Southern African Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $69 to $129 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email H thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fraud! Took our money and left us abandoned
In September 14 of book a trip to Johannesburg and capetown with southern African tours owned by Craig and Bianca about a year ago. They took out money in two installments. After 2 nd installment was made, less and less communication. They made excuses after excuses about getting our itenary.. when we reached Africa, no reservation made. We felt cheated and lied to... please do not use them..
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Email S Mani | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Left stranded in South Africa
Southern African tours left us stranded in South Africa. No Accomodations or travel arrangements made. They took our money and no contact at all from Craig and Bianca. Please avoid using this travel agency. I have no Idea how they got the other reviews, but be friends or paid people to do the reviews.. Please avoid our experience.
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Email Syd | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This was the most unprofessional and disappointing experience I've had with a tour operator
If I could give them 0 stars, I would. Our experience with Southern African Tours, operated by Bianca and Craig, was deeply disappointing and frustrating. What was meant to be a stress-free and enjoyable trip to South Africa quickly turned into a logistical disaster due to severe mismanagement—or worse, a complete scam.
We paid the full amount for our trip before departure, trusting that everything would be organized as promised. Unfortunately, that trust was misplaced. Despite repeated requests, we never received any confirmation numbers, booking references, or documentation for internal flights, accommodations, or excursions. Upon arrival, it became clear that none of the arrangements had actually been made.
Left with no choice, we had to rebook everything ourselves on the ground—last-minute flights, hotels, tours—at significant extra cost and with a great deal of stress. It was incredibly disheartening and completely avoidable.
Communication from Bianca and Craig was always inconsistent, but became nonexistent once the issues emerged. To date, we’ve received no resolution, no explanation, and no refund.
I strongly caution anyone considering this agency: do your due diligence. Our experience felt not just unprofessional, but exploitative. Travel is supposed to be enjoyable and enriching—this was the opposite
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Email R Mathew | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Frauds. Took our money and did not book anything.
Our group of 14 people trusted Craig and Bianca with booking a full trip to South Africa, and we were completely deceived. They took full payment from us and never booked anything. After receiving the final payment, they stopped communicating entirely, except for a few inconsistent and suspicious excuses — ranging from family tragedies to personal emergencies. These excuses included:
A sister passing away
A house break-in
A mother passing away
An overdose
It's difficult to know what, if anything, was true. What is clear is that we were scammed out of our money.
Please do not trust the good reviews — we have no idea how they were obtained, but our experience was a complete nightmare. If you book with them, you may end up stranded with no reservations and no support.
We are pursuing all possible legal avenues and urge others to report any similar experiences. Don’t let this happen to you.
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Email Gita | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stress Filled Trip
Our group of twelve began planning this trip in Sept 2024 and hired Craig and Bianca of Southern African Tours to organize what we hoped would be a seamless, once-in-a-lifetime Safari and Cape Town experience. Instead, it turned into a stressful and costly ordeal.
After making our final payment in June, we repeatedly requested confirmations for hotels, internal flights, and Cape Town activities. Bianca assured us everything was paid for, but never provided any documentation. Upon arrival, we were shocked to discover that nothing had been paid for at all—no hotels, no flights, no activities.
Bianca stopped responding to all messages, leaving us completely abandoned and in disbelief.
Our first safari lodge confirmed Bianca only called the day BEFORE to request rooms, without payment. She had held our group’s money for nearly a year yet failed to secure a single booking. As a result, we had to pay out of pocket each day at higher last-minute prices for flights, safari resorts, hotels, tour guides, and Cape Town activities. To make matters worse, internal flights were so limited we had to split our group across different planes.
Instead of enjoying the trip we had spent a year looking forward to, we wasted precious hours daily researching, calling, and booking the rest of our own itinerary—tasks we had hired Southern African Tours to manage.
