264 Reviews About Wildlife Safaris (South Africa)

Simon Mitchell –

NZ

Visited: October 2018 Reviewed: Oct 10, 2018

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

Outstanding fairly priced safari with an engaged and extremely knowledgeable guide.

5/5

My wife and I (plus two close friends and a new friend we made of the trip!) have just had the most marvellous experience with Wildlife Safaris in the Kruger. I can only offer them my sincere congratulations and thanks. One of their senior guides, Hoppy, is absolutely brilliant. He was unfailingly attentive to all our needs, conservative, responsible, sensitive to the animals, and fun to be around. He clearly has a deep knowledge of the animals' distribution and patterns of behaviour, and this served us extremely well. We saw some simply amazing things which none of us will ever forget.

In my opinion Wildlife Safaris position themselves in the safari market perfectly for the needs of professional people who don't want "basic", but who are also not particularly interested in a massively expensive luxury event. I suspect that in some of these operations there would be a danger of the pampering potentially compromising the actual safari experience. Our safari was very fairly priced, way more than adequate from the comfort point of view, and simply outstanding in the areas that were important to us (seeing the animals and learning about them from an engaged knowledgeable guide). The company also allowed us to alter our safari itinerary on the fly as certain things grabbed our attention and we prioritized some experiences over others. Highly recommended!

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Ben R –

US

Visited: November 2018 Reviewed: Nov 30, 2018

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

Fantastic experience and value! Highly recommended!

5/5

Everything was amazing and easy to set up. Liese, our guide, was so wonderful and knowledgeable and we already miss her! The service, accommodations, food.... all of it, was incredible and I would recommend Wildlife Safaris to anyone who gets this once in a lifetime experience! Thank you guys so much.

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Elaine –

US

Visited: December 2018 Reviewed: Jan 6, 2019

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

Hoppy was wonderful!!! Very friendly and knowledgeable.

5/5

My husband and I took a 3 day/ 2 night safari. We did not know what to expect at the lodge or the safari itself. So getting to the airport and having Hoppy (our guide) pick us up right where they said they would and right on time! It was a little bit of a trip to the lodge, but Hoppy gave a some insight to the the land and culture which was good. When we got to the lodge we were pleasantly surprised, the rooms were ready and clean. We then jumped on to our first drive in the open jeep that was waiting for us. Hoppy was great trying to locate the animals and we found them. It was amazing to see all of the animals only feet away from us. When booking this trip, ask about the night safari. If you can book a private drive and driver.
The food at the lodge was simply amazing! We think that it was the best meals on our stay in SA!
I would definitely recommend this trip. Remember to ask for Hoppy!

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Stacey & Andy –

US

Visited: February 2019 Reviewed: Mar 25, 2019

Email Stacey & Andy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari

Outstanding Guide and Overall Experience!

5/5

We were impressed with Wildlife Safaris from the first emails we exchanged to get a quote and tour details. They were incredibly responsive and willing to answer every one of our questions. On tour, we were fortunate enough to have Hoppy as our private tour guide - he is EXCEPTIONAL!! Hoppy filled our days with adventure, amazing food, unbelievable animal sightings (Big 5!), history, culture, and humor. He was charming and willing to accommodate our every need. Note - we'd highly recommend a private tour!! Having Hoppy all to ourselves, we were able to make our own agenda, eat when we wanted, take breaks when we wanted, watch the (enter animal name here) longer if we wanted, take the 1000's photo of (enter animal name here) if we wanted. It definitely added to the ease and enjoyment of our trip. We could not have been happier with the experience!

If it helps others, our itinerary was as follows: Flew to Joburg (JNB), overnight at hotel near airport (helps with jet lag and in case your flight is delayed), picked up by Hoppy morning of Day 1 - drive Panorama route, overnight at Sabie River Bush Lodge (fantastic!), Day 2 & 3 - drive around Kruger, overnights at Skukuza Rest Camp, dinners at Cattle Baron (outstanding!), Day 4 - morning in Kruger, drive back to Joburg, overnight at hotel near airport, flew out next day.

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Fernando –

BR

Visited: May 2019 Reviewed: Jun 25, 2019

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

Amazing experience at Kruger National Park

5/5

Our driver, Lilly, did a great job! She picked us up at the hotel on time. She provided us good information about the animals that we found. She was nice all the time and she treated us very well during all the time. I recommend this operator, they achieved our expectations and had a good price also.

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Kwami –

US

Visited: October 2019 Reviewed: Oct 13, 2019

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

Your guide was knowledgeable and friendly

5/5

The tour was well-planned. I didn't get to see the big five (the leopard was elusive), but overall, I enjoyed the experience.

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Frank Adamek –

DE

Visited: May 2022 Reviewed: Jun 23, 2022

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

A great tour operator who responded to every wish.

