Viva Safaris team look forward to seeing you soon!
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:
- $89 to $219 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Email Stephanie Diamond | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip
Booked the 7 day Tremisani Lodge with Viva Safaris. I chose them due to price and cancellation policy. I was picked of from Jberg airport and it was a 5.5 hour drive to the property in a 14 person van with 14 people in it! If I had known then what I do now I would have caught a domestic flight to Hoedspruit from Jberg. I did that flying out due to a miscommunication and flew Airlink from Hoedspruit to Cape Town. It was only $126 to do this and was better than what I had originally planned which was to go back to Jberg and fly to Cape Town. But you do see some things along the way that you wouldn’t if you don’t take the van. The lodge is not really a lodge but chalets. It is nice but not luxury. The bed was comfortable and the property is beautiful and well maintained. There is a small pool. There are several monkeys that live on property and they will try to steal your belongings/food. This was a common occurrence that everyone except the staff seemed to enjoy. The food was okay but if you’re a picky eater it could be a problem as they serve what they serve and that’s it. Others that were there while I was split their time between Tremisana and Marc’s tree house. They all agreed the treehouse had better food. If I had to do it again I would split my time as well. There are multiple species that come right up to the fence. The lodge is inside the Balule Nature Reserve and you have a planned itinerary each day. Some days it seems daunting due to getting up early and staying out late. We did a bush walk, went to the Olifants River, had 2 bush bbq’s, and multiple game drives. If you have mobility issues you may struggle with getting in and out of the safari vehicles. There is a big set of steps at the property but I never saw anyone use them. The staff are amazing at what they do. Smiley was a group favorite. All of the guides were great. They do a great job spotting animals, explaining animal behavior, and tracking their whereabouts. I went in June so winter in South Africa. I needed gloves, a beanie and several layers in the mornings and at night. They do provide nice blankets. I wished I had brought a scarf. It was warm during the day. I was solo but the others took me right in and made my trip even more enjoyable. I would definitely go again!
Efficient, Organised, Friendly
Hello all, my partner and I spent 6 days in Kruger with Viva Safaris and it was a wonderful experience! From pick up, to drop off, to stops made along the way to Kruger (to change transport etc), it was very well organised. The lodge is situated in an excellent area for game viewing, with majority of good sightings being done on our more local morning and evening game drives.
The staff are very welcoming and friendly, special shout out to Smiley who was with us for the majority of our trip. WOW! He made sure our needs were met, and tried his absolute best to get us the best viewings. Thank you to all the staff from the kitchen, as well as Luke, Nadine, Rocky, Raymond and Victor also. The days to Kruger are long, driving there is 1.5 hours roughly, and same back. As this was the highlight of our trip and many other guests, I would really like to recommend that vehicles leave a lot earlier. You arrive at Kruger around 10am, and by this point, a lot of viewings have already taken place. We saw all of the Big 5, as well as painted dog and many more wonderful animals. The food was good, we didn't go hungry at all, and the schedules were well planned. Again, just if there was one change, we would have loved to have actually spent 'full days' in Kruger if this was possible. We would highly recommend Viva Safaris overall.
BF
Email Sinaly | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and very welcoming
We had an amazing experience with Vivasafaris. From the beginning, we appreciated Patti’s availability and reactivity in all communications (emails / WhatsApp) and for tailoring a 4-day tour of great value for our family. Transfer from Johannesburg to Tremisana Lodge was on board of comfortable buses with very helpful drivers. We enjoyed the stays at Tremisana and Katekani luxury lodges with very kind staff. We had very skilled and experienced guides with us in the parks for game drives and bush walks. They were all funny too. (I don’t know if this is part of their training). All big five were seen. We were fortunate to meet a leopard just near the lodge at Tremisana. We saw a cheetah and were very close to a Casper in Kruger.
My family and I enjoyed so much this experience. The animals didn’t seem much bothered by visitors and they were kind enough to let us take beautiful pictures ;-)
Vivasafaris also helped us organizing visits in Johannesburg with a tour operator, which was very much appreciated, especially for us, traveling to South Africa for our very first time.
SE
Email Fredrik Wiberg | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly professional and welcoming Safari arrangement!
Among several other competing organizers Viva Safari distinguished by giving quick and clear information about the arrangement pre our visit. Thanks to Ms Landau. Once we arrived in Sout Africa we were most warmly welcomed and had four days of beautiful safari.
Special thanks to the the knowledgeable staff particularly Smiley, Nadine and Charl. We really enjoyed your professional and engaging "lectures" and guidings.
The transport from Johannesburg worked well however one of the four drivers did not feel as well skilled. I had to ask him to cool down.
SE
Email Svalle Ottosson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Makes the safari fit your individual scedule: Short or long. Rough or comfy.
For a short safari (3-4 days) the living quarters is not important as we spent most time out in the bush. We never used the pool or the bar as we went out early and came back late.
Professional, helpfull and knowlegeable staff.
We picked Viva Safaris because they collect at most hotels in Joburg. - Not just from the airport.
Email Trudi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything we wanted
We were really happy with all the services provided by Viva Safaris and the whole team were great - from being picked up in Johannesburg, being met at Tremisana and experiencing our first safari - everything was perfect and well organised. The team are friendly and knowledgeable and really made our experience special.
Thanks to you and everyone at Viva Safaris for a great time.
I would definitely recommend them for value for money, seeing a huge range of animals and meeting other like minded travellers.
NL
Email Sam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good
It was a really could experience! Passionate staff and rangers. Loved it!
CH
Email Carmen and Thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Good organized
The Safari was great. We liked the Tremisana Lodge. The Food there and the whole organisation was super. We saw a lot of animals
DE
Email Lisanne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Consulting, organization and acommodation were great!
Balule as a smaller reserve was great, didn't like Kruger as much as it was more a drive in a safari zoo. Tremisana and Marc's treehouse lodge have both been great places stay and very welcoming. The game drives in Balule had been more personal and Rocky our guide had very good instincts. The Bush walk at Marc's treehouse lodge was more about plants and animals' behaviours which was very interesting and added great value to the trip.
Email Lee-Ann Mills | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The experience was magical
The accommodations for the first night of our stay was sketchy at best !!! - when we transferred to our "tree house" camp, the accommodations were as expected and honestly, a step up from where we stayed the first night. The tours were fantastic - the drives/guides were knowledgeable and the vehicles were great - we spotted all the animals we wanted to see (except a Leopard) - was a great time of the year to go on Safari (warm days and cool nights/mornings) - also, since it's outside of the "rainy" season, the vegetation made for great animal spotting! Overall, the experience was fantastic!