South Africa Travel Guide

South Africa is much more beautiful than I ever imagined. Every turn was a picture.

Wildlife was amazing. Weather was cooler than expected. Scenery was much more beautiful than expected. Accommodations we booked were beautiful and the people I contacted were so friendly and hospitable. Car rental went great, roads were very nice and easily traveled. Our Safari guides were wonderful and did all they could to make our Safari successful. The only negative thing I had happen was at Tydan African Safari someone stole my money from my tent while I was on Safari, so please keep your money with you at all times.

It was the most amazing experience I have ever had .

I loved it all weather was great the animals were amazing in there natural habitat our guide his name was Simon absolutely fantastic he cooked for us took us on game drives all day love every moment I’m saving to go back again.

Wild Planet Safari was an excellent experience!!

We had a beautiful experience with Wild Planet Safaris. Booking the tour was easy-Ryan was very open and easy to communicate with. For our guides we had Anton and Lungi. Anton was very knowledgeable about the animals and knew where to go in the park. Lungi was an excellent cook and animal spotter-he spotted a leopard across the way (I would have never caught it on my own) which made my day-probably the most beautiful animal I have ever seen in the wild! My dad made it a game to try and spot an animal before Lungi did-needless to say, Lungi always won haha. We are also very very lucky to have seen the wild African dogs! We got to see them interact with a huge family of baboons, it was absolutely wild, a once in a life time opportunity! Both of the guides made our trip very enjoyable-would definitely recommend!

Fantastic

Our safari in Kruger with Wild Planet Safari was everything we hoped for - and more. We got to see the 'Big 5' - our initial objective - and the 'Ugly 5', but we also got to see so much more. A pride of 21 lions, two lions eating their kill, a group of several hundred buffalo walking single file towards water and a fight where two wildebeest were locked together for almost half an hour plus lots and lots of other animals and birds.
Our guides, Chris and Luin (?) were excellent and amazing at spotting things we couldn't see - even after we started to know what to look for! They also did the cooking and the food was excellent - and there was always too much!
Accommodation wise, I loved the 'African feel' of the huts in which we stayed. The huts were spacious, comfortable - and well airconditioned which was needed!
We were there in September, but I was still slightly surprised both as to how dry and how hot (temps up to 41 deg) it was. However, whereas the dryness (and also being the end of winter) made the scenery somewhat uninspiring, it was fascinating to see how tough the animals were and how they were surviving.
My image of an African safari prior to going was doing it in an open Jeep. However, after the initial disappointment of realising we'd be in an enclosed vehicle, both my wife and I very soon realised its benefits! Being able to have the airconditioning on in that heat was great, and also the visibility was still excellent. Furthermore, if I needed a photo )and I took a LOT!), Chris would stop, position the vehicle as I needed and I could open my window and never missed a photo opportunity!
To summarise: A tremendous time giving us wonderful memories.

South Africa has a large number of geographically separated National Parks and Private Wildlife destinations. These have a wide range of landscape types and climates resulting a diversity of vegetation, animal and bird life. Each area has its own special character and atmosphere providing a unique variety of experiences.

Big 5 in a day

The Kruger safari was more than expected. Our guide was knowledgeable and found all the wildlife we could ask for. No problems all of our outings and transfers went as planned. I would use safari bookings again.

Best experience ever! totally recommendable

Everything was amazing, people, food, wildlife and scenarios. The only thing I couldn´t do was the panorama sighting because there was a fire.

You all ROCK!! Super place to visit, and we want to come back soon. Awesome trip from Kruger NP south to Cape Town for a total of 4 weeks. Just a super trip!!

Awesome experience, will definitely go back!

The entire safari experience was great. Our guide, Matthew, from African Safari Guru, picked us up in Johannesburg and made sure we had everything we needed (including helping us to get a local SIM card for our phones). During the transfer to Arathusa, Matthew provided tons of interesting information about the area, the people, the economy .. the country in general. After 3 days at Arathusa, Matthew picked us up and drove us to Lukimbi. He took us through Kruger National Park, took us to the top of a "koppie" to get a 360 degree view of the park, which was amazing. My husband finally understood what I meant when I said "the bush" ... After our stays at the lodges (6 nights total), Matthew drove us to Nelspruit airport where we caught a flight to Cape Town where we spent another week. The lodges (Arathusa and Lukimbi) were very different but both amazing in their own way. The food and service was excellent all around. I can't think of anything negative at all. It was a great experience and we plan to go back. African Safari Guru did not disappoint and we will use Matthew again.

Magical

I was a solo female traveler who was eager to see the wildlife but was also nervous about traveling by myself. I should not have been. The safari was wonderful! Fantastic and knowledgeable guides, incredible scenery and excellent lodge all of which quickly relieved me of any trepidation. The lodge itself was built overlooking a small valley and a vast open-air balcony. It was a beautiful and restive spot for wildlife viewing. The staff were warm yet professional, and the service was excellent. Food was also very good. I went on morning and evening game drives. Our guide grew up just outside of the park, and was informative about both wildlife and Zulu culture. I also went on a bush walk which was the highlight of my trip. Why travel so far and stay in a car when you can walk with the animals and see things you would otherwise miss? For me the only drawback was that I am a birder. The game drives were in jeeps with five to six other people who were not asinterested in stopping to see the birds as was I. As a result, the bird watching was rushed but we did see many animals including four of the big 5.