JDA Founders Patrick & Victoria Shah on safari
Journeys Discovering Africa
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- Travel Trust Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $382 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Sue | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The trip exceeded all expectations, it was wonderful, we loved it.
The only slight negatives were, the guide did not pick us up at Victoria Falls Hotel at 10.00am to take us to Llama Lodge, he came at 10.30am and we went straight to Vic Falls trip, so we didn't have chance to organise what we wanted to take with us. We didn't realise we were going across to Zambia for the whole day, in that we didn't know the rhino walk was in Zambia. We didn't know we were driving to Chobe, we thought we were flying, as we went via the airport. None of this mattered. The customer services were excellent throughout, especially on safari. would have liked more information from the guides about the weather changes and movement of animals, the floods, all year round.
US
Email Brenda & Gordon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Magical trip to Africa
From the moment we were collected from the airport until the end of our tour I can only use the word Magical because they made it that way. Our guides were amazing and catered to our every need and even our wants.
Every accomadation was top notch, every safari far exceeded our expetations and we have memories that we will cherish forever and of course thousands of photo's to show as well!
Email Deb Gilbert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Our safari was a magical journey, well thought out, planned and executed! The best ever.
While we have been on a number of safari’s and thought we might be able to book this very special one ourselves, we were SO happy we didn’t try and instead received the expert guidance from this team at Journey’s Discovering Africa. They spent time getting to know us and the kind of experience we were looking for – they answered all our crazy questions (and we had many!) They provided in-depth lists of what we would need before, during and after our trip and made the entire 10-day extravaganza perfect in every way.
The entire safari was tailored exactly to our needs – finding the gorilla family perfect for us to track in Rwanda, the right dedicated drivers and guides, our timing and our budget. Our drivers and guides in both Uganda and Rwanda were knowledgeable, friendly, shared many mysteries of the bush and enlightened us with historical facts about each of the places we visited. Oh, their knowledge of wildlife and every bird we encountered was nothing less than amazing!
The team certainly provided a memorable experience for us – booking us at lodges where staff was committed to great service, right down to cleaning our boots after monkey/gorilla trekking! Our ‘glamping’ experience at Little Elephant Camp in Uganda was a sweet end to the Uganda part of our safari. The destinations and accommodations they chose for us were the best.
The part that I knew I could never pull off, they did seamlessly. Lots of little flights to catch along the way that cut our driving time by more than half. Even the flights were pleasant and another magical experience.
We barely had to do any thinking on our own at all! We are ever so grateful for all they put into making this the best safari ever!
US
Email Campbell & Elliott | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
JDA arranged for us the trip of a lifetime which surpassed our expectations in all aspects.
From our first contact with JDA, Patrick and his team were responsive and enthusiastic partners is creating the trip of our dreams. He listened carefully to what we wanted, gave us choices, and then arranged for a trip that went like clockwork from the moment we arrived at our first destination. He was helpful with the odd details of a trip to Africa such as trip insurance and medical shots. The wildlife we saw and the walks we took were astounding. Each camp showered us with attention and provided exciting tracking and extraordinary wildlife viewing while assuring our safety. The variety of camps Patrick booked us in gave us new and different wildlife experiences each time. The food and service at each camp were fantastic and the accommodations were extremely comfortable and better. Patrick and JDA delivered exactly what we wanted and more, and we will book with JDA again anytime we wish to travel in the African continent again.
US
Email Anne Jenkins | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla Trekking- My Dream Trip
Gorilla trekking coupled with time in the Serengeti- a dream trip! The wildlife along with wonderful guides- not to mention the good food & South African wine were splendid! The tented camps in the Serengeti set the scene for truly being away from the stress of life. The mountains of Rwanda- the home of the mountain gorillas- completed the trip. The Five Volcanoes Lodge was the perfect setting for "base camp". Our guides got us to the the areas of the very famous families of gorillas. I had the time of my life on this trip. Thanks to "Journeys Discovering Africa Limited" for helping me fulfill this crazy dream!
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Email Sandra K | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Dream Trip with Flawless Service and Support
Right from the planning stages, my experiences with JDA was perfect. Grace was wonderful, and really got to know me and my preferences as we planned my trip. The activities and accomadations were simply perfect. My guide Henry was respectful, knowledgeable, and friendly. This was my second trip with JDA and once again I am so pleased I am planning a third.
Email Sue Ridley | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This was our second trip with this company and it meant that Patrick already had a feel for what we
This was our first road trip, just we two and the guide. This meant we were in one another's company most of the time really. Early morning starts, chatting at the accommodation, eating meals together, travelling 1,700 miles together. Fortunately we related to one other very well and with good will on both sides, we had an amazing trip. We enjoyed every minute of it. It was my second trip to Namibia, the first with Exodus. With the quality of guiding, the Toyota Fortuner, the standard of the lodges, the food, the climate, I felt I was seeing Namibia through different eyes. Judging a holiday by how long it stays with you when you return, we came back knowing we were to face quite a difficult time. Our holiday is helping us through that, which was the purpose of the trip in the first place.
Nico is an excellent guide, chatting away, spotting wild life and driving, multitasking with ease. He was as excited as we were when we saw something special, very committed to his country, passionate about Namibia, it's infra structure, very knowledgeable. The trip would have been totally different without him, so much depended on us getting on.
Downside, missed the early morning drives in a safari truck with coffee stop in the desert. The holiday couldn't offer us that, we know. The room at Olive Grove was a disappointing start, as was the meal in town that was recommended at the desk. A simply wonderful holiday, thankyou Patrick and Nico.
Email Bev | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Botswana birding
We spent the first 4 days of our holiday at Royal Tree Lodge in Maun. This lodge has a private game park with antelope zebra and giraffe wandering freely in the estate, with no predators so we were able to walk out safely by ourselves and introduce ourselves to the delights of Botswana birding. This was a lovely restful and relaxing part of the holiday. We then joined a trip with Letaka- a company who specialise in birding tours. We did an 11 day fully serviced mobile safari to Moremi, Khwai, Savuti and Chobe. The vehicle was an open sided 4WD-it was perfect for the terrain and gave us easy open viewing. The vehicle had a refrigerated box for drinks which was much appreciated, as were the daily morning stops for coffee and evening sundowners-always with good bird and animal spotting opportunities. The camping was comfortable and well equipped. We were surprised to find we were the only travellers on this particular trip. Our guide was fantastic-he was knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly and the other 3 camp staff were also great-organised, efficient, cheerful and accommodating and we had a wonderful time. We had plenty of opportunities for photography as well as watching the animals and birds and observing behaviour. Overall our holiday was well organised and lived up to our expectations. We recommend this trip to keen birders and wildlife lovers who might be looking for a different sort of holiday to the usual lodges and hotels.
CH
Email K + R | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda, Safari, Chimpanzee-, Rhino- and Gorilla Trekking
We were absolutely happy with Journeys Discovering Africa. They whole staff was amazing and Patrick set up a great programme for our Honeymoon in Uganda. We can really recommend to book your Trip with them, it was perfectly organized and nothing to complain about! We felt very safe all the time and had our best experiences with them!
We just had an amazing trip to Ruanda, everything was perfectly prepared and choosen.
Thanks to the Team who hepled us to organise a perfect short trip to Kigali and the volcanoes mountains in Ruanda. We were very happy about the Service and the whole trip. We just had an amazing time and we come back - for sure!