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
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Email Shyam | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding trip to South Africa. Well-organized and planned. Couldn’t have gone any better!
This review is a bit overdue since we went on our trip in July, but I really do owe to Andre to recommend his company, since everything went off exactly as promised.
Our family of five, two adults and three kids (8,13,15) traveled to South Africa mainly to go on safari. My wife and I had been on safari in Tanzania in the past, so had an idea of what we wanted to do, but had no familiarity with South Africa. We relied heavily on Andre to make recommendations on our itinerary, game parks, drives, and accommodations. We were very pleased with what he suggested. Thabo, who accompanied us on the entire trip, was a very considerate, friendly and safe driver. We appreciated how attentive he was to our needs and the plan.
After arriving late in the evening in Johannesburg, Thabo picked us up to the airport to stay at Andre’s Safari Manor. Safari Manor is a very simple yet comfortable and clean little villa in the suburbs of Johannesburg. It’s where Andre lives. I think it’s mainly intended to be a place to overnight before you start your trip to the the parks or other destinations. Anyway, it’s nothing fancy but perfect for a short overnight after arriving or before departing Johannesburg.
The next morning we left Safari Manor and stopped at the Apartheid Museum for the morning. It’s worth a visit as it is very well done and interesting. We vastly underestimated the amount of time needed to really explore the museum in detail. There is so much more to learn than we were able to do in a morning.
Anyway, we then left to spend the day heading to Pilanesberg game park. We stayed in a villa at Kingdom Resort. Although it didn’t have the authentic “bush” feel of lodges where we’ve stayed on safari in Tanzania, it was just the perfect place for our family with three kids. The villa was very well-appointed and modern. Trust me, it’s really nice. Much better we expected. Food was excellent in the restaurant.
Andre booked us private game drives in Pilanesberg. We started with our first drive on the evening of our arrival, followed by several more game drives over the next couple of days. Our driver, Elvis, with Mankwe Gametrackers, was excellent. He was knowledge and motivated to find us all the animals we were hoping to see. In Pilanesberg, we were very lucky and ended up seeing cheetahs eating a kill, a leopard, lions, elephants and more. We couldn’t have had a better few days in Pilanesberg.
After Pilanesberg, we travelled to Hazyview. It was a long drive but that’s how it goes in Africa. We stayed at the Pilgrim’s Boutique Hotel. It was really a very cute place. Nice rooms. Great restaurant. And a cute courtyard. It was only for one night, as the next morning we did a private sunrise/morning safari at Kruger followed our trip to Kurula lodge. The morning safari in Kruger was a bit quiet in terms of animals. We certainly saw far more wildlife in Pilanesberg, but I think that’s not the typical experience. Regardless, we saw two lions eating a giraffe kill and another leopard. That’s actually pretty amazing. So, maybe we were already getting spoiled by our luck.
The real gem of our trip was the time spent at Kurula Lodge. This a private game lodge in the private game preserve region of Kruger. It’s amazing. Our family had the lodge to ourselves. The lodge is simply beautiful. It’s basically a luxury home with most rooms open to air during the day. The animals come right up the lodge as it’s basically a home built right in the bush. The staff are clearly focused on making your stay as perfect as possible. We had multiple private game drives with Jaco, probably one of the most intelligent and worldly guys you’d ever meet. He know practically everything about the local environment. I mean everything. His knowledge of every plant, animal, and insect is impressive. He’s super fun and informative. Every game drive was a captivating lesson in the whole ecosystem. The vehicle is a completely open top land cruiser. We were in the thick of elephant herds (who just walked right around us, inches away, without any suggestion of aggression or territorial behavior), saw two leopard with their kill in a tree over several days time and Cape buffalo herds we didn’t see anywhere else. It was awesome. Lions roaring loudly right outside our windows. We had a spotted hyena slowly walk into the deck(!!) while we were eating dinner. He thought he’s sneak up to look for a bite. Not a good idea, but it show how “ in it” is this lodge. Again, Kurula Lodge is awesome. Don’t miss it.
Finally, we returned to Johannesburg to fly home via the Panorama Route. It’s a long drive with numerous scenic vistas and hikes. It’s totally worth it. Check it out online. It’s exactly what you see.
