Experience Africa:Ethical Safari & Adventure Tours
Safari With Us
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $95 to $450 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
Email Andy Nelson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
On safari with the best
The entire experience with Safari With Us was incredibly smooth and rewarding. From the get-go, I did not need to worry about how the trip would play out as the Safari With Us team took care of everything. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, they took us under their wings and took care of every detail of the safari journey. I highly recommend Safari With Us for your next experience in South Africa and beyond.
BR
Email Debora | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best days in South Africa
The safari was so nice.
It was good days in our trip
The staff was very, very kind e the lodge was so nice: good beds, good food.
and, the best: we saw the big five.
I come back in love with South Africa.
CA
Email Nour | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Above and beyond expectations, highly recommended to all
Since the first day I contacted Safari with us, the service has been stellar. Andre replies thoroughly within a day and answers all questions/concerns. He was very accommodating as well, making last minute changes and getting us bookings in places that usually book up a year in advance. Andre made sure he understood what we wanted on this holiday and booked us in places that matched our expectations and personality. Andre also had the best rates, half the prices quoted elsewhere but the same quality! All our tours were private, accomodations were flawless as well.
Once we arrived, the service continued to be amazing. Everyone with met, Gavin, Etienne, Dakota, Kavi, the team at Nottens Sabi Sands went above and beyond our expectations. The entire trip was perfect. Andre called each provider to make sure things were going well.
I will definitely be doing business with Safari with Us again and have recommended highly to all my friends and family. If I could stress more how perfect the service was I would. Thank you Andre and your team for everything you’ve done for us on our dream safari!
Exceeded my expectations!!!
From the very beginning,Andre Retif was awesome about communication, which took a lot of stress out of the equation in booking my five day safari with VIVA, which I can’t say enough good things about,—they were incredibly organized in getting everyone to where they needed to be—and at various times, etc. It takes incredibly organized people like Thandy and Pretty to manage all the various groups from all over the world.
Saw all the Big 5, and I’m so glad I extended my Safari by one day because that’s when I saw the elusive leopard and rhinos, which were on a private reserve, that I believe backs up to Kruger.
Also making it simple is the safari team from Viva picked me up from the Mariott hotel in Sandton in the morning and dropped me off there at the end of the week! It appears they can pickup any where in Joburg area. We even dropped off a couple at the Joburg Airport as they had a 7 pm flight home.
I went single, but it’s more cost effective if you have a travel partner.
I stayed in the basic lodge at Tresminia, which was great as it has AC and private shower and bathroom. Also a nice pool for between times, where you can take a nap on the lounge chairs. The AC is awesome after a long Safari in Kruger, slept very soundly, but the monkeys do something on the roofs at about 530-600 am, which is a natural alarm clock! The tree houses also has a pool, but the lodging looks a bit more rugged.
At Tresminia lodge, baboons were out to greet us the first evening. At breakfast the next morning , the wart hogs were out in full force and were foraging behind the fence and the breakfast patio.
I would recommend you try all the foods, including impala stew, all the food was delicious, can’t say there was a bad meal the entire week. The fresh fruits and vegetables are incredible and the mangoes and papayas rival what we have in Hawaii! The cooks really try to accommodate vegans and GF people, but they need to know way ahead of time, I felt bad so many Westerners had pretty picky diets. Best to go on safari with an open mind and try everything, it’s experiential right?
It’s a packed full week, but there’s enough down time to relax by the pool too. All the guides were great, but Elios (also known as smiley) for obvious reasons, and young Shannon and Andy are incredible with great first hand knowledge of the Bush, having grown up there near Kruger. Shannon is a fourth generation guide in her family, and Andy’s family owns a private reserve and is also so knowledgeable about the environment and its animals there. I really feel I just lucked out getting on this Safari as I booked it only two weeks before I spontaneously left the states.
If you want four star lodging, Viva does have a new upscale lodge, but I never saw it. If basic lodge is okay for you, Tresminia is just fine.
