Nick van de Wiel of Tailor Made Safaris
Tailor Made Safaris
- Located In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- FGASA, TKZN, MHCTO & EDTEA
- Tour Types:
- Self-drive mid-range & luxury tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $83 to $365 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Safari
A wonderful and unforgettable experience! In August 2015 we made a journey through South Afrika. A part of it was organized by Tailor Made Safari's. Without exaggerating it must be said that this part of our journey was a real highlight! The way in which arrangements were made, the professionalism of the guide, Paul, his way of communicating, the humor with which he shared his knowledge with us, the wonderful meals that were prepared by Nicks wife Freya and the barbecue that Paul surprised us with, were wonderful. It was even so that we asked Nick to arrange one more safari for us with Paul after we left St. Lucia and went to Hluhluwe. From six in the morning till six in the evening we had a second wonderful day with him. If it would have been possible, we would have taken him with us to Swaziland and Kruger park! So, nothing but compliments for the organization of this part of our journey!
NL
Email Geert en Petra Meijer | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
sublime in one word
Tailor Made Safaris do what they promise you. Everything was well arranged. They know the good places and accommodations. They give you a self-driving package which is very useful.
Safari tours were excellent, we travelled just three years with Tailor Made Safaris. you can make everything off the trip how you like it. It is every year fantastic. They make your trip complete, its a great team.!!!!!
NL
Email Bram & Rina Barnhoorn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tailor Made Safaris makes what it promises, a wonderful journey in beautiful South Africa!!
Again Tailor Made Safaris made our dreams come true. For me and my wife, it was the second time that we made the choice for South Africa. It was the second time that we traveled with Tailor Made Safaris (TMS). Last year TMS planed for us an unforgettable journey. And I never change what's good. For the other two members on our journey, it was the first time in South Africa. But we have all enjoyed. It was amazing. The way you get your information before you leave for South Africa. The things they deliver for the journey. And then what you receive in South Africa. The Games Reserves, the lodges (carefully selected / with nice people and great quality of living and service), not much traveling/driving during your holidays and the support from TMS when you need it during your journey, etc. etc.. It's amazing.
Thank you Geert, Freya, Angela, and Claire, you made our dreams come true (again).
Bye Bye from Katwijk, Holland
LU
Email B&N | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experiences
What a trip!!!
It started with the booking, super efficient and clear communication.
Before the trip we received a nice book with all information about our trip. Well illustrated and practical.
The accommodations that we visited met our expectation or exceeded.
Service of tailor made Safari before , during and after were fantastic. Always available, quick responses (WhatsApp), friendly, solution orientated, excellent service!!!
We had a dream trip and would recommend them to everybody without hesitation.
very professional
I would usually make all travel arrangements and bookings myself but decided to use a travel agent for the trip to South Africa due to a desire to have good advice regarding personal safety and safaris. I have no regrets whatever regarding that approach as TMS provided everything we needed to a high professional standard
IL
Email Sue P | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great company highly recommended
Great communications- one problem dealt with strictly and effectively
CA
Email Marie-Claude | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful family road trip to South Africa
We booked a trip with Tailor Made Safaris through a travel agent based in Canada.
Positive elements:
- We had excellent service before and during the trip. They always answered our questions quickly.
- We really appreciated getting such a nice book of our upcoming trip.
- The reception at the airport was also flawless.
- We appreciated that they gave us a phone for the duration of the trip.
- The itinerary made us visit a good chunk of the southern part of South Africa (including places that we would not have picked ourselves).
Less positive elements:
- Looking back, the travel agent made us buy the plane ticket first, and then looked for an itinerary and accommodations. In the end, we ended up spending more than we had planned and staying in 1-2 places (out of the 6 where we stayed) that were below our expectations. It would have been preferable for us to reduce the duration of our stay under those circumstances.
- We quickly ran out of airtime for the phone and it would have been appreciated to have been given the opportunity to buy airtime ahead of time.
- The itinerary did not fully consider what would be open and closed around the Christmas holidays. We would have appreciated more guidance on that.
- The itinerary mostly focused on expensive activities and not so much on budget-oriented ones (assuming most people do not have an unlimited budget, especially families with multiple children).
Overall, we really enjoyed our trip to South Africa and are happy to have used the services of Tailor Made Safaris, as it gave us the opportunity to discover wonderful places we probably would never have been if we had designed our own itinerary.
Reply from Tailor Made Safaris
Posted on Feb 22, 2019Hi Marie-Claude,
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback, both positive and constructive. We will discuss this with the travel agent you used. I think it is important to clarify that you booked through a travel agent, and we were the 'ground handler' or tour operator for the travel agent. We acted on direction from the agent, and believe we gave them the same valuable information that we give directly to our clients, but obviously we have no way of knowing if this information was passed on to you in its entirety.
Booking with a travel agency instead of directly with us brings many benefits, but unfortunately, it means that we do not get to communicate directly with you until the day you arrive in South Africa. It means we have no control over the amount of pre-trip advice passed on to you, regarding flights, the itinerary, type & quality of accommodation you receive. Due to the nature of the service we offer, we create the tour as per your travel agent’s instructions, which means we are reliant solely on his communication to us.
You have highlighted for us a crucial flaw in our dealings with a third party agency and will seek to improve on that moving forward. I am truly sorry that you experienced some less than positive elements to your South African trip and hope that I have managed to clarify where we believe the potential problem has arisen from. We will be in contact with the agency you booked with to ensure we improve the process of passing on important pre-flight information to our valuable guests.
With best regards, Nick van de Wiel, Managing Director Tailor Made Safaris
DE
Email Hans-Peter Thiessen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The most beautiful safari tour we have ever done.
Our trip with Tailer Made Safaris was more than we expected. All the clues were perfect. The accommodations were fantastic and the program of all tours was exceptionally good.
NL
Email Astrid | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tailor Made Safaris is a great operator with much knowledge and high customer service
Tailor Made Safaris is a great tour operator. They are very open in their communications , customer service is very high.
During our tour we could contact them all the time when necessary and we even had a meet and greet with our contact person.
Our tour was very diverse in accommodation, sight seeing , national parks and other activities.
Also very great was the travel book we received at home before we even started our vacation. With all kinds off tips to make sure you are prepared . And the tour has been made visible day by day. How long to drive with coordinates to your next location , when to do your shopping, what are your activities on that specific day.
I would not even hesitate to book another tour with Tailor Made Safaris . It has been a great experience
NL
Email Family Ouwerkerk | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
For the 2nd time a perfect organized roundtrip.
As like last year all very well arranged. Excellent communication and service, top locations to stay over and every location very friendly people.