Southern Destinations
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1997)
- Member Of:
- SATSA & Travel Smart Crew Pty Ltd
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $450 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I would reccomend Southern Destination, especially Camille, to anyone going to Africa!
There were 11 in our group traveling from California, ranging in age from 34 to 78. Camille was our agent. She is amazing. She would respond to all questions in a timely manner, even at a time when so much was going on in her own family. We traveled to 3 countries by plane, van or boat. We were always met my friendly guides at each destination. Our accommodations at each stop were wonderful. The tents at the safari camps were nothing like the scouts use. We called it "glamping", glamour camping. Camille was always available to us throughout our trip. I am only sorry I didn't get to meet her in person. Anyone going to Africa should use Southern Destinations. They exceeded all my expectations.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime!
Thanks to Camille for organizing our "trip of a lifetime"! It was everything we expected and more. I would say that we probably enjoyed Ngala Tented Camp the best overall. What made it so special was our guide, Lee Ann, and the wonderful environment of a private reserve all to ourselves with wildlife roaming in the camp and the tent environment. We saw everything at Ngala and if that had been our only destination, the trip would have still been a great success.
Nic and his company gave us great service and it is true the food got better and better. Overall, I would say that the food was best at Leopard Hills. The accommodations were better at each location, with Lion Sands being as billed, ultra luxury.
Elephant Camp was nice, but we and other guests expected more interaction with the elephants. But perhaps our expectations were too high and elephants can not be allowed to roam around the camp. Still, Elephant Camp was fun and the main attraction of Victoria Falls was beyond belief. Overall, the best trip ever and we have been on 30 trips together. We loved coming to Africa on safari.
Top notch & fun to be with!
The staff at Southern Destinations are South African and have been to all the properties they recommend. This gives them the advantage of really knowing how to plan your individual itinerary so you experience the very best possible. Their other great talent is planning the itinerary so you feel that each & every place next on the trip is better than the last. We felt like they got to know us intimately enough to really take time & fit the itinerary to our specific needs, wants & profile. They made sure all of our private guides were top notch & fun to be with while still respecting that we were on honeymoon. We never felt rushed & if we wanted to change last minute plans there were no problems. We would highly recommend them to all of our friends & family.
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35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous honeymoon with the perfect combination of unique settings & service!
We had such an amazing honeymoon so first off, I want to say THANK YOU to Southern Destinations!!! The entire trip was really so fabulous and perfect! We absolutely loved Cape Town! It is such a beautiful city and we would love to go back one day. The One & Only Hotel was perfect. Our room was exquisite. We loved our personal guide David! He was knowledgeable, personable, & fun to be with. We had such a great time with him during our Cape Peninsula tour & wine tours. Onto Delaire Graffe-there are no words to describe how beautiful this place is. Chad & I were completely wowed upon walking into our room! The whole property is so breathtaking and it really felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We ate at both restaurants there which were great, enjoyed the spa, relaxed at the pool, and had lunch in Franschhoek. We were on the go the whole time in Cape Town, so it was really nice to get some relaxation in before heading to safari. The safari was such an incredible experience! We saw all of the Big 5 & more & loved each & every game drive, along with our tracker & ranger. Lion Sands Ivory Lodge was perfect & the rooms were so nice & spacious & service was fabulous. It was also amazing to be on the Sabie River with the elephants coming everyday. We could watch them from our plunge pool. Not much can beat that! Last but not least was our Mozambique paradise. What a perfect way to end the trip! We really loved Azura Benguerra. It is a beautiful place to stay & the service was above & beyond. The food was delicious, probably the best fish we've had. We did a private beach picnic which made us feel like we had an entire island to ourselves. We went scuba diving, horseback riding & of course, spent plenty of time relaxing! Africa is truly amazing & we really had a spectacular honeymoon. It was the perfect itinerary thanks to Southern Destinations!! We do hope to make it back there one day so will surely use them again & will recommend Southern Destinations to all of our friends & family. Best wishes, Katherine
Email Mark beckett | 50-65 years of age
amazing tour
Camille organized a faultless tour of Zambia , Jo'burg , Cape Town and more
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Email Jeremy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience from start to finish
Creating the best vacation was made extremely easy with the help of Southern Destinations. They gave their expert advice on where to go and when to fit our schedule and have us experiencing all we wanted to. Along the many country journey, we never had to wait to be picked up or transferred. Everyone was always there waiting for us with a smile. Our guides were fantastic and the accommodations were exactly what we were looking for. It was truly an amazing experience. I would like to thank Lise in particular, for helping us from start to finish, and fitting in such a great trip within our budget. Would recommend Southern Destinations to any of my friends/family heading to Africa.
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Email Michael & Marian Rhein, New City NY | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow! Brilliant! Perfect!
We had a lot of choices in choosing a travel coordinator who is well versed & experienced in South Africa and safari adventures. After a lot of research, interviews and a personal referral we chose Southern Destinations. It was the right decision. Let me also say, we are well expirienced travelers who, over the years have been through the gamete from top to bottom and this was probably one of the very best experiences we have ever had. Not only working with Southern but the entire trip itself, it was the journey of a lifetime. We worked with Ilze Fox, who I have to say is absolutely marvelous and after we described how we would like to travel, a bit about our tastes, our budget criteria, a few Skype meetings, clued right into us and suggested the best solutions. And WOW did she get it right - SPOT ON.
From the hotel in Cape Town, The Table Bay and our personal guide Charlie (was he the best) to Victoria Falls, The Royal Livingstone to the 2 Safari Camps by &Beyond it could not have been more PERFECT. Even to the point of Ilze helping us make dinner reservations in Cape Town months in advance, what more could you ask for. She even went out of her way to introduce herself in person one day at a vineyard in Stellenbosch. What a delightful young woman. Every detail of this trip was so well coordinated and planned the only thing we had to do was take our bags off the carousel at baggage claim.
A word about our Safari Camps: the 2 camps we stayed at are run by a group called &Beyond, recommended by Southern and let me say, the name lives up to what you experience, Ngala tented camp is something out of a story book that will remain in our memory bank forever. The same holds for Kirkman's Kamp although not tented is gives the feel of a traditional English lodge. The service and the bush adventures with their teams in both camps is a once in a lifetime experience. Beside up front and personal with the animals and the details that these rangers have about them, there's the morning stops for coffee and biscuits and evening cocktails watching the sun set. It doesn't get much better.
Southern Destinations, Ilze Fox and their entire team far exceeded our expectations in every way. And if you're reading this review and choose Southern Destinations, I have no doubt that you will feel the same way.