Craig your expert safari planner & private guide
Southern African Tours
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- SATSA & CTT
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $79 to $129 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
US
Email Paul | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Derick was Great ! Outstanding knowladge , very helpfull .
Best vacation ever !!! for me and my 11 years old daughter . Thanks
_Ltd-47520.jpg)
US
Email albert | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Garden Route - A Great Tour with a Great Guide
We booked a five day, four night tour of the Garden Route with this company and were so happy that we did. The company's Craig Lucke did a fine job in making accommodations for us even when two of our party had to cancel out of the tour. He mad it easy for us to make payments, and easy for our pick up and drop off after the tour.
What was especially remarkable about our tour was our tour guide- Derick Keeling.
He made the tour. Articulate, passionate, knowledgeable, and even funny, he provided us valuable information, answered all of our questions, helped us with our luggage and belongings, and even escorted members of our party who were challenged with impaired mobility.
We kept him at our dinner, lunch and breakfast tables because of his insight to so many things South Afirca. A real asset to South African Tours, he exhibited compassion and empathy (giving food to some locals we came in contact with), a sense of safety (intercepting people who might have impaired our secrity), flexibiltiy (offering us alternatives to the set itinereary) and humor (so important later in the day when we were tired).
Easy Peasy. Lemon Squeasy.
BR
Email Adrian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A truly fantastic experience!
My family and I enjoyed a great 5 day tour. The itinerary was excellent, the quality of hotels, the comfort and the warmth, knowledge & charm of our guide Gerard were all perfect! Extremely happy with this tour and highly recommendable to anyone that wants to enjoy the Garden Route at its fullest. We are already passing on the tip to all our friends & family. Many thanks to the crew at South African Tours!
US
Email Amber | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Southern Africa Tours provided an amazing private tour, making our visit a trip of a lifetime!
I have traveled extensively both with and without using a tour company. I wanted to experience as much as possible for my first trip to South Africa and my friend found the 15-day private tour offered by Southern Africa Tours that also included Swaziland and Lesotho. I had never heard of SAT and have had several friends use a private guide for double the price for a similar itinerary so I was a bit skeptical---it sounded too good to be true. We did quite a bit of research before booking and this tour itinerary was packed with all the highlights our group of four wanted to experience, nothing comparable was offered by any other company---and certainly not at the value price we paid. I am so thankful that we decided to book with them! This was a trip of a lifetime and every day felt like the best day ever, it really did surpass out expectations. Andrea was very helpful in answering all our questions before the tour and making sure there were no issues, and you could tell that Craig had a great deal of experience in making sure his clients were well-taken care. They both contacted us during the tour to make sure things were going well. Some of the items we really appreciated included the ability to have a private guide without the huge cost you would typically expect, excellent accommodations that allowed us to further get a taste of the people and culture in each area, and having a tour guide that was South African and enthusiastic to share the knowledge and passion he had for his country. In addition to our regular tour guide, SAT provided several amazing local guides and they really allowed us to experience in depth the diversity of the people, landscapes, and animals on our journey. I would highly recommend Southern African Tours for both first-time visitors and those that are returning to further explore Africa---I can’t wait to go back and would use them again!
US
Email John & Juliette | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely Fantastic first visit to South Africa
Southern Africa Tours customized a wonderful 10-day tour for us, including visits to Cape Town, Kruger Park, and Victoria falls. Our complicated itinerary was massaged masterfully by Craig and his staff until we had a packed schedule of activities and visits. Everything went off to our complete satisfaction. We were particularly impressed as to how responsive Craig and Andrea were to our many questions before the trip and how quickly they followed up when we had questions during the tour. We were especially happy with Derek, our guide for the days we spent in Cape Town. He was supremely capable, competent, entertaining, helpful, personable, a great source of information, and a really nice guy. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting him and spending our Cape Town days with him. He really went out of his way for us. One of the nicest things was how he always arrived early and we sat down and discussed the day’s itinerary. He actually wanted to accommodate us, and not the other way around. Nevertheless, he still knew how to gently push to keep us on track and on time. For sure I will recommend Southern Africa Tours, and Derek by name, to anybody I talk to about South Africa. Thanks guys!!
AT
Email Aida | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience and fantastic trip
Our family (parents with two teenagers) went on a tour in South Africa. We planned to visit the North East, incl. Johannesburg, Panorama Route, Kruger and Swaziland in the first week and the Cape region in the second week. We had the ambition to experience as much as possible within 13 days. Andrea, our tour organizator, planned a great itinerary to accommodate our wishes; she even arranged for a pleasant surprise that delighted us: she booked us in the African Café in Cape Town for the last evening of our tour; a fantastic way to close our jouney in SA!
