South Africa Cultural, religious and historic sites Trips

This truly was a South Africa highlights tour. We saw the big 5 in Kruger, whales at Hermanus, penguins, coastline, Table Mountain.....the list is endless. We had an amazing guide, Tshepo, who was a fount of knowledge, always helpful and in a good humour. I would definitely recommend this trip.

Covers lot of ground and this is the one disadvantage. One day we did not arrive at our destination until past 8pm. Plenty of opportunities to get to grips with wildlife but some trips underwhelming, such as Rorke's Drift and the Hippo cruise at St Lucia. Good to have three nights at St Lucia to get over the earlier long trip, but with a couple of changes this trip could be extended a day or so and give pause for breath.

My first ever escorted trip by myself but definitely won’t be my last! Sydney our tour leader was amazing and looked after us so well. Our driver John got us to everywhere safely, in what were some very challenging journeys! Lots of pot holes and speed bumps in SA!! They made a great team together. The full packed itinerary suited me and although fast paced we covered a lot of the country and gave a great flavour of what SA has to offer. Finally the group on the tour were so friendly and great company - I couldn’t be happier!

Many good things about this trip. We saw lots of animals - lions, leopards, hippos, rhinos, crocs, monkeys, giraffes, elephants etc. Birding was also very good, with eagles and kingfishers as well as vultures and many other very colourful species. One of the early starts seemed a bit pointless when we arrived at 5pm at the next accommodation- breakfast is better when eaten at a table and not packed. The bus and driver were excellent, plenty of space for the long drives. The chaos at OR Tambo JNB airport meant a late start on the first day, it took an hour for immigration control. Ideally fly in the day before (or earlier) and take some local tours beforehand. If you arrive at the last lodge before it closes at 5pm, take a look at the nearby gorge, well worth doing. Buy milk at the Spar stops on the journey, the powdered stuff does not work in tea. The afternoon game drives tended to be „get them back to the bus on time“, so sightings were fewer then. Do not expect luxury from the lodges, the locations make up for it. The best guide was on the hippo cruise and night safari optionals, he really knew, and could explain, a lot about the animals and birds we saw. We came away with happy memories and a stack of photos.

This was a fantastic tour encompassing lots of incredible landscapes, national parks, and wildlife. Although we were on the move a lot the holiday was incredibly relaxing and we learnt so much about the history, culture, and flora & fauna of the areas. We were lucky enough to see all of the big 5 across the holiday, with our time in St Lucia being a highlight. Our tour guide Werner was brilliant - he was incredibly knowledgeable, insightful, and made the whole trip very smooth and enjoyable.

This is a great trip if you are interested in seeing wildlife. A large part of the trip is spent on safari, whether it be in the Kruger Park or St Lucia. We were lucky enough to get several leopard sightings, and numerous close encounters with elephants. We saw plenty of hippos, zebra, giraffe and antelope, and large variety of birds. The trip covered a lot of ground, so there were inevitably some long bus journeys, but it was worth it. There was also some stunning mountain scenery too in the Drakensberg and Eswatini. The accommodation was on the whole good, mainly staying in simple eco lodges, which I felt was in keeping with the nature of the trip. It could get cold in the evening, depending on what time of year you are travelling, and the lighting was never good when it got dark. The accommodation at the Kruger, I felt could have been better, particularly at the Phabeni Sleepover, where I thought the barbecue they provided was expensive for what they offered, and the takeaway breakfast not great. Overall, I hugely enjoyed the trip. Good company, good guide. It was tiring with a lot of early morning starts, but worth it. In some places I felt it was a bit rushed – barely 30 minutes at the Talana Museum, and 30 minutes at Rourke’s Drift, so it was difficult to assimilate anything much. I would have been quite happy for the trip to be a day or 2 longer, even though it would be more expensive, so it wouldn’t feel quite so rushed.