Nick van de Wiel of Tailor Made Safaris
Tailor Made Safaris
- Located In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- FGASA, TKZN, MHCTO & EDTEA
- Tour Types:
- Self-drive mid-range & luxury tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $86 to $377 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Marie-Claude | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful family road trip to South Africa
We booked a trip with Tailor Made Safaris through a travel agent based in Canada.
Positive elements:
- We had excellent service before and during the trip. They always answered our questions quickly.
- We really appreciated getting such a nice book of our upcoming trip.
- The reception at the airport was also flawless.
- We appreciated that they gave us a phone for the duration of the trip.
- The itinerary made us visit a good chunk of the southern part of South Africa (including places that we would not have picked ourselves).
Less positive elements:
- Looking back, the travel agent made us buy the plane ticket first, and then looked for an itinerary and accommodations. In the end, we ended up spending more than we had planned and staying in 1-2 places (out of the 6 where we stayed) that were below our expectations. It would have been preferable for us to reduce the duration of our stay under those circumstances.
- We quickly ran out of airtime for the phone and it would have been appreciated to have been given the opportunity to buy airtime ahead of time.
- The itinerary did not fully consider what would be open and closed around the Christmas holidays. We would have appreciated more guidance on that.
- The itinerary mostly focused on expensive activities and not so much on budget-oriented ones (assuming most people do not have an unlimited budget, especially families with multiple children).
Overall, we really enjoyed our trip to South Africa and are happy to have used the services of Tailor Made Safaris, as it gave us the opportunity to discover wonderful places we probably would never have been if we had designed our own itinerary.
Reply from Tailor Made Safaris
Posted on Feb 22, 2019Hi Marie-Claude,
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback, both positive and constructive. We will discuss this with the travel agent you used. I think it is important to clarify that you booked through a travel agent, and we were the 'ground handler' or tour operator for the travel agent. We acted on direction from the agent, and believe we gave them the same valuable information that we give directly to our clients, but obviously we have no way of knowing if this information was passed on to you in its entirety.
Booking with a travel agency instead of directly with us brings many benefits, but unfortunately, it means that we do not get to communicate directly with you until the day you arrive in South Africa. It means we have no control over the amount of pre-trip advice passed on to you, regarding flights, the itinerary, type & quality of accommodation you receive. Due to the nature of the service we offer, we create the tour as per your travel agent’s instructions, which means we are reliant solely on his communication to us.
You have highlighted for us a crucial flaw in our dealings with a third party agency and will seek to improve on that moving forward. I am truly sorry that you experienced some less than positive elements to your South African trip and hope that I have managed to clarify where we believe the potential problem has arisen from. We will be in contact with the agency you booked with to ensure we improve the process of passing on important pre-flight information to our valuable guests.
With best regards, Nick van de Wiel, Managing Director Tailor Made Safaris
NL
Email Sjef Wierink | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful trip in South Afrika
In the preparation we got all possibilities to make an individual trip. It was well organised. We got a lot of information in advance. The guides and tours were on time. The guides told us many interesting things about the country, animal, the people, etc.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Enjoyed the experience with similar minded, keen photographic group.
It was their first tour group to Namibia, their home environment is Kwazulu- Natal. I found that the team was caring, involved and energetic. Communication and service was good.
NL
35-50 years of age
The most amazing trip I made in my life!
During our safari drive in Tembe Park there was an elephant coming at us in a threatening way, while we were sitting in the jeep. This is one of the most impressive moments of our trip. The elephant stopped at only 2 meters away form us, observed us for a while, and then turned around to proceed what he was doing. It’s amazing to see an elephant from this close! We’ve seen lots of animals during this safari at the beautiful wildlife reserves. We’ve visited fantastic destinations, like Kosi Bay and Drakensberg. This is the most amazing trip I made in my life; thanks to Tailor Made Safaris!
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A perfect combination of wildlife, nature, photography, adventure and relaxation!
We have come back from our lovely trip through Kwazulu Natal (Mkhuze, Kosi Bay, Tembe Elephant Park, St. Lucia, Hluhluwe, Drakensberg) and it has taken us quite a while to work our way through the many beautiful photos and videos.
The trip was a perfect combination of wildlife, nature, photography, adventure and relaxation. Tailor Made Safaris has shown us this beautiful part of South Africa in a special way, with a highly skilled and attentive private guide and a sturdy 4x4 Land Cruiser. An unforgettable safari experience! As active travelers and ‘hobby’ photographers the many "up- close and personal” encounters with Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes, Lions and Wild Dogs, and the beautiful nature was a real treat.
The trip was diverse and varied: forest, savanna, tropical forest, dune, beach, marsh and rugged mountains; various environments and wildlife parks came into our over three week trip.
We can also tick off 2 more UNESCO World Heritage sites from our wish list: Ukhahlamba in the Drakensberg and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Due to the good organization, the beautiful accommodations and personalized treatment of Tailor Made Safaris, we feel privileged to have been able to experience such a safari.
Darja and Sander (The Hague - The Netherlands )
NL
Email Dirk | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Unforgettable Journey Through Southeast Africa with Tailor Made Safaris
Our journey through Southeast Africa with Tailor Made Safaris was a priceless experience. The overwhelming natural beauty, the hospitality of the local people, the rich culture, the flavorful cuisine, and the incredible wildlife made this trip an unforgettable adventure. If you're seeking a journey that stimulates your senses and touches your heart, I wholeheartedly recommend a trip to Southeast Africa. Tailor Made Safaris ensured that everything went smoothly, allowing us to savor every moment of this remarkable journey.
