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
US
Email Ivy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't use go touch down
Wow, what a waste. Go touch down leaves you in the dark and wastes your travel time. We had a tour the day we arrived in S. Africa and were never given a time or location. Come to find out they never scheduled it. We had to call at 11pm US time to get information. The guide never knew he was taking us, so luckily he checked his messages. None of the guides had information about any flights til the night before departure, and the tourists did not have their flight information either. The tour guides were great, but Go Touch Down is worthless when it comes to collecting information or getting problems fixed. Another huge issue was the flights to and from Victoria Falls. We were unable to schedule our own flights and we spent 2 of our last 4 days in an airport. They claimed there were no flights available any other time, that they were afraid a later flight would be cancelled, and that we were given options, all of which were false. They don't realize we were in a group we stayed in contact with and they had the flights we tried to change to. We had to stand around for several hours before we could even check our bags, then we were stuck in the airport for 4 hours. It was 9 hours total between when landing and catching our next flight, information they knew and requested. They attempted to fix it with a tour, but that's not what we got. Someone picked us up at the airport, drove us 45 min. and dropped us off at a mall in Johannesburg telling us to go find a place to eat. That is something we could have done at the airport. We were also misinformed about Victoria Falls and not informed about tours that were available. I have never had such a disorganized vacation with such unlimited information.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on May 9, 2023Dear Ivy (we are not sure who you are - as we don't have a client by that name)
However - we are going to assume you are Mr. B. H. as this story only ties up with "one particular" client.
Your flight and layover in JNB was a mess. We tried to fix it after the fact. But we reminded you, that YOU sir selected this cheaper option. To make up for the delay, we arranged a private driver and van to tour you around JHB for 4+ hrs at a rate of $100 only. We know it doesn't take away the frustration. But this is exactly what happened.
You wrote to us today, and we quote: "Finally our complaint is with the logistics and not with the US office (which has been great)."
This matter has been referred to corporate who will email Mr B.H. direct.
Sincerely, USA office
CA
Email Marion | Experience level: first safari
This was one of the worst travel and tour agencies I have ever dealt with.
My review is based SOLELY on the experience I had in booking my tour. The actual tour guides and other people in South Africa were amazing.
My mother had purchased the safari tour In 2019, but was unable to travel due to Covid. In July of 2022 she was advised that she needed to rebook her tour soon or she would lose her money. For personal health reasons, my mother was no longer able to make the trip, so we contacted GTD to make the transfer.
There was a lot of communication between GTD, my mother and I, and it took almost 2 full weeks before anything could be done. GTD would communicate with my mother, without cc’ing me on emails, and vice versa. She had been told to include both of us on all emails so we could ensure that we were all on the same page.
The biggest “bottleneck” was I needed to confirm that what I wanted to do and when I could do it would be available before we did the transfer. I was not going to confirm anything or assume a travel package without knowing if I could do what I wanted. I finally got an email apologizing for the delays with an explanation that there were protocols that needed to be followed.
A quick explanation at the beginning would have provided clarification and I would not have been compelled to follow up so often. And yet, GTD didn’t seem to understand that I wasn’t going to agree to take on my mother’s trip if I couldn’t confirm what I wanted to do
The transfer was finalized at the end of July.
When it came time to pay, I only had AMEX or through my bank. No one had mentioned this beforehand. I had paid off my visa to pay for this trip, and then had to wait until I got paid again, because I didn’t have the cash. Knowing this at the beginning of the conversation would have been helpful so I could have planned better. Not everyone has $3000 cash sitting in their bank account at a moment’s notice.
I chose the tour that I wanted – Johannesburg and Cape Town, and then chose the add-ons that I wanted to do.
I stated that I wanted to do the Cradle of Humankind in Cape Town and then the Lesedi Cultural Village. GTD emailed me back to say that the Cradle of Mankind is in the Safari region and I would need an additional day to do it. I asked if I could cancel one of my safari days while I am in Johannesburg doing the safaris, and she said it was not an option. She said that it was too far away. I was a bit confused and upset because I didn’t understand why I was being presented with an option that wasn’t viable. I was willing to give up one of my safari days to do this but was told it couldn’t happen. And yet, when I was there, I was told that it was closed to public because of flooding - so what was it? Too far? flooding?
