Bianca & Craig your expert safari planner/guides
Southern African Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- SATSA, CTT & intrasure
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $79 to $129 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Torbjörn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wounderful 5-day private Garden Route Tour with Derek
My wife and I just returned from an exceptional week in South Africa spent with Derek from Southern Africa Tours. I would wholeheartedly recommend them and especially Derek as a guide to any one considering a tour in this beautiful country.
We decided on Southern African Tours because their 5-day Garden Route Tour best fit our schedule. This was a last minute decision on our part to go to South Africa, about two weeks of notice was given to Craig (the owner)
for the planning of our trip. He and his staff came through with flying colours for us. All our needs, expectations and more was met throughout our trip.
Derek is the most wonderful guide and person one can have on a tour like this. His knowledge of the country and all the sites we visited plus his enthusiasm about the flora and fauna made this the most rewarding visit any one can wish for. We also learned a lot about the history as well as current affairs of this fantastic country from Derek. I am at awe as to his knowledge about all the various subjects that came up during our time together.
This visit would not have been as rewarding as it was without Derek.
There are to many memories to mention here but these are our favorites. Wine tasting in Robertson valley, Canga caves, Whale watching in Knysna, Penguins in Bettys Bay and off course the game drive at the Garden Route Game Lodge.
Thank you Derek and Craig
Garden Route Tour.
We went to Cape Town on a conference and wanted to spend some time after the conference seeing S. Africa. Southern Africa Tours organized a trip for us, suggesting things to do and places to stay. They arranged a driver and car for us, accommodations etc.... The driver was great and suggested changes to the planned itinerary which made for a better trip. All the accommodations were very good; the provided meals were also great. We felt our cost was quite reasonable, considering we had a custom tour just for us. S. Africa is a wonderful country to visit and we really loved our tour. S. Africa has everything; mountains, oceans, lakes, forests, good climate, good food, wildlife and friendly people; the scenery in incredible. I would recommend Southern Africa Tours to anyone considering a tour there.
Fantastic Southern Africa experience!
At the airport waiting for our flight back to the States and we wanted to thank you for putting together a fantastic trip! We could not have been happier with all of your choices and the details that went into making this seem less and stress free. Thank you so much!
All of the accommodations were great as were the tour guides. Thank you for your flexibility and individual attention
CA
Email Jan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great last-minute organized 8 days in Cape area
We booked a tour with Craig of South African tours recently and, despite it being really last-minute, quite promptly he was able to put together a very memorable and quite filled tour. The first three days were with Craig himself as tour guide then followed by the Garden tour in the remaining 5 days hosted by Derek. The country is beautiful, even in winter, Craig provided us with a great introduction and reminder of the history of the country and lots of background information on the current situation, government, institutions, people, difficulties and strengths. We visited the Cape area, wineries, Stellenbosch, the beautiful botanical garden and unforgettable views of the landscape around Cape Point and Cape of good hope. Lots of information on good places to eat, walk, surf, live, etc. The Garden tour with Derek was equally fantastic; again loads of very helpful information, conversations with people on the road, beautiful sights of nature, whales in Hermanus, Knysna just recovering from a devastating fire, Storms river mouth wildness, and Oudshoorn's caves and ostrich farms. We felt that the care and organization by Craig's business was impeccable. Despite the short time of our stay we felt we got the maximum out of the time - perhaps sometimes too compressed or rushed, but that was just the nature of our trip; we wanted to see as much as possible. Overall, we met beautiful people from a beautiful, yet somewhat polarized country. Both Craig and Derek put significant personality in their tours - we enjoyed that tremendously. We will certainly go back if the opportunity presents itself.
Our guide, Gerard Maritz, proved knowlegable about all aspects of culture/heritage in South Africa.
Gerald Maritz was an excellent tour guide - able to accommodate some changes along the way and always open to our suggestions for a better experience that suited our needs. He has a thorough knowledge of culture and heritage and generously shared his insights along the way. It was a pleasure to have him aboard!
We did have issues with several of the accommodations preselected by the tour operator, but we're certain that our guide will bring our feedback forward so that changes can be made for future tours.
Reply from Southern African Tours
Posted on Oct 29, 2018Hi Peter & Jessica,
Thank you so much for your kind comments, on your recent tour of South Africa and am thrilled I was able to play a part in the success of your South African experience.
