we were able to select the tasting menu. Food was fantastic (we are all on a diet regimen now). We had intended to stay somewhere else, but stayed here based on Deb's recommendation. This place is unbeatable.
From Ivory Lodge, we moved to Johannesburg for a 1 night stop over. The travel company Selected 93 Jan Smuts for our stop over. This guest house provides the ultimate in comfort and friendly service. Karen, the owner, made us feel like we were well and truly at home. Given that this was just a stop over, we didn't really explore, rather had a quiet dinner and got ready for Zambia and Victoria Falls .
Upon arrival in Zambia, our driver met us and transported us to Toka Leya -- another lodge with impeccable service. Our itinerary was planned once we got there: Lunch followed by a river cruise with sunset cocktails followed by dinner under the stars. Day two had us at Victoria Falls. What a sight to behold. After getting drenched during the tour of the Falls we went to the Victoria Falls Bunji Company. They only take cash, so be prepared. We didn't have the cash on hand to bunji, but our guide had the cash to allow us to zipline. This extra touch from the guide allowed us to add to our truly incredible. It is not every day that you can zipline from country (Zambia) to country (Zimbabwe) with Victoria falls as the back drop. We elected a massage over lunch. The spa services at Toka Leya are provided in a room directly on the Zambezi . The massages were absolutely fantastic. From there, we closed out our stay with another sunset cruise down the Zambezi , where we saw several hippo and crocodile. My only regret with Toka Leya is that we didn't stay longer. In my opinion two nights is simply not enough. We will be back to do the rafting trip down the canyon of the Zambezi .
This was truly a trip of a lifetime. Every single item we requested from this South Africa safari travel company was met with a smile. Every accommodation they arranged was perfect. Guides and drivers were always prompt and knowledgeable. We did not wont for anything. I cannot fathom this trip coming of near as well had we worked with anyone else or been stuck a standardized tour. The travel company's team more than delivered on everything and truly went above and beyond. We will definitely use this travel company's services when we return with our entire family in the future. Without question, I recommend their services to anyone traveling to South Africa or southern Africa in general and I hope that other travelers are able to yield the same satisfaction as I from the services of this travel company.
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Luxury Botswana, Zimbabwe & Zambia Anniversary Trip Review: Victoria Falls, Game Drives, Rhino Walk, 12-Day Tour
I wish I could give this trip and our travel agency a hundred stars. Both the trip and the service that our travel company provided were over the top! We visited a Camp and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, did a Rhino walk in Zambia and also stayed at a Lodge by the Chobe River in Botswana. I cannot say enough good things about Natalie, from our travel agency. We started planning this trip in Feb 2020 with what was supposed to be our big 10th anniversary trip. Then Covid struck the very next month and we were forced to postpone the trip not once, but twice. Over the course of the next two years Natalie was on top of EVERYTHING. She worked with the places that we had booked and the airlines within Africa and was able to change our travel arrangements to accommodate the ever changing situation. To start this whole process, we provided Natalie with some general guidelines on what we thought we wanted to do and our budget and she took charge of putting together our dream vacation. She put together several possible itineraries and we fine tuned our trip from there. Natalie is based in South Africa, while we are located in the USA. This distance was never a problem in any of our planning and I never felt uncomfortable with the fact that she was in a completely different country (and continent). In fact, Natalie scheduled a phone call with us early in our planning so that we could get to know her and she could better understand our expectations. Natalie was always very responsive and I could always count on seeing a response to my emails either same day or first thing the next morning if I sent something late in her day. Her level of service was always top-notch!Natalie was incredibly thorough in researching things like Visas, travel vaccinations, passport requirements, Covid requirements, etc. so that we knew what needed to be done to prepare for this trip as well as what to expect once we got there. The icing on the cake was when we got to our room at our final destination (Chobe) to find a bottle of champagne and a very special note from Natalie to me and my wife thanking us for booking our trip with her and recognizing our 12th anniversary! :-) I still get chill bumps thinking about how touching that was and what it meant to us.