On August 11 we discussed the add-ons again, and I heard nothing back from GTD until October 5th when I emailed her (a third time) and cc’d the general email address as well. GTD called me and apologised sating that she had Covid and the hurricane had caused delays. Then she said that she had sent my add on request to someone else and that they hadn’t done it, and that it was now coming back to her to do, and she was overwhelmed with everything. I indicated that I recognize that there are problems everywhere, but a response of any kind would have been appreciated. The hurricane and her having covid did not happen in August or September. And quite frankly, I was getting extremely fed up with the delays and excuses.
On Oct 13 we talked about two other add ons (endangered species and District 6 Bo Kapp) and the shuttle and hotel I would need to pay for as I was arriving early. On Oct 14 I paid for everything that we had talked about … or so I thought.
On October 18 I emailed GTD saying that now that EVERYTHING is paid for, could you please send me a detailed itinerary. She replied back that she was happy everything was in order, and my detailed itinerary would only be available about 30 days prior to my trip.
On October 20 I received an email from GTD with the information and price for the District 6 excursion. I emailed her back indicating that I was confused … we had confirmed on Oct 14 that EVERYTHING was paid for, and all I needed was my detailed itinerary. She said no, she would have discussed this with me before she got me to pay. I replied that we had had this discussion, and I had confirmed everything on October 14. She called me on the phone and I explained it to her again, and I sent her the email again showing her where I said EVERYING and it was in bold. She apologized and said she misunderstood. At this point my frustration level in dealing with GTD was at it’s peak. I was done. I told her to forget it, I’m done, I’m not booking any more trips. And that was the end of it.
On December 1, I received my itinerary and was reviewing it and all of the other information. I was VERY surprised to read that I would need to tip about $10-14 USD a day per guide / ranger. It would have been nice for me to be told this at the beginning when I was speaking with Marie. Not a deal breaker, but advance information would be appreciated.
I have travelled extensively in the last 30 years, and I must admit, I have never had a more challenging time booking a trip as I have had with GTD.
1. The lack of understanding / clarification
2. Missing out on two excursions that I really wanted to do (Cradle of Humankind – I still don’t understand why this was presented as an option and then removed, and then District 6, because she misunderstood)
3. The delays between emails, and no follow up from her end – I was always the one following up to make sure everything was completed
4. Not providing valuable information at the beginning – i.e how to pay for the trip (no VISA option)
5. Not providing valuable information during the booking – i.e extra things that I will be paying for $10-$14 USD a day = $14-$19 CDN for me at 10 days, that’s an extra $200 roughly.
The above information was provided to GTD prior to my departure (I have updated it with some current info) in November. I was told I would receive a response as soon as possible. I got nothing - absolutely nothing. I even followed up two other occasions. On the third occasion I "threatened" to leave a negative review if I didn't' receive a response by Jan 26.
I got an email from Deon Barnard at Corporate. His response? Oh sorry? I've explain to her what she should have done, and that Canadian files are complicated. She should have gone to her supervisor. I don't think she realized how frustrated you were.
His response was a slap in the face, and I emailed him back, itemizing in detail the inconsistencies in his email. I have yet to hear anything back from him, and I highly doubt I will.
The trip itself was fabulous - South Africa is a gorgeous country - the big 5 are enthralling and the people are wonderful. But do yourself a favour and book with a different travel agency. Save yourself the heartache of missing out of things you wanted to see because of lack of communication, mis reading emails and flat out ignoring you.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Feb 16, 2023Personal reply drafted by the CEO.
Marion -
What a disappointing review to read after your feedback on the tour re Guides, Lodges, etc, was only positive.
I have also noted that after my office denied your request for any compensation, you posted this review on more than 5 social media platforms over the past week.
Here are some facts that I think the readers should know.
Your mother purchased in 2016 (that's almost 8 years ago), Not in 2019. We worked with her for close to 8 years and extended, year after year working with her (then covid came but nevertheless extended again). Never raising the price and always keeping her benefits and tour for her (what travel company does that??).
