South Africa Travel Guide

An awesome lifetime experience.

We traveled to South Africa on the Queen Mary 2 (from Southampton) and upon arrival in Cape Town we were treated to an absolutely splendid view from the sea of Table Mountain and the city. We spent several days on Cape Town and were thoroughly impressed with the city and its surroundings (but not the water shortage......). We took a day tour to Stellenbosch (booked online with “WineFlies”) and were impressed with the quality of the guide and - of course - the wine. We drove up the east coast, staying in Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth. From PE we did a self-drive tour of the Addo elephant reserve. It was outstanding. We then headed further north, staying in Umtata, Umhlaga, and Richards Bay/Empangeni (an important family location). All hotels were excellent, and reasonably priced. stayed near Newcastle at a first rate recently-built hotel - Vulintaba - which is surrounded by mountains and next to a brand new golf course. Worth the detour.

Our final destination was Joburg. We had fortunately booked a hotel in Rosebank, because that is where the hop-on hop-off leaves from (well worth it for those, like us, new to Joburg). The highlight in Joburg was the Apartheid Museum. Very well done, and very moving. It should be visited by anyone going to Joburg.

Our final four days were on the safari that we had booked online with Jewel of Africa, having first browsed your very useful website. Because we had driven nearly 4,000kms since our arrival in Cape Town, it was important to book a safari that included flights from Joburg to Hoedsprit, and not more driving. Jewel of Africa delivered in spades. Staff were helpful throughout the booking process (including difficulties paying in Rand through Visa). They were especially helpful when, on the day of our departure on safari, the airline we were booked on (CEMair) ran into “operational difficulties” (they had safety issues.....). We stayed at Phelwana lodge in a brand new “tent”next to a dam with hippos. At 5pm on the first day we were toured around the property and saw many animals. The first full day was spent at Kruger NP. Our guide (from Tally-Ho) was excellent, very well informed, and extremely helpful. The second day we toured Manyuleti, a private reserve with open fences to Kruger. Lots of off-road driving - which brought us within feet of prides of lions, leopards, elephants etc. Really amazing! Our booking was all-inclusive, and the food and wine at Phelwana were extremely good. Jewel of Africa did an outstanding job. I recommend them highly.

Bottom line? South Africa and its people, scenery, accommodations and food are superb!

Surpassed All Expectations!

This trip surpassed all of my expectations. We booked everything through Ker & Downey Africa (Emma and Razaan were incredible!) I traveled with a group of five to Cape Town and then to Sabi Sands Reserve Park. We stayed at the Elephant Plains Lodge which included a beautiful pool overlooking a plain frequented by elephants (so it lived up to its name!). Our first two game drives and we had already check all boxes for the trip! All the Big 5 to include being in the middle of a herd of about 70 elephants. Lions feeding their cubs. Leopards in a tree and out of a tree. African Buffalo and Rhinos. We also tracked wild dogs as they hunted and caught a warthog. We were all in shock! I truly expected to drive around a while and see some animals...not to be as close as we were! We went on 4 game drives after that which were just a cherry on top! The game drives were out of this world, bush walks were exciting and informative, the food was incredible, accommodations were extremely clean and comfortable. It was a dream. Really I can't recommend Emma and Razaan enough. They made the entire trip personalized and special for me and my group (and arranged several birthday treats for me along the way!). I can't wait to come back!

Beautiful nature. The lodges are very nice and organized facilities. Very easy to organize a safari and have all the necessary information.
Enchanting views of the bush. (Sorry, no speak english)

Great scenery and good chances of spotting wildlife

Booked a 2 day/1 night tour to Pilanesberg. It was a fantastic tour. The Pilanesberg is beautiful, very nice scenery and very good chances of spotting wildlife. I liked the extended game drive that Mmilo tours offers since it offers you the possibility to see more of the park. In the game drives of the lodge I did spot more wildlife since the drivers communicate with each other where you can for example spot a lion.. But the extended game drive was a plus since it is more individual and shows you different areas of the park. The guide was very knowledgeable and made the trip good fun. The lodge was perfect and the food very good.

Good quality/price balance

Amaizing! We saw al 5 five and more wild animals. Outstanding landscapes in Kruger NP, God's Window, Blyde River Canyon and Lisbon falls. Comfortable and clean accommodations. Excellent food. Friendly and expert guides showed all animals and resolve all our doubts...

Out of this world experience

My wife and I booked our Safari adventure through Jewel of Africa via Safari Bookings. Right from the beginning Neil was extremely helpful going out of his way to make sure our honeymoon was exactly what we envisioned. He helped with securing the right sleeping quarters for what we wanted during a very busy time ( we went for Christmas) along with the booking of a flight into Hoedspruit from Cape Town. The transportation was arranged from the airport to the lodge as well. We were greeted by Lucky at the airport and he was very professional, friendly and a joy to meet. The safari itself was unbelievable. The scenery is absolutely stunning as I feel South Africa is a gorgeous country. The wildlife was plentiful as we visited Manyeleti Game reserve one day and the second day Kruger National Park. The opportunity to be in close quarters to such majestic creatures really left us with a sense of admiration for them and humbled. My heart breaks to hear such frequent stories of poaching in the region as we discussed this with our guide Simon as I can't fathom how someone could hurt an animal. Simon was fantastic and a wonderful teacher whilst he was our guide. The weather during our visit was incredible. Very warm with a few cool mornings and mostly dry. We did no birding this time around so I haven't much to say there but I would recommend safari to everyone. Dylan, Jeffery, Nat and the rest of the team at Phlewana where we stayed were brilliant, you couldn't find better host. Lastly, the food was extremely good during our stay so my hat is tipped to the kitchen as well! I hope to return some day as I truly loved my safari experience and although I have left Africa, it hasn't left me.

Exceeded our expectations

In one word. SUPER!!!!! From hotels..tours, guides and staff to the people of South Africa...

What an amazing animal adventure, one of my favorite trips!

We went primarily to see the wildlife in their natural habitat and the trip surpassed our expectations. The animals came so close to our vehicle and were not bothered by our presence at all. We got to see them behaving as they do, protecting their babies, protecting their kill, playing, eating, and sleeping. January is a good time to see the babies. The big cats are as awesome as you expect, the elephants are a delight to watch play in the mud, the giraffes are elegant, and who knew warthogs could be so cute! We did see the big five but those and the vervet monkeys and baboons were our favorites. I did not know what to expect with accommodations or food, but both were fabulous! Viewing animals outside your bedroom window is really cool and they fed us more delicious fresh, food than we could ever eat. The service was outstanding everywhere we went. People are friendly and helpful and our guides, Sebastion and Armand, and tracker, Rifos, were extremely knowledgeable. We hated to leave! Six days was really not enough to see and do all that South Africa has to offer. I recommend staying 10 days to 2 weeks if you want to get enough of animals, scenery and culture. We could have spent more time viewing animals and we missed out on museums and culture. Lastly, save room for the South African wine!

The safari was exciting and very interesting with very good guides.

It was my 2nd time in SA and the 1st time for my wife, so when talking about safaris I can compare the Kruger park with Pilanesberg which I think it's more preferable with a shorter ride from Jo'burg and also less driving around in the park to spot the animals.
The weather was perfect and the two places in Capetown and Jo'burg(Sandton) were we stayed at, were very good both of them.
Food was awesome and everything else during our time in SA worked out very well.....SA it is a highliht itself:-)