Discover South Africa Seat Sale
Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range & luxury tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $400 to $625 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Jacqui | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once-in-a-Lifetime- Experience
I would highly recommend booking your safari through GoTouchDown. Lucia and crew did a wonderful job getting everything booked and our drivers, rangers, and game lodge employees did an excellent job in making sure we had a once-in-a-life time experience. We traveled with our young adult children and stayed at the City Lodge the first night, 3 nights at the Royal Morubisi, 4 nights at Siyela/Tskududo and another 4 nights in Cape Town. We loved each place as much as the next.
Our drivers/guides, James and Tony, were so informative, helpful and friendly. Our rangers, Lucas and Dan, were amazing and spotted all of the animals on our list. We saw lions, cheetahs and leopards several times and got so close to them. It was an awesome experience. We saw the Big 5: elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and buffalo at both private reserves. Plus countless giraffes, zebras, impalas, wildebeests, and warthogs. We also saw a few crocodiles sun bathing, a herd of hippos in the water with only their eyes above water and a male ostrich doing an extravagant mating dance. Plus my favorite bird, the lilac breasted roller.
Cape Town was also an amazing experience. We went to the Cape of Good Hope, saw penguins, went up to Table Mountain, went to a dinner theater with amazing local dancing and drumming along with wine tasting.
Email Bob and Mary Ellen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Team and a wonderful Experience in South Africa and Zimbabwe!!
We just returned from a 3 week trip coordinated and hosted by Go Touch Down Travel in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Our experience was incredible! We started with an 8 day safari split between The Royal Morubisi Private Game Reserve, and Tshkudu Private Game Reserve both in South Africa. Both reserves were excellent from our perspective. We had incredible guides in both locations, they were knowledgable and very caring and committed to our experience while in each lodge. We loved the game drives in both reserves. We saw every animal we hoped to see, certainly all the big 5 and more! Of course this experience is not just about checking off boxes, but the magic of seeing animals in the wild, and learning about their behaviors and habitats. We loved our time in Morubisi, our guide was Yolandi, she was exceptional! She was so knowledgeable, and patient, so passionate about her work and teaching us about what we were seeing and experiencing. We loved how she taught us how she was able to track the cats, the elephants, the antelope! I didn't expect to love some of the Antelope so much! Wow, a Water Buck is an incredible animal to see and photograph. The lodges were beautiful, the service was excellent. The food throughout our trip was just amazing. We were not sure we would LOVE the food on this trip, at the end that was probably our biggest surprise, we just raved about our food experiences, and the staff who served us! At Tshkudu lodge our Guide Dan was lots of fun, and tenacious about getting us thru whatever bush obstacles were in between us and a leopard or cheetah once we found them! The Safari's were both excellent and memories that we will cherish! I would be remiss not to mention Joseph who was our guide on the road, and helping to make sure our trip was well coordinated and smooth. He is wonderful person, and gentleman, and we give him an A+. We hope that GTD will support him in continuing to further his skill, knowledge and capacity to expand his roles with the company. He is an asset who helps to ensure that customers have incredible experiences, and develop a loyalty to Go Touch Down as result of his very capable guidance and support!! Joseph, thank you for your friendship and all the help and support.
We also visited Cape town and were able to see highlights of the Cape, the coast, and the Town itself. We chose to visit wineries only one day, we enjoyed that too. Table Mountain and the tour of the cape and beaches were a highlight for us that we liked best, and we enjoyed Downtown CapeTown.