In mid-2022 you wanted to take the tour over. We said it was fine (not normal procedure, but we did). We told you that we could 'Not' discuss matters with you until she signed transfers and you did the same. *It's a Privacy issue and the LAWS in Canada are very strict.
Your mother's agreement was payment by AMEX or CHECK only. We told you that's the way it was set up originally - You didn't have an AMEX. We gave you full disclosure.
Re Bo-Kaap, Why did you not add this way in advance? The Agent told you to do that. See all her emails on Oct 18, 19, 20th (3 months before your trip)
As per my personal email to you. These transfer to Third-party docs in Canada is extremely complicated, and only TICO-registered agents are allowed to deal with them.
Now yes; I do agree that your Travel Agent was a little missing in action for a period after she became ill from Covid, and that Hurricane in Sarasota Florida that knocked her out for more than a week - No excuse but it was a tough 3 weeks for her, and she apologized to you privately.
Final note, as I've said before. Please know, that we were not aware of 'how' frustrated you felt about this transfer of ownership process until you returned back from the tour that you enjoyed so much.
I am sorry you feel this way about your process after you took the tour over from your Mom. I will see if there is anything we can learn from this and will discuss this with all my staff.
Sincerely
CEO
US
Email UrbanH | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
awful
Do not use this travel agency. Go Touch Down and Deon Barnard have used the COVID-19 crises to defraud us of all monies we spent with them for a trip to South Africa. They essentially contend that because our trip, which was scheduled to begin on May 12, 2020, could NOT happen because of the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, they should keep all of the $24,513 we had paid to them in December 2019. When pressed as why we were not to receive a full refund, or at a minimum that amount less the Sales Agreement’s specified 20% cancellation fee, Barnard replied, “get a lawyer.” We will shortly be bringing a civil action against Go Touch Down, Barnard and all associated entities. FYI: we received a full refund from Delta Airlines for the airfare purchased for this trip.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Aug 11, 2020Dear UrbanH
We are sorry to see that you feel this way. Your complaint and statement is incorrect and is simply not the case. Go Touch Down has under no circumstances defrauded you or any client. Go Touch Down has on several occasions confirmed in writing to you that a full credit without any penalties or change fees, has been applied towards a travel date of your choice in 2021 or 2022. In addition, we have provided you the option to transfer all your benefits to a third party should you wish. Furthermore, the USA and SA imposed travel restrictions (not just SA). It is very unfortunate that you have attempted to leverage Covid-19 into an exit from contractual obligations. We have addressed this on numerous occasions direct with you and your attorney.
Our statements, terms and conditions that you accepted are very clear regarding cancellation and refund policies. Your original tour purchase was $17K less 10% discount. The terms and conditions were supplied to you at the time of sale. Several months later; you purchased additional trips to Vic Falls and the statement and invoice you received clearly stated "No Refunds". It is important to remember that we recommended that you consider travel insurance, which you did not accept.
Please contact Go Touch Down any time to reschedule your future travel when you are ready. We repeat; You have not lost your travel investment.
Sincerely;
US
Email Christy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Presentation, contract, itinerary, and actual experience never matched up, and no resolution.
