Guides & Their Toys
Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
- Offices In:
-
United States
Canada
Australia - Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Tonda | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Small group and well done choices on the itinerary!
The Humala River Lodge was beyond expectations. Service was excellent everywhere.
CA
Email Sherry | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bucketlist - Retirement Gift to Self!
Since forever, I have wanted to go on an African Safari. Through serendipitous connections, I was introduced to a lady who had travelled with GoTouchDown in the Spring of 2017 and absolutely raved about it. From start to finish I was not disappointed and everything that she had shared with me of her experiences were met and more... accept, perhaps, for some confusion around the mobile phone offered at the time.
My friend and I signed on for the Signature Tour with GoTouchDown. They took care of getting us an amazing deal on flights; accommodations were great including 3 meals a day (unheard of - and not a set menu ever!); staff were extremely personable and accommodating; and friends who are from SA said that the tour had captured all the highlights, and from my perspective in fine style!
We were told up front that other than tips (and they even suggested the amounts) there would be no additional costs. That was never my experience until this trip!
We were there in the SA spring and seeing new births in their natural habitat left me awestruck. South Africa, is beautiful, which is not of GoTouchDown's doing, but they certainly provided an experience that will last my lifetime. Since our return, both my traveling companion and I have had friends/family sign-up.
Thank you GoTouchDown.
US
Email Patricia Grech | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Go Touch Down is a first class act!
Go Touch Down communicated regularly & always replied promptly to our questions. My friends and I, immediately recognized the professionalism and were impressed with Marie and the group in Sarasota, Florida. The tour guides, Jonathan, Bakkis, and Bastion were the ultimate professionals, each fun in their own way; and very knowledgeable. Without a doubt, on my/our return to South Africa, I/we will go through Go Touch Down.
Cape Town was more than I/we had ever imagined. It is truly an impressive city with the most majestic sceneries one can ever experience. The dining experiences were beyond our expectations. Jonathan, our tour guide and was kind and patient, but more importantly, we learned so much from him about the South African people, history, and its cultures. He is a class act for sure!
Bakkis, our tour guide for the second leg of our trip, was a very "happy chappie" and always made sure we were all taken care of and safe. Bakkis was fun and we enjoyed his great expressions. He is unforgettable!
Bastion, our tour guide for the safari/game drives, appears serious, but has a great sense of humor. We shall never forget his keen eye for detail and loved that he knew exactly where to stop to capture the ultimate sunrise or sunset experience. These are treasured moments for the rest of our lives!
Thank you a million times! My long life dream came true and it would not have been so perfect withour your entire team at Go Touch Down. Look forward to seeing you all again!
Affectionately,
Pat Grech
US
Email Bruce Murphy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Big Five--And Much More!
I had booked my photo safari in 2019 for the following year but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed my plans back and back and back. My wife was killed in January 2023 and I was going to cancel my trip--Go Touchdown was very understanding. But friends told me to go ahead and take the trip in my wife's memory. I had lots of questions and apprehensions about the trip and the Go Touchdown folks (mainly Lucia) patiently addressed all of them.
The trip itself was wonderful. I wanted to take photos of the African animals and was not disappointed. Of course, I had a focus on the “Big Five” and I was able to get outstanding photos of all of them. Even though it was not "bird season" there was sufficient quantities and variety of birds to photograph. The free-roaming animals were almost close enough to touch from the safety of our jeeps. The guides were phenomenal--very knowledgeable without being "academic." I thought I knew a lot about animals before the trip but I learned so much more on the safari. (Do you know that hyena poop is white because of their diet of bones?) Accommodations were very good everywhere we went and the food was fantastic.
Our small group (9 guests plus drivers/guides in 2 vans) was perfect--great personalities, interesting people, funny, friendly. One couple had visited Chobe National Park before the start of our trip and recommended it highly because of the large variety and numbers of animals. Thanks to the flexibility and responsiveness of the Go Touchdown team I was able to change my tour to include Chobe and still go to Victoria Falls. Overall, I couldn't have been more pleased with the Go Touchdown Safari experience.
CA
Email Craig and Carolyn | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
OUTSTANDING, Trip of a lifetime, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
We are very experienced travellers having travelled all over the world with various tour companies like Trafalgar, Colette, Globus, Scenic cruises etc. Our experience in Africa was second to none and it created special and fantastic memories that will last a life time. In travel the phrase "trip of a lifetime" is often overused but this truly was a trip of a lifetime! The experiences and memories are unforgettable!
Marie Brivik was wonderful and always went the extra mile to ensure our trip was unforgettable and all the many details for us were looked after. She even gave us her What's App contact info in case a problem was to occur. She was professional, thorough and always willing to listen.
We started in Cape Town and had wonderful experiences with the highlights being Buffelsfontein, Langa township tour and lunch with a local lady, Boulders penguins, Robben Island,Table mountain, the wineries, the Gold African dinner and show. These wonderful experiences can simply not be matched and would be impossible to do on our own. Absolutely awesome! Shark Bay and Belle Maroc were amazing properties!
Our second week was the 7 night safari tour at Humala and Tshukudu game lodges. The differences between the two properties gave us the opportunity to see and experience two completely different types of safaris. The swazi dancers at Humala were outstanding! The day spent in Kruger was an amazing experience and can't be missed. The sunset river cruise on the African Princess was superb, relaxing, with wonderful appetizers and drinks!
