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The Luxury Safari Company
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- Air Travel Organisers' Licensing
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
-
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- Price Range:
- $1,034 to $3,877 ppper person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Lorraine and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Head and shoulders above the competition
We have just returned from a wonderful family safari holiday that Rose and her company organised for us to Mauritius, Tswalu and Nottens in Sabi Sands, South Africa. It was quite a complicated itinerary but every bit of it worked like clockwork. With a lot of research and some experience of safaris we had both a clear idea of some of the things we wanted and a good idea of what would constitute value for money. We had an ample budget but wanted a lot for that money. We made initial calls to five safari operators including Rose. The first one was a well known safari company which we had used before but the person we spoke to gave us a quote which was approximately 10k over the top, partly because of the ridiculous logistics - he was certainly enthusiastic about Africa but just a real novice at putting together a trip in a sensible way eg at least two redundant internal flights - multiply that by four people and it's throwing away a couple of thousand. Plus we had to point out to him the basic stuff like "aren't they doing a stay 4 nights and get free flights offer". The second one we talked to was a real expert on one region (and I have used their website a lot for research) but more enthusiastic about the region than listening to what we wanted (but well done to them on their transparent pricing policy). The third one was just a waste of time - peeling back their non-transparent pricing made it clear that they were in fact advertising a safari which they couldn't deliver at the price - a really tacky approach. The fourth one was a good company but although clearly expert in the regions their itinerary came across as indulging their fantasy trip rather than listening to what we wanted eg it may be possible to fly across Mozambique by light aircraft hops to avoid a Joburg transfer but why on earth would a family want to do that especially when it costs multi-thousands of pounds and takes 12 hours?
Which brings us to Rose. These are the reasons Rose was just so far above the others:
1) Rose is a real expert - she knows her stuff on safaris, locations, destinations etc
2) Rose is what a really good travel agent of any type should be ie she listens to you, talks to you, chats about what you want and what you like and what you are hoping for and then uses her knowledge to suggest things that are useful or appropriate or interesting. Maybe you won't take up her suggestions but you will feel they were useful suggestions or ideas for you to think about or give you a better benchmark.
3) Rose is sensible and organises your safari in a way which makes logistical sense eg canny use of internal flights so you don't spend your time and money taking 5 flights when you could have done it in 2 ( OK, I know this doesn't sound so difficult but you really should have seen what our first well-known safari operator suggested!)
4) Rose isn't afraid to persist with a suggestion if she really thinks you will like it and will come up with good ideas to show you how it can be possible in your budget. Nottens in the Sabi Sands was Rose's suggestion and she showed us how our plans and budget could accommodate it - that turned out to be one of the highlights of the holiday and a real improvement on the plan we first put to her, although I had researched our first plan so carefully.
5) Rose's pricing is transparent - you know what the prices are and you can readily see if you are getting a good deal (and yes, from our experience you are - The Luxury Safari Company was the only operator we spoke to who demonstrably was giving us a better deal than we could have organised ourselves).
6)Rose doesn't stop thinking about you when you have paid for the holiday eg sent us information about South Africa's new potential requirements for birth certificates for under 18s to make sure we weren't caught out by a sudden change of policy.
Thank you, Rose and we will be in touch again!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Honeymoon
Rose at The Luxury Safari Company was recommended to me and I'm so glad that I contacted her! I had never been to Africa before and so wanted someone who could give me some guidance and personal perspective vs a larger tour operator. Rose really cares about her clients and was very patient listening to my requirements/budget and came up with several different options for me to consider. I felt that Rose had really considered my requests and she came up with the perfect itinerary for us (Amara Selous followed by Essque Zalu in Zanzibar). We had a slight issue at Zanzibar airport and I called Rose who dealt with the issue immediately and efficiently. I would highly recommend speaking with Rose before you book your safari as her knowledge and enthusiasm made booking my honeymoon a real pleasure.
A personal touch helped create a perfect honeymoon
Rose from The Luxury Safari Company was most helpful in contacting me to discuss various options for our honeymoon, and was very open and honest in her recommendations based on our budget and desires. She very efficiently amended booking details due to unforeseen circumstances without blinking an eye. We booked with The Luxury Safari Company with utmost confidence based on her dealings with us, and this turned out to be well placed confidence - the trip was seamless and was exactly as she had described (in fact, better!). We will recommend Rose to anyone looking to book an African tailored safari experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reassuringly Brilliant.