We booked a safari in South Africa at a travel show in Dallas. We received an itinerary 2 weeks before the trip. On the trip our experiences were not what was communicated at the travel show, nor on our contract, nor on the itinerary. The contract says they can change anything they want at their leisure and as a customer there is no recourse. Many of our safari guides exceeded the 6 passengers, so that small group feel...gone, forget it. They only allow you to stay at their resorts so there is EXTENSIVE driving to and from every activity. Our itinerary said we would be on a jeep safari in Kruger, but once we arrived we were told we had to pay an additional 130 for the jeep. Our trip to Kruger took 3.5 hours to arrive, only got 3 hours on the jeep, then a 5 hour drive back to the resort (Hamala). It was a miserable day in the van and not worth the drive for such a short safari. Hamala is a nice resort but dinner is what they choose, not what the customer would like. They served a steak one night that was too tough to eat. I told the host the steak was too tough and his response was "your welcome", so needless to say I went to bed hungry that night (there were NO other food options provided). The safari's at Hamala were at 7 am, wake up call at 5:30, coffee at 6:30 and safari from 7-10, then breakfast is at 10am. I struggled with my blood sugar being up for 5 hours without any food. I finally had to buy snack cakes at the gas station during an outing. Persons on the Cape Town tour are flown into JBurg and they say a free night at Seasons resorts to recover from the travel, but all it is, is a sales pitch to buy into the resort, as they then have to fly from JBurg to Cape Town the next day. We also booked a shark dive with Go Touch Down, they charged us 350 per person. When we arrived at the shark dive operator we found out the cost is 186 per person. I assumed there would be a small up charge for Go Touch down to book it, but seriously, double the cost. Save your money and book your own shark cage dive directly with Apex Shark Encounters in Simon's Town, your cost will be cut in HALF. I will never recommend this company. I wrote 6 emails during my travels of my negative experience and received NO assistance, many emails I didn't even get a response. I wasted so much money with the company and want to ensure other people don't get scammed like I did.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Aug 11, 2020Dear Christy
It is with sadness that I read your review. Our clients travel far and the trip to South Africa is often a trip of a lifetime. We pride ourselves on our success rate and social media reviews.
You wrote to us 5 times during your tour in South Africa. I replied to you every time that you did. My replies were detailed and lengthy, even thou you were in destination. Four of your emails were about the same subject. I replied with extracts from your agreement and the itinerary you agreed on.
There is no point in going over each point you raised, as we have done so in detail in writing to you after this review. Your detailed itinerary you received prior covered the times, breakfasts, and driving. Instead, I want to say I am sorry that we do not agree on all the points you raised, as the other 3 people on tour with you enjoyed the experience. All the constructive remarks have been shared with the resorts/camps and they have taken your review to heart.
Please note that after much feedback, including yours, we no longer drive to Kruger Park as it is a long day, and instead now visit Pilanesberg that's only 70 min away. The reviews are fantastic.
Again, I am sorry to hear that you did not enjoy our 8-day Safari and would like to offer you a travel voucher for $500 to use towards one of our other Exclusive Tours.
Sincerely,
the COO
US
Email Erica | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware of contract language!
My family’s experience with Go Touch Down for our “safari tour” was a complete disaster. I would absolutely NEVER book with them again, even if offered a trip at a fraction of the cost. They are able to lean heavily on clauses in their stock contract that allow them to entirely modify their itinerary.
Taken directly from the contract: “Go Touch Down shall not be responsible or held liable to secure the originally intended vacation package, which in many cases may not be available or its procurement may not be practicable due to forces of nature, market factors, or other related reasons” and “…when deemed necessary in its sole discretion reserves the right to: (1) cancel any itinerary or any part of it for any reason; (2) make any alterations to the itinerary (including, but not limited to, alterations or substitutions of hotels).”
In other words, they can promise WHATEVER they want and then dump you into whatever itinerary they come up with! I stupidly assumed this was boilerplate language that we’d have no choice but to agree to in order to sign up for any safari. But even if it is common contract language, most of us have to trust that tour companies wouldn’t dare abuse it; our experience with Go Touch Down revealed that this is not a company worthy of our trust.
My story is a long one, but here is the gist of key issues (though there were many more, too numerous to cover in detail). Go Touch Down closed one of our two safari lodges six months before our trip. They did not reveal this to me, but I instead discovered it on my own…even as I was having multiple phone conversations with our agent (the owner’s wife) about our stay at that very lodge because I was trying to make some arrival arrangements. Of note, Go Touch Down manages the lodges they use on their South African tours, so they knew of the closure, and I found they’d actually removed this lodge from a prominent corporate branding image months prior. When I asked our agent about the lodge closure, she became extremely rude and combative. Go Touch Down then used contract language to prevent us from getting a refund even though this was going to cut the safari portion of our trip in half and dump us at a freezing cold trout fishing timeshare they manage instead (this was the unfortunate fate for months of guests; we got last-minute lucky when they opened a new lodge just before our arrival and spared us the fish pond).
