Part of the happy Pembury team having a laugh!
Pembury Tours
- Office In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 1996)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $2,000 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
BEST TOUR OPERATOR IN AFRICA (AND POSSIBLY THE WORLD)
If I could give Kerry at Pembury Tours ten stars, I would. I don't know if I will ever be able to fully express how grateful I am to Kerry and her team and just how much we appreciate everything they've done for us. Kerry has become more than a tour agent- I think she'll be a lifelong friend!
My husband and I had been planning our South African and Zambian safari for our honeymoon and we were originally supposed to travel June 2020. Our itinerary was Cape Town, South African Bush Safari (Umkumbe Safari Lodge), Chimp Eden (Nut Grove Manor) and Victoria Falls (Waterfront Lodge). Due to COVID, we had to postpone our trip and pushed it back to June 2022. Throughout the entire planning process, Kerry was not only extremely responsive and helpful, but she was truly on our side and had our best interests at heart. She took the time to answer all of my questions (even all of the long and rambling and repetitive ones that I would think of in the middle of the night and shoot her an email) and reassured me that our trip would still be just as great regardless of having to reschedule. She scoured every possible option in terms of what was available within our price points, what made the most sense logistically, what would give us the best experience, and made the entire planning process smooth, easy and feel like it was a collaboration between our vision and her planning. I pride myself on my traveling and itinerary making skills, but Kerry truly goes above and beyond and her attention to detail and thoroughness is on a completely different level. Especially with all of the new and ever-changing restrictions due to Covid, she laid out everything so nicely for us so that our travel was seamless. Even when we had a false-positive scare while we were in South Africa, Kerry was immediately on the phone figuring things out so we truly did not have to worry at all and just got to relax and enjoy ourselves.
One of the biggest hurdles we experienced throughout this entire process was because of United Airlines (the worst). We had initially rescheduled our trip from June 2020 to June 2021. When we arrived at the airport to check in to our flights because we weren't able to online due to having to show a negative PCR test, United apparently had outdated travel requirements for South Africa and would not let us board. We exhausted all of our options at the airport to try to get them to let us go since we KNEW Kerry had provided us with the CORRECT information. However, we left the airport frustrated and angry and in tears, feeling like our entire trip and years of planning had just gone down the drain. When I arrived home, I contacted Kerry immediately and she worked tirelessly the next few days with her director who then got the South African tourism departments involved and got everything rebooked for us to go a few weeks later. I have traveled extensively my entire life and never had I felt so defeated. But Kerry would not give up and I absolutely credit her for getting us through this. It is now three weeks after we've returned from our trip and Kerry is STILL working on getting us a refund from a flight that had to be rebooked because of this. She won't let these awful airlines get away with cheating their paying customers anymore than they are already able to. Her ability to respond quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively to issues that come up unexpectedly is unmatched.
In addition, all of the accommodations, tours, and excursions Kerry planned were also absolutely stunning. This was a trip of a lifetime that my husband and I will NEVER forget. We truly could not have imagined a more gorgeous first trip to Africa and we will absolutely be back and be using Pembury Tours for all of our African travel needs in the future.
I know I'm forgetting so much and will never be able to thank Kerry enough for everything she's done for us, but I hope this review helps encourage more travelers to use Pembury Tours and ask for the incredible Kerry! We love you! <3
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Email Hilda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime - thanks to Kerry Ririe !
I wanted to take my daughter to South Africa and Zambia in 2020 to celebrate her being accepted by a Master degree program. We had to cancel because of COVID, planned again in 2021, canceled it again and, we finally went in 2022 to celebrate her graduation along with her best friend ! Over the two years, Kerry was so patient, understanding, informative. We changed the dates a few times to accommodate everyone's schedule, altered the itinerary, requested restaurants reservations to be made.....Kerry accommodated every single request with good advice and most wonderful attitude. And when she said we could call her whenever there's a need, she meant it ! One of us left the phone in the car on the way to Nelspruit Airport, without knowing the driver's number, we called Kerry for help. She picked up the phone right away.....it was before 7 in the morning.....and just like that the driver returned to the airport in less than ten minutes and we got the phone back....whew ! She also arranged COVID test for us before we left Zambia to make it so much easier on the way back. So, not only Kerry crafted an itinerary exactly to what we wanted, she also took great care of us during the whole time. We highly recommend Kerry to anyone who wants to see Africa. We had a trip of a lifetime not only because of her excellent work and expertise, but most of all is because she cares !
For reference, we went to Cape Town (4 nights), Sabi Sand Game Reserve (3 nights), White River (1 night), Victoria Falls on the Zambia side (3 nights), we also went to Zimbabwe side on the day we left.
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Email Cristina& Family | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding tour in Southern Africa
Anya Visser organized our once in a lifetime, last minute vacation to Victoria Falls and Botswana. This was our first trip to Africa and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to help me with this. Anya hits all the points: organized, nice, professional, good listener and the best was the personal touch. It truly felt as she was planning this for someone she knew. The itinerary gave us a good understanding of the country, flora and fauna and time she allotted for each destination was perfect. She even wished happy birthday to my husband and son and communicated with the lodges about having cakes! We are thinking already about our next trip to Africa and I know who will be helping me plan this. Thank you Anya for everything!!
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Email Irene | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome
My tour operator was great. She listened to my travel preferences and tailored my tour the way I wanted it. She was always open to my suggestions and very patient to answer to my questions. I highly recommend Gail and Pembury tours.