Although we wouldn't normally use a travel agent, when we were booking our South African honeymoon we wanted some assistance to ensure we had the best time possible. Rose Hipwood was the perfect person. She listened to everything that we wanted and came up with a fabulous schedule. We were especially impressed when we ran into a problem on our way back when our flights were cancelled due to the weather. The people at the airport were hopeless. However, Rose took our very late call and sorted things out for us. We were so impressed that when we wanted to go on a special holiday again this year we got in touch and were impressed all over again. Rose came up with a couple of spectacular options tailor made for us. We eventually decided to go with the Namibia option. It was wonderful. We contacted her during our holiday again as we decided to make a change midway. Again she was incredibly helpful and changes went without a hitch. It is worth mentioning as well that we are probably a travel agents nightmare as we have a lot of demands and know what we like and are unwilling to compromise. Rose was probably in touch with us every day as we had such a hard time deciding which trip we wanted. All our queries were answered promptly and Rose was happy to discuss anything and everything that I came up with to ask. Nothing was too much trouble and we definitely felt that the extra mile was gone to make us happy. Cannot recommend this company enough.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really helpful,from deciding where and when to go,all the way to final departure and return itinary
Rose was amazing. She understood I had young children to entertain and consider,Coped with my healthy but not luxurious budget! I had enough options to make a decision but not too many to confuse me. Somehow rose Sourced brilliant flight and connection times and she even managed to wish me happy birthday and happy holiday!
Email Mr & Mrs Simon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Off to Africa Again
We have done many safari’s to Africa and India but in 2010 decided to look for a small independent travel agent instead of one of the large operators – we chose The Luxury Safari Company!
We have now done safari’s and holidays to Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Mozambique all with Rose. Her knowledge of Africa is second to none – what she doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing!
Her organisational skills are excellent and she always comes up with an answer for what sometimes looks impossible!
We are off to Africa again in March to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary all with Rose’s help! The trip sounds amazing and we can’t wait!!
Rose seems to know instinctively what we like or don’t like and with a few little extra touches along the way that’s what makes it so special, she definitely speaks our language!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A hidden gem within many a rogue Travel agent
My boyfriend and I have always wanted to go to Africa (specifically Kenya) however as it was our first time we did not know where to go and found that many agents out there are just out to get your money as soon as possible and show little interest in making it the once In a life time experience it should be. They also always seemed to fail to understand what we wanted which my boyfriend found particularly frustrating. At The Luxury Safari Company you get professional advice from people who live Africa in every way and are completely passionate about making your trip as amazing as possible.
Rose led us through all the options explaining the pros and cons of each place. Her knowledge of the lodges is quite remarkable and we therefore completely trusted her to put together an unforgettable and unique itinerary. Rose did not let us down and gave us a holiday which we will not only never forget but also probably never beat. One thing I dont doubt is that if anybody can beat it it will be the team at The Luxury Safari Company. We are both so greatful to all the team for such a memorable experience and we cant wait to call you again and book our next holiday.
Email Jamie O | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Outstanding and Truly Personal Service
It had always been a dream for both my wife and I to go on safari and thanks to The Luxury Safari Company, this became a reality!
Right from the outset Rose listened to my requirements and was able to produce a truly personalised itinerary that allowed us to experience everything we wanted, whilst still representing exceptional value for money. Throughout the whole planning and booking process her advice and knowledge of the continent were outstanding and I was constantly impressed both with the quality of information offered and the high level of service provided. She was always on hand to answer any questions I had, both throughout and after the booking process, and as a result this made organising the trip simple and a real pleasure!
On the ground itself, we visited Duma Tau (Linyanti) and Jacana (Okavango Delta) in Botswana, and Livingstone, Zambia and everything ran like clockwork from the off. The camps were exceptional and the little extra surprises that Rose had organised really made us feel appreciated. Overall, our experience of Africa was one that will live with us for the rest of our lives and I would thoroughly recommend The Luxury Safari Company to anyone wanting to see this amazing continent!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding - knowledgable, efficient and an agent we felt we could trust.
We dealt with Rose who patiently went to a lot of trouble to arrange our itinerary: beach in Zanzibar, time in Nairobi, Shaba and Mara safaris in Kenya and a few days exploring the rock hewn churches of Lalibela. Everything was wonderful and all connections etc. very smooth. Rose was efficient, responded to emails very quickly and we really felt we could trust her to do a good job - and she did. We would highly recommend The Luxury Safari Company.
Email Michael and Janey Richardson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best honeymoon there could be
We went on our honeymoon with The Luxury Safari Company after being recommended by a friend if ours who have been on holiday with them before - we weren't disappointed, we still dream about it now.
We started in Botswana which was in green season, all that meant was that everything was half price, but we had exceptional game viewing, we saw everything and had some magical elephant experiences. We also walked, canoed and took a night drive where we saw porcupine.
We then moved onto Azura in Southern Mozambique which is out of this world - we've never seen a beach like it. Every arrangement went smoothly and every camp knew a little about what we liked and what we wanted.
Rose had also included a few honeymoon treats which we were most grateful for. We're dying to go back to Africa with Rose soon, maybe next year!
Disclaimer
- All corporate and/or tour info is provided by The Luxury Safari Company, not SafariBookings
- The tours offered by The Luxury Safari Company are subject to their terms & conditions