From there we traveled to Victoria Falls and Chobe River. We were so happy to end our trip there, it was a highlight for us. The Ilala Lodge was incredible, beautiful and we highly recommend it! The falls are beautiful, the guide and walk to the falls was really nice. We also did the Railroad Sunset Trip with dinner and enjoyed that very much, it is pricey but was nice to see the River from the bridge and to learn about the history of South Africa from the perspective of Exploration and Train travel. Our Chobe Safari too was incredible, Webby our guide there was again, excellent. My one disappointment was the Chobe River Cruise. I had really looked forward to that the entire trip. I am not sure what happened, my impression is a woman in the office at Bushtracks who manages you in Botswana made a change to our planned itinerary for the boat and assigned us to a different boat and guide than was originally planned. That became a fiasco that really upset me that afternoon. The guide that was supposed to get us to our boat, form a tour company called Cresta I think was aloof, and unreliable. We had a very nice lunch at at a beautiful resort on the Zambezi River, and then the guide we had been reassigned to just did not show up. We sat for about an hour waiting for him and the group. Once we did find him, he was unable to get the group together, lots of time wasted and then he drove us down the river to a location that was suboptimal from the start, sketchy. And the two guys driving a little metal pontoon of a boat where more drivers and guides. I felt like we started late, barely went up the river, and motored around in circles. While we did see lots of elephants on the water, I had really hoped to get upriver to where we had seen hippos from the safari in the morning and they just did not have time or interest to head up the river. Very disappointing. I doubt that is common, but I hope GTD will address that problem so others don't have that experience. We were really hoping that would be a highlight our last day, it was a disappointment. I will say, my driver that day to Botswana, to lunch was excellent. Had he been in charge all would have gone well, it was the woman calling the shots in the Bushtrack Office who really messed things up. He did make the most of it, he was understanding, compassionate and to the extent he could he tried to get that boat guide to be responsible and helped us to find him. He also felt very badly that things did not go well. I could tell he works very hard to make experiences exceptional and he felt badly about the afternoon, it was obvious it was out of his hands.
Zimbabwe was beautiful and we absolutely loved the people in Victoria Falls. The service was exceptional and the people, especially in the shops and kiosks were so much fun to talk to and visit with, and to buys artisanal art and souvenirs from. We left there having a great appreciation for the people, and their interest in us. I am grateful to the people who took care of us, cooked for us, guided us, and sold things to us, all were kind, caring, and just good people.
Go touch down was exceptional!! We would use them again, we highly recommend them for travel to South Africa. I should mention too that leading up to the trip Lucia and Yolande who assisted us with all planning were incredible. They answered all our questions and helped us to plan and experience a once in a lifetime adventure and trip. Thank you all, and to the staff at the lodges and in Cape Town! And the the Bushtracks guides where were exceptional. We loved the trip and will cherish the memories for a lifetime!!
Email Simon | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Treated like a VIP and everything a safari should offer
Third time using Go Touchdown for safaris, they are everything they say and more. The US based staff are caring and listen, then answer everything. The pre trip communication is stellar.
When you get to South Africa, they have everything covered, whether you need a night to recover before starting on your adventure, or getting right to it, you are in amazing hands.
The safari drives take you to all areas of their properties while working to see the wide range of animals on the property. After the drives the meals are tasty and satisfying.
Rooms are always clean and prepared for you when you get back. Go Touchdown males sure that everything is seamless.
Highly recommend them for your investment and adventure.
Email Bill & Sue Bouman | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Royal Morubisi Founders Lodge
Hi Yolande ! We're back from our trip. I wanted to drop you an email to let you know that we had a great trip ! It exceeded our expectations. We saw the "Big 5" and much more. Carmen and the resort staff we're amazing, and Lucas our tour guide was outstanding. By the end of the week we felt like we were hanging out with our friends more than "Staff". James the driver was great, and Joseph who we spent our extra time in Johannesburg with was also like hanging out with a friend. We shared laughs with everyone our whole time there and are planning to return with our kids and grandkids in a few years when the young ones are old enough. Please share this review with all those mentioned, they truly were outstanding ! Thank you! Bill and Sue Bouman.
Email A J GOODWIN | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Josesp was the best. He was very polite and knew all the information that was asked from. 7 Stars
This tour was one of the best trip we have ever taken. Both game reserves were outstanding and very comfortable. The game reserves tour guides were great and very knowledgeabled on the animals in thier area. Outstanding service.
Email Graham Henrickson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
SO, YOU HAVE A DREAM TO EXPERIENCE AN AFRICAN SAFARI?
An African Safari is typically on everyone’s bucket list of travel adventures. It usually involves long flights to a country you have never been to where you are not certain of what you will find when you get there, and it is going to be costly to do it. What if you get it wrong?
So, choosing a travel partner when there are so many to pick from can be a real challenge. Who can you trust to deliver the experience you want at a price you can afford so you go home with magical memories and the pictures or video footage to prove it?
A bit of personal background – I am a 63-year-old, well-educated and well-travelled gay man who has stage 4 metastatic terminal prostate cancer. On top of that, I have a degenerative problem with my left knee. I am a solo traveller determined to experience an African adventure before I die.
With the help of Google, I selected 3 African adventure tour operators for a quote and first to respond was ‘Go Touch Down Travel & Tours’. The others responded soon after.