Thankfully, the staff at Kapama Game Reserve went above and beyond to help us find rooms and salvage part of our trip. Their professionalism was the only bright spot in this otherwise mismanaged experience.
Please learn from our mistake: do not use Southern African Tours. They took our money, failed to book or pay for anything, and strung us along with empty promises before going silent.
South Africa is a breathtaking country and truly worth experiencing—but do yourself a favor and use another travel agency that will handle every detail properly and give you the trip of a lifetime.
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Email George J | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cheated by Craig & Bianca
We began planning our trip to South Africa with a group of family and friends in September 2024. Craig Lucke and Bianca Els of Southern African Tours were contracted to manage the in-country arrangements, including internal flights, hotel accommodations in both Kruger and Cape Town, group transportation in Cape Town, and various excursions.
We made our initial payment in September 2024 and completed the full payment before our departure. However, those in our group responsible for communicating with Craig and Bianca experienced increasing difficulty in getting timely or clear information—especially as the departure date approached. Despite repeated requests, we never received a final itinerary or confirmation numbers for any of the bookings before leaving the U.S.
Upon arrival in South Africa, we discovered that no hotel reservations, internal flights, or excursions had been booked or paid for. We were essentially stranded in a foreign country without any confirmed arrangements. Thankfully, the situation was salvaged—largely due to the efforts of our group members and the kindness of several locals we met along the way.
This was an incredibly stressful and disappointing experience. We have never encountered a situation where a company took full payment and failed to deliver any of the promised services. We strongly advise others to be cautious when considering Southern African Tours.
Left Stranded in South Africa after using Southern African Tours
Our trip with Southern African Tours (run by Craig and Bianca) turned into a complete disaster. We started planning more than a year in advance (Sept 2024 for travel in Sept 2025) and followed their payment schedule faithfully:
Initial deposit: Sept 2024
Second payment (domestic flights): Nov 2024
Final balance: June 2025
At first, communication was fine. Bianca seemed organized and responsive. But after our second payment, everything went downhill. She became nearly impossible to reach — delays of days or weeks, excuses about being “too busy,” and eventually, total silence.
The real problems began just before departure:
5 days before flying out: We requested a group call to confirm details. She promised Monday — then vanished.
Day before departure: We begged for pickup and flight details. No reply.
Arrival in Johannesburg: No local flight was booked. We had to purchase tickets ourselves at the airport.
First lodge stay: Our reservation had only been made the day before. They demanded we pay again for the first two nights.
Subsequent itinerary: No transfers, no accommodations. We were forced to arrange (and fund) everything on our own.
Cape Town flights: Also never booked. Once again, more last-minute scrambling and out-of-pocket costs.
In short: we paid Southern African Tours in full, but they delivered nothing. We were repeatedly abandoned, overcharged, and left to fend for ourselves.
Looking back, we should have taken other negative reviews more seriously. Their responses always shift blame onto the traveler — now we know why.
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Email Loveen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Stole our money
We paid around $60000 total for our group of 14, months ahead of the South Africa tour September 2025 . Craig and Bianca didn’t book anything ( including pick up , local flights, and stay )
We were stranded in a foreign country . We had to book everything ourselves the day before ( higher prices on flight, stays which was not in our itinerary) making it an extremely stressful vacation .
That is a lot of money to steal without any consequences. We don’t want it to happen to anyone else .
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Email SMT | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unreliable
A few years ago, 10 of us traveled on safari to Kenya and Tanzania through a different travel agent who went above and beyond. That trip was flawless, which made us excited to try Kruger in South Africa, as it is often considered even better. Sadly, our experience with Bianca Els and Craig Lucke of Southern African Tours was the complete opposite—and it has left us heartbroken.
We first contacted them in September 2024. Craig was responsive in the beginning, but soon handed us off to Bianca, whose replies were slow and inconsistent. After our first deposit, her communication slowed even more. By March 2025, we had paid in full—including domestic flights—for a group of 14, totaling over $56,000 USD, because Bianca said everything had to be paid in advance. From that point, communication nearly stopped. Confirmations never came, and when replies did arrive, they were delayed and filled with excuses.
