Matthew Grace & Nicolette Grace ~ Founder & Owner
African Safari Guru
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- SATOA, FGASA, SATIB, DEAT, CASSETHA, For Wildlife Non Profit Trust & Prodly South African
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $359 to $994 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 Abhijit | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Priceless!!!
What a trip, Africa. What a travel agent, Matt. Priceless!
Matt planned an amazing 2 week adventure for 2 families to SA, Zimbabwe and, Zambia. Going to a new country, you always expect some hiccups, but nothing in our case. Everything was perfect .... from transfers, to personal chefs, to Safari's, to kids entertainment ...everythign went smooth and perfectly.
We visited CapeTown, VicFalls, The Hide (in Zimbabwe, a must do), and Madikwe (in SA). Matt took personal care and went above and beyond to meet us personally and chauffeur us from Johansburg to Madikwe and back.
For people planning Safari Trips ... The Hide in Zimbabwe is a magical place, and must do.
I cannot recommend Matt enough ... give him a call, and he will take the best care of you and your family at a personal level!!!
US
Email Annette & Michael | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience!
Matt is a true South African and loves his country. That comes through in everything he says and does. He is very knowledgeable about his country, the people and the wildlife. We had dinner with him and his wife, and we got to have a sample platter of biltong, a must have when you're there.
This was a wedding anniversary trip and Matt notified both lodges and made sure we got a special treat in both places, and we did. It's that kind of extra that makes Matt great.
We initially gave Matt a budget to work with and he sent us detailed proposals with pros and cons for each place he had in the list. The choices were all excellent and we loved the lodges we stayed at. In both places, service, food, and wildlife viewing was excellent. We preferred Arathusa because there was more opportunity to get to know other people in your "game drive" group. Lukimbi was excellent too, but we wouldn't return there in high season because we prefer adult-only environments.
The transfers were all taken care of by Matt personally. He drove us from Johannesburg to Sabi Sands, then from there to Lukimbi in Kruger National Park, and then to Nelspruit airport.
All-in-all, excellent value for an excellent experience. Thanks Matt!
CA
Email Debbie and Glenn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
Matt at African Safari Guru helped us put together a custom safari vacation that suited us perfectly. From the initial contact and planning of our trip to the final transfer to the airport for our trip home everything went smoothly and was very well done. Even though our initial flight was 2 hrs lathe arriving Matt and Nicolette were at the airport to greet us when we finaly landed. Matt picked two excellent lodges for us to visit - Lukimbi Lodge in Kruger and Arathusa in Sabi Sands and the accomodations and game drives at both lodges not only met but exceeded our expectations. We had fabulous close encounters with all of the Big 5 and even had black rhino and wild dog pack sitings! Thanks to African Safari Guru for all the wonderful memories, we will definitely recommend you to our friends!
DE
Email Svein, Nadja & Katharina | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience of a Lifetime
Planning our first ever trip to South Africa, we searched for potential tour operators to help us realize our African Dream. Within 1 hour of posting our general inquiry on Saferibookings.com, Matthew had responded, and never seemed to go off-line after that. Within no time, he had put together a set of options, and had the perfect package put together for us, with 5 days Madikwe Sarafi Lodge and 4 nights More Quarters (Cape Town) with local tours.
This was only the beginning of a fantastic relationship with Matthew, who by all standards proved to be the best organizers we have had the pleasure to meet. He makes the impossible possible, and follows you up every step of your trip to make sure everything is ok and to your liking. One example worth mentioning is the evening just before dinner we contacted Matthew to check the possibility to alter our program for the next morning in Cape Town, and within no time he had organized everything (from Johannesburg) with our local Tour Operator in cape town and before dessert we had received the updated itinerary via WhatsApp. Never have we seen this kind of good service anywhere before.
Matthew Grace is THE African Safari Guru. If you ever consider to travel anywhere in Africa, he’s the man. We’ve never met anybody so dedicated to his clients, country and wildlife, and he seems to have a never ending network of people and companies to help take care of you every step of the way. It’s really a one-stop-shop for any travel and any budget-range, and he is with you all the way until you arrive back home. Even then he checks how your return trip was. Our trip was truly an Experience of a Lifetime, mainly made possible through Matthew Grace and THE African Safari Guru!
US
Email Gary Rupe | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic personalized travel service
We used South Africa Guru for a last minute trip and we were absolutely amazed. We provided some broad guidance on what we thought we would like to do and Matthew Grace knocked the agenda out of the ball park. With only two weeks notice before we arrived he put together every detail into an amazing agenda we turned into wonderful memories. Give Matthew a call with a little guidance on your dreams and I am sure he will do the same for you.