NL
Email Jurgen de Zeeuw | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great trip with all the trimmings and as the name says "tailor-made"
We are back from our trip a week and a half and are still enjoying everything we have seen and experienced
The trip contained all the wishes we communicated about
The guesthouses and lodges were from good to very luxurious with good food and good service
Also the game drives were great with good guides who showed us all the animals on our list and told us a lot about them
We received an information book in advance with all addresses, information about country and customs, where we should be and nice advice about restaurants
Our adult daughters, who each had their own room or lodge, were also very enthusiastic about the accommodations and the trip
In short, this was the trip of a lifetime exactly as discussed only in superlative
NL
Email Familie Wolst | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very personal advise, nice contact and guidance during the trip. A lot of knowledge and connections.
Being able to make the journey of our lives very independently with our family. We made our wishes and budget known and that resulted in a nice suitable trip. Everything neatly within budget and no nasty surprises during the trip. Everything is arranged down to the last detail. A beautiful travel book in advance and personal contact during the trip.
We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and there is nothing we thought about afterwards; if only they had arranged it differently. The accommodations were top notch, the activities great.
If we are ever allowed to go again, we will definitely go with Tailor Made Safaris.
NL
Email Mark Z | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The experience of our trip was more than amazing thanks to Tailor Made Safaris
The anticipation of our trip started with extensive consultation with Tailor Made Safaris (which we already knew from two trips in the past) about what the trip should look like. They listened carefully and made a tailor-made trip that was completely to our liking. The communication was excellent, wishes and options were being exchanged all the time and little by little a perfect travel program was put together. Accommodation-categories were divided in basic/medium/luxury so there were options for every budget. We decided to do a mix of basic and a bit more luxury, which worked really well. After the booking a beautiful personalised photobook fell on our doormat, containing the full travel schedule with all relevant information regarding the trip/South Africa and some nice pictures. It was so much fun to receive this book which made us looking even more forward to the real journey!
Then the trip itself. It was wonderful, it really was. South Africa was only open for a week without too much Covid-restrictions when we flew there (yes we were a bit lucky). We started in Cape Town, a lovely city with nice tropical vibes. We climbed Lion's Head with perfect views on Table Mountain and saw the sun set at Signal Hill. We did a day trip to Boulder's beach to see the penguins. From Cape Town we flew to Durban, because Richard's Bay airport was still closed due to Covid-19. At Durban Airport we picked up the rental car and drove to St. Lucia. In this area we saw hippos in the lake as well as walking IN the village of St. Lucia. Furthermore we did some excellent game-drives in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. After St. Lucia we went to the private game reserves of Amakhosi and Manyoni. Over there we stayed in excellent lodges and had many game-drives. Important to say that all game drives during our journey were guided by very good, well experienced guides. However the guides in Amakhosi, Philip with his side-kick Jeremy, stole our hearts by adjusting every drive 100% to our wishes and doing their utmost to give us a fabulous meeting with some hidden lions. Nothing was too much for them!
Via, once again, a short stay in St. Lucia we drove to Drakensberg to stay a few days in the mountains where we were a bit unlucky with the weather but where we did a fantastic hike. We ended our 18 day trip in Johannesburg but before heading back to our home country we did another day of game driving at Pilanesberg. We simply couldn't resist the opportunity. There we saw, on our 16th and final game drive a leopard up close for one minute or so. It was a brilliant moment, the icing on the cake. Thanks Tailor Made Safaris for making this an unforgettable, very well organized journey. Your service was, once again, excellent, communication was transparent, and rental car, accommodations and all excursions were 100% well organized. It was fab. Looking forward to our next trip with you guys, probably in 2024!
NL
Email Ruud en Marion Coomans | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional and friendly organization, who know what they are talking about.
After 2 years of waiting (due to corona), we finally got to make our tour to South Africa at the beginning of October 2022. After expressing our wishes, our trip was put together. Before departure we had received a lot of information about our trip and you could always ask questions via the app or email. Nothing was too much. From the first minute to the last, everything was arranged down to the last detail. With our Nissan Xtrail 4x4 we were able to travel in a luxurious and relaxed way on roads that are not always comparable to those in the Netherlands. It took some getting used to driving on the left, but that went quickly. We made several game drives, where we encountered many animals, including lions, giraffes, elephants, ostriches, many birds, too many to mention all. A hippo and crocodile boat ride. A whale tour, departing from the beach, that alone was an exciting, rough and especially wet experience to get through the surf, once over the surf we were lucky enough to see jumping whales. A walk through the fig forest with a guide and snorkeling in the beautiful bay of Kosi Bay. Every day was enjoyable and we could recover from all the impressions in various luxurious lodges and cozy tents where the impalas, nyalas and warthogs walk around your accommodation. Everything, really everything was perfectly arranged Tailor-made Safaris. Nothing was missing and if there was something, the team was available and it was immediately arranged for you. In short, are you looking for your dream trip to South Africa? Then we definitely recommend tailor-made safaris.
We will now start sorting the approximately 6999 photos we have taken :-) This trip was truly UNFORGETTABLE! Tailor made safaris… THANKS!! and in particular Angela and Geert.
Ruud and Marion Coomans
