Simple stays with essential amenities. Typically guesthouses, hostels or hotels rated below 3 stars — clean, no-frills, and great for value-conscious travelers.
Comfortable and reliable 3-star stays. Expect private rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and solid amenities — a great balance between comfort and cost.
Upscale 4-5 star hotels and lodges. Enjoy high-end service, refined comfort, and premium locations — ideal for travelers seeking extra indulgence.
The trip gave a good overview of southern africa and was well paced. was an amazing tour manager and the guides at the different locations are also great.
AdventureNational parks
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Camping, Guest House, Tent
Age Range
18-35 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Cape Town, Victoria Falls, Chobe
Cape Town, Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, Kruger National Park, Johannesburg, Kasane
I thought every single day was the best day of my life... Until the next day came along and overtook it, and then the next day and the next...
The Okavango Delta is pure magic. Easily the best place to see wildlife in Africa (and I have been to most of them on Contiki's). Its remote, there are barely any other tourists on safari out there and it felt like we were truly in Africa, experiencing it for how it should be and not a tourist destination to see wildlife. The camping set up there is awesome, you arrive and everything is set up from your tents and bedding, to a fire place to sit around at night, to a dining tent and chill tent on the river to watch elephants come downt to drink in the middle of the day - right in front of us! On the Game Drives we saw lions and even Wild Dogs (Painted Wolf) pups as well as the adults on the hunt. The safari vehicles had fridges to keep the beers cold, charge ports for our phones and a roof to climb on to watch the sunset over the Delta's waterways while lions were calling in the distance.
The Meerkats at the salt pans were amazing to see go about their day without even giving us a glance as we got close for photos and the sunset on the pans where you can see the horizon 360 degrees around you was extra special.
And Chobe was out of this world... That sunset on the river when everyone had left the park but we stayed in it at Contiki Special Campsite, plus the leopard in the tree... Goosebumps...
And I nearly forgot the adrendline and pure adventure of Victoria Falls. Bungeeing, rafting, heli flights, walking safaris... It has everything to get the heart racing but also some activity from sitting on safari vehicles. I guess some of the activities are pricey, but I felt super safe doing everything and would always rather pay a higher price for safety on the adventurous activities. I'd reccomend them all! The accommodation here felt so fancy with swimming pool, the spray of the falls in the distance, elephants drinking at the waterhole in front and out the back you could safely walk into town to do some shopping or exploring...
A trip I could VERY easily do again and again. Every safari drive is different with varying chances of seeing different animals doing different things (drinking/eating/hunting/playing with babies etc etc). Every drive felt special and unique...
The Africa bug has bitten me hard - I cant wait to go back
Natural landmarks sightseeing
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Camping, Hotel, Lodge, Tent
Age Range
18-35 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Victoria Falls, Maun, Chobe Nati
Victoria Falls, Maun, Chobe National Park, Makgadikgadi Pans, Okavango Delta
This is just one of those trips... if you are considering going then PLEASE do. As a single woman travelling to Africa alone, there were plenty of people that were worried about me coming on this trip. By the time it ended, I was uncontrollably crying that it was over.. I just wanted to start the 11 days all over again. The tour felt very luxurious, all of the food and accomodation was incredible and our guides - for Kenya, and for Tanzania - were the stars of the show. They were so fun, planned everything to the last detail and sat with us for every meal so they just felt like one of the group.
We saw everything we wanted to see and then some - including some very rare sightings from the leopard to the serval cat and porcupine. Our tour guides were true professionals and even put a lot of effort into making sure every animal was shown in the right lighting from a good angle to get the best photo.
I can't recommend this trip highly enough and I hope you have as incredible a time as I did!
Wildlife safaris and game drives
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Lodge
Age Range
18-35 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Arusha, Nairobi, Maasai Mara Gam
Arusha, Nairobi, Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Ngorongoro Crater, Masai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli, Tarangire, Serengeti
Excellent tour where close encounters with a variety of animals, most notably Mountain Gorillas, are virtually guaranteed (with all the planning involved, you'd be extremely unlucky not to see Gorillas in Bwindi).
On the tour you also find out about the efforts made in conserving these rare animals and how that sometimes impacts on the human residents in the area both positively and negatively. The formation of several community groups, particularly focused on providing education and sustainable employment, particularly for women, is also shown
Wildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Lodge
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Kampala, Kigali, Lake Mburo Nati
Kampala, Kigali, Lake Mburo National Park, Bwindi National Park, Volcanoes National Park
This was an excellent Safari. The Tour was as described for style and is not for the faint hearted. We observed all of the animals and birdlife you could wish for. This was a real adventure and both my Wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The itinery could do with an update although in the grand scheme of things would not have made much difference.
ExplorerWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Camping, Lodge
Age Range
18-75 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Nairobi, Maasai Mara National Re
Nairobi, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Livingstone, Lake Nakuru National Park, Jinja, Eldoret, Arusha, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Bagamoyo, Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar, Mikumi National Park, Iringa, Chitimba Beach, Kampala, Kande Beach, Chipata, Lusaka, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Bunyonyi
This holiday delivered on every front. We saw so much wildlife and enjoyed the variety of parks and environments. We were very lucky in having a small group and this added to the enjoyment. The Tortilis camps are fabulous and on 2 occasions catered for only 4 guests eight 18 staff. The tents are wonderful and met all our needs. However our fellow guests did experience issues with hot water for their shower on several occasions but staff did endeavour to resolve the issue each time.
Hamse, our guide, was great and also helped us arrange an air balloon trip over the Serengeti which enhanced the overall trip.
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers