Viva Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 1991)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $79 to $195 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
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If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Without question, the experience of my life
Summer 2016 I will remember for the rest of my life. I spent part of my Summer in Tremisana Lodge (Viva Safaris) and, as the title says, it has been the experience of my life. From the first day the staff members made my stay feel like home, guides where undoubtedly qualified, and I learnt a whole lot about animals thanks to them. I had the chance of experiencing the bush whilst working in it. Animal sightings where non-stop, and proof of this is the Lapa, a sort of exterior dining room that had a view to a small pond where animals would come for a drink. Kruger Park guides where exceptional: I went to Kruger Park twice and had sightings of the Big Five both times.
As a conclusion, Viva Safaris provides fantastic attention from the personnel, guides that can almost guarantee amazing viewing of game, and beautiful lodges to enhance the bush experience.
IE
Email Ashley | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience with the BEST Staff!!
My cousin and I were recently on the 4 day safari we had such a wonderful experience. Everything was so well organized by Viva Safari, was very clean and professional and the best part was the staff!! They truly made the experience a lasting one. Everyone was so friendly and accommodating and we really felt taken care of.
From my very first inquiry, Patti and Luke were always prompt to reply with great straight forward and detailed information also going above and beyond by offering us help with accommodation in Jo'berg before and after the tour.
Every staff we came in contact with, were so great. We were so well taken care of on premise by Pretty, Bulgoni, Rex, Victor, Maynard and Azale as well as our drivers back and forth to Jo'berg. The accommodation exceeded our expectations by far. We booked a "budget" safari, but there was nothing budget about the tour. We had such a great time, saw more than we anticipated and enjoyed every minute of the Safari!
I couldn't have asked for a better safari and I will be recommending it again to my friends and family! I will def book with Viva Safaris in the future!!
Thank you so much Viva Safaris!
Ashley and Laura
CA
Email Karen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Experience
Going on a safari in Africa has been a dream of mine for many, many years. The choices available are countless. After doing much research, I chose Viva Safaris. Of the options offered, I decided to stay at Tremisana Lodge, and I'm so glad I did. Where to start... The property was exactly what I was expecting... Large, well maintained and authentic. On arrival, I was greeted by at least a dozen monkeys running around the area, a great start! The room itself was spacious, simple and kept very clean. The bed was quite comfortable, a must in my opinion. The food prepared for the guests was tasty and enjoyable. Now, for the best part... The people who work at Tremisana. They made everything perfect. Lianne, master organizer and go to person for anything needed onsite. Pretty (who incidentally fits her name perfectly); the game drive organizer (among other things). The guides: James, Tanya, Bongani and all the other guides who truly go out of their way to make your time in the park sensational. And sensational it was. Way too many sightings to mention, but I do have to mention the last one. On my last morning in the park, James took myself and another guest on an hour tour. Somehow, James noticed footprints in the dusty road and raced to the area he thought the animal the foot prints belonged to would be. Low and behold, we came across the owner of the feet. A mature lion named "Sonof". He was just going about his business calmly and was so close to us, I was able to get at least 50 truly awesome shots including a lion selfie!
If you're debating which safari tour to take, I highly recommend Viva Safaris. It's is the best, bar none when looking at quality/price, (or bang for your buck) and the friendliness of everyone just makes it all the better.
Email Andrew | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Overall good experience but very dependent on which safari guide you are given
The tremisana lodge was a little tired and basic (compared to other lodges I've stayed in before).but the staff at the lodge were very friendly and helpful. The Dutch lady (I can't remember her name) who was the manager at the lodge was absolutely lovely and very warm and friendly. The safari guides were very variable. We had a day safari to Kruger with James who was absolutely outstanding. He is the best safari guide I have ever had. He was knowledgeable and worked tirelessly to find wildlife for us. He was truly excellent. I can't recommend him highly enough
Murray, was also an excellent guide and knowledgable and enthusiastic.
We had a morning safari walk with Philip, however, which was very poor indeed. He seemed totally uninterested and the entire morning was very dull and I would not recommend doing this with him.
We also did a sunset drive with Rex. What should have been a nice evening safari drive was ruined by our guide, Rex. He was obviously upset at the vehicle he had been assigned and spent the drive complaining about the organisation of the company and the poor state of the vehicle. We then stopped for a drink to watch the sunset and he spent this entire 30 mins or so complaining to us about viva safaris, their organisation, the staff, the lack of investment and how he had used to work in 5star lodges that were much superior. I found this odd and very unprofessional. If he had an issue with his bosses etc then I would expect him to discuss this directly with them and not spend a few hours moaning to us about it. In summary, I think safaris are good here if you are lucky and get a good guide (James or Murray from my experience). But I would be careful because if given a poor guide in my opinion it can really spoil the safari.