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Email Megan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Utter Perfection
This trip has been my on my bucket list for as long as I could remember. I had always wanted to go on an African Safari. I reached out to Pembury tours and Kerry took care of everything for us. She created multiple itineraries based on our wants and desires allowing us to pick which one we felt like we would most enjoy. Plus she was willing to adapt to any requests that we had. We communicated everything via e-mail and she was quick to get us answers or just let us know that things were being worked on. Right before the trip Kerry reached out with her WhatsApp information so that we could communicate quickly while on the trip. She was also kind enough to check up on us partway through to hear how everything was going.
We did run into travel issues (flight cancellation) getting to South Africa and had to let Kerry know that we wouldn't make it the day we were supposed to. She was great to rearrange things to allow us to do as much as possible with the loss of a day in Cape Town.
Our trip was absolutely amazing! It honestly surpassed all of our expectations and I don't think we could have hoped for anything more. Out of the 3 different safari areas, our favorite was Simbavati, but that might have been due to the fact that it was our very first safari ever, we were able to see all of the Big 5, AND we were lucky enough to see the wild dogs (twice!) while there. Inyati had unparalleled viewing of leopards with them being so comfortable around vehicles and we were even fortunate enough to witness leopards mating. We were able to see all of the Big 5 here as well. The Hide had the best viewing for elephants with herds coming to the watering hole every evening, it was so fascinating to see the group dynamics of different elephant herds, especially from the 'hide' that they have that allows guests to get close to the watering hole using an underground tunnel. It was here that our safari vehicle was charged by a bull elephant (talk about an adrenaline rush), but the guide had everything in hand and was able to de-escalate the situation.
Cape Town was stunning and we wished we would have been able to spend 2 days there, but travel issues happen and we were just so happy with what we were able to fit in during the single day.
Victoria Falls was breathtaking. We had seen pictures, but no picture could do it justice and we were so pleased to be able to spend time there and see the falls. We really enjoyed both the dinner cruise and the tour of Victoria Falls.
Absolutely all of our accommodations were perfect and the food was delicious. We didn't notice any staffing shortages and were very well taken care of at each location. In fact, we feel like we lucked out because it appeared that most things were back to normal, but there weren't as many people, so we got to enjoy everything with smaller crowds.
I've told all my friends and family that if you're looking for a perfect experience, to use Pembury tours. All transfers and rides were set up for us so we never had to worry about any of that which just made the entire trip so much easier to enjoy.
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Email Claire Anderson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lifetime Memories in African Safari and Rwandan Gorilla Trekking
I had an amazing trip with memories to last a lifetime. I have recommended Pembury Tours to many people I met along my time spent in Africa. I always felt very safe and taken care of and my itinerary was superb! I appreciate their assistance and timely replies every message I sent. I will use them again in the future!
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Email Thomas Curry | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfection in planning and execution
I shall gladly do this trip again ~ regardless of the cost ...provided Anya is my agent. I saw, heard, smelled, tasted and felt everything I wanted .
I desired a small group or personal experience and was given exactly that! I am a Professional Wildlife Photographer residing in the Pintler Wilderness of Montana and I am not a 'herd animal'.
Anya had everything perfected!
God bless her for her diligence
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Email Tom and Christie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime! Well Planned and Low Stress
Kerry and Pembury tours put together an excellent tour on our first trip to Africa. From the first step of planning Kerry listened to us and our budget and put together a great tour for us to Inyati Lodge in the Sabi Sands in South Africa. Previously to other destinations my wife and I have enjoyed planning our trips independent of a travel agent, however Africa seems to be a different situation. Kerry listened to our needs and our trip was an incredible experience at what was the best price we found. Additionally, Kerry was available throughout our trip with questions that came up, or when the inevitable hiccups occur on a long (and distant) trip she helped us work through them. This was one of the best services available to us and has changed our view on travel agencies in general. While we more than likely will not be traveling to Africa in the near future, Pembury Tours will be our first and likely only stop when planning our next trip there!
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Email Kyle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredable Once in a Lifetime Trip - Thanks Pembury!
I can’t say enough good things about Pembury overall, and the personalized elite service provided by Heidi (our contact person).
Pembury’s website provided excellent detail and usability. I was able to come up with a tentative plan just based on the extensive information available.
The prices they were able to quote were below every other safari booking service that I checked with, and therefore, I can’t imagine a better value!
We explained to Heidi upfront that we had a unique opportunity that included a month of holiday time, and consequently, we wanted to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa. Heidi provided us with several options, highlighted areas that she felt couldn’t be skipped, and outlined trade-offs when it came to other experiences. She was great about asking for preferences, and trying to figure out exactly where we felt it was worth paying a little more for something that would make a huge difference for us personally vs a luxury we didn’t think we needed.
All of that said, the biggest reason to go with Pembury is the exceptional level of personalized service. The email response time on Heidi’s part was excellent throughout the onboarding and payment process, and was top notch throughout our trip. She was able to aggregate information from other Pembury customers and get up-to-the-day feedback that she could use to adapt our itinerary if we were so inclined. Consequently, we weren’t stuck reading reviews from 3+ years ago, and left with subpar decisions as circumstances changed on the ground.
Every single one of the activities and accommodations provided by Heidi more than lived up to their billing and we couldn’t be happier with our choice of Pembury to plan our holiday!
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Email David Ball | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kerry at Pembury took amazing care of us in curating a 30 day trip of a lifetime!
My wife and I are extensive travelers but this was our first experience requiring an agent to assist us and it was the best decision ever! Kerry took great care to help us create a tour of a lifetime. She helped us plan out an extended trip that covered Southern and Eastern Africa. The properties and operators she chose for us were excellent and very professional. At all times Kerry was in contact with us and responded very quickly to any questions or needs we had. Transfers between camps, air travel and connections were absolutely seamless. The overall experience was amazing and the memories are priceless. I can’t recommend Kerry and Pembury Tours enough!
