African Welcome Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 1999)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $136 to $522 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Simply Amazing
Simply amazing! Highly recommended! From initial enquires to the booking of the trip to the entire trip, everything was just seamless and smooth! Emails and communications were answered within hours (considering our time difference between countries) and all our requirements were handled perfectly! Kathi from African Welcome Safaris planned the most wonderful trip for us !
All our activities and all the logistics were extremely well planned. We didn’t have to worry about anything!
Would definitely recommend African Welcome Safaris! And we are looking forward to planning our next adventure with them!
Email Rob Russell | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Three Generation Family from USA treated to a trip of a lifetime by African Welcome Safaris!
Our trip included my wife and I, five kids, two sons-in-law and four grandchildren. I wanted to recreate for them the Safari experience I had in 1987 in Kenya and Tanzania to inspire them for their future. African Welcome Safaris exceeded my ask and delivered an experience that overshadowed 1987 Kenya. Kathi got us Lodges in Madikwe & Kariega that made us feel like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. More importantly, the twice a day Safari drives delivered all the predators and prey we had hoped for sans the elusive Leopard. In Madikwe we had infinity pools from which we could observe animals collecting at a watering hole. We were kept safe and felt safe at the same time as we were getting Up Close and Personal with Lions, Elephants and Giraffes. My 27 and 33 year old daughters came to us with tears saying: "Did you see all those Elephants around our truck, it was the most beautiful experience". Everyone of us, down to the four grandchildren had the experience of a lifetime. We are so grateful to Kathi for selecting the perfect reserves and lodges for us and ensuring that we had safe and timely transportation as we moved from Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and to the two reserves, Madikwe & Kariega. Kathi checked us into flights, gave us the name and phone number of the driver for our road trips. True White Glove experience.
Email Maggie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, truly surpassed our expectations!
Kathi really made this trip amazing. She was on top of all of our travel accommodations and kept in touch throughout the whole trip. My parents loved planning this trip with her and I will be sure to use her for all of our future trips to SA. This was an amazing experience for my families first time traveling abroad. We felt well taken care of and safe. The safari guides, camp staff, drivers, and hotel staff were incredible. I can’t wait to visit again! Beautiful country and great representation!
Email Karly | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flawlessly Planned 3-Generation South Africa Safari!
Kathi planned the most epic trip to South Africa for our family, and we couldn’t be more grateful! From start to finish, we didn't have to worry about a single detail, all we had to do was show up and enjoy exploring this beautiful country. Everything was seamlessly arranged: flights, ground transportation, accommodations, tours, and incredible experiences.
Planning for a large group with an age range from grandparents down to a 5-year-old grandchild is no small task, but Kathi hit it out of the park. She managed to check off every single person’s bucket list items!
Our stays in Johannesburg and Cape Town were fantastic, super convenient to shopping and top-notch dining. But the game reserves Kathi selected truly blew us away. She chose two distinct reserves that gave us a genuine appreciation for South Africa’s diverse terrain:
Madikwe: Our 5-star private reserve and lodging were unmatched. Our safari guides were incredible, teaching us about bush plants and wildlife while delivering mind-blowing animal sightings, all with immense respect for the animals.
Kariega: The Homestead felt like our home away from home. The experience here was unforgettable, featuring both land safaris and river boat drives. Our guides gave us deep insights into the land, local culture, and crucial conservation efforts. Saying goodbye was so hard!
To top it all off, our Cape Town adventures were led by an exceptional local tour guide and driver who gave us such rich context on South Africa’s history and people.
Kathi gave our family the adventure of a lifetime. If you're looking for an attentive, expert travel planner who takes all the stress off your shoulders, look no further!
Email Laura | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Rwanda experience from end-to-end, including amazing lodges, chimpanzees and gorillas
Going to Rwanda to go gorilla trekking was a dream trip for me. I had been considering it for about a decade -- and even started planning a first version with Kathi and African Welcome Safaris back in 2019. I ended up pausing at that point, and only finally came back late 2025 to plan our August trip. Kathi has always been incredibly patient and helpful. I came in with a starting budget and based on the first itinerary realized that I wanted to go with a higher tier of lodges that would need a bigger budget. I worked with Kathi on what that right range would be and found a sweet spot that worked for my budget and level of luxury I was looking for. This included about 4-5 different iterations before making my final decision. Note: This is the second time I've worked with Kathi, as she also planned our 2017 safari in Sabi Sands. Kathi communicated clearly on costs, itinerary and payment timelines, which all went smoothly.
