Your consultant Ute, y'r eyes & ears on the ground
Roho Ya Chui
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
Germany
Austria
United States
Australia - Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2007)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, APTA & SATSA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $500 to $900 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everyday was Absolutely Awesome!
Ute Sonnenberg from Roho Ya Chui is amazing! Each and every day of our trip was awesome.
The airport pickups/transfers were on time, courteous, and professional.
The accommodations were in prime locations, and were absolutely gorgeous with great staff.
The activities that she helped us plan were incredible. Each of our activities was booked with a top-notch operator. Our expectations were blown away.
If you're thinking of going on a safari to Africa, want to explore Cape Town, or have always wanted to visit Victoria Falls - do yourself a favor and book it through Ute Sonnenberg at Roho Ya Chui.
This trip couldn't have gone smoother.
We couldn't be happier.
Seriously... stop reading this, and book your trip!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience, very helpful and accommodating.
Ute was fantastic, gave us a great trip. Very helpful and always responded to emails quickly. Safari was for 3 days, 4 nights which was perfect for us. Will recommend to friends and family
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First African Experience .......memorable!!!!!!!!!
It was my first safari in Africa and it couldn't be better! The trip was really well organized.. Everything was wonderful... the camps, the people, the sightings....Thank you Ute !!!!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Roho Ya Chui was fabulous
I very much appreciated how responsive, easy to communicate with, and accommodating Ute was throughout the planning of the trip. This was our first safari and it surpassed all our expectations. An incredible experience. Everyone we met on our trip was helpful, professional and welcoming. I can highly recommend Roho Ya Chui.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent, every time again, very good organized, fast, friendly and very professional contact.
The organisation of our tour was very professional. The tour was very good planned on a high level showing an interest in our wishes and giving us better suggestions. The contact and responses to our questions and wishes were fast, very friendly and intensively. We have received a lot of very helpful informations in advance.
An experience we will never forget. We will choose Roho Ya Chui again for other tours in Africa and we recommend this organisation very warm. Absolutely the best!
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was very amazing
Very good organization, amazing and exciting safari!! The lodges Ngala and Kirkman's are comfortable, food is very tasteful. I really recommend this travel agency!
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
what a fantastic experience Ute arranged for us!
This was our first experience in South Africa and we totally relied on Roho Ya Chui for the whole organization of a three weeks trip there: initially Ute gave us the proper suggestion on how to better employ our time, based on our expectations and budget, and than she selected for us four different first-class lodges for safaris in different locations and one charming boutique hotel in Cape Town. The trip was perfectly organized in every single detail with timely and accurate communication. Thank you Ute for your highly professional support, there is nothing we can complain except … that the trip is just over now and we already miss SA!
Roya provided invaluable local knowledge, allowing us to experience quality safaris and accommodati.
All excellent. Service and accommodation selected exceeded expectations. Staff at the lodges made us very welcome and were experts in their field.
US
Email Pierce Smith | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
First African Experience Was Overall Good ++
Following is a review of the places we visited this past month (June 2014). Roho Ya Chui helped us plan and book the trip. It was a group of 5, with 3 of us being newbies and and the other 2 old hands at African Safaris. Ute Sonnenburg was a delight to work with, and she went the extra step for us on several occasions.
I thought I'd give you my reviews of the places we visited.
Lawhill Apartments: I think this was a good choice, though a bit spartan in amenities / furnishings. Great location at the Victoria & Albert Wharf. Dionne (spelling?) was a good guide and flexible to our suggestions. I really liked Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Next time I might do 2 nights in Stellenbosch as it is quite a nice little town.
Xigera Camp: This one was my favorite. The staff were incredibly friendly and the whole "vibe" was inclusive. When new people came we were all introduced and had a communal table for dinner. And in one of life's little coincidences there was a couple that lives 1/2 mile from where I used to live in Hermosa Beach, California. Our guides, Onx and Rider, were very personable and knowledgeable. And for our last two treks we did game drives rather than the boat. The management at Xigera, Olivia and Masha, were very accommodating. This was my very first experience at game drives/floats (?), so seeing that first elephant, or hippo, or giraffe, or Cape Buffalo was really amazing.
Getting to Victoria Falls: This was an odd experience, from the airport near the Botswana - Zambia border, being dropped off at a small boat on the river to cross over to Zambia, then the wait at the border while the guide / drive had our passports processed. It was a bit unnerving for some of us.
Royal Livingstone Hotel at Victoria Falls: This was a very deluxe place with a head doorman with his hand constantly out for tips. The service in the dining room was excruciatingly slow. There is relaxed dining, and then there is "I should have brought a book" dining. The falls were at full flow and beautiful, and we had the chance to get pictures in the evening and the ensuing morning.
Moving on to Nelspruit, it was a long drive after our flight, BUT we did see a cheetah along the side of the road when we entered the Londolozi reserve.
Londolozi: Obviously a first class 4-5 star facility. The staff that we met were very friendly and accommodating. The "vibe" here was more exclusive, no attempt was made to introduce us to other guests, nor did the other guests seem inclined to socialize. But the rooms were very nice, the meals plentiful and tasteful, and the hot water bottles in the Range Rover for the morning game drives were a much appreciated touch. Will Ford, the camp manager, and the assistant assigned to us, Jeremy (I might have this wrong), were great, as were our guides, Alfred and Chadrock. The butler, Stanick, was always there for us in the dining room. Will Ford arranged a sundowner wine tasting for just our group one night which was a special treat. And we saw the Big 5 in our very first trek! The game here was more numerous than in Xigera. A great experience all around.
Jo'burg: The guide, whose name escapes me, was a disappointment. He met us at the private general aviation lounge at the Jo'burg airport and managed to snag a bottle of water for himself, but not for us. He had a tour he was determined to make and there was no flexibility in his schedule. We probably could have used an extra day in Jo'burg, but not with this guide.
Michaelangelo Hotel: This was a very nice place with big comfortable rooms (apparently if your AC was working which it didn't for the Browns). I was a bit disappointed in the restaurant, or at least the menu. But we had a chance to meet this delightful woman who had booked our trip, oh yeah, that would be Ute. So that made the evening good all around!
Serena Lake Victoria - Entebbe / Kampala: As previously noted by Stephanie, this hotel was too far away for a one night visit, and arduous to get to. And the staff didn't seem to know how to register guests, or at least were very inefficient at check-in and check-out. The restaurant was basically a buffet cafeteria, and not very good, a big disappointment for a property this beautiful physically.
Sanctuary at Bwindi: Same comments as Steph's. I didn't think it was dirty, just more rustic than what we had experienced. The staff was pretty indifferent with the exception of our server, Barbara. And if you weren't trekking, there was not much to do, though I managed to finish a terribly written book on the day I declined the first trek. I must say I am very proud of my fellow travelers for completing that trek and then the "easy" one two days later.
And you know all about the high drama with Qatar Airways, but even that turned out okay eventually, but it was handled very poorly by the airline.
One lesson learned by me is that I don't like the one-night stands (Jo'burg, Lake Victoria, Victoria Falls) because you never really relax and unwind. I'll keep that in mind in the future.
All in all it was an enjoyable trip with delightful travel partners.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Service from Ute at Roho Ya Chui
Excellent communication and itinerary work by Ute. She was very friendly and always accessible to answer questions and ensure everything was ready for our trip. All accommodations were as expected and the trip was better than expected.