Heads up: please bring extra money for tipping your guide and drivers, they really depend and need it. Wages are still not great out there. Viva suggests 80 Rand for each guide, per activity, per person, but if it’s great, then I would suggest at least 100, which in US dollars that’s under ten dollars.
Another suggestion: bring the Off Deep Woods insect repellent sachets with Deet, if you’re prone to getting bit, which I am! I tried the natural repellent and it did nothing, thankfully I brought the OFF sachets and those worked. Also take Malaria pills, Andy our guide had Malaria earlier this year and he grew up here, and still ended up in hospital for weeks!
Overall, this was such a great experience and having just retired I can check it off the bucket list, but would still love to return on another safari!
Super smooth and easy - 7 days - Chobe and Victoria falls
Super smooth trip! Almost everything was planned for us. The guides were helpful and accommodating!
CL
Email Rubén | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Nice experience in Kruger NP
Andre Retif and Kavi (from Kruger Adventures Lodge) are just fantastic. Andre was always available to assist us. The service provided in the lodge was remarkable. The staff was absolutely nice and happy to receive us. The meals also, just well served and delicious. We really felt better than home and that is something to highlight, definitely.
About Kruger Park, it is a nice place. It is really quite different from other places like Okavango, Serengeti or Ngorongoro as it is not that wild and is also very crowded. There is a Golf Course (Skukuza) in the middle of the park, which I found very disturbing and non-sense.
Email Tom and Fran Welsh | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari With Us was very responsive and helpful.
We dealt with Andre and found him to be very responsive and helpful. He booked our accomodation, airport pickups , morning trip to Soweto and our 4 day trip to the Kruger area. Andre always responded punctually and patiently to our emails and endless questions which helped us choose our trips which were exactly what we were looking for.
The 6 hour transfers to and from Kruger were efficiently managed in mini vans with a lunch stop at a delightful restaurant.
We strongly recommend Safari With Us .
IN
Email Sathya | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Right from our first contract over e mail Andre was helpful and very professional. Always on call
This was my first experience with a tour operator. Glad we chose this company. The 9-day tour was designed to my requirements with a budget I could afford.
All transportation was above expectations with helpful, friendly drivers, who even filled hotel forms at times. They remained cheerful throughout. Packed lunches were generous, hotels were 3-star and very good. The safaris were extraordinary with knowledgeable guides. No complaints despite the tour being handled by three partnering companies across three countries. Andre has chosen his partners well. Highly recommended. Already referred a friend.
US
Email Contreras, P | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Pilanesberg Private Safari!!!
Andre did a phenomenal job planning a three day two night luxury safari for us!!! We had two major obstacles - my wife was pregnant (we could not take anti-malaria medication) and we have a two and half year old daughter. Andre found a four star lodge in a malaria free zone and arranged private safaris for us. Once in Africa, every step of the way, the process was flawless. He is great with communication and e-mail.
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Email Jordan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, stress-free and well-coordinated trip!
I can't praise this company enough - I would highly recommend Safari With Us to everyone!! My 4 friends and I had an incredible experience in Botswana and Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls). Andre was communicative and responsive via email and the entire trip was well-coordinated. You can leave it to them and they will take care of you. We loved Tanya, our driver/guide in Botswana - he made our trip so memorable and personal. Our 7-day trip was, in my opinion, about middle-tier prices. We stayed at a wide range (outdoor non-AC tents to hotels to nice lodges) and I thought the quality of our hotels/meals/safaris were solid and went beyond my expectations. A typical day would consist of driving for several hours (we had to cover a lot of ground) and 1 activity (e.g. safari, river boat cruise, interactive dinner). We felt the activities and accommodations were well-varied and balanced. Overall, it was such a stress-free and fun trip! In addition, I left some clothes in Zimbabwe and Tabo/Tanya/Andre coordinated over the course of several months to send them back to me in the United States!
If you are thinking about taking a safari trip, I would highly recommend taking it with them!