Gondwana Travel Centre

Outstanding Service!

Rachael was absolutely wonderful and we can't think of a thing she could have done differently! She was most informative, gave wise counsel and promptly answered all our queries. We absolutely loved all the accommodation she chose for us, and felt that all her recommendations had been specifically tailored towards our needs.
The booking process & payments all went extremely smoothly, and we loved the fact we could use a secure online payment system (something no other operators seemed able to offer). The pre-departure emails where a joy, arriving at just the right time to offer packing tips, weather advice and tons of other info we'd never have thought about. And we were suprised that the beautifully presented info packs we received on arrival included a guide book and a local sim card!
On top of all this they have the most comprehensive, humorous & honest travel web-site I've ever encountered (which allowed us to track our route and find additional info on the activity and accommodation suggestions Rachael was making) .
The Cardboard Box certainly has the winning formula, and nothing is left to chance, I can not recommended highly enough.

Excellent Travel Service

We have just returned from a 5-week trip in Southern Africa that included 2 weeks in Botswana (Okavango Delta) and Namibia (Windhoek – Etosha – Twfelfontein – Swakupmond – Sossusvlei – Windhoek). We had the dates arranged and a rough idea of an itinerary when we contacted Cardboard Box Travel for help in filling in the details and finalising arrangements. We found Cardboard Box to be very efficient and helpful. They made many invaluable suggestions and were very open and responsive to our needs. They made all the reservations for us, including three nights in Etosha and two nights at the Desert Camp at Sesriem. Our consultant (Allison) was amazing and guided us through the whole process – she advised on an SUV rather than a sedan and that was a great suggestion. . Everything went smoothly on our trip – no problems or misadventures. Cannot recommend Cardboard Box highly enough and would definitely use them again wqhen we return to Namibia or Botswana.

Hugely impressed with their knowledge of Namibia and Botswana and great itinerary suggestions.

I have nothing but praise for the extremely valuable information we received from Cardboard Box in planning and organising our trip. At the outset they were keen to find out our travel needs (and budget) and then provided a range of fantastic suggestions. A very customer focused approach. Alison, our travel consultant, proved her weight in gold, drawing on her extensive knowledge of both Namibia and Botswana to tailor a 3-week trip around what we wanted to do. We had a unforgettable self-drive safari through unique African landscapes, camp sites, game reserves and some luxury lodges.

Great service, great knowledge, very friendly

We were in Namibia in march 2012. In september 2014 we go to Namibia again. It's a great country, beautiful scenery, very nice people and great places to stay. Cardboardbox arranged everything for us. They have a great car rental place. They pick you up from the airport and bring you back. If you have troubles they come and help you (was not nessecary) The website of Cardboardbox shows under lodges all the places you want to go to. I made an itinerary myself and asked them to review it. They came with great suggestions. And the they book everything for you. They can book the parks in Namibia much easier and sooner than you can do it yourself. And there are some people who say it is not to save to give every place your creditcard data. With Cardboardbox you pay them en they arrange everything. At no cost for you. They sent you all the vouchers and a lot of information (very helpful) through email. I recommend Cardboard box to everyone who travels to this wonderful country (and to Botswana)

excellent

We used the services of Cardboard Box in 2010 and have used them again recently for a forthcoming trip, on both occasions they were outstanding. You can simply send them a rough itinerary and they will provide you with all sort of information and advice and will book everything for you. Everywhere we stayed last time was perfect. Not sure how they could improve their service. We'd recommend them to anyone.

Good!

Norelle is polite and efficient . She gived us all the advice and information we needed and is able to solve all our doubts and problems. She is very patient and punctual. The website is simple to understand and navigate.

Checked many different accommodations and was able to pay in one amount rather than paying each site seperately.

Very slow in responding

Have to improve their speed of communication and responding. Been several occasions without response and they kept customer waiting. Have know idea what is going on. First, I didn’t want to write about this thinking it is just one time and they are a small company. But it has been so many times and it is very annoying when I don’t know what is going on with what I have requested and I have already put down the deposit. To be fair for them, the lady who has been helping me has been helpful in answering the question but it doesn’t help when my message was sent and no one attended to the question for one week. They might be all on holidays but I am not sure if this works for everyone especially when it comes to business and we need to get something rolling for the trip in advance.

Broken head and eyeglasses, downgraded to poorer accommodation, standard scams with optionals etc...

We encountered:

- one broken head and eyeglasses

During the exit from the 4x4 vehicle at DINE 45, the driver opened all doors that could rotate 180 degrees and did not secure them. The back door curved and hit the head of my colleague who had already come out of the vehicle and then crash his glasses and he got hematoma on his head. This only happened due to negligence of drivers and guides. We have seen other drivers unloading passengers and holdin the doors in place so that a similar problem would not happen.

- downgraded to poorer accommodation

When we booked the trip, they confirmed our stay (2 days) at Namibia Desert Lodge and instead we were in a campsite with no internet in anything that looked like a tent.

- standard scams with optionals

During the trip we went to a lodge where we were told we could go and watch some wild animals in the cage. They did not let us know that we had to pay for it. Only later, they asked us to pay about $ 10 per person. Everybody in the group was surprised and the guide later said he warned us that we could watch animals "only if we want." But he did not say that if we want we have to pay for it and that this activity is not included.

- a minibus that was constantly drowned

They have been late for more than 1 hour when taking over the hotel for the first day. Explanation: Vehicle problem. I do not know what they did in those hours, but the vehicle we were on for 6 days and over 2000 km was a permanent breakdown and it was not pleasant to stay in the middle of the road with a broken vehicle and the first village 100 km away.

- we were stolen money from the minibus while there was no one around the minibus, only the driver

The last day, only a 2 hours before the end of the trip, we stopped at a lodge for lunch. Until then, the drivers (who is also the guide) was always sitting during the lunch and the dinner with us (group of 7) at the same table. This time not. We were alone in a restaurant inside the lodge, there were no people around. The driver moved away from the group. We left inside the minibus a bag with my colleague's wallet. The money was stolen from the wallet: not all the money was stolen, but only a few large banknotes. We realised this when arrived to the hotel.

I asked the agency to give me an explanation on these issues (and many other things I did not even mentioned here) but they mostly refuse responsibility. I demanded a refund and I told them that if they decided to make a refund, that would be to the account of the humanitarian organisation I will indicate to them. I do not want a refund, but someone who has accomplished this kind of service needs to bear responsibility for it. Apart from the agency I will write more reviews on the internet, it is even more a responsibility of the tour operator (SWA SAFARI).

Sorry for my bad english but I will write other reports on Italian and Spanish (my mother tongues).