African Welcome Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 1999)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $121 to $464 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Amy Gonzales | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kathi and Africa Welcome Safaris were the BEST!
This was an epic trip on so many levels, but a "lion's share" of the credit goes to Kathi Simmons and her team. She worked with us to customize an itinerary that fit our time and interests perfectly (Cape Town, Franschoek, and Timbavati Reserve).
I researched a LOT as this was our first South Africa trip. No one else came close in terms of value AND responsiveness. Every local guide was fabulous, and exceeded our expectations. We also loved the App that gave us detailed personalized info for every part of the trip.
Having traveled extensively in every part of the world, Kathi is the very best we have ever worked with. Exceptional from start to finish.
Bonuses: she worked with us on finding a great apartment vs hotel in Cape Town in the perfect location; got us upgraded to an incredible villa in Timbavati Private Reserve, added in an wonderful surprise visit to a beautiful winery / restaurant on our day trip to Cape of Good Hope - to name just a few.
SG
Email TC | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
African Welcome Safaris is professional, experienced, responsive and patient!
Kathi from African Welcome Safaris was very responsive in our communications through emails, even through the many iterations of questions and follow-up questions, to tailor an itinerary that suited our party. She was very patient as well, in answering all our ancillary questions. She also ensured to communicate one person's dietary restrictions to all the lodgings.
The tour itself was fantastic. The lodgings were as advertised. The game drives were a great experience, and our Serengeti guide/driver Bariki was extremely good and thoughtful. We saw the big 5 and more, and managed to experience a live cheetah kill.
SG
Email Amy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personalized, attention to details and pleasant communication
We had a great trip! Everything was smooth ( all check-ins ) and personable. Reece from African Welcome Safaris was attentive to all our queries and arranged for all that we needed. We left with a good taste of our safari adventure and look forward to more in future.
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Email Linda Marquez | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kathi stood out from the crowd providing us with unparalleled service end-to-end.
Kathi, with African Welcome Safaris is a skilled tour operator with a deep understanding of her profession. She was willing to listen to our preferences to create a custom package with the best possible rates. She took the time to understand our needs and budget and provided us with a hassle-free trip of a lifetime to Cape Town and Sabi Sands private reserve where we saw all of the Big 5 plus leopards daily. She organized our accommodations, meals, sightseeing and transportation efficiently. Her restaurant recommendations were excellent.
Our accommodation in Sabi Sands was luxury at it's finest. Kathi provided us with an extraordinary trip end-to-end by arranging for all of our airport, hotel and tour pickups and drop offs and first class accommodations that we would never have been able to find on our own. Our drivers were on time arriving in clean, comfortable transportation with courteous and friendly attitudes.
One of our internal flights experienced a weather delay. I contacted Kathi and she answered my text immediately and stayed with us constantly until the weather cleared and we were on our way again. She even contacted the airport and gave us more up to the minute news before the airline provided it.
I got to know Kathi through our numerous conversations where she displayed a quick sense of humor along with thoughtful travel assistance.
My husband and I have traveled throughout the world and rank this trip at the top of our most memorable and hope one day to travel back to Africa as it is a truly magical place and African Welcome Safaris made it all happen.
SG
Email Chiew | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional and Outstanding
My wife and I had an wonderful tour and safari experiences in South Africa.
Kathi planned our itinerary to perfection. Every detail from initial contact, all through actual tour was carefully thought out and seamlessly organized; greatly exceeded our expectations.
Our guide in Cape Town and ranger in safari were very knowledgeable, highly experienced and passionate about South Africa's history and wildlife which made our experience special.
Stayed at luxurious hotel in Cape Town and beautiful safari lodge in Sabi Sabi Reserve with sightings of different animals throughout the day. Able to see Big Five up close along with many other animals was amazing.
We went home with memories that will last a lifetime.
Highly recommend African Welcome Safaris(Kathi) for unforgettable trip to South Africa.
Email Penelope Weller | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Knowledgeable, responsive and enthusiastic with great attention to detail
Kathi from African Welcome Safaris put together an amazing itinerary in Cape Town, Rwanda and Tanzania.
From the tours and tour operators to the accomodation, everything was perfectly organised to suit our interests and needs.
Kathi was flexible and responded promptly to any adjustments in the itinerary during the planning stages- and there were many!
The whole trip was perfectly organised and went off without a hitch.
We cannot thank Kathi enough for arranging one of the most amazing and memorable holidays for our family.
We are all ready planning our next trip to Africa, and of course we will be contacting Kathi from African Welcome Safaris to organise this.
Email Philippe De Chazal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very efficient, prompt responses and follow up
We planned a safari at the Kruger gate and also at Nyala resort last August and I discussed my budget and asked them to propose a 7-day stay there. Alex Simon was very available proposing many options when it did not fit our Budget or liking. Finally in a matter of days we had our holiday ready and the experience there was fabulous. We did not encounter any problems of reservation and all went flawlessly. I highly recommend African Welcome Safari to anyone wanting a safe and impeccable journey. He also accompaneied us by whatsapp messages on our schedules.
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Email Douglas Harrison | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful adventure
We stayed at Kings Camp Timbavati and the service was amazing. African Welcome Safaris made the planning hassle free and they responded to my questions promptly. I definitely recommend their services when booking your dream African vacation
HK
Email Tom P. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personalized, caring, knowledgeable, responsive, seamless - what more do you want in an agent?
We were a party of 12, ages 6-80, special occasion trip, first time on safari. We reached out to Kathi on a friend’s recommendation and bottom-line, our experience was flawless. Our itinerary was 6 nights Kruger (3n public, 3n on reserve), 3 nights Victoria Falls with day trip to Botswana. Cannot emphasize how much of a difference Kathi and team made - self-booking for a party of this size was a no-go - you need an expert who can hold enough seats on those non-daily, connecting flights, enough rooms at each hotel, arrange reliable, local transfer companies etc., and pull the trigger in one go. Kathi and team took all the stress out of what was quickly turning into a logistical nightmare. And, I got the feeling the $$ was the same or cheaper than self-booking! Our experience with AWS fully converted me to the value of a good agent.
For those who want to read more on our service experience:
- Highly personalized, lots of attention to detail, always thinking ahead, proactively suggesting what is/isn’t suitable for kids and grandparents, and proactively sharing important details with our hotels in advance.
- Highly responsive and knowledgeable: every e-mail replied to promptly within 1-2 days; WhatsApp support throughout the trip with check-ins. Given our party spanned three generations, we had lots of questions around health considerations, travel requirements, hotel swimming pools in winter, suitability of vehicles and road/trail conditions etc., all of which Kathi patiently addressed in detail.
- Seamless: minor issues and schedule adjustments were handled on-the-fly immediately.
- Professional proposals to help our decision-making (and get everyone really excited!): we received beautiful slideshows with itinerary day-by-days, hotel photos, ideas for side activities to give us a sense of what to expect; all documents (tickets, vouchers, receipts) meticulously uploaded onto the TravelKey app once finalized. If tech is not your thing, all docs came in duplicate over e-mail for old-fashioned printing.
- Value: as above, means something different for everyone but the important thing is the whole family felt like the trip was super reasonable in hindsight.. what more do you want?
Thanks for everything Kathi & team. Please don’t retire anytime soon!
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Email Jill | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Service
Kathi was able to tailor our vacation based on our time, interests, and budget. She was amazing to work with because she replied quickly to our questions and requests, she was able to accommodate changes due to weather and she made our vacation an absolute trip of a lifetime!