We started the tour through Johannesburg/Soweto, Panorama Route, Kruger and Swaziland for 6,5 days. Patrick, our guide, is a very engaged guy who knows a lot about the fauna, flora and the traditions of the region; his passion was contagious. The scenery on the Panorama Route is magnificent -the least I can think of to express the beauty of this region. Kruger was an epic. We were so lucky, because we saw much more beyond the „big five“ thanks to Patricks enquiries and willingness to chase after the rangers‘ tips whenever they spotted „rare“ animals (leopards, lions). It’s also a paradise for bird lovers. Swaziland has a great mountaneous scenary... Even though we weren’t lucky with the weather on our last day in Swaziland and couldn’t carry on with our farm visit as planned, Patrick elaborated a plan B and took us on a Johannesburg exploratory day trip. Patrick knows Johannesburg very well and showed us areas we’d never go to if it weren’t with him. Patrick deviated from the „official“ program to make us learn and see more (Pretoria, Apartheid Museum, a fantastic Swazi choir performance), and nicely cared for our well being throughout our journey. At the end, we felt like he was a member of our family.
Then we flew to Cape Town and started touring the region with Derek: Cape Town and the Garden Route within 6 days. The Garden Route tour was a collection of beautiful sceneries. The Karoo landscape with the passes we drove through were fascinating. Knysna, Mossel bay, Vic bay and Conga Caves are absolute gems. We spent one night in an Ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn and experienced a superb sunset and a great quietness. We visited the wine country; adults tasted wine, kids tasted chocolate! We were in the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, and the Boulders with the Penguins, and Kirstenbosch. - I could go on and on.
Derek was adventuresome and was willing to deviate from the route to accommodate the different wishes/tastes of the whole family. He took us to climb a light house, walk barefoot on a surfer beach and swim in a tide pool… He even made us chase the ISS station in the starry sky of Knysna! Derek is like the encyclopaedia of the Western Cape! He is amazing.
Overall: what we got exceeded our expectations. We saw much more of South Africa then we could have imagined in just 12 days.
An unforgettable experience and a fantastic trip that we’ll actively recommend to our friends.
US
Email Andy A | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Garden Tour and 3-day Cape Town Tour
My wife and I visited South Africa for the first time on this trip. We set up the tour not knowing what to expect. What we got exceeded our expectations. It was easy communicating our arrival and subsequent hook up with our guide. Derek has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Western Cape and was fantastic. The Garden Route tour was like driving down Highway 1 in California but with more magnificent scenery if possible. The Game preserve is fascinating, Knysna is a gem, Tsitsikama is glorious, and the Conga Caves are something to behold. We visited the both the Little and Great Karoos and learned a lot about South African history. Derek was adventuresome and was willing to deviate from the route and cross the Schwartzberg Pass - on a road built in the 1880's and unchanged since then. Then the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. And the wine country. And the Boulders with the Penguins. - I could go on and on. Overall we saw more of the Western Cape then we could have imagined in just 8 days. The places we stayed were first class and the food was too much!!! An unbelievable trip - we will be recommending this trip to everyone we know.
US
Email Arthur | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 night, 4 day Tour
My mother and I hired Craig for a 3 night, 4 day tour of cape town and it's surrounding areas. Craig put together an amazing package starting with a over night train ride from Johannesburg to Capetown. The entire tour was planned and have a variety of different activities from exploring caves, to seeing ostrichs and visiting a ostrich farm, to going on a game drive.
He was also very adaptable to any changes we needed and fit in "spur of the moment" whims. I would 100% recommend Craig to anyone whom is seeking a guided tour of ZA.
P.S. i lost my sunglasses in his car and he even mailed it back to the USA for me!
DE
Email Helga and Rainer | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
perfect week along Garden Route
we travelled for one week with Craig to Klein Caroo and Garden Route. It was a impressive program including a visit to the history of South Africa ( Stellenbosch, Diaz Museum) and a one day safari experience. Craig was an excellent tour guide, explaining a lot of things, and being always flexible to our interest, what we really appreciated. We have in mind to do another trip with him one of the following years.
US
Email Susan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Southern African Tour with Patrick and Craig exceeded my expectations
Our tour (which included Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria, Cape Town, Swaziland, Kruger National Park and Zimbabwe, and finally Egypt) was the tops, with thoughtful, caring guides, comfortable places to stay, exciting views of wildlife and in-depth information about what we were seeing. Throughout the tour I felt well-cared for by attentive yet not over-bearing guides, who enjoyed sharing their knowledge and pride in their country with us. The accommodations were thoughtfully chosen to give us a range of settings and styles, and we enjoyed the opportunity to stay in guest houses as well as interesting hotels. The actual safari itself, viewing animals in Kruger National Park, was the least anticipated part of the trip to me, but I was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable the guides were and how conscientious they were about helping us view and appreciate the animals. It was definitely better than just visiting a zoo! The real star of the tour was actually the country itself. South Africa seems filled with variety and vitality, with the different peoples who live there appreciative of the uniqueness of their lives and their history. In short, the tour with Craig and Patrick from Southern Africa Tours whetted my appetite and curiosity about South Africa and I look forward to another visit sometime to see more interesting people and places.