US
Email Laura G. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime - Way better than what I could have planned on my own
Excellent all the way around. Matthew was very responsive to emails, answered all of our questions, addressed all of our concerns, and made all the little adjustments and changes we requested throughout the planning process. His service exceeded our expectations. The experience itself was great - just what we were looking for, and more. It was evident that he had done his research to make sure he sent us to top-notch places. The itinerary he prepared included activities that I would not have known to look for on my own, such as the activities in Cape Town and the trip into Botswana to visit Chobe National Park. Also, the lodgings he selected for us were superb - a penthouse condo right on Camp's Bay Beach (Cape Town) to start the trip; a BEAUTIFUL and spacious cottage at a small river lodge in Livingstone (Victoria Falls), and two excellent but very different game lodges in Greater Kreuger. I am so glad I went through African Safari Guru rather than booking on my own.
US
Email Dr. Tony Fernandez | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellence in touring South Africa
After some problems with Viator's booking I was fortunate enough to book the tour directly with Matt's African Safari Guru. From the first contact Matt was extremely professional and attentive. He guided me step by step and for several weeks since our first contact to the actual activity he kept me informed of how things were unfolding and frequently updated me about everything. One of the most important things about Matt is his great customer care capacity. Every time I contacted him with questions or doubts, I got a full response in less than 3 hours. From my pick up at my hotel to my return everything was easy and smooth. At the activity site all was perfectly arranged. I most mention the gentleman who took care of my transportation, Doug, who made the whole round trip nice and smooth. He's a very nice and jovial person who made the long trips very interesting with his deep knowledge of South Africa history. I honestly and without reservations recommend Matt's African Safari Guru for all your activities in South Africa. Matt is very knowledgeable, caring and his prices are highly competitive. Excellent job Matt!
IE
Email Romain | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Use African Safari Guru if you want an amazing and personalized safari !!
It's the second time Matt from African Safari Guru organizes a safari for me in South Africa. This time it was for my honeymoon. He organized an amazing trip in incredible lodges. I was able to really understand the experience we wanted and build a packages that was ideal for us. I really recommend it for anyone looking to do a personalized safari. Thanks again Matt!!
US
Email Mitch R | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing South Africa Vacation Trip
We normally arrange all of our own vacation trips, but wanting to have a great safari experience and concern about some of the logistics associated with our family trip to South Africa, made me think we'd be better off with some professional planning. I put out feelers with a handful of tour operators, including Matthew Grace at African Safari Guru, and he was by far the most responsive and helpful. Matthew is so knowledgeable about South Africa. He has a good awareness of what are the best things to see and places to go at various times of the year - he really listened to what we were looking to do, gave us some great advice and laid out a series of options for our trip rather than a standard tour operator package, and put together a fantastic itinerary for us.
We spent our first 5 days based in Cape Town, and Matthew arranged an outstanding hiking excursion to the top of Table Mountain, as well as day-trips along the coast and into the wine country -- with excellent guides for each. Then we traveled to Kruger National Park for an unbelievably memorable safari experience at Lukimbi Safari Lodge. Lukimbi was a perfect fit for our family -- not sure how Matthew figured that out, but it really worked out great. The safari guides and all the staff at Lukimbi were welcoming, enthusiastic, fun, and really, really good at their work. The game drives were spectacular, and the food and accommodations at Lukimbi were first-rate.
Matthew also arranged for all our transfers, and every one was flawless. In addition, Matthew stays in daily communication with you while you're on your trip, via WhatsApp, and was always available to answer any questions or resolve any issues that cropped up. Not only that, but he personally met us at the Nelspruit Airport and was our driver for a day as we transited to Lukimbi (and he knew some great spots to view some of the wildlife in Kruger on the way to Lukimbi, so we had kind of a bonus game-drive on the way in!). Matthew tries to meet up in person with each of his clients at some point on their trip, which is a great indication of the individual attention he provides as a tour planner.
When it was all said and done, we had a fantastic holiday and I can confidently recommend African Safari Guru. Matthew's professional knowledge, honest and straightforward advice and hands-on approach to planning, and his great customer service paved the way for what each of us agreed was possibly the best vacation we have taken as a family.
SK
Email Michal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most memorable travel experience
Thanks to Matt and African Safari Guru, this was the most amazing traveling experience our family have ever had. With 5 days in Cape-town, tasting wine, great restaurants, horse back riding, seals, penguins, helicopter flight to 5 days in the most memorable Safari in Marataba and Madikwe. All perfectly organized with fantastic support from Matt, private transfers & flights between airports. Every step has been organized on 100%.