While we may have gotten a safari in the end (after so much grief and stress), it wasn’t the one we were sold. The number one reason I chose this tour had been the promise of a maximum of six people on game drives. In fact, the brief Go Town Down self-written bio on social media is “small group tours of max 6 people.” Upon arrival, we discovered that we would have ten people on our game drives – every seat in the truck filled, including the one up with the driver. Those squished into the middle seats could barely see anything, especially since nearly all of our drives were in covered-top vehicles and some fellow passengers were quite tall. Even the most barebones budget safari packages generally guarantee an outside seat. One high-level staff member brought up specifically how unacceptable this was and explained that many game drive vehicles no longer even have middle seats and instead place storage compartments down the middle! (I’m intentionally leaving out specific details like staff titles and names because I don’t want any of these wonderful people to get in trouble – we encountered so many who were very candid with us about their extreme frustration with Go Touch Down, and it is a testament to their own professionalism that they did not take out this frustration on their guests.) The entirety of our Morubisi stay was packed in like this, as was our full day in Kruger (even though in the latter case, we were assured the day prior that we would all ride together to Kruger and that a second game drive vehicle would be waiting to collect half of us for the smaller tour we’d been promised, but this didn’t actually happen).
Once again, Go Touch Down chose to lean heavily on contract language as an excuse. We certainly were not the only ones on our tour who were extremely upset, as many had chosen Go Touch Down for the six-person cap just as we had. One fellow traveler then astutely observed that the final documents we received the week of departure had been tweaked to state that any “outsourced” activities, including game drives, may have more than six people. First of all, Go Touch Down runs the game lodges, so the drives are hardly “outsourced.” Furthermore, this left only the transport from the airport and between lodges as what they’d deem non-outsourced. Who cares how many people we ride from the airport to the hotel with, it’s the game drives where that actually matters!
There were numerous other key advertised features of the tour that never came to fruition. For example, there was supposed to be a cultural music performance that never happened. There was also supposed to be a walking safari, but this was never offered. In addition, we were supposed to traverse the Panorama Route, a famous region of South Africa, when we were going to travel from Humala to Tshukudu. With the closure of Humala, we still faced a six-hour drive (not including a lunch stop), but we lost the morning game drive that was supposed to happen on that day and traveled a rather dull route to Tshukudu without scenic stops. And when we learned we’d be going to Morubisi, we were told of a wide variety of optional activities to choose from, such as a river cruise, to fill the long period between morning and evening game drives. But when we asked about this on site, we were told that only the reserve owner could drive the boat, and he wasn’t available to do so. In the end, there were no activities offered to fill the mid-day hours at Morubisi. Lodge staff were very apologetic and told us that Go Touch Down had frequently shifted financial priorities and was in the process of opening multiple new lodges which was causing not-atypical disruptions that were frustrating for them as well.
To be clear, this review is about Go Touch Down and why I would never recommend booking with them. The staff at the properties were almost uniformly lovely, and they were very candid about their own hatred of Go Touch Down management and about how guests constantly arrive having been entirely misled and taken advantage of. “They only know hotels” said one frustrated high-level staff member who was doing everything possible to give guests the safari experience they thought they’d purchased in the context of a management tour agency that seemed to think we were there for fancy rooms and meals that they attempted to spin as “upgrades.” So if your goal is to book an African safari, I would say this is NOT the company with which to do so – their contract is written in such a way that they may ultimately decide not to bring you to a safari property after all, and even if they do, it doesn’t have to be the safari you were promised.
South Africa is a lovely place, and there were many wonderful staff, animals, meals, fellow tour members, and hotel amenities that allowed us to make the most of our trip despite its many uncertainties and unkept promises. I have a lot of travel experience and love discovering joy in even the worst of situations. But ultimately what it comes down to is that Go Touch Down is a company that repeatedly made excuses for not delivering what we as clients were sold. Maybe they sometimes pull through, but it doesn’t seem like a risk worth taking when there are so many other options out there. This review has nothing to do with whether I would return to South Africa for a safari or whether the lodges we stayed at were nice. It is instead about warning people that there are thousands of actual SAFARI booking agencies, so I would highly recommend staying away from what was in our experience the unreliable, contract-abusing Go Touch Down when booking something as special as a safari.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Sep 29, 2023Dear Erica,
Yes, Humala Lodge came as a surprise to all of us, but I know we made the right call.
