African Welcome Safaris
- Office 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:
- $123 to $469 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
DE
Email Bert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari ever and wonderful organized Cape Town stay
Kathi from African Welcome Safari was wonderful. Each Email was answered immediately and she took care that everything worked very well. She even called the lodge to tell them about our food preferences. The private tours organized by African Welcome in and around Cape Town were perfect. I can not imagine anything what could have been done better. The Safari Lodge recommended by Kathi was incredible, wonderful rooms, very private, great game drives, niche walking tours in the bush and great food prepared by an excellent chef.
For my next travel to Africa I will for sure contact African Welcome Safari again to organize my trip.
CA
Email Marilyn P-S | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A stress free, imaginative, superorganized, without a hitch, magnifcent vacation!!!!!
Kathi Simon was an absolute pleasure to work with. As I live in Canada and was concerned that communicating by phone might be a problem, I discovered that she was more than willing to accommodate the time difference and call me when it was convenient for me. She was so warm and patient with any questions or concerns that I had and took the time to research any and every hotel or activity that I was considering, and got back to me within a day or two. She was always aware and concerned about my budget and thankfully abided closely to all my desires and requirements. This was a trip of a lifetime for my husband and I as we were travelling with our adult daughters, knowing that this might be the last trip they might be able to join us on as a foursome. Kathi not only fulfilled her obligations as a travel agent but cemented our relationship for any future travel to South Africa for us as well as any of our friends and relations. She was superb!
Every hotel and lodge we stayed at was fantastic and enjoyable, although I have to add that along with the wonderful environment, service (and food!) that each accommodation offered was the added bonus of the friendliness and warmth of the South African people wherever we went. The highlight of our trip was our four days at the Dulini Lodge in Sabi Sands. I have never experienced the wonder of staying anywhere of this caliber. The cabins were luxurious, each with plunge pools, magnificent furnishings and an outdoor shower with utter privacy. We were taken care of by Given, a lovely man who was our butler. The two safaris we went on each day were an exquisite introduction to the Africa of one's imagination. Our tracker, Martin was amazingly talented and our ranger Fred was so knowledgeable that all the information he passed on to us is indelibly inscribed in our memories to the extent that we still talk about what we learned. I must add that the owners as well as the staff of the Dulini were constantly making sure that all was up to snuff. The food the lodge provided was absolutely magnificent, with more than enough choices to fulfill anyone's desires including my vegetarian daughter!
Every domestic flight was arranged by Kathi beforehand and there was always a guide patiently waiting for our arrival anywhere we landed. One of our guides, Louis van Niekerk, who accompanied us for two weeks of our three week tour was unbelievably knowledgeable and had answers to almost every question about South Africa the four of us asked of him. To top it off, he was such a lovely man that he endeared himself to all of us enough to consider him family!!!
My husband and I have travelled the world over many years, and I have to say that this was one of the most flawless and enjoyable adventures we have taken thanks to Kathi and African Welcome Safaris.
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.
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!
Email Ros | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hassle-free at every stage
Kathi Solomon was my contact at African Welcome Safaris. At every stage of planning the trip, her communications were clear and thorough. All paperwork was complete and competently handled. Once there, the drivers she organised for Cape Town and for a day trip to Tshwane were reliable and had good knowledge of the areas we visited. Vehicles were clean and roadworthy. The trip also included a few days at Savanna Lodge at Sabi Sand. The friend I travelled with had been to the safari lodge before on Kathi's recommendation and everything about it was nothing short of fantastic. All up, the trip was memorable for all the right reasons and African Welcome Safaris certainly did their bit to make it so.
US
Email Beth | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Planning a Safari? Let African Welcome Safaris Take Care Of You!
Kathi, at African Welcome Safaris, helped us plan the vacation of our dreams! She arranged everything from our custom itinerary, to transportation, to luxury accommodations. Our entire trip was amazing! From our arrival to our departure, Kathi anticipated everything we would need. The lodges, food, guides, and game drives were so much more than we expected.
CA
Email Paul Kolycius | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A unique and truly rewarding customized tour with a personal approach that suited us perfectly!