Email Helen Christmas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Third Time just as Lucky!
I have been on Safari three times with Viva Safaris ( 2011, 2013, 2015) and would definitely recommend them to those to whom I have not recommended them too. Each time I was greeted and assisted by friendly, knowledgeable staff who ensured that I had excellent, safe bush walks and interesting game drives. What one sees is usually pot luck but here I have been very lucky - the big five - wild dogs, lion kills; the list is endless but leaves me with happy photographic memories. Last year I was very impressed with how they assisted my dad, who has only one lung as a result of cancer, to ensure that he also enjoyed and benefited from game drives. I look forward to experiencing the Kruger with this company again
IN
Email Sonia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
We spent three days at Kruger with Jonathan from Viva Safaris.
While sighting is a game of luck to a large extent, our guide knew where to take us to make most of our time there. We managed to sight 4 out of the big five, including an instance when we saw 16 lions feasting on a giraffe!
The accommodation was comfortable and so was our vehicle. It was the perfect mix of adventure and comfort that we wanted to experience on our honeymoon. Lastly, I would like to highlight that we are vegetarians...and every meal was a delight. Delicious fresh food, with some bubbly under the stars.
Highly recommend Viva Safaris!
Email Gisela | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exiting experience!
We enjoyed very much going on safari with VivaSafari!
US
Email Mitchell | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I enjoyed to so much I've been 3 times
I first went in 2012. I searched on-line for safaris and decided on Viva because of the good reviews. It was such a terrific experience that I took my 16-year-old daughter the following year, after business took me to J'Burg. My second trip was even better than the first. We were lucky enough to see the Big 5 because the Guides know the best places to look. Tremisana Lodge is a garden in the middle of the bush with monkeys in the trees and beautiful flowers everywhere. We saw an elephant less than 3 minutes out on our night drive and later a rare ant eater. The food was authentic, delicious and abundant. Dinner was under the Macule Tree was pure magic and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Marc's Treehouse is entirely different and just as lovely and special. Antelope wander along the paths to the cottages and in the morning I heard chewing outside my window. It was a giraffe, eating the nearby tree. She was more startled by the distant lion's roar than by me looking at her, camera in hand. Later, during breakfast, the monkeys put on a show trying to steal jam and bisquits on the deck overlooking the pond.
The guides are knowledgable, patient and maybe more than lucky. On my third trip we found a herd for 400+ buffalo slowly walking toward the road. We parked and the herd moved around us as if we weren't there. We were close enough to smell them. Where else can that happen? Soon after we found a leopard in a tree with most on an impala, three hyenas looking on. She jumped down and chased them off before disappearing into the bush. At the end of the day our driver took us to a secluded pond where two elephants were swimming. Swimming! We would never have found that without our driver's experience.
On my third trip we saw the Big 5 before lunch but we all also learned to look for the smaller animals, too. I saw a baby Leopard Tortoise on the morning bushwalk and 25 hippos in a river while we ate breakfast.
I can't recommend Viva Safari highly enough. Make sure you go to Moholoho Rehabilitation Center, maybe pet a cheetah or have your picture taken with a rino baby and to the nearby private game preserve for an entirely different kind of wildlife drive.
Email Kim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding.
I want to give Viva Safari the thumbs up. Right from the very first email, the first phone call, Viva were friendly and helpful. My time spent at Tremisana was a very heart felt and nostalgic trip down memory lane as a returning South African on holiday. Thank you to all for making this holiday so memorable . I love South Africa
LK
Email shamil zavahir | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great diversity in their offerings....a good blend/mix of activity
I saw some great reviews of Viva online in my pre-trip info seeking process & after trying many others, i decided to work with Piero & Viva team. Absolutely great decision for us as t went perfectly well. In fact a friend of mine from the US also recently met me after Kruger in my island & he was talking about his Kruger experience & to see it was also via Viva to the same Tremisana & the Marcs Tree Camps. I was simply shocked positively & happy for him. Currently also there is a peer of mine at Tremisana from UK. Great set of team members with friendly positive attitude to make you feel good...food is yummy....the spread could be better though as in the variation + spread they can get a bit more creative specially when you are on a 5nights 6 days with them......They had thrown in a bit of everything to experience so it was great.....Kruger full days, Bush brai's, night drives at Balule & also Tshukudu, the moholoholo visit....the cat interaction opportunities etc