My team and I are surprised to read the context of your review, and sadly we do not agree with you. Below are the facts on your file:
1. you bought a safari for 8 days that included 2x lodges (both 4 star). Humala Lodge was not big 5 reserve and has no lion or cheetah (keep that in mind, as that's what you paid for)
2. in Nov and Dec of 2022 there was ongoing unrest in the village outside Humala and Go Touch Down made a decision to stop sending clients to Humala (for safety reasons)
3. Jan 13th, 2023 Humala closed its camp. You were informed of this on *Jan 19th, 2023 (6 days later - we have the recorded call). *remember this date because we will address it again below.
4. Your new itinerary was going to incl. Dunkeld Estate for the 1st 3 days and it included a full day in Panorama Route plus Gumboot Dancers in the evening (you were not happy about this new change and wanted a full refund)
5. We then changed your itinerary and upgraded you to the 5-star Royal Morubisi (Big Five reserve that incl. Lions, cheetahs, and many wildlife that Humala did not offer).
6. The 5-star lodge opened June 2023 and you traveled July 2023. The Riverboat (was not included in the sale) was not available during your visit as it needed a qualified captain on that river (hippo's, rocks, etc.). (this is no longer an issue as we have a full-time staff that can)
7. Your sale docs are very clear about "Groups and Transport", and in addition, this sentence was included in your itinerary under Docs before you traveled to SA - I quote: "Our fleet of vehicles consists of Hyundai H1 9 seater vehicles. Our tour bus seating will not exceed 6 passengers; excluding your driver, for all our Exclusive Safari and Cape Town tours. However, outsourced excursions such as Table Mountain cable car, Robben Island Ferry, Cultural Township Tour, Game Drives, and airport transfers may exceed 6 passengers. Please be considerate and rotate tour bus seating with fellow travelers daily"
Your family of 3 would have occupied an entire row on your own during safaris. On the 4 days on safari at Tshukudu, you were only 5 people total on the jeep (your family of 3 and 2 others).
Regarding your comments about the Resort staff hating us and giving their opinions about our financial responsibilities - I have no comment, other than:
We asked the GM at Tshukudu about 'hate' statement, and he replied "These international clients from Go Touch Down are our bread & butter. The rangers and guides will never speak badly or get involved in politics. There are always cameras and videos around that can record ill behavior. We are not stupid to bite the hand that feeds us. This client is stirring".
The GM at Royal Moribisi replied and said: "Please get names from the client because we would never say that. The client told us that she only found out about Humala in the van on the way to Royal. We would like to know who she is quoting."
Go Touch Down's statement: "We send 2,000 + travelers from North America, Europe, and Australia to these lodges each year and we have never heard any other client say what you just did"
Covid and the 2 years that followed was a huge challenge for us. Many suppliers, airlines, and vendors closed their doors. So many tours had to be honored in the years that followed, and we made it all happen, and 'none' of our clients lost their investment they made pre covid.
9 out 10 clients are happy with our product. We are sorry that you did not see the value in this tour.
In closing: We sent you all the links and details prior to the trip, and Your email reply to us on May 2nd, 2023 said (and I quote): "Thank you for your very helpful responses! I've reviewed all of the materials, and only two quick additional questions come to mind....." You then continued to ask general questions, one of which was about the cost of the riverboat.
Sincerely,
JC - Corporate
US
Email Rhonda | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dishonest
The tour was great. However the agent I worked with from corporate office kept telling me one thing and changing it where I paid more and received less. She even changed the contract of what I signed. I was promised three meals plus much more and did not receive it. I have my original contract and all of our emails and conversations. BUYER BEWARE--DISHONEST. The properies in Capetown were nice but in need of repair. Stillness Manor: Broken mirrors, issues with water, mold around showers, and load share
issues every day (no lanterns or emergency lamps). Shark Bay was nice. Belle Maroc was a nice location. The people on site And the driver were great. Please make sure you get everything in writing from them and then DO NOT SIGN ANY NEW ADDENDUMS, CANCEL IF YOU MUST TO SAVE BEING SCAMMED, BUT DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING AFTER THE INITUAL CONTRACT. The Victoria Falls portion was great!
