Essence of South Africa

Good mixture of things in the tour, less of the tourist african tribe stuff and more of the safari. A lot of the history was repeated between the two local guides.

This itinerary enabled us to have a well-rounded experience in South Africa; Safari experience met and exceeded our expectations; we enjoyed Cape Town and our host in the Be my guest program was gracious. was funny and authentic and made us feel welcomed in their home. Johannesburg allowed us to experience some of the history of South Africa and to ground us in their nation's journey. Looking back, we would have done a much longer tour, but this was just right for us. Thank you!

The trip was fantastic. The safari was a once in a lifetime experience.

FANTASTIC trip! We went for our honeymoon and had an amazing time! We were in a group of 14, which was perfect - not too big, easy to get around. We were able to see everything we wanted and more! In Cape Town, we had the most wonderful guide () and driver (). They hit everything on the itinerary and still managed to add more to our trip, all while maintaining a good timeline. Great insight and knowledge from both of them! The safari was absolutely the highlight. Our itinerary when we book stated that we'd be staying at a different lodge (we thought we'd be at Beck's, but we were at Shiduli). Shiduli was fantastic, but we shared the Beck's information with our families at home. The game rangers and drivers are wonderful, so nothing dangerous happened but that is something that could have caused confusion. Our game ranger and tracker were THE BEST! So much knowledge, experience, and great energy from both of them everyday! Excellent personal touches scattered throughout our time there. I would have loved to be there longer! JoBerg came with a wealth of knowledge. Our guide here was more impersonal than the others we'd worked with up until this point - he kept passing us along to other guides and would wait in the bus (even if Shai from Cape Town brought us somewhere with another guide or different person to lead, he would at least remain in the area with us to answer our questions or add more to the experience). We did not realize how much tipping would be involved or how difficult it would be to get smaller bills (we went to the hotels and banks, but no one was able to give us anything smaller than 50ZAR). Either informing us ahead of time or even charging more for the trip so that tips for guides, drivers, and trackers are already included would be helpful. That way these hard-working people get what they deserve and we can add on top of that if we want to. Overall, it was an AMAZING trip! We created wonderful memories and have some great photos and stories! Thank you for the experience!