Delivering unique travel experiences in Africa!
New World Safaris DMC
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- SATSA, SAT, SATIB & TBCSA
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $3,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Cary Ortiz | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
OUTSTANDING!!!!
If by any chance South Africa is in your “bucket list” do it, don’t think twice about it. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people a lots of art, culture and adventure
I’am a travel agent for 43 years and the only thing I can say is that since I started to prepare this trip with “New World Safari”
Everything was beyond expectations.
We travelled in a group and everybody
was impressed with the service, hotels, professionalism, quality in all aspects, value for your money, recommendations, food, Wineries but the best of all their staff.
Planing to go to Africa
“New World Safari “ nobody else.
Thanks to Mariano, David, Maida, Jordi, Enio tour guides and the beautifully people of Africa.
US
Email Kaela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Seamless
It was such a pleasure working with Mariano and his team at New World Safaris on our South African Honeymoon. Throughout the entire process, they were consistently gracious, accommodating, beyond thorough, and made things happen SO FAST for us. After a couple of preliminary calls / emails to discuss what we were hoping to accomplish on the trip, Mariano's team put together the most beautiful and thorough itinerary package perfectly tailored for us. Every single detail of our trip had been thoughtfully accounted for. As soon as we arrived in South Africa, Mariano had a member of team to meet us and greet us at the airport and immediately put us at ease. From that point on, we realized that The New World Safari team would literally be handling every detail of coordination the entire trip and we wouldn't need to lift a finger. For those of you who aren't able to get away on vacation that often and really want to not worry about A SINGLE THING, this was the most relaxing trip we have EVER had for that reason. They really made us feel like VIP's and allowed us to completely unwind. I would also like to mention.... about halfway through our 24 day trip, my husband and I decided to COMPLETELY change the itinerary for the remainder of our trip. We called Mariano on a Saturday night (who had consistently made himself available at all hours of the day via phone call / WhatsApp) and asked him to reconfigure our entire trip. We know how much work it would take to change hotels, flights, etc., but Mariano and his team had everything changed and rearranged for us within a few hours. His team handled this curveball with absolute grace. We were in constant communication with them with daily questions (where can we get COVID tests? Can we push our dinner reservation an hour? Can you recommend somewhere we can get a good steak?) and no matter how complex the question / task, New World Safaris would always get back to us SO quickly and go above and beyond to make things seamless for us. They really made it all appear to effortless. We were so blown away with the level of customer service we're already brainstorming our next trip with them. This entire experience will definitely make it hard to ever plan travel ourselves...!
🚫 WARNING: New World Safaris took $68,000 and left clients with NO bookings in Africa
I am writing this review as a consumer alert regarding New World Safaris (Pty) Ltd.
I am a travel advisor. My clients prepaid over USD 68,000 months in advance for a luxury safari and hotel package. When they arrived in Tanzania on Christmas Eve 2024, there were no confirmed reservations anywhere - every “confirmation” we had received was either fake or non-existent.
Their bookings at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Simbavati Tented Camp, Nyasi Tented Camp, and Melia Zanzibar had all been canceled due to non-payment by New World Safaris. Each property confirmed in writing that they had repeatedly requested payment and never received it.
We were forced to rebook every stay out of pocket at enormous personal cost. Throughout, New World Safaris’ representative David repeatedly assured us that all arrangements were secure, but the lodges told us otherwise. I personally intervened and paid vendors directly to prevent my clients from being stranded, even though they had already paid New World in full. I had staff from New World Safari messaging me on the side helping me rebook (at my own cost), and asking me not to tell David or Mariano they were helping.
Despite repeated attempts to reach Mariano Cuervo (owner) via email, phone, and WhatsApp, there was complete silence.
The final communication we received was on December 31, 2024, after I sent a formal notice of breach of contract and refund demand. Their response, from David Smit, stated: “WITHOUT PREJUDICE. We will proceed with the same in terms of defamation and false pretence. Regards, David.”
That was the last message we ever received. Since then, there has been no acknowledgment, no explanation, and no refund. The company went dark and stopped responding entirely.
We have filed formal bank disputes and police reports and preserved all evidence, including screenshots, payment receipts, and written correspondence from the lodges verifying non-payment.
I am writing this now because New World Safaris has resumed advertising and promoting itself on social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook, attempting to attract new business as if nothing happened. Consumers deserve to be warned before more travelers are deceived.
In short: do not book with New World Safaris. They are still marketing themselves despite this conduct. Travelers should consider this operator high risk.