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Jun 5, 2023Dear Rhona
What a pity that a misunderstanding of lunch got in the way of a fantastic and valued tour.
We have discussed this in length with you and your Travel Agent. You signed up in 2018 and 4 years later after covid the properties were upgraded and changed. You and your sister both opted in writing for the new tour and improved changes in January 2023.
Re Cape Town. Nothing changed except that all the properties were upgraded - breakfast, dinners, and excursions remained, and we only stopped for short breaks on lunch in CPT for your account. This was very clear in the itinerary and documentation sent to you before the trip. The Travel Agent spoke to you 17 times in January and all the calls were recorded.
We wished you had raised this before the time, as it is such a small expense that should not have led to this review about the experience you had with the Agent.
We approved a generous rebate on your tour. Should this matter not be resolved to your satisfaction, we ask that you contact the corporate travel desk to discuss what the extra lunch expenses added up to for the 6 days.
Corporate
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Email WWGill | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Marred Vacation Experience
My husband and I planned this trip for about three years; we are retired educators. The trip included two weeks in South Africa(Capetown, Safari, and the remainder of the trip spent in Victoria Falls. The first two weeks of the trip went very smoothly, and we had an excellent experience. Our nightmare began after the Victoria Falls part of the trip. When my husband and I arrived to the Victoria Falls Airport for the return flight to JoBurg for the connecting flight to the USA, South African Air could not process my husbands reservation. We waited for two hours anxious, and stressed to get the reservation corrected. South African Air blamed
Go Touch Down, Go Touch Down blamed South African Air. There were two other individuals in our party and on the same reservation. My husband and I dealt with Go Touch Down; all of the arrangement were made by this travel agency. They readily took our money for this trip, promising a quality experience. When contacted, and asked to refund some of the money,(800.00) they sent us $25.00 which was suppose to cover failure to provide an aisle seat for my husband on the return flight. We were informed by Go Touch Down that South African Air charged for a seat on the Aisle. Needless to say the Vacation was marred, and should not have been. I understand that mishaps occur. I also expect to be made whole when treated poorly. Deon Barnard, President/CEO was useless in helping us. I share this information, so that potential clients will know that should something go wrong, Go Touch Down will not do the right by you. Please contact me if you have questions or wish more information about our experience.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Aug 11, 2020Dear WWGill,
As discussed, regretfully SAA made the changes on the ground. We have shared our emails and correspondence to SAA with you, indicating that we have gone from pillar to post to get SAA to own up. Your air ticket costs $800 and Go Touch Down's admin/commission is $25. We no longer use SAA on the Vic falls leg.
We are sorry that this aisle seat incident at Vic Falls left a bad taste.
Sincerely,
the COO
US
Email Bonnie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A memorable experience
This was the trip of a lifetime thanks not only the countryside and wildlife but to the guides, drivers and staffs who were knowledgeable, friendly and helpful in any way possible. Despite some check-in issues on arrival in Johannesburg and waiting for our pickup the next day, the hotel being right next to the airport was very convenient. Our safaris and lodgings differed in locations and in atmosphere. Driving between them was a good way to get an idea of the countryside.
Overall, this was a good value for the money
Communications before the trip ( which began pre- Covid) were good even though dealing with different people for various functions over a few years time.
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Email Bob S | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tshukudu ROARS, Hamala closed, Seasons Resort NOT!!!
Our tour started off poorly when we were met by our tour guide to find out that we would not be travelling to the Humala Lodge. We understand “things” happen, but we were surprised, as was the tour guide, Thabo, that we were not informed by Touchdown Tours in advance. As luck would have it, thankfully they decided to move us to the Tshukudu lodge for 7 days. A simple email in advance from their customer service department certainly would have been appreciated. Not a good way to start a trip!
