US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lion Sands Game Reserve was an unforgettable experience!
During February 2011, I stayed at the Lion Sands River Lodge. I had no particular expectations, having never been on a safari trip, but this destination turned out to be one of my absolute all-time favorites! I was amazed from the moment of arrival. The Lodge is beautiful and fits perfectly into the surroundings. The private villas are luxurious yet give you the feeling that you are right out among the animals, which in fact is true, as the Lodge is not fenced in. The staff set the high mark for personal service and spoiling guests. The food was delicious and attentively served by our personal butler, whose desire was to provide us with just what we wanted. In addition to a personal butler, we were also assigned a night guide (for seeing us safely back to our villa after dark), a ranger (for the game drives), and a game tracker. The morning and evening game drives were exciting. Our tracker and ranger knew just where to find the animals and when possible, tried to give us not just a sighting but a fuller experience. We saw the "Big Five" in the first day, plus so many more fascinating animals, right down to the not-so-small Golden Orb spiders. We had the unique experience of following a female leopard for an hour as she walked about, sharpened her claws, stalked prey, and seemed virtually unaffected by our presence. Throughout our stay, the staff did things to surprise and delight us. As an example, on an evening game drive we stopped unexpectedly in the bush to find a gorgeous white-tableclothed bush dinner set up for us under the stars around a bonfire. Another example, our ranger and tracker pulled an impromptu bar from the Land Rover and served us mixed drinks along the riverbank, while we watched the hippos lazily playing in the water as the sun went down. Lion Sands was an unforgettable experience and I can't wait to go back!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by Jo H.
My rating is based on Lion Sands, having not been to other destinations in South Africa.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by guybaxendale
Vast country with a huge variety of wildlife and varying landscapes
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Mark Hancock
What else is there to say? The 'daddy' of safari destinations with lots and lots of wildilfe spolit only slightly but quite a lot of safari vehicles, which is understandble.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fanstastic experience which exceeded our expectations.
My wife, 14 year old son and I stayed at Samburu Intrepids camp and were treated like royalty from the moment we arrived to the moment we boarded our safari plane to leave. I cannot think of anything we didn't like about the camp. We had a safari jeep and a guide, whose name was Jelly, all to ourselves. Jelly was excellent and went out of his way to find the animals for us. Before every game drive he would ask if there was any particular animal we wanted to see and he never failed to find the animals we mentioned. The scenery was beautiful with hills and escarpments and the wildlife was plentiful but we often felt like we were the only people on safari there. Usually only when there was a 'special' sighting would we see other safari vehicles and we sometimes had these special sightings all to ourselves. Like the time we watched 3 cheetahs from the same family behaving aggresively towards another lone cheetach, a video of which is on YouTube. I have rated every aspect of the safari as 5 stars apart from the wildlife which I gave 4 and that is only because we also went to the Masai Mara where the wildlife was even more plentiful.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kenya by Mark Hancock
We love Kenya as a safari destination. We've been twice and wouldn't hesitate to return.
Review about Sabi Sand Game Reserve by Drew C
You will never get an experience like this almost anywhere else in the world. Off roading that gets you side by side with the wildlife!
Phenominal
This was by far the greatest travel experience of my life and probably the most incredible hotel I've ever stayed in. The staff were very friendly and extra accommodating, the early morning safaris were out of this world. From what I understand, this is one of the only places on earth that you can get this close to the animals.
Review about South Africa by Drew C
South Africa is beautiful. Cape Town is amazing but the Safaris in Sabi Sands will literally change your life.
Review about Kenya by puumaya
Amazing diversity and for the most part, the park infrastructure is great.