East Cape Tours
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 1998)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, SATOA, ATOL & SATSA
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $28 to $111 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Helen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
In liquidation
3 family members in Sydney Australia booked an expensive itinerary having taken over R300000 only to be told on 2.12.24 they have gone into voluntary liquidation. Only one lodge had received a deposit from us. They appear to have been trading while insolvent. Very unhappy and don't expect to receive any reimbursement.
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Jan 6, 2025For over a quarter century, East Cape Tours has been privileged to share the wonders of Southern Africa with travelers from across the globe. Since our founding in 1998, we've guided countless guests through extraordinary experiences, weathering significant challenges along the way—from the Cape Town water crisis to the global pandemic.
While our dedication to excellence earned us consistent praise and loyal customers throughout our 27-year journey, recent market conditions proved insurmountable. After an extensive review with our financial partners, accountants, business rescue specialists, and potential investors during the final quarter of 2024, we made the difficult decision to cease operations and stop accepting new bookings.
In keeping with our commitment to transparency and responsible business practices, we've worked closely with the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), who notified all members of this development on November 22nd.
Email Emma Smith | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DO NOT BOOK WITH COMPANY !!!
After nearly a month of waiting to hear back from the 'CEO' we are finally told that they will not provide a refund even though the country is not letting us travel there. This was a honeymoon trip and our wedding is cancelled, so unhelpful. This was the only provider who we have encountered problems with, all other bookings in our trip were kindly refunded. Awful customer service. Silly company really as I imagine everyone who experiences this will not book with them in the future.
RO
Email Razvan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A total dissapointment! Avoid them at all costs!
I travelled around the world and I haven't found a travel agency worse than East Cape Tours. I booked with them a 4 night stay at Jackalberry Lodge, I paid 30% and I asked them to pay the difference after I would receive my visa for South Africa at the beginning of December. They spoke with The Reservation Department from Thornybush Game Reserve where Jackalberry is located and it was agreed that I will pay the difference after I have my visa issued. On November one month before leaving to SA, East Cape Tours have charged my credit card for the difference even if the agreement was to pay at the beginning of December. The bank was asking me if they should block the payment but in the end I have received the visa and I said no.
But the worst things were still to come.
3 weeks before leaving to South Africa Thornybush Reservation Department informed me that they have no availability for 4 nights at Jackalberry even if I paid in full our 4 night stay and I have received the confirmation of booking. East Cape Tours and Thornybush Reservation Department were so incompetent in dealing with me and my reservation and offered me a lower value lodge N'Kaya. I was very very dissapointed and frustrated to see that these 2 companies were trying to turn my holiday into a disaster. The accomodation that they were offering was 500 USD cheaper than Jackalberry. In the end I had to settle with N'Kaya because we had already paid the transfer to Thornybush and there was no lodge available left for the period before Christmas. I had to phone my bank 4-5 times to see if the difference was reimbursed of not, in the end the money entered my account.
I lost a lot of time speaking with East Cape Tours, with their stubborn manager Colin Diland which didn't apologize for the mess and harm done to us. i have all the emails and documents provin the harm done by these 2 companies. Anyone interested can contact me anytime. Try to stay away from East Cape Tours and Thornybush Reservation Department, otherwise your holiday can turn into a disaster!
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Jan 14, 2016How do you answer a post like this?
We have been organising holidays and vacations since 1998 and have many repeat guests and countless referrals.
Well, here we go...
This started out as one of our simplest bookings. The client booked with us and we booked the lodge.
What we didn’t know at the time was that despite the fact that the client was a ‘gold star critic’ on TripAdvisor and had visited 105 countries, he didn’t have a visa for South Africa. We did offer to help and delayed taking payment as long as possible, but the client rather preferred that we took the risk and paid the costs if the visa was not forthcoming!!
This was obviously completely unacceptable and we would never have agreed to this when we made the booking. The client was right with his comment that I can be stubborn in such circumstances!
Finally, the client did obtain his visa and had a great time giving Thornybush an excellent rating on TripAdvisor.
I trust that I have suitably answered the post and hope that you will agree that it rather highlights how we always have and always will continue to go the extra mile for our clients.
US
Email Marcella Wickham | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Made us a spectacular Safari, but communication was very poor.
The good: East Cape made us a truly spectacular safari and trip to South Africa! It was a dream come true, and for that we are grateful. We were put up in top of the line hotels and tents, with delicious food and wonderful people. Treated like royalty the entire time. We told them what we wanted, and they arranged the entire thing. Originally, we were put up in a different accomodation which seemed stuffy to us, and when I voiced we wanted an upscale tent with about 10 days to go, it was arranged for us (Best thing we ever did!). So, the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible, and I thank East Cape wholeheartedly for memories that will last us a lifetime and beyond.