Despite the quirky name, what stood out for me was their willingness to tailor an adventure to suit me and at a price I could afford. In addition, it was the immediate response I received to questions and follow-up phone calls at times that best suited me regardless of the time in Africa. I received one-on-one attention by a person with genuine passion to deliver my dream adventure. From the moment I booked my trip to the day I arrived through to the day I left, I was in very capable hands.
The accommodation was great, the food exceptional, and the expert knowledge of the rangers was incredible.
To my surprise I met the actual owners of the company; even more surprising is the fact they knew me by name. That's because they are hands-on, so do not be surprised to find them at the lodge where you are staying.
Best of all, you will share your adventure with amazing people from all over the world.
Finally – a big shout-out to Angie Main from Go Touch Down who made it all happen and brought my dream to life.
Email Bobby | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly Responsive Efficient
Booked my first ever safari at the travel fair with Go Touch Down - very easy and all the follow-ups were done by phone and email. Calls were returned promptly and questions answered quickly. Overall it was a great experience and the trip exceeded my expectations. I would recommend Go Touch Down Travel for family or solo travelers on their first safari in South Africa and consider add-ons to Victoria Falls. Ask for Angie.
Email Leonard (JR) Chaplinski | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Enthusiastic
From our very first call with Angie, we knew we were in good hands. She was incredibly thorough, enthusiastic, and genuinely excited to help us create an unforgettable experience.The service we received from the moment we booked until we returned home was exceptional. Angie and the Go Touch Down team were always responsive, attentive, and willing to answer any questions as we planned our trip.The accommodations exceeded our expectations, and the food was among the best we have experienced anywhere in the world. Having traveled to many destinations, we can confidently say this trip was truly special.The wildlife experiences were absolutely incredible. We never imagined seeing so many animals or getting as close to them as we did. Every game drive brought new and exciting encounters.The staff and service throughout the entire trip were outstanding—truly 10 out of 10. Everything was handled professionally and exceeded our expectations.In fact, the entire experience was far better than we could have imagined. We are already looking forward to returning and would wholeheartedly recommend Go Touch Down and Angie Main to anyone considering an African safari. They made our dream trip a reality.
Email Rupert and Gwen Taylor | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Jonathan was very seasoned professional who was knowledgeable, efficiekind, friendly, and adaptable
Angie, our travel planner, and trip advisor provided exceptional service throughout the trip preparation process. She addressed all our concerns, and was very responsive whenever we needed information.
This is our second trip with Go Touch Down, and we’ve been very pleased with their pricing, and overall service. All the staff in country were very pleasant, and would go above, and beyond to insure that our needs were met.
This trip consisted of Cape Town, Zimbabwe, Botswana. In Cape Town we stayed at Shark Bay, LadyBird, and Belle Maroc . All excellent locations.
We requested our tour guide Jonathan for the second time. He is the best. Just wish we had more time at each location to enjoy and experience each place in its fullness. We were very impressed with the manager at Lady Bird who came in just to prepare us lunch. He also prepared a wonderful retirement dinner for family. Thank you!!!! This was my second Township tour, and by far the best. We visited a school, and ate in a family home. Wow!!! What an experience. Our Guide in Zimbabwe was professional, and excellent also. The Chobe game drive was by far our best game drive experience ever. There aren’t words to describe the breathtaking experience of Victoria Falls.
Thank you creating such a wonderful lasting travel experience for my family.
Email Michael H | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding trip of a lifetime!
We have just returned from what I would describe as a trip of a lifetime arranged by GO Touchdown Tours to South Africa. We spent 5 days in Cape Town followed by 5 days on Safari in the Kiango Game Reserve, and last 3 days in Victoria Falls.
We were met at each location as we stepped off our planes by guides of Go Touchdown and were looked after by each one in exemplary fashion at each location. The Guides, the accommodations, the food, and the service were top notch. Saw all of the top attractions in Cape Town, got to experience the Big 5 on our game drives in Kiango, and witnessed up close the Smoke that Thunders at Victoria Falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world.
Everything we could have imagined was taken care of and all arrangements came off without a hitch!
Go Touchdown supplied us with memories that will last a lifetime and we are so thankful we chose them to put this trip together for us. Just simply could not have been better! Highly recommend if you are looking to visit Southern Africa you look to Go Touchdown to set if up for you. I cannot imagine another firm doing a better job, and I guarantee you will be glad you did!