Guides & Their Toys
Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
- Offices In:
-
United States
Canada
Australia - Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Craig | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great itinerary and guides, and but a couple things need to be tightened up.
Generally, for less than a two week trip, the itinerary was perfect to get a great flavor and feel for what South Africa has to offer. Essentially the first week is for a Safari out of Johannesburg with the second portion being a number of days in Cape Town. We cannot say enough great things about the guides and drivers at all locations. Top notch! They went above and beyond what could have been expected catering to our schedule and “off tour” trips and experiences.
The price was really a great value considering all that was included. You get to see and do so much. For a ten day tour, you come away feeling that you have accomplished a lot of what you need to say you have seen and gotten a feel for South Africa.
However, there are a couple things which need to be tightened up to make this a true five star experience. There is no way to say this that doesn’t sound like an entitled tourist, but here goes. The bar set up at Hamala Lodge has to be updated to service its guests. One example. on the first morning of our several day Safari tour based at the Humala River Lodge, one of our party ordered a Bloody Mary. The bartender, a great young gentleman named Blessing, could not have been more accommodating and was able to make several Bloody Marys. The other half of the group also staying in the Hamala River Lodge at the same time, heard our order and also ordered Bloody Marys. Turned out that the 6–7 Bloody Marys completely wiped out the bar’s ability to make Bloody Marys for the rest of our stay. It would appear to be a very easy fix to have either a greater supply of Bloody Mary mix available to the bar or have someone run out the approximately 45 minutes – one hour to the town right outside the reserve to resupply the bar with Bloody Mary mix. Again, not a big deal, but such an easy fix.
The seafood restaurant for lunch in Cape Town prior to the boat tour should be deleted from the itinerary. It’s a tourist trap with no real flavor or anything special to either Africa or Cape Town. A more traditional African restaurant would be a much better option.
More importantly, there was some transfer issues that, again, would appear to be easily addressed and corrected. On the first day on our arrival from the US following a 14 hour flight, 9 passengers were transported from the airport in an 8 passenger van to the Seasons Resort. The last thing I needed was to have to sit on an armrest of the van for about the hour transfer to the Resort following that long flight. Again, not. a deal breaker, but Go Touchdown knew how many would be on the transfer, and could easily have provided more suitable transportation.
Lastly, one of group was completely left off the flight to Cape Town. Fortunately, we caught the error and we’re able to have the fourth person in our group added to the flight. Inexplicably, that same person was given a different flight back from Cape Town to Johannesburg. We were unable to get them on our same flight. They had to take a much later flight which was delayed causing a big rush in Johannesburg to make the flight home. Lastly, and again, as all the flight arrangements had to be left to Go Touchdown, and particularly after leaving this person off the flight to Cape Town, not having them booked on the same flight as the rest of our party to Johannesburg is just inexcusable.
MT
Email Norman | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized. On top of all things. Prompt response to all queries.
Enjoyed it all.
Both Safari and Cape Town.
Tours are very organized and detailed. Drivers well mannered.
Safari: Animals wake up early and so must you if you want to spot them.
Cape Town: Nice restaurants. Mostly a la carte menus. Accommodation in well appointed boutique hotels.
South Africa: Nature at its best. Exceptional country. Pleasantly surprised.
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Email Jia & Jack | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Both JP and Bakkies are fantastic.
We went for two tours back to back with gotouchdown. JP was our guy in Cape Town tour. He took good care of us in any way he can. We stayed in Stillness for the entire week. The amenity was not the best in my opinion. However the staffs and chiefs were great. We had the best restaurant experiences in Cape Town. It seemed each was better than the last one. Hands down for the restaurant selections. Bakkies was our guide for Safari tour. We love him. We love the two nights stayed in Dunkle estate, such a beautiful piece of property. Humala and Seasons is so so. Unfortunately, the only time we have Wi-Fi in our room was in Dunkle. We saw many animals. Lion park was totally not worth it. We felt sad to see the condition the animals in. They are in big cages there. The safari in Pilanesberg is top notch.
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Email JW Burdette | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cared about his passengers and how their experience was
The accommodations we excellent. Our driver James was the best. Treated us like Family. Angie and Dana did an excellent pretrip job. They were available for my questions and so helpful with getting me ready for the trip. I came to see South Africa and I did. From the start I was taken to see the beauty of Africa and the wonderful people of the country. Would recommend this trip and more
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Email Linda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing best trip ever!
Top notch vacation accommodations 5 stars site seeing 5 stars and food 5 stars!
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Email Linda | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Agency presents a picture of the tour that exceeds expectations and reality
Safari - The Seasons hotel fair. Only positive is the food. A/C and TV not working, no hair dryer. Needs updating. The tent camp was a unique experience that was very nice. Our safari guide, Tandi was excellent. There were only 2 of us at the hotel which was sad. No choice in the meals, but they were good. The lion enclosure was a disgrace. Very small fenced in space with several lions laying around. Our guide was knowledgeable, but his actions disintegrated as the week passed on.
Capetown - great overview of the city and had a wonderful guide in J.P. J.P. was outstanding; knowledgeable, timely, professional; perfect. Showed us everything on the itinerary and we were not disappointed. The hotel staff and food was excellent. The chef made us ostrich one evening and it was well prepared and delicious. Hotel does not have elevators, only cement stairs, which should be told to guests beforehand. Only one guest room on the main floor. Although the hotel was nice I would have preferred to stay in the city where more shops were readily available and you could walk around the city and talk to residents. The location is on the beach, but isolated. Only one small shopping area and it was quite a walk from the hotel.