Throughout all of this, Andre kept in touch to make sure everything was going as planned. Thabo was always available with us throughout the trip. He spent the days checking in with us periodically and driving us from park to park or the next spot on our itinerary. He was flexible enough to accommodate our wishes, but was very good about making sure that we were able to stay on schedule and do what we intended to do.
I highly recommend Safaris With Us.
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Email Lora | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Trip!
We had an amazing time on our trip through Safari with Us! Our guide Ettienne took great care of us and we enjoyed his company and vast knowledge of the area. The highlight was definitely the Kurula lodge and our safari guide JD, who was absolutely exceptional!
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Email Christian Beck | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They exceeded my expectations by catering to our particular wishes and wonderful customer service.
The company was very responsive to all our questions and planned the perfect tour four our desires. The transfers worked out well arriving at the right place and were timely. The drivers were nice and professional. We appreciated the personalized experience. Thanks!!
DE
Email Vero | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized and friendly staff
We are very satisfied with our Kruger Safari. We really enjoyed it. The Lodge was awesome, we liked the delicious food, our comfortable lodge and the friendly staff. First the fridge in our lodge was not working but they changed it immediately. The game drivers made a really good job. We saw nearly all the animals in the park and they could answer all our questions. The panorama route was also amazing and good organized. We learned a lot about the culture, plants and agriculture from our driver. Also the transfer from and to the airport went well and we had a good time with the drivers.
Your Kruger Safari Tour is a very good offer and we are happy to chose it.
So thank you very much for this amazing adventure!
SG
Email Ira | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lovely 1st Safari Experience
We were a group of 4 young adults from Singapore who had no clue about safaris! Andre was super responsive and patient through emails and WhatsApp. We took the 4 Day Kruger package and stayed at the Kruger Adventure Lodge. Pick ups and transfer to and fro Johannesburg Airport was smoothly done by our friendly guide, Thabo, and he brought us along the panaromic route too. At the clean lodge, the staff were super friendly and we even managed to catch all the Big 5 in one day thanks to our driver. Will definitely recommend this tour operator as it is 100% trustworthy! Hope to visit the beautiful South Africa again someday <3
BR
Email Solange | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect! The word that defines the wonderful experience we had.
The safari team with us was wonderful! Very attentive. Everything was perfect! I recommend. Everything excellent: transport, food, food and staff.
Email David and Lynn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First safari - absolutely outstanding
We had a fantastic time in South Africa. Thanks for arranging the safari.
Your service and communication was first class right from initial contact.
CA
Email Lorraine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari With Us has been our go to travel company in Africa!
Once again, thank you Andre for your help in putting our safari tour of Kenya together! It was fabulous!
Our guide, Daniel was friendly, professional and very informative. He really was excellent and I would certainly recommend him to others.
The accommodations were great. Staff in each of the hotels were outstanding.
Your suggestion to have a car/ guide for the entire week was an excellent idea.
Food was great too. Lots of choices for each meal.
Our daily drives were perfect. We were lucky and saw so many animals. And I finally saw my leopard!
The only difficulty we had was with internet connections. Our last hotel in the Mara had very poor connectivity, but it was a great spot and we liked the hotel. Sad to say goodbye to Africa!
HK
Email Klara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
You will regret if you didn’t choose them
Thank you so much for arrange the wonderful trip For us
Just wanna say thank you and would like to express my highly appreciation To Thabo and Andre , Thano is super friendly and helpful , take really good care of us , also extremely responsible . Thank you Thabo
AE
Email Wayne | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing guide and a well organised tour company
I would just like to express my sincere thanks to Safari With Us for the holiday.
South Africa was the 50th country that I have visited and I have to say that we really enjoyed every minute of it. We enjoyed it so much that we all rate it as the best family holiday we have ever had.
When we have travelled to new countries we have had a tour guide with us for approximately 75% of the trips, and I have to say that Machiel has been the best guide that we have had. Great work Machiel - well done.
It was a great pleasure to have such a friendly, funny, warm-hearted, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic guide. Machiel really did a fantastic job and we all appreciated his service.
The organisation of the tour was excellent and the whole two weeks experience ran like clockwork so a big thumbs up to Andre for that.
Thanks a lot guys….it was a real pleasure and a truly memorable experience.