5/5

Our safari and driving the Panorama Route with Wildlife Safaris was just fantastic.
Everything was very well organized from the start. Christine and Jonathan helped us with our hotel search. Thanks again for that.
We would like to say a big thank you to Nik. He amazed us with his knowledge of South Africa and his stories about nature and wildlife. A super nice personality with a warm charisma. We felt very comfortable in his presence. Through Nik's experience we got to know and love the unique wildlife of the Kruger National Park. Nik always organized everything perfectly, had an answer to all questions.
The accommodation and food were very good.
We had so many great moments at the Kruger, the sunrises in South Africa, the tranquility, we were so lucky on this trip. The national park wasn't overcrowded, we saw so many animals, the Big Five on the first morning. It was a nice experience to be a guest in the animal kingdom.

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Germán Peñafiel –

CL

Visited: November 2023 Reviewed: Dec 6, 2023

Email Germán Peñafiel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Germán Peñafiel and not that of SafariBookings.

All good, but evening safari was a scam

3/5

The tour itself is very good. Hoppy (our guide) was very experienced and could spot animals really well. He also geve us a lot of information about the animals and respond every single question we asked. Accomodations and food were also good.

The really bad part of this tour is the evening safari. The guide was very unexperienced and just cared about driving, keeping his eyes on the road all the time, and talking a lot and veeeery slow. The few animals we saw were spotted by the tourists, not the guide. In addition, the torches were supposed to be operated by the tourists, but we had no instructions about it.
Definitely the worst safari I have ever had in Africa. WildSafaris sould change the operator for this safari, as it is very unprofesional that they put unexperienced and non-motivated guides.

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Reply from Wildlife Safaris

Posted on Dec 7, 2023

Hi German - we are sorry to hear the sunset drive was a disappointment. This activity is operated by National Parks and their vehicles are the only ones permitted to drive in Kruger Park after sunset. Consequently we cannot look for an alternate Operator. However we do offer itineraries which include private safari lodges so I expect this option may suit you better next time. Thank you for your feedback - we will follow up.

Admin Wildlife Safaris

Conrad –

SG

Visited: December 2023 Reviewed: Dec 31, 2023

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

Memorable First African Safari with Wildlife Safaris

5/5

Brought my family on our first African Safari @ Kruger National Park in December 2023.

We were most fortunate to have “Hoppy” as our guide - passionate about African wildlife, knowledgeable about the ecology of Kruger National Park, Hoppy was most happy to share his knowledge.

With Skukuza as our base camp, we explored Kruger from Hoppy’s eyes - saw more animals than we thought possible, and heard many more interesting stories. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and wished that we could have stayed an extra day.

We stayed at Skukuza Rest Camp Chalets. There were other newer, more expensive lodges but having travelled a long way from Asia, we preferred these chalets as they offered us an authentic African safari experience. Skukuza, we felt, was also more central location wise and being in the nature reserve, facilitated easy access to game drives and animals.

Mealtimes were enjoyable and rich in conversation, as were the morning coffees with Hoppy. For us, mealtimes were interesting too for other reasons - there were breakfast at Skukuza Golf Club aka “Wildest Golf Club in the World” amongst Hyenas and Hippos, Mugg & Bean Lower Sabie amongst African Buffaloes, lunch at Alzu amongst a large collection of reared African wildlife, and dinner at Cattle Baron back in Skukuza after a long day out.

It was a memorable safari.

Best Wishes Hoppy, loved our trip.

Conrad

1 person found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Ida and Marte –

NO

Visited: January 2024 Reviewed: Mar 1, 2024

Email Ida and Marte | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari

Exceptional and highly recommended

5/5

We recently had the pleasure of experiencing a safari with Wild Life Safari in Kruger National Park, led by the exceptional guide, Hoppy. From the moment we set out, Hoppy's expertise and passion for wildlife were evident. His keen eye and deep knowledge enriched every sighting, making each moment memorable. Hoppy's commitment to conservation and sustainable tourism added another layer of depth to our journey. We also gained a deeper appreciation for the animals habitats and ecosystems. During the trip we had problems with the car. Nevertheless, Hoppy did what he could to ensure that we, his "princesses", had the best possible experience.

The accommodations were luxurious yet thoughtfully integrated into the surrounding environment, allowing us to feel fully immersed in the wilderness without sacrificing comfort. Each meal was a culinary delight, showcasing local flavors and ingredients that added another layer of richness to our journey. The diversity of wildlife we encountered was simply astounding and the overall experience was nothing short of exceptional.

We wholeheartedly recommend Wild Life Safari, especially with guides like Hoppy, for an unforgettable adventure in the heart of Africa's wilderness. Thank you, Hoppy!