We offer over 440 tours in Southern Africa with more than 1,900 customer reviews. Tour durations range from 1 to 288 days. Our Southern Africa tours are offered by qualified and hand-picked tour operators and each Southern Africa trip comes with a best price guarantee and no added booking fees.
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Accommodations
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.
This was an excellent trip very efficiently run. Two nights in every location except the last worked well. The accommodation standard was excellent and all the food was very good, including that prepared by the leaders. The trip was a very good mixture of game driving, hiking, a history day and driving days (I enjoy seeing the countryside and I listen to audio books to help pass the time). The last two and a half hiking days in the Drakensberg were a real highlight. Only one day, the hike in Eswatini, failed to impress as it was on a big track most of the time. Overall, this gives a very good introduction to the east of South Africa with not too much time spent in the truck. Oh, and the truck was very spacious and comfortable, not a minibus as I expected.
Wildlife safaris and game drives
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Guest House
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Johannesburg, Kruger National Pa
Johannesburg, Kruger National Park, Drakensberg, Mpumalanga, Blyde River Canyon, Swaziland, Hluhluwe game reserve, Zululand, Drakensberg Mountains
Superb trip, flexible organization, great food, accommodation, guides & bikes. An interesting variety of activities & enough spare time to feel that you weren't too rushed. Obviously, things like the weather & the number & variety of animals are variable & cannot be controlled. 1 of the best of many cycling tours I have done in several countries - I couldn't fault it!
Bicycle tours
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Guest House
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Johannesburg, Bandelierkop, Hoed
Johannesburg, Bandelierkop, Hoedspruit, Mapungubwe National Park, Letsitele, Kaross, South Africa, Kruger National Park, Three Rondavels, Lowveld
Contiki is an amazing company and despite the fog at the top of table mountain it was great to connect with everyone on this tour and a wonderful way to enter Africa. did a great job. Thank you guys.
This trip was a partnership with ECOTraining for 'Learn to Be a Safari guide'. This trip included daily bush hikes, lots of info from excellent guides, very yummy food and awesome game drives to see many animals in the wild. One of the best and most unique experiences.
What a fabulous adventure, the landscapes breathtaking, the walking was comfortable, fun and challenging. Accommodation was excellent. Guides were friendly and informative, I felt safe at all times.
Trekking and Hiking
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Lodge
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Johannesburg, Kruger National Pa
Johannesburg, Kruger National Park, Drakensberg, Drakensberg Mountains, Royal Natal National Park, Witsieshoek Lodge
This was an amazing experience. Most of the accommodation was excellent, however, the house boat on the delta was not the one mentioned in our final itinerary, and the rooms were very small, however the staff on board were excellent and looked after us well producing excellent food in a tiny kitchen. The staff at Batonka lodge in Victoria Falls deserve a special mention too. Travel was via an open sided vehicle which was excellent for viewing animals but got very cold and blustery on the two days of long journeys, make sure you bring warm clothing, gloves and a scarf or mask to prevent breathing in dust. There were two long travel days, particularly the day traveling through Namibia, the border crossing took longer than expected due to the introduction of a required visa a few months earlier. An extra night slotted in Namiba would have taken the pressure off. I cannot fault our guide/driver Phenyo, his ability to spot wildlife was extraordinary, he was so knowledgeable about every bird and animal we saw and had an excellent understanding of animal behavior which he passed on. He looked after us from start to finish and was always so positive.
I chose this trip for the wildlife abs it did not disappoint, from a pack of hyenas eating a dead elephant to a leopard resting, multiple lions and what seemed like hundreds of giraffes and elephants to mongooses and even honey badgers. The optional boat trip at Chobe was another highlight. If you like wildlife then this is the trip for you. I loved every minute.
Wildlife safaris and game drives
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Our guide Anthea was excellent. After a driving tour through the downtown sites and a stop at the park near Parliament, we went to Table Mountain where the clouds had cleared and views we beautiful. The Groot Constantia winery lunch & wine tasting were fantastic, and our walking tour through Kirstenbosch Garden & the Tree Canopy memorable.
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