My wife and I were most impressed with the quick response to our late request for a booking on the Blue Train from Pretoria to Cape Town. We feared that we had missed the deadline. Not only did Kathi at African Welcome Safaris book our tickets but she also assisted in arranging our Cape Town and vicinity tours, a Garden Route self drive tour (5 glorious days discovering hidden gems), a glorious 4 nights at the Oyster Box in Durban and all the internal flight arrangements for connecting flights. During our whole time in South Africa whenever we had a question we would just WhatsApp her and we would have an answer and a solution within 10 minutes. Now that's service! At one stage on the garden route we forgot a small black backpack at one of the lodges. They contacted African Welcome Safaris and Kathi called us within 30 minutes of having left. We always felt looked after. Not only did our trip live up to our expectations it exceeded them.
CH
Email Magali Nieto | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great, professional,
We had a wonderful time in South Africa thanks to you. We wanted to thank you and congratulate you for the quality of your services. You have organized this trip extremely well. Everything was perfect: the car, the sites, the hotels, the guesthouses, the restaurants, the suggestions of visit. The people were kind, considerate, helpful. Everything was of quality and met our expectations. We especially loved Gorah Elephant Camp and our last guesthouse where we were surprised to discover that it was owned by a fellow Swiss.
your travel document by computer were really very Professional, clear and helpfull
Dear Alex, you have clearly identified our needs and we thank you once for the organization of this journey that will remain etched in our memory (we still have stars in our eyes and in our heart)
We wish you a nice continuation and will not hesitate to recommend them to anyone around us who wants to visit your beautiful country.
CH
Email Cinthia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Memories for a life time - Thank you
I never write reviews, caught up in life, family, work, friends... but this time I thought I would because our trip to South Africa was extraordinary thanks to African Welcome Safaris and Kathi's perfect planning and availability.
African Welcome Safaris was recommended by friends and we are recommending their services too.
We travelled as a family, four adults all together (parents and 2 "kids" 20-25).
We were interested in different aspects of the country, the history, the people, the wines, discovering the landscape, the nature... so based in this mosaic request, Kathi prepared an itinerary that allowed each of us to discover what we were looking for.
One of the highlights of our trip was taking the Rovos train from the Cap to Pretoria. I can only recommend this unique experience.
We favoured boutique hotels and two that stood out were the Dock house hotel located close to the waterfront in the Cap and the Parkwood hotel in Johannesburg. The trips to Table mountain and to the Cap of good hope allowed us to be in the middle of nature and a nice break from the city.We also very much enjoyed high tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel.
Robben Island is a must of course. Taking the time to visit the Apartheid museum and the prison in Johannesburg where the Supreme Court was built is a heavy load for an afternoon but essential to understand some of the aspect of South African history and culture. Of course, taking in the history of South Africa over the past centuries is most helpful in order to understand (if possible) the 20th century and the present. One last recommendation: Shumbalala Lodge for a safari in the Thornybush Private Reserve - a fantastic and most welcoming place. Thank you Kathi and the team of African Welcome Safaris for memories that will last a life time.
Trip of a lifetime -the beauty , the adventure , the experience of South Africa !
After extensive research of safari companies in South Africa we chose African Welcome Safaris and I could not be happier. Kathi Simon responded to all our inquiries promptly and thoroughly. She was able to find a great resort (Simbambilli) that would meet our exact needs. She walked us through the process with ideas and information that was very useful In addition to booking the safari she recommended that we stay four nights in Cape Town and provided private tours for three days. The Alfred and Victoria hotel was right on the harbor with beautiful views. The surrounding area was very colorful with performers and plenty of delicious restaurants to chose from. Our guide Graham was extremely informative and enthusiastic about Cape Town and the surrounding area. He provided us with local color and was sensitive to our needs. He was amazing! Leaving Cape Town we traveled to Sabi Sands and stayed at Simbambilli. The atmosphere, the service and especially the safari rides with Jaben and Rodney were exciting and exceeded our expectations. Ashley coordinates everything you need flawlessly . The safari rides were full of adventure tracking animals and finding them - white rhino, lionesses, leopards, giraffes, elephants, zebras, hyenas, warthogs, impalas , hippos etc- was breathtaking and so informative. Relaxing at The lodge with the view of the waterhole where impalas, elephants, warthogs, baboons to name a few come to drink never grows old. South Africa was as special as we dreamed and this tour let us revel in this beauty. This was a wonderful trip of a lifetime that we will always treasure.