The staff was most helpful and did whatever they could to ensure our every need was met, simply speaking they spoiled us! More specifically Trevor at Buffelsfontein was awesome, Joseph who drove us to Humala and then on to Tshukudu always greeted us with a smile and went above and beyond to make our trip the best, Lyle at Humala was always eager to help and give us the best experience possible and finally Michael our guide at Tshukudu whose professionalism, knowledge and sense of humour was the best, always ensuring our safari was unforgettable by answering our many questions. Thanks to all.
The food we had was delicious, well prepared and added to our African experience!!!! Special mention must go to Pancake Harry's for their bobotie, San interpretative center restaurant for their Eland burger, Kruger lunch stop for their snails and finally Mariner's wharf. I have had lobster at many places over the world and theirs was simply the best!!
Thank you Go Touch down for a truly amazing experience that cannot be matched.
US
Email Christine | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Best!
The GoTouchdown tour was fabulous! The tour guides were always on time and full of information about everything from the animals to the terrain to the history and people of the region and culture of the area. And they were incredibly friendly, nice and unbelievably helpful getting you whatever you needed.
The Seasons hotel was ok but the Hamala and Dunkeld accommodations were fabulous! Dunkeld Estates was a total surprise - it was like Scotland in the middle of Africa with stone buildings and beautiful horses and trees - and with incredible accommodations, definitely 5-star.
The Safari guides were so knowledgeable both at Hamala and Pilanesburg that they made the experience even better. I had tears of joy seeing the giraffes, zebras, hippos, and elephants so close. The park were the lions, cheetahs, etc were was just ok but I was happy to see the big cats, and they had fabulous gift stores. I must say the Hamala Safari ride is not for people with back or neck problems but I thoroughly enjoyed the bumpy ride. Visiting the local terrain and parks showed me how vast and mountainous and diverse South Africa was.
I loved the Safari week so much that I thought the 2nd week which was in Cape Town would be a letdown but I could not have been more wrong! Our fantastic guide, JP, picked us up every morning at 7:30 or 8:00 from the Stillness Manor and we were on the go all day long seeing everything from the Most Southern tip of Africa, botanical gardens, penguins, beautiful villages like Hermanes, a cable car ride with incredible views, a bird zoo where squirrel monkeys crawled all over you ( I could have stayed there for hours), various shopping venues that had primitive local art to others with upscale African designers, and a tour of the history of diamond mining ending with an opportunity to purchase some beautiful gems.
And the restaurants! Lots of incredible food and beautiful places. My favorite was Gold where everyone got their face painted, played native drums, was entertained with various vignettes of native singing and dancing, all while dining on 14 courses (tapas size) of native foods! This place is not to be missed! There was also the restaurant at the edge of the rocky shore in Hermanes which was gorgeous. And there were lots more all included in the tour price.
The Township Tour explained how apartheid affected the people, showed how some of the poorest people still live, and showed the continuing struggle in neighborhoods today. It ended with lunch in a lovely lady’s home. It was truly an education that enhanced my understanding of South Africa and should not be missed.
I honestly didn’t want to leave. By the way, I was traveling alone and had a wonderful time meeting new people and felt safe and secure the whole trip.
US
Email Jonni Bondarenko | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All of the Go Touch Down staff are extremely dedicated to providing the best experience.
On the day we were leaving to come home, we were already discussing when we should go back. And I would absolutely reach out to Go Touch Down again to help us set up our next adventure. All of the agents who helped us were from South Africa, and therefore incredibly knowledgeable. They all hung in there with us throughout the Covid pandemic and assisted with a couple different rescheduled bookings. Ultimately, they ended up creating three separate bookings for us due to all the government shutdowns that caused us to reschedule. Agents were always prompt in their responses to us and always eased my anxiety over all the unknowns created by the pandemic. They created a level of trust that is so important for a big tour so far from home. Ultimately, we were able to finally enjoy our tour and it was the most epic journey of a lifetime. The food and the accommodations were all incredible. And we LOVED all of our local guides! These guys felt like instant family and we had so much fun driving to and from our activities with them.
US
Email Laz | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great staff & experience!
I truly enjoyed my African travel experience! The trip was simply amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire itinerary and team, but I want to specifically highlight James and Humala River Lodge for being my favorite experiences! I can't say enough about the entire experience and will definitely use Touch Down again when I return to Africa!
US
Email Glenna | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
This was an AMAZING trip.
Every aspect of the trip that was planned by Go Touch Down was the best it could have possibly been. The places were stunning. The knowledge of our guides exceeded our expectations. The people who cared for us became our friends. They were genuinely looking out for our best interest and our best experience. The accommodations were first rate. When British Air shut down, "our" representatives at Go Touch Down swooped into action and rescued us. Even the animals cooperated to give us a stunning look at their everyday lives. We have already raved about this once in a lifetime trip and recommended Go Touch Down to friends.
US
Email DON | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime, WOW!
Our ten day Signature tour of South Africa was amazing. Every detail was full and complete: service, accommodations, food, sight-seeing, game drives, information about local people and customs, tours in Johannesburg and Cape Town, cable car rides, local restaurants, and one dinner theater with inter-active entertainment. We felt very safe because Go Touch Down owned each of the three hotels/resorts that we stayed in, as well as all of the staff were employees of the tour company. This included guides, rangers, drivers, cooks, and servers. There were five in our tour group and we were treated like royalty!!
The tour company also went above and beyond expectation when our return flights were grounded in Cape Town due to grounding by the South African authority. Our guide, Jonathon, was in constant contact with the GTD South African Operations Manager and another airline to get us rebooked to fly to the USA. We couldn't have done this ourselves, and thanks to them we arrived home on the original day. This tour company is the best!!