Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 41-50 of 426 Reviews
Kyle   –  
Canada CA
Visited: December 2022 Reviewed: Dec 23, 2022

Email Kyle  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Incredable Once in a Lifetime Trip - Thanks Pembury!
5/5



I can’t say enough good things about Pembury overall, and the personalized elite service provided by Heidi (our contact person).

Pembury’s website provided excellent detail and usability. I was able to come up with a tentative plan just based on the extensive information available.

The prices they were able to quote were below every other safari booking service that I checked with, and therefore, I can’t imagine a better value!

We explained to Heidi upfront that we had a unique opportunity that included a month of holiday time, and consequently, we wanted to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa. Heidi provided us with several options, highlighted areas that she felt couldn’t be skipped, and outlined trade-offs when it came to other experiences. She was great about asking for preferences, and trying to figure out exactly where we felt it was worth paying a little more for something that would make a huge difference for us personally vs a luxury we didn’t think we needed.

All of that said, the biggest reason to go with Pembury is the exceptional level of personalized service. The email response time on Heidi’s part was excellent throughout the onboarding and payment process, and was top notch throughout our trip. She was able to aggregate information from other Pembury customers and get up-to-the-day feedback that she could use to adapt our itinerary if we were so inclined. Consequently, we weren’t stuck reading reviews from 3+ years ago, and left with subpar decisions as circumstances changed on the ground.

Every single one of the activities and accommodations provided by Heidi more than lived up to their billing and we couldn’t be happier with our choice of Pembury to plan our holiday!

Steve Fischer   –  
United States US
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Dec 17, 2022

Email Steve Fischer  |  65+ years of age

Kerry was a dream tour agent!
5/5

My partner and I have travelled quite a bit, but we'd never used a tour agent to plan a trip, including booking flights, rental car and hotels. We decided to take some of the guess work out of our first visit to South Africa, and by sheer luck discovered Kerry Ririe.

From our initial emails (always so prompt!) we knew we'd found exactly who we needed. Kerry quickly understood our style, budget, likes and dislikes and was invaluable in choosing hotels, routes, and numerous suggested activities. She's travelled a lot herself, and knew quite specifically the places she was recommending. We had What'sApp in case we had any issues while on our travels. We never had to use it for anything other sending photos of the fun we were having. She took all the stress out of planning - and even made it fun. We could not have had such a terrific two weeks without Kerry's advice.

By the time we were finished booking and paying (very reasonable), we decided we liked Kerry so much, we made it a point to meet her and her wonderful husband for what was a long and memorable lunch.

I hope we can return to explore more of Africa. And when we do we will certainly be using Kerry and Pembury.

Enrique Vega   –  
Mexico MX
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Dec 15, 2022

Email Enrique Vega  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excellent service and very nice people
5/5

We went to a Safari to Idube Game reserve and Panoramic route and we have to say that we loved it! Anya was our tour manager and she was always nice and designed an amazing trip for us. We are very happy with what we recieved!

Kirsten   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: November 2022 Reviewed: Dec 3, 2022

Email Kirsten  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Outstanding
5/5

Our first safari experience was beyond expectations From start to finish, Kerry listened to what we wanted, replied promptly and answered all our questions. Her choice of accommodation suited our needs perfectly and everything ran without a hitch. We have already recommended her.

Jamie   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: September 2022 Reviewed: Nov 20, 2022

Email Jamie  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Took all the stress away
5/5

While I wouldn't usually use a tour guide for a trip to Europe, the US or even Asia, I didn't feel as confident booking my three weeks honeymoon in Southern Africa across five countries. Kerry took all that stress away. Every transfer was on time, we stayed in amazing hotels and had incredible fun on all of the booked activities.

We went through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique for a variety of safaris, beaches, diving, city breaks and sight-seeing and had a wonderful time. A great balance of travelling to see places while having time to relax and unwind.

Being able to pay for the trip in one go, and knowing someone was on hand (whatsapp and phone) if there were any issues made the trip much easier, especially after organising a wedding!

Tom and Christie   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2022 Reviewed: Nov 16, 2022

Email Tom and Christie  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Trip of a Lifetime! Well Planned and Low Stress
5/5

Kerry and Pembury tours put together an excellent tour on our first trip to Africa. From the first step of planning Kerry listened to us and our budget and put together a great tour for us to Inyati Lodge in the Sabi Sands in South Africa. Previously to other destinations my wife and I have enjoyed planning our trips independent of a travel agent, however Africa seems to be a different situation. Kerry listened to our needs and our trip was an incredible experience at what was the best price we found. Additionally, Kerry was available throughout our trip with questions that came up, or when the inevitable hiccups occur on a long (and distant) trip she helped us work through them. This was one of the best services available to us and has changed our view on travel agencies in general. While we more than likely will not be traveling to Africa in the near future, Pembury Tours will be our first and likely only stop when planning our next trip there!