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Review: Luxury Africa Family Safari, South Africa Kruger National Park, Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Cultural Experiences
I was planning a South African Safari for my family of 4, and the information and options I researched were overwhelming and complex for someone that has no prior knowledge or experience with Safari's. I came across the Zicasso website and they matched me up with this safari travelcompany. My agent provided insight into the planning and options that I would have never identified myself. I had many questions both before and after booking this trip and communicated with this agent by email (from the US) due to the time difference. She responded immediately and thoroughly ever time. We just returned and the trip was Amazing and could not have gone better.
Upon hearing our goals, my agent suggested two private game reserves (3 nights each) in two different locations so we could get two different experiences. We stayed at Kapama Southern Camp in the Kapama Game reserve near Hoedspruit, and Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge in Sabi Sands. It was a two hour drive between the two lodges. We originally had reservations at Lion Sands which is next to Sabi Sands, but about three months ago, the Lion Sands burned down. Fortunately, our agent notified us just hours after the fire letting us know what happened and informing us that she was able to book the Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge - which turned out to be amazing. I've read that some folks had to receive refunds because they could not get reservations on such short notice in the area. We were really glad our agent was looking out for us and greatly appreciated all of her efforts and recommendations! We definitely got two different experiences that you can read below - each amazing in its own way and the recommendation to split the trip with two camps was perfect!
At Kapama, the brush was very dense with trees and bush so off roading was not possible. We frequently saw animals everywhere as we drove and there were differences in the quantity and frequency of some species at each location. There were interesting and fun excursions (Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center and Elephant Encounter) here that we could not get elsewhere. We could only do a hot air balloon flight at Hoedspruit but were disappointed that the winds were too strong while we were there so never did this. Kapama Southern Camp has a fence around it and ony the entrance is always open. Each morning we would come out and see wart hogs, Nyala, Kudo, Impala, and other animals near our room.
At Sabi Sands, the bush was not as dense with trees so we could go off road to track down big five which was amazing. It is a large area so we could drive for 20 minute or more withouot seeing any animals. Sabi Sands Camp is completely open (no surrounding fence) and there was a leopard sighting at camp for three consecutive days. This added an element of danger and excitement. Once at 0400, we were awoken by the monkeys in the trees indicating that the leopard was probably close by.
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Namibia, South Africa & Zimbabwe Review: Victoria Falls National Park, Luxury Africa Safari, Cape Town, Paragliding, Riverboat
We just returned from an amazing trip in Africa. This travel team did an amazing job setting up our tour, and everything worked out perfectly. The first 6 days of the trip were in Cape Town and Hermanus, and the guide they set us up with was fantastic. If you are going to Cape Town, definitely ask that this travel team set you up with him. We had a wine tasting up on Table Mountain, we tryed Paragliding off of Signal Hill, the hotel at the water front in Cape Town was perfect as well. Hermanus for whale watching was nice, but I recommend that you stay a few extra nights at the Water Front and do that as a day trip. We were supposed to do a Shark Cage Dive, but the weather didn't cooperate for that, so that is the main reason we stayed in Hermanus. Next we went to Ulusaba Lodge at a private game reserve by Kruger National Park. That was a 5 star amazing experience. It is owned by Richard Branson, and we loved every minute of it. Next we went to Zimbabwe to Elephant Camp in luxury tents, which were more like little houses with amazing views. We visited Victoria Falls as well. The staff there were also fabulous. The last part of our trip was on the Chobe Princess riverboat on the Chobe River in Namibia. Initially, it was a hassle with going through multiple immigrations on our drive to the get on the boat through Zimbabwe, Botswana, then Namibia, but in the end, it was all worth it. Seeing the wildlife by boat was a different perspective and an amazing experience. They would do multiple game drives via a smaller boat that was a tender for the riverboat. We were able to bring it right up to shore an get close to Elephants, crocodiles, hippos, giraffe, and baboons. Overall, this travel team planned out a perfect trip for us. We got to see all of the "Big 5" plus almost every other animal you can imagine. All of our guides and staff were a pleasure to work with, the food was amazing. The only thing I wish is that it wasn't such a long journey to get there from the US. But it is a small price to pay for the travel time to make a memory like that! Thank you Zicasso for once again setting us up with a great Travel Agency to work with.
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