As for the trip itself, it went off without a hitch. Our driver -- who we had for the full week and appreciated the consistency -- met us at the airport upon arrival without any issues. He brought us to our first hotel (Hemingways Retreat Kigali) and briefed us on when he would pick us up the next morning and plan for the day. Our room at Hemingways was above and beyond thanks to Kathi. We were in the Royal Suite, where King Charles has stayed, and it was spacious with it's own plunge pool. Our driver took us around Kigali for the day with a planned itinerary while also being flexible to things we wanted to add in. Each day when he dropped us off, he would tell us the time and plan for the next day -- so we always knew what was coming without needing to worry or keep track of details. From Kigali, we went out to Nyungwe forest where we stayed at the One & Only property there. It is among the best we've ever stayed at and was a recommendation from Kathi for a not to miss. We went chimpanzee trekking in the area (excellent!) and spent time relaxing at the hotel where they have many included activities (we did a tea tasting, drum performance and hiked around the property). After two nights there, we drove up to Volcanoes National Park -- making a stop at Lake Kivu for lunch, which was beautiful to see without needing to spend an overnight. We stayed at Wilderness Sabyinyo, a recommendation from Kathi. This was the perfect match for us based on cost, luxury and service. The lodge is community owned, so profits go back to support the people in the area with things like education, water, financial literacy and more. About 90% of the staff is from the local area, and they are fantastic and incredibly caring. They also had gaiters, gloves, rain jackets and pants for guests when trekking. It was truly full service. Now, the gorilla trek! It was unbelievable and so so special. Looking back, I would have ideally done two gorilla treks with a golden monkey trek in between as a rest day. (Albiet that comes with cost and vacation time.) Then, we drove directly from the lodge to Kigali airport on our departure day -- which was quick and smooth. The whole week was seamless and well managed, and we felt taken care of at each and every stage.
I enjoy working with Kathi and appreciate her flexibility to go back and forth on the itinerary to ensure it meets our needs and budget. And I plan to continue working with her for future Africa trips. One thing I would have appreciated was a bit more information up front before we left on things like who our driver would be, that we would have one driver for the week, hiking gear provided by each lodge, etc. The preparation document that was shared was more general and not specific to our trip, which would have been helpful. I ended up doing more of my own research through lodge reviews, blogs, etc -- and then trusted that Kathi had taken care of everything else. (Which she did!)
CA
Email Amy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Organized, Knowledgeable led to a trip of a lifetime! Would highly recommend to anyone
Kathi was a major part of why our honeymoon trip to South Africa was a trip of a lifetime! Every step of the way Kathi was organized and so prompt in the beginning stages of planning. She was very prompt with email replies back.
It is clear that she has a deep understanding of the area including the cities and safari, which allowed us to experience the highlights of South Africa and Kruger park. During our trip, Kathi remained in close contact, and was so accommodating when we wanted to add to book an extra excursion. She would provide us ahead of time the name of any drivers, and give us reminders to check into flights. I also wanted to shout out the tour operators that Kathi connected us with; Debbie was amazing and we loved spending the 4 days touring Cape Town and surrounding areas. We also can't even start with the safari Kathi recommended and booked us into! The whole trip went so smoothly, and we felt safe the whole time thanks to Kathi's work.
For anyone looking to book, I 100% recommend Kathi, and have already given my recs to my close friends and family
SG
Email Priyanka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable, stress-free honeymoon in South Africa!
We recently returned from an incredible 11-day honeymoon in South Africa organized by African Welcome Safaris, and we couldn't be happier with the experience.
From the initial planning stages, Kathi was super helpful and responsive. She gave us multiple options tailored to what we were looking for and guided us smoothly through every detail, patiently answering our every question via email.
The accommodations and local guides chosen for us were top-notch across the board. On top of that, the on-the-ground execution was mostly seamless. We didn't have to worry about logistics at all, which allowed us to completely relax and focus on enjoying our honeymoon.
Huge thanks to Kathi and the team for making our trip so memorable. We highly recommend African Welcome Safaris to anyone planning a dream vacation to Africa!