The Tshukudu lodge is beyond words. The accommodations, the people, the food, the “bush” bar, the game drives, simply put, how about 10 STARS!!!! Karmin and her staff made sure everything was perfect. Our game guide, Tyler, was INCREDIBLE. His knowledge of the animals, the bush and even the dung beetles was AWESOME. I could have listened to him forever!! The staff at the lodge were great, especially Dolly, Bongani and the young lady who made the BEST eggs on the morning buffet!!! We did 6 days of drives, early morning and evening. No 2 drives were alike. We were able to find the BIG 5 and then some. Again, Tyler made these drives SPECTACULAR!!! During our downtime, our tour guide, Thabo made sure our time was occupied with side trips. We were saddened to leave this lodge, especially with what lied ahead.
The Seasons Resort is NOT a resort, a major disappointment. It is a timeshare community with a couple of townhomes reserved for guests. The rooms lacked WIFI, phone to contact the front desk and no safe to lock up our valuables. The room we had was the furthest from the lodge as you could get. Add to that, the pathway was dimly lit, you walked on cobblestones and the walk to the street was at least a 20% incline (wet weather made this dangerous). We complained about this unacceptable situation and spoke with Touchdown Tours customer service. We were told they would look into this and we even asked to be moved to a hotel. Sadly, our complaint fell on deaf ears as NO ONE FOLLOWED UP ON THS!! The side tours that we went on were really nice. 2 of them were advertised as ½ day tours, but realistically, they were only 2 hours each (Walk with the Elephants and Monkey Sanctuary). Had we known about this, we could have flown home a day early rather than being sequestered at this “resort”. Luckily, our tour guide, Fabian, tried his best at making a bad situation better.
The people really made this tour!! Thabo and Fabian were AWESOME tour guides. The entire staff at Tshukudu made our time there EXTRAORDINARY. You MUST have Tyler as your game guide!!!! You MUST have Thabo as your tour guide!!!! Yep, we loved these 2 people!!!
So, would we book this tour again? Probably, but minus the time at the Seasons resort. I think Touchdown Tours should quit misleading people by calling this a resort, call it what it is, a townhome community! Our airport hotel bested this resort easily!!
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Jan 25, 2023Hi Bob,
Totally agree with you!! Thank You for taking the time to review the tour.
We do not use Seasons anymore and book clients into JNB Hotel on Day zero arrival (the pre nights before tour, and its walking or short shuttle distance). After Covid, the Seasons Resort focussed on the local market, and it's not for our International clients. I see that you had many excursions booked after your tour (elephant, monkies, lesedi, cradle of humankind, etc), hence they kept your booking at Seasons (location near the excursions).... That's a Pity !! Difficult time of the year to change that too (Dec holidays).
Re Humala - regretfully we found out as you did, during the same time, but we did email you on Dec 28th at 9:06 AM EST. Day 1 of your arrival. We wish we could have emailed you sooner, but you and the email arrived the same day we see.
If you ever travel with us on any tour in the future we will approve a $350 Travel Voucher to compensate for the inconvenience.
Kind Regards
DB
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Email Tim & Donna | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Guides very good, accommodations and food in Cape Town terrible!!
It's too bad that we have not gotten much of a response from go touch down on our intial complaint and no refund on the less than accepble hotel in Cape Town. The Stillness manor and spa was a 2 star rating at best rooms were dirty mold in bathroom (shower) and food was poor.
We were promised the Bel Moroc a upscale hotel and at the last moment changed to the Stillness. We were very disappointed at this change and not being offered compensation for the change!
Two of the complainers about the van being cramped have been compensated!
it's too bad that such a nice tour turned out at the end to be so disappointing!
We await your response.
Reply from Go Touch Down Travel & Tours
Posted on Nov 22, 2022Dear Tim & Donna,
Thank you for taking the time to review us. We are sorry to read that our communication with you during your tour was not resolved while traveling. Please know, as per your original sale docs you were not charged to be moved from Inverness (see page 4 of sale docs). That being said, we want you to be happy, and it seems that the last room of your stay was not up to standard. We have spoken to the CEO and he has approved a $150 Amazon gift card to be sent to you. Kind regards GTD Corporate