John Cruickshank   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Nov 14, 2022

Email John Cruickshank  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Fantastic service and level of knowledge - won't use any other safari tour operator
5/5

Kerry Ririe was our tour consultant and this was the 3rd time we have used her & Pembury Tour services.
Absolutely fantastic level of knowledge and excellent service.
This holiday was a 10 day trip to Kruger National Park, with 2 days at Idube Lodge to finish our holiday.
Patrick, who met us at the airport and guided us to the car hire, was a lovely chap, very friendly and professional. He made our arrival very easy, efficient and stress free.

The Hire car was really good. Easy pick up & return.

Our first night’s accommodation at Critchley Hackle Lodge, Dullstroom was perfect and we had the most delicious dinner on site - a wonderful start to our holiday.

The camps in Kruger were very good. Kerry spent time assisting and advising us on which camps to stay at. Our favourite by far was Olifants, with our bungalow having the most superb views over the river. It was hard to drag ourselves away.

Game viewing was excellent, everyday was filled with wonderful wildlife, the highlights being 2 cheetahs on the Timbavati road and a pride of lions blocking the road as we left Lower Sabie very early one morning. Giraffes fighting and wild dogs at the side of the road sleeping off a busy morning and honey badgers at dusk, all greatly added to our experience. We must have seen over 30 wild dogs in two packs, it was just amazing as we hadn't seen wild dogs previously and they were so much fun to watch.

We had four separate leopard sightings .... each one was breathtaking.

We didn't see a rhino until our last day in Kruger, which completed the big 5 and then saw rhino twice daily at Idubi .

The drive to Idube was a bit bumpy in places but, the car handled it well, otherwise very straight forward and Kerry's directions were excellent.

Idube had lovely staff, with our tracker Ian & guide Mark, being excellent. They made each safari fun and extremely educational.
Accommodation was good with a very comfortable bed.We really enjoyed our time there. The public areas at Idubi are very attractive and all of the staff were lovely they even shared a couple of recipes with me which was so kind .

Long drive back to Jo'burg airport after breakfast but, good roads and very achievable .

Overall, another fantastic holiday - thanks again to Kerry & Pembury for making it so smooth, so personal and so amazing. Her incredible knowledge and ability to marry our wishes and needs have yet again ensured that we had the holiday of a lifetime. We really appreciate how she tailors our wishes into the most fabulous trips even when our wishes are bigger than our budget. We talk a lot about how special Kerry makes our holidays. Namibia stands out in particular, we could never have done it without her and we will be forever grateful to Kerry for introducing us to Addo Elephant National Park. Thanks to Kerry SA is our number one destination choice. We've shared kerry's name and that of Pembury Tours with so many people who are eager to consider a SA holiday but uncertain as to where to start.

Kerry & Pembury Tours have given us the most amazing holidays and Kerry's first hand experience and recommendations have ensured that every trip has been outstanding . We wouldn’t consider having anyone else assist us.

Carolyn Ching   –  
Philippines PH
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Nov 13, 2022

Email Carolyn Ching

Perfect from day 1...
5/5

This is the 2nd time I've used Pembury Tours and dealt with Ms Tammy thru emails and wats app. The first time was 2019 when we went a a big group of friends and family. This time I took my own family of 5 (Oct 2022). Both times all quotes, instructions, bookings made were very clear and straight forward. If things needed to be changed it was very easy to contact and get a reply from Pembury. Thank you for making our vacation special and hassle free. Use Pembury Tours, you won't regret it. I've already referred other friends who used them July 2022 and they were also happy.

Darcy   –  
United States US
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Nov 10, 2022

Email Darcy  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Easy to work with, was quick to tailor our Safari to what we wanted, great results
5/5

Kerry was quick to respond to our questions as we sought to narrow down our options. The itinerary quickly came together to match our days available and what we wanted to do while in South Africa. We loved each of the lodges we stayed at. Kerry was available every step of the way, from planning, to confirmation, to logistics while we were in the country. And it was so nice being met when we arrived at the airport and having every detail worked out from where we were staying and getting from place to place throughout the week we were there. Never had to worry about a thing--the perfect vacation. In addition, the lodge operators knew our preferences without us even having to say a thing. Would gladly work with Kerry and Pembury Tours again.

Mary   –  
France FR
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Nov 6, 2022

Email Mary  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Efficient, knowledgable and friendly, excellent company to work with.
5/5

After a great deal of online research, we approached Pembury Tours and asked them to arrange a South African safari trip for us. Tammy quickly responded to our message and started working on our trip. We told her our budget and our particular interests and she did the rest. She put together several proposals and from that, we finally came up with a superb trip to four different safari destinations. Tammy arranged everything perfectly, the lodges she suggested were excellent and all of the road and internal air transfers worked seamlessly. We didn’t have to worry about anything while we were away, Tammy had given us her contact details and was available at any time should we have any problems or queries.
We would highly recommend Pembury Tours for their excellent customer service and would like to thank Tammy in particular for all her help in planning a wonderful trip to South Africa. We hope to work again with Pembury Tours in the future.

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