Two members of our group required visas. Despite repeated requests, Bianca sent only one document, with incorrect information, and gave no real guidance on the requirements. She never even asked if the visas were obtained . She also ignored repeated requests for proper flight and hotel confirmations. Bianca did take a call a few days before our departure to discuss the trip and also again gave assurance she would be available 24/7 and that everything was confirmed. Because this company had come recommended, we trusted her assurances that “everything is taken care of” and boarded our flights to Johannesburg believing our arrangements were secure.
The reality was devastating. Upon arrival, we learned that nothing was booked: no domestic flights, no safari lodges, no activities, no transfers, no dinners. The only exception was a single night at one Johannesburg hotel. We were left scrambling, on our phones at all hours, trying to salvage an 8-day trip for 14 people at the very last minute. This caused incredible stress, disappointment, and financial loss.
During this ordeal, Bianca and Craig never once responded to our messages or calls. Yet when friends back home posed as potential new clients, Bianca replied to them immediately. That contrast was deeply painful and showed us where their priorities truly were.
We also discovered that the company operates under another name, Afrique Australe Tours (PTY) Limited. Their Southern African Tours website displays the SATSA logo, which typically signals credibility, but when I checked directly, I was told they are not current members. Perhaps they once were, but displaying the logo now feels misleading to travelers.
We tried everything during our stay—calls, emails, even asking locals for advice—but there was no accountability or resolution. The staff at the hotels we eventually stayed in were kind and sympathetic, and even they expressed shock that agents representing their country would allow this to happen. Several suggested our only option was to pursue legal action once home.
This experience has not only cost us greatly, but it has also shaken our trust in visiting South Africa at all. It is a beautiful country, and the people we did meet were wonderful—but what happened with Southern African Tours was devastating.
Warning: Based on our experience, we strongly urge travelers to avoid Southern African Tours / Afrique Australe Tours . We relied on them entirely, only to be abandoned, with the $56,000 we paid unused for our trip. We hope sharing this prevents anyone else from going through the same pain.
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Email Sasi P | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beware of This Fraudulent Tour Operator – Avoid at All Costs
We booked an 8-day South Africa luxury trip through Bianca Els and Craig Lucke, and it turned into a nightmare.
Our itinerary included:
• 1 day in Johannesburg
• 4 days in Kruger (Kapama & Ulusaba luxury lodges, 2 nights each)
• 3 days in Cape Town (One&Only hotel)
We paid in full upfront, trusting their promises. Here’s what actually happened:
• Last-Minute Bookings: After weeks of chasing them for confirmations, they finally booked our Johannesburg stay at Four Seasons – but only on the day we arrived.
• No Flight/Resort Confirmations: When we landed in Johannesburg, we repeatedly called Bianca for flight and resort confirmations to head to Kruger. She never responded.
• Excuses & Lies: Craig finally replied saying Bianca had “overdosed,” claimed all bookings were prepaid, and asked us to pay for two nights out of pocket, promising a refund in two days (which never came).
• Nothing Was Paid: When we arrived at Kapama, we discovered the booking had been made just the day before – and nothing was paid for. We then called every other resort and hotel on our itinerary — none were booked.
• False SATSA Membership: Their website claims SATSA membership, but SATSA confirmed their membership is expired.
At this point, it became clear they were running a Ponzi scheme, using client money for other purposes. We essentially paid for their addictions while being stranded.
Adding insult to injury, Craig responds to negative reviews as though they did everything right — a blatant gaslighting tactic.
This experience has completely destroyed our trust in the system and caused massive financial and emotional stress.
Recommendation:
Avoid this couple and their company entirely. Verify memberships directly with SATSA, demand written and prepaid confirmations well before travel, and never transfer large sums upfront without protection.