The bad: Communication with East Cape was on pointe until they received payment. Once that happened, it was like pulling teeth to get answers. At initial contact, the owner Colin actually called us from South Africa, asked us our preferences and budget, then asked if we wanted to pay in Rand or US Dollar. Being naive, we said "US" which turned out to be an expensive mistake. He should have told us to pay in rand, though I understand he needs to make money too. Readers take heed; pay in Rand, your dollar will go exponentially further. Colin was super friendly, and then we were turned over to Denise, who's communication skills were poor. At one point about 3 weeks out of trip, we still didn't have a completed itinerary, and after multiple attempts to get it, I reached back out to Colin, who told me it was the "time difference." We were inside of one week when I finally got the itinerary, which consisted of our flights, and I had to go back to the initial proposal and type the entire thing out myself. I knew airport transfers were arranged for us, but had no idea we had a private driver until he picked us up - which was a pleasant surprise, but a detail we should have known. There were more small details that we didn't get, but that's the jist of it. Overall, I would recommend East Cape Tours, but would ask for somebody other than Denise to help you along.
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Feb 7, 2020I am very disappointed by this review as Denise and I spent ages making sure “the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible.”
I am also confused about certain parts.
We quoted and took payment in South Rand through our Nedbank virtual terminal, I don’t understand the comment about paying in USD. We paid the substantial credit card charges as we always do.
I am afraid the time difference is a reality, as it is a 14-hour difference. However, I arranged to call several times at midnight our time and managed to be super friendly.
We sent a full itinerary prior to you booking with us.
We clearly didn’t get the message across properly that it was a private tour, but can’t really understand why as it was on all our documentation. I even explained on the phone that one of our guides would be at the airport to meet you and thus no tickets or vouchers were necessary, the timing of all the transfers was arranged around your needs.
We gave you the guides mobile number, mine and Denise’s - just in case there were any problems. Nonetheless, there were no issues and it worked like clockwork, and the private driver became a pleasant surprise.
To reiterate, I think this is very harsh on Denise who went beyond the extra mile to make sure “the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible, and I thank East Cape wholeheartedly for memories that will last us a lifetime and beyond.”
Email Nick Gilmore | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Tour operator excellant
Communications and everything to do with East cape 1st class
Fishing Lodge most enjoyable and would visit again.
Did not enjoy African Queen as the boat did not really go anywhere .
and the couple of hours which it did cruise in the morning clashed with
morning activity .Food and staff good but might would be better of in a lodge.
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Dec 18, 2018Good day Nick,
Thank you for the great review! We're so glad to hear that we could help you plan your holiday. We're sorry to hear that you did not enjoy the cruise safari, but we appreciate the feedback and will use this information to improve our services. We look forward to organising a tailor-made African getaway for you again in the future!
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Email AZ | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and Dedicated
We talked to Lynn, and she was always very responsive and dedicated to getting us the best safari experience that we wanted. She was very understanding about providing lots of options and was quick in getting the receipts and vouchers put together. The safari itself was wonderful, and I would definitely use East Cape Tours & Safaris again.
Everything turned out perfect
Thank you for all your help everything turned out perfect. Ebrahim was super I'd highly recommend him to anyone traveling in Cape Town. Ismail was also excellent . We met Robert More at The More Quarters one morning he was extremely nice thought he might be at Lion Sands when we were there but left us a special message because he left the day we arrived and a book signed by him his greatgrandfather wrote.The staff at More Quarters were so friendly we loved our room and the hotel itself. Mont Rochelle is probably the most beautiful place we have ever been.Loved Franschook, The vineyards and wineries were magnificent. Could have spent more time there. The Lion Sands River Lodge was absolutely beautiful the staff was great and we had the best ranger in Neil and tracker Albert. Made friends with two couples we did our safaris with. Trip of a lifetime all we can do is pray we can go back some day. If we know anyone who is interested we will definetly refer you. Thank you again.
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Jul 28, 2016Hi Wayne.
Thank you so much for this superb review - we really couldn't ask for anything better. We are so pleased that you had a great time on your holiday and that you loved all of the accommodation. It's always nice to know that our services were appreciated by our guests, and that they would recommend us to others.
Wishing you all the best,
East Cape Tours
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Email JENNIFER | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely knowledgeable and appeared very enthusiastic about the assignment.
Our agent Cearl Mamey did an exceptional job managing our trip. All venders she selected provided exceptional service. We felt the pricing was of value. Cearl had everything in place when it was time to travel. I will defently seek her services for any future travels she manages at East Cape Tour.
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Oct 29, 2024“Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that you had such an amazing experience with our holiday packages/tours/safari. Your kind words truly mean the world to us. It was our pleasure to help make your trip memorable, and we can’t wait to assist you again with another adventure in the future!”
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Email Joshua | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cearl Marney planned the perfect vacation for us!
We started with only a vague idea of what we wanted out of our vacation: a safari. Cearl was absolutely amazing in helping us decide between various lodges and quickly getting prices and availability. When we had a change of plans and wanted another day she went out of her way to help us get another night at the lodge we were already at. All travel, from drivers to flights were taken care of and everything worked flawlessly. Cearl was truly fantastic throughout the entire planning process!
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Oct 29, 2024“Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that you had such an amazing experience with our holiday packages/tours/safari. Your kind words truly mean the world to us. It was our pleasure to help make your trip memorable, and we can’t wait to assist you again with another adventure in the future!”
MY
Email Bethany | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very Helpful and Smooth
Cearl Marney was really helpful in answering questions about the tour that we were interested in, and the whole process of booking the tour was very smooth and easy. She communicated promptly and professionally, and we ended having a wondering time at Amakhala Game Reserve!