I do apologize for the unfortunate situation which occurred shortly after you checked into your guest house in the Tsitsikamma Village and am very pleased that you were able to obtain excellent alternative accommodation. At the game farm it was disappointing you had to move into a different chalet than you were originally allocated due to the unpleasant smell in your chalet. I have contacted the operators of the guest house in the Tsitsikamma Village and at the game farm in the Montagu district, to mention these unfortunate incidents which impacted on a perfect South African experience.
Kind regards,
Craig and Gerard.
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Email Jim Labelle | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well managed and professional operation with great attention to service and satisfaction.
Craig and his team did an excellent job in working with some of our special timing requests on the 7 day Cape Town/Kruger tour. All transfers, lodging, and tours went off impeccably well....we put a lot of trust in Craig's operation and did not have to worry about any of the details.
A real blessing was meeting Gerard Maretz, our guide from Southern African Tours in and around Cape Town. He is a wealth of knowledge and experience, and I highly suggest requesting his services.
Cape Town is certainly one of the world's great beach cities, and Kruger is indeed the Garden of Eden. The lodging and tours that Craig's operations set up for us in both locales were perfect.
It was an amazing trip. I have been blessed to travel to many places in the world, and South Africa will be among the most memorable. We especially enjoyed all of the people of South Africa.....they have a unique understanding of human nature, regret, forgiveness, and most importantly hopefulness for the future. South Africa is one of the world's most special places geographically. It's rainbow of people make it an even more special place.
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Email Brendan Jackson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a life time tour
My wife and I have just finished a Cape to Addo tour with Gerard from Southern African tours. What an incredible experience, we visited the West and East Cape, a diverse region of 2 oceans, 3 game reserves, mountains, semi desert, forests and lagoons.
Gerard was a fascinating guide and host. His knowledge, passion and tireless energy had us busy and attentive. Lol. I will definitely recommend Southern African Tours, we keen to come to the Kruger and that region next. Oh and Namibia!
CA
Email Heather Willis | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Tour of Cape Town and Surrounds - Thank-You!!
My husband and I toured with Southern African Tours in late September 2019, and we can't say enough good things about this company. Craig and his team organized and executed a perfect and wonderful tour of Cape Town and surrounds for us. Right from the start, Craig was responsive in his emails. While the company does do pre-arranged tours, based on our interests, Craig tailored a private tour itinerary for us, including whale watching, cheetah visits, wine tasting, wildflowers and amazing scenic vistas, and shark diving. Our tour guide, Derek, was fantastic, we had the absolute best time with him. He was knowledgeable and lots of fun! The B & B's used by Southern African Tours are first rate, we were very impressed. While we did not go to safari on this tour, we did see wildlife (lots of birds, Eland, Ostrich, Zebra, Bontebok, Baboons, and Springbok) which was an added bonus! Cape Town and area is absolutely beautiful - a must see destination! I really recommend Southern African Tours and Craig's team, thank-you for helping us realize such an amazing trip!!
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Email Roman | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fast response, clear information, good informations
Agency staff provide all information, available for all questions all the time, tailored program is ok.
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Email Dr. Gabriel Minz | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
South African Odyssey with personalized touch
We have just finished an 18 day South Africa tour from Johannesburg to Cape Town by minivan with Craig, Bianca, and Jerry.Craig, the owner planned every detail to our extensive trip through South Africa.Our family of three travelled in a comfortable, air conditioned van from Johannesburg/Soweto to Blyde River Canyon,Kruger National Park,Swaziland, Isimangaliso Wetland Park,Durban, the Garden Route, till
the Cape of Good Hope with lots of time in beautiful Cape Town including the Winelands.
From the moment we got in touch with Craig on email, he responded to all our inquiries and adjusted our tour to suit our needs.He was able
to add my adult son to the itinerary just a few weeks before leaving.Craig and Jerry have an extensive knowledge of South Africa and were great raconteurs of it's intense history and knew a lot about the wildlife we encountered along the way.The accommodations Craig arranged were
comfortable usually including a satisfying breakfast and the places we stopped along the way were all fascinating.
I would highly recommend this small local tour company which gave us personalized service great value for the money as compared to
tour companies based in the U.S.A. or Britain.Craig, Bianca, and Jerry gave us an unforgettable trip and I would highly recommend them to
anyone.