Viva Safaris team look forward to seeing you soon!
Viva Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 1991)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $75 to $186 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
HU
Email Tamas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 5 day safari with Viva safaris
It was an excellent 5 days safari in the big Kruger park and the nearby bush area.
It was organized by Viva safari with excellent way. We picked up at our Johannesburg hotel near the airport (Aviator at Tambo airport) in time.
We had different safaris in different places:
Big Kruger park, bush area near Kruger and private park with difference experience:
Sunset, Sunrise safaris and even a bush walk with two armed guides.
This was much better than a simple visit to Big Kruger park because it was less touristic and gave much more filling of the Wild Africa than a simple visit to the big Kruger park.
We had nice sit on open (non glass windowed) Toyota Land cruisers during our offroad trips with excellent drivers and guides. Guides were continuously communicating each other in the different vehicles to help finding the animals.
We could see the big five and even Leopard cub and Giraffes Kudus, Hippos, Crocs etc.
We stayed at Tremisana lodge which was ok for staying at a the safari.
It was excellent and I recommend this 5 day tour with Viva safaris if you want to smell the experience of wild Africa.
LU
Email Henri and Denise | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tremedous stay with a very friendly and highly capable staff.
We have been on the 6 days Safari tour staying in Tremisana lodge. The organisation is absolutely perfect. I wonder how the staff is organizing this challenge because there is a coming and going of visitors every day with different stays and differant Safari trips at also different locations. The guides and drivers are highly professional people who know their job, the driving, nature and wildlife perfectly. At dinner they are sitting and eating together with the guests like a big family. Stories about their professional carrier about wildlife and even their personnel situation and their family are told and there is a real feeling of understanding and sympathy coming up. One guy, called "Yannemann" is a very talentated great storyteller a bit like Hemingway, who tells his adventures in a special, very sympathic way. The food is top, the accomodations rustique but very nice the beds and matraces perfect, equiped with mosquito nets.
What can a tourist expect more ? I really dont know.
From my side and my wife, not a single complain.
Viva Safaris, . . . . one of the top 3 experiences of holidays we ever had in our life.
it was a very nice experience at tremisana, great time and guides, marc’s much less nice
it is all pretty good, especially at tremisana was fantastic, amazing rangers and professional guides..lovely experience! marc’s was pretty poor
US
Email Andrew | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very fund 5-day safari
Had a great time with Viva Safaris. Did a 5-day, 4-night safari, with the first night at Tremisana Lodge and the last 3 days at Marc's Treehouse. The various drives and walks to see animals were fantastic. We saw tons of animals and had knowledgeable guides who could tell us a lot about what we were seeing (and find more animals for us). The trip to the animal rehab center was fun, too. All in all, the safari was very well organized by all the Viva Safaris staff. The food provided was also very good, and they were very accommodating with dietary restrictions.
The one negative would be the accommodations. Our room at Tremisana Lodge was in poor condition and the bathroom was basically in the same room as the bed. This may have been an outlier room at Tremisana, but it was still below expectations, particularly since Tremisana is supposed to be one of their nicer lodges. Marc's Treehouse also was a bit disappointing. Only a few of the cabins were true treehouses - the rest were just cabins made of bamboo and tree branches. And because the property is sprawling, some of the cabins are a 10-15 minute walk from the main lodge area, which was inconvenient and difficult to do with suitcases.
The staff at both lodges was fantastic, though, and helpful at all times. Viva was also helpful in planning the trip, and answered all questions ahead of time. Highly recommend using Viva for a South African safari, but I would keep expectations regarding accommodations a bit low.
SG
Email Cheah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Viva Safaris has everything down in clockwork, the activities are well planned.
It's a good operator, what was promised was delivered.
US
Email Gabriela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This was my first safari and it was beyond amazing, outstanding staff service, everything was lovely
This safari was my first time ever going to a safari, also traveling by myself all the way from Florida, USA. I couldn’t be more satisfied with all the details and service Viva Safaris offered to me. The lodge was absolutely amazing, the room was super clean and great AC. The food was beyond amazing from breakfast to dinner, everything had a special touch. The game drivers were so knowledgeable and friendly. Honestly, this was by far the best hospitality service I had in years. They also picked me up and drop me off with a shuttle from the airport I’ve chosen to arrived, the ride was smooth and the driver was very nice, made a few stops which it was great since it’s a long drive. I definitely see myself coming back to South Africa sometime again and especially to the safari by Viva Safaris.
US
Email Nichole | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience until we discovered we were robbed.
Great safari experience, we saw the Big 5. Accommodations and food were as you would expect for the price point. We stayed one night in Tremesana and two nights at Marc's Treehouse. Ivy and Pretty were fantastic hosts. The only reason I am giving this two stars is because we discovered after leaving Marc's Treehouse that almost $600 (yes, I know we shouldn't have had that much on us) was missing from our wallets. We were not informed that cleaning people would be entering our rooms to make the bed and that is likely when it happened. So make sure to keep your money or valuables on you at all times.
US
Email Ronna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mixed bag but overall disappointed
We went on a 4 day, 3 night Marc's treehouse lodge. The first night was at Tremisana Lodge, we had a sunset drive and a dinner at the boma. This experience was fine. The lodge is budget, so it's nothing fancy but it's sufficient for what we needed. The second day we went on a bush walk, which was ok but one bush walk on the trip is more than enough. It was good to stretch our legs but otherwise it was not really value added to our experience. Then we sat around the lodge for 5 hours doing absolutely nothing...this was frustrating since we paid so much money to be on game drives and having more opportunities to see the animals. Logistically this was terrible scheduling and a waste of my time and money. In the evening we went on a short 90 minute drive and then were transferred to Marc's Treehouse lodge. The treehouse lodge was a cool experience, we really enjoyed the lodge. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable. The day we were scheduled to be in Kreuger park was very frustrating. We know that you cannot control the animals and it's always a game of chance when looking for them. What you can control is when you are in the park and making sure you're there at the best times possible - which is sunrise and sunset. We did not get to the park until after 10am which is when most of the predators are resting for the day - hence we saw NO cats on our day in Kreuger. The final day was a short bush walk (which was not any value added and we wished we could have spent that time doing something else) and our transfer back to Johannesburg with a stop in the Blyde River Canyon which was beautiful. We were back to Johannesburg OR Tambo airport in good timing, just before 5pm.
US
Email Bala | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent! A very authentic, professional and genuinely friendly experience, and delivers!
In one word we loved the experience. The staff were very prompt during booking, and throughout the tour. We left behind a camera and some documents when we departed and they were amazingly helpful in returning them to us by courier. Regarding the tour itself, the staff are very knowledgeable about the terrain, animals and so on and the organizational aspects were top class. We stayed at Katekani largely and we just loved it. It’s very private, has exceptional luxury level living arrangements, and the food was freshly prepared and served everyday to a very small group of us staying there which was a bonus in itself. The safari tours were fantastic. We saw all the animals except the elusive leopard and many birds at close quarters. The bush walk experience was fabulous - not something offered by all safari tours. In sum, Viva safari more than lived up to expectations!
DE
Email Martina | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Safaris with nice guides!
Everything works fine, special thanks to Smilie and Nico!!
Thank you for the Big Five!