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
Ambitious but needs some fine tuning.
Just returned from two and a half weeks in South Africa. One week around Capetown and the east and west coasts. Second week was spent north of Johannesburg on safari.
South Africa is a beautiful place and having our time organized by Go Touch Down was a huge relief. It’s a busy place and a logistical nightmare if done on your own. The tour guide around Capetown, JP was knowledgeable, friendly and made us feel safe.
The safari week did not disappoint. So many opportunities to see wildlife in a natural habitat. Truly amazing. However, two game drives a day got to be a bit much, in the end. The safari week did have more free time between game drives, thank goodness. It’s nice to recharge when on vacation.
If I had a criticism it would be that the days were too jam packed and busy. Very little time to relax and unwind. A few things could have been omitted and it wouldn’t have affected the experience.
Also, I think it would be important to mention some level of physical fitness is essential. A lot of older or physically limited folks struggled getting into the jeeps for safari or couldn’t walk down to see some places.
Additionally, nothing was mentioned about “load shedding”. South Africa’s idea to save electricity. Entire grids of electricity are shut off for hours at least twice a day. It was an inconvenience and a nuisance. There has to be a better way.
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Email Steven & LeeAnna Silverman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A class act! Go Touch Down provided an experience that far surpassed our expectations.
This was our first trip to Africa to celebrate our anniversary. We decided on the 10-day signature tour (option B) because it had safari's as well as a few days in Capetown. Our first stop was a safari camp called Humala in the Songimvelo Game Preserve. This was the most remote of the three places we stayed but the accommodations were 5-star! Our bungalow had a thatch roof with tent sides on a raised platform overlooking the river. It was furnished very comfortably, and we really enjoyed the outdoor shower. The staff was very attentive, and the chef was amazing. The morning and evening safaris were amazing but much different (and cooler temperatures) than we expected. Humala is in the mountains and not the huge flat lands you normally associate with African Safari's. The wildlife was everywhere, and I captured some amazing images. Though there are no predators in this area there was no shortage of zeba's, giraffe, wildebeest, hippos, and every species of antelope. As an award-winning wildlife photographer, I was very impressed by this location. The evening Sundowners (cocktails in the bush) were a great way to end each day. At the dance performance were we unexpectedly brough up to do a special anniversary dance with the performers. An experience that was just over the top.
After a long drive with several stops along the way to view/photograph the amazing scenery of the panorama route we arrived at Tshukudu, a private game lodge. Here the rooms were more like traditional hotel rooms but larger and very well furnished. When we arrived, our bed was covered in flower petals and chocolates, with a pair of heart shaped swans made from our towels, another anniversary surprise! The staff was great, and the meals tended to be buffet style which is a plus for a big eater like myself. Breakfast and lunch were served on the patio, but the dinners were served fire side in the Boma. This was a very beautiful and romantic setting. The game drives here were very different than at Humala. Here the land was flatter, and there was very dense brush. One our first game drive we saw a pair of lions, a small pack of elephants, and a mother and calf rhinoceros all within the first 30 minutes! Our guide was quick to point out that this was not a typical day, but it was an experience I will never forget. We saw 4 of the big five, only the elusive leopard was missed.
From Tshukudu we did a full day trip to Kruger National Park. It was 105 degrees that day and much of the wildlife was hiding or hanging out at the water hole. Don't get me wrong we saw plenty, and I captured some wonderful images. For me the highlights of Kruger were the Birds and Vervet monkeys. We saw two endangered birds that even our guide had never seen before. The saddle-billed stork and the Southern Ground Hornbill, this was very exciting. I also was able to photograph a Twany & Brown Snake Eagle within a few minutes of each other. There were several great small birds like the lilac-breasted roller and the little bee eater. A vervet monkey posed in a tree for us while its little ones were running all over. It was wonderful to watch the little ones play and occasionally stop and pose for a portrait.
At this point the safari part of our tour ended and we caught a flight (included) to Capetown. I highly recommend staying at the Belle Maroc, a little boutique hotel right on the beach. It's a very contemporary design that is decorated in comfortable Moracin. There are many little cozy areas to relax but the bar top overlooking the water was the place to be, even when it was cold. Because its small, the menu and bar selection were limited but the food was wonderful. We really enjoyed the open kitchen where we could watch the chef prepare our meals. I only wish the tour schedule allowed for some down time so we could have enjoyed the amenities. Our Capetown itinerary was packed and kept us busy from morning to night. Seal Island and World of Birds were nice but touristy. Cable mountain, and cape point were beautiful. We spent a full day in the wine country visiting wineries for tastings and pairings followed by lunch and shopping. The finally was going to Gold Dinner Theater later that night. The dinner was a 14-course tasting menu with dishes from around Africa. There were even comical drum lessons and a wonderful show.
The guides were all very knowledgeable and made it a fun experience. The small group size, 6 per van, was perfect, and we made some new lifelong friends from Australia. Even when a second van was following us to the same locations the group size was still limited to 12. The restaurant's they took us to were all top of the line and everything was included except our bar tab.
Go Touch Down Tours even arranged for us to spend a few extra days after the tour. They arranged our return flight to Johannesburg, hotel/airport transfers, and a guide who took us to the extra adventures we added. The only downside to this whole experience was the vans used to transport us around. While they were comfortable, we did have one break down and leave us stranded at cape point. We were finally able to drive it to the nearest town and find a bar to hang out in until a replacement could be found, made the best of it! In Capetown the air conditioning in the van was not working.
