Africa Tours in June 2027

Trip of a life time made so enjoyable by our Explore guide - Phenyo. He just knew where to take us to see the most awesome wildlife. We were lucky to witness a lion couple on their honeymoon. We were so close to a pride of lions I could have put my hand out and touched one. We had a mix of accommodation from wild camping to premium lodge and houseboat. We saw the big four as the rhino is protected on an island as part of a breeding programme.

The Botswana wildlife was a wonderful experience! We saw lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, jackals, elephants, hippos, zebras, giraffes and a vast array of birds. Our guide Phenyo was a superb animal spotter and we had a great group of people. Being able to get so close to the animals was just amazing. Our itinerary was re-routed in places due to heavy rainfall in previous weeks. The highlight was the wild camping which was more comfortable than we had imagined. The back up crew, William, Charles and B-man did an incredible job setting up the camp for us and cooking a 3 course meal for us every night as well as baking cakes and fresh rolls every day. A few small tweaks would make the trip even more enjoyable. The boat trip in Chobe on the second day should absolutely be included in the trip, it was a highlight. Lunch and dinner at Thamo Telele should also be included. The prices were reasonable and no viable alternative for food anyway. On the houseboat the captain forgot to switch on the generator for two days so we only had cold showers. Instructions around activities could be better at times. That said, it was an unforgettable holiday. Great group of travellers and amazing sights. Please note that in the winter (we went in June) it is very cold in the morning and evening, but very hot in the middle of the day. You will be in an open safari vehicle for 8-10 hours a day and fleece, jacket, hat and gloves were all required.

The holiday and our guide, Joe, were superb. We had so many close encounters with animals including lions, crocodiles, hippos and elephants. Our guide / driver knew where to locate animals by following tracks and listening for animal distress sounds. We saw a cheetah hunting and lions mating! The best part was camping and listening to animals at night, sitting on the loo watching the Milky way and eating the delicious food cooked by Sparks and Martin. it was very special.

The itinerary was great -- we saw a lot and covered a lot of ground. There were a few days where we got back to the ship or hotel kind of early. I think some people probably wanted some down time to rest, but I would have liked to have had the option of going on a brief excursion or trip to see something else during that time.

Out of the many tour guides we have had over the years , Zaid was right at the top! The whole tour was well organized and 20 of the 22 people were amazing. Two people from Trinidad made things hard for Zaid but he handled with extreme professionalism! The highlight had to be the 2 days in the Sahara Desert!

I was the only person booked on this tour starting June 5th 2026, so I ended up with a great "private tour". Explore and I were willing to change to a different tour date but my flights were not working out, so I stayed with the original plan. I had an excellent tour leader Salohy for the entire trip. A SUV was used for the trip - more agile than a tour bus at handling the tricky Madagascar roads - so we made good time on the travel days. The tour itinerary was closely followed in all cases including guides at the national parks. The favourites were Andasibe for the various types of Lemurs sighted and Isalo for the lanscape. All the accommodation was good - my "bungalow" at Ifaty was about 50' from the beach. There were very few tourists at the hotels as well as the parks. Weather was good with no rain but nights were cool 10 C and required a jacket - day time high 20-25 C. A great vacation done at my pace, since I was the only one around - many thanks to Explore and the local staff.