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Email William R Cavins | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolute Amazing African Adventure
We participated in a drawing at Gay Days back in 2017. We were contacted and decided to book the tour to mark our 20th year together and our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We’ve gone through a few different people handling various portions of the trip. Everyone tried to make us happy.
Touchdown handled the airfare and all aspects of the tour. We were pleased with the easy payment plan that fit our budget. Sadly I understand the 5 year plan isn’t available for future travelers. However they will work with you to make your Adventure in South Africa is a memorable one.
I will write a separate review of the tour itself at another time. For now know that Go Touchdown’s staff in Sarasota, FL is there for you.
Could they have have done more. Perhaps a few little things that should be improved. Adapters that said they were for Africa weren’t. So perhaps a brand recommendation or make them available through Touchdown. Also I don’t recall seeing a reference to a limit on ATM withdrawals to 3000 Rand per card per day. I also suggested they provide us with a cheat sheet of some local languages for staff members so we could say hello, goodbye, please and thank you in Swazi, Zulu or one of the other 9 languages. All little things.
Rest assured they have the big items nailed down! They even mark birthdays and anniversaries.
We will always.remember the work Angie, Deborah, Natasha, Deon, Joseph, Bakkies, Thabo, Bill, Rosemarie, Tandi, Buffalo Soldier and Anisa did for us. We look forward to booking Cape in the future.
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Email Susan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Go Touchdown provided a South African tour which was personal, service centered and upscale.
For those of you considering a safari in South Africa, we highly recommend Go Touchdown Tours. If you are looking for a small upscale group tour which is guided by caring, knowledgeable and detail oriented professionals, then this tour company is for you.
Their stateside representative, Angie Main, was very knowledgeable and accessible. She answered emails within 24 hrs and was flexible in arranging her schedule when a group conference call was requested. Upon arrival in South Africa, we were greeted by a tour guide who was prepared to take us to our first hotel, Seasons Spa. It was clean and fairly spacious with a front or back porch. There was a common area in the middle of a 4 room configuration. We took the Elephant and Monkey Sanctuary tour. Highly, highly recommend it. Very interactive.
Thabo, our guide, was with us the entire tour. He was punctual, organized and very knowledgeable. His attention to detail went even so far as to warning us about the potholes in the road in case we got jostled. I could write a lengthy list of the many thoughtful things he did to to make this a memorable trip for us. Suffice it to say that Go Touchdown has an invaluable employee in this man. He is a wonderful representative for this company.
Dunkeld Estates is a beautiful resort. We highly recommend the horseback riding. The rooms are beautiful!
Humula Lodge is exactly how we envisioned a first rate accommodation. Our room had a front porch next to the river. The flowing water was a constant background sound. The staff truly cared about our needs and our wants. A special shout out to Blessing and Ayanda. They both are hardworking young men who catered to our every need. Ayanda not only made our soups and delicious bread but served our meals, as well. Blessing was the bartender, front desk clerk and conceriage. He did everything with a warm and gracious smile.
Our safari guide, Lindo, possesses exceptional tracking skills. He drove our group on 5 safari outings. Each time he never stopped looking for signs of animal activity. We were so lucky to have him as our guide through the Bush.
We returned to Seasons for our final 2 days. Visiting Plainsburg Reserve was one of the highlights of our trip. There was an abundance of animal sightings including elephants, giraffes, hippocampus, kudus and even a jackal. Buffalo Soldier was an outstanding and knowledgeable guide.
If you are contemplating a South African safari you would not regret choosing Go Touchdown. We loved every minute of it.
A Dream Realized
Truly a dream come come true. From sales (Angie Main)to service (Dana Spencer) to the actual adventure, every phrase was top notch. It all starts at with the airport pick-up. Our driver guide, James was with us the entire time in South Africa. He was knowledgeable professional and treated not only as VIPs, but also like family. The staff at the resorts we stayed at were all outstanding. But the true experience begins at Humala River Lodge. The staff there was superb. Our twice daily safari drives proved to be an adventure of a life time. Our safari guide, Lindo, was on point with his knowledge of the wildlife and how to spot them. Every aspect of this trip was beyond our expectations. We added side trips to Victoria Fall in Zimbabwe (3) days and a day trip to Botswana. The entire trip was a dream come true. Thank you Go Touchdown Travel
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Email Lauren | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience - Amazing Trip
Booking my Safari thru Go Touch Down was an easy experience from start to finish. I felt like I could email or call my operations guide at any time for questions and the responses were quick. I also loved how organized my documents were and how easy it was to pull them up online at anytime and print out what I needed. Before the trip, the communications team checked in with me and made sure I had everything I needed for a successful trip. My transport was waiting for me at the airport with a large sign that was easy to find. The van had air conditioning and water for guests. Check in to the lodge was easy and my Tour Guide was in touch with me right away to talk about the plan for the week and meet up times.
The Tour itself was well thought out. Travel and accommodations met expectations and having a group of 6 or less makes a huge difference. The best place was Humala Lodge for a totally unique experience. Communication about the next day's events was clearly explained each night at dinner.
All in all a great value for the money and felt like I had the information I needed on time. The only issue I had was at the end of the trip and very situational to the times in which I had to request a PCR Covid test instead of the rapid test that was suggested for me. I had to have the PCR to get into my home country.