Booking our trip and working with the office staff was really easy. they assisted us with getting our trip insurance and professionally answered hundreds of questions. I highly recommend using go Touch down Tours if you plan to visit South Africa. Ours was the trip of a lifetime!
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Email Sally | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A trip that went far beyond our expectations.
I booked a safari thru GTD in 2016. We had never traveled outside of the U.S. so my family & I were beyond excited and were set to go in 2019 but unfortunately Covid hit. We finally were able to go this past September. It was far beyond what we had anticipated or expected. No words or photos could ever capture the beauty of what we saw or the thrill of what we had the opportunity to do in South Africa. GTD made our adventure so easy and wonderful I can't say enough about the company. We stayed at Humala and Tshukudu, both were wonderful. I have to admit we were more partial to Humala, it's a HIDDEN GEM! The staff, rangers and the food were exceptional and lets not forget the ranger dog Layla. We fell in LOVE with everyone and everything and hope to go back one day soon! I've seen a few negative reviews on GTD but I have to disagree as the GTD staff took care of everything and helped ease my nerves when I had reservations or concerns. A safari thru GTD should be on everyone's bucket list.
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Email Sally | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
All in all a fabulous trip. We saw tons of animals and the tour of Kruger National Park was fabulous. Every day was crammed with tours, and it would have been nice to have a little down time. Some nights there wasn’t even an opportunity to clean up and change clothes for dinner. Since we were just a few nights in the first two places, we were living out of our suitcases. Cape Town was wonderful, and we loved the Stillness Spa- enjoy a massage if you can find the time. The tour to two vineyards was wonderful but there was only 3 hours between lunch and dinner so we would suggest time adjustments be made there. We opted out of the hop on hop off bus and aquarium visit in Cape Town just so we could relax on our own. Our van drivers, Thabo, on our first stops and Chris in Cape Town were fabulous, as were all the staff at the three resorts. All in all, definitely worth the price and you will see pretty much everything that S. Africa has to offer.
Email Robyn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded expectations
Well organised, great value for money. Small boutique hotels in lovely locations. A very full itinerary for the Capetown tour. We could easily have stayed extra nights in the V and A waterfront area as there was so much to see and do, as well as extra days in Johannesburg to explore the city and surrounds. The safaris were excellent. Overall the food was good although Humala River lodge food could be improved. Some administrative issues which caused a degree of anxiety but these were dealt with promptly. Service was always friendly and efficient. Overall we were very satisfied and would recommend Go touchdown our friends.
Email Allan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent very well organized and travel guides were excellent
Very well organized excellent accommodation and meals tour guides were excellent game parks we visited were good over all good value for money
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Email Tim & Donna | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Guides very good, accommodations and food in Cape Town terrible!!
It's too bad that we have not gotten much of a response from go touch down on our intial complaint and no refund on the less than accepble hotel in Cape Town. The Stillness manor and spa was a 2 star rating at best rooms were dirty mold in bathroom (shower) and food was poor.
We were promised the Bel Moroc a upscale hotel and at the last moment changed to the Stillness. We were very disappointed at this change and not being offered compensation for the change!
Two of the complainers about the van being cramped have been compensated!
it's too bad that such a nice tour turned out at the end to be so disappointing!
We await your response.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Nov 22, 2022Dear Tim & Donna,
Thank you for taking the time to review us. We are sorry to read that our communication with you during your tour was not resolved while traveling. Please know, as per your original sale docs you were not charged to be moved from Inverness (see page 4 of sale docs). That being said, we want you to be happy, and it seems that the last room of your stay was not up to standard. We have spoken to the CEO and he has approved a $150 Amazon gift card to be sent to you. Kind regards GTD Corporate
Email Max | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This was a great tour with so much diversity.
The one month tour we had was unbelievable and packed with so much diversity. The guides and accommodation were excellent and the food was out of this world. We seen so many animals and the landscape was brilliant.
Happy to recommend to anyone thinking of travelling to Africa
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Email Joanne | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime trip with a few hiccups
Overall, the trip was quite memorable . The Cape Town portion was go, go, go. Jonathan, our Go Touchdown driver and guide was very good and got us to the excursions on time but each day was filled with perhaps too many excursions (not Jonathon’s fault). Jonathon even got Go Touchdown to compensate the “girls” on the trip with a massage when one sea excursion was canceled due to inclement weather. On the safari portion the guides were knowledgeable and quite entertaining. Shadrack at Tsukudu was the BEST. We felt fortunate that he found 4 of the big 5 for us. On the other hand, at Humala our guide said a “saying” that I felt was a racial slur. It was said only on one day (repeatedly) and if it continued during the rest of the trip I would have brought it up with the management. All in all, Cape Town and the Safari was worth the flight time it took for us to get there (51 hours total) !!!
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Email Samantha Barnard | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
EXCELLENT,DETAILED AND HOSPITIABLE . UNFORGETABLE EXPERIENCE .
Without a doubt this is the tour company to trust your travel details with. The logistics are flawless, the service is exceptional and the hospitality puts a warmth in your heart that is undeniable. A month later i am still Intoxicated by an experience that no price tag could match. The food never disappointed and the Wildlife Experiences were out of a National Geographic episode. I will NEVER forget this journey .
10 Star Rating from me !