South Africa Travel Guide

South Africa is a great country full of beautiful nature ánd culture. These two make this country a great destination for a holiday. Just make sure you have some time to enjoy the different parts of this country and don't rush to see as much as possible in a short time. It's much better to really enjoy two or three places instead of seeing everything shortly. My ideal trip would be a week in Kruger (including a wilderness walk!), visiting Drakensberg and/or Blyde River Canyon and driving (part of) the Gardenroute. Please don't forget to do a township tour to see this part of the country as well and understand it a bit better. SA is beautiful, but there are still many challenges especially for the poor people. Please pay attention to this part of the country as well. The beggars on the street can be annoying, but take the time to listen to them and treat them like any other human. You don't support them by giving money, spend your money on the people who work for it instead. That's how you can really support the people and the country. And don't forget to enjoy! :-)

In every park you can find different wonderful landscape and attraction. Big five, smallfive, incredible vegetation and flowers. Everypark and reserve is well manteined with all facilities. You can drive almost everywhere and do night safariwith good guides.

Where the Wild Things Still Are

My wife and I had an excellent safari experience, with knowledgable guides, nice accomodations, and good food. We will never forget the experience of being in the bush and seeing all the creatures we have dreamed of. Sadly, we fear that wildlife is in danger of disappearing and hope that all steps will be taken to preserve it.

Once in a lifetime experience that reminds you why life is worth living.

We visited South Africa as a family trip and are now scheming how to make it an annual event that all in the family can attend. A trip intended to expose my mom and my oldest two nephews to international travel and it was an absolute success. PaperJet Travel and Justin Perumal made our trip everything that we could have ever imagined...and more!! They organized our safari at Kruger which was an amazing time of bonding as we learned new animals and birds, tracked the Big 5 (all of which we saw at least twice), and were surrounded by here’s of buffalos and elephants. Seeing the animals in their natural habitat was breathtaking. Marka, our guide at MalaMala Game Reserve, was extremely knowledgeable and took the time to find every animal we desired to see and to ensure that we fully enjoyed our time. We also spent time in Cape Town and Johannesburg where the people are ridiculously loving and absolutely amazing. The hotels we stayed in were more than accommodating and the staff ensures that we enjoyed our stay by going above and beyond their duties. South Africa is a beautiful place, full of culture and beauty that everyone should experience at least once.

Compare Kruger Park with Sabi Sand (Private game reserve) I would only go private in future.

The game reserves were excellent and showcase Africa's unique wildlife. Spent 2 days in Kruger and 2 days in Sabi Sand. There was more game in Kruger but a greater variety in Sabi Sand. I would only go to a private game reserve in future. Accommodation and food were far better in the private reserve as well. Weather was mixed - cold at first but much hotter later. We also visited Johannesburg and O.R. Tambo airport has to be the worst international airport in the world. There are no signs anywhere to assist you in checking in and we had to go to the domestic terminal to check in for an international flight to Zimbabwe. Compare this with King Shaka in Durban where for every flight, the check-in desk is shown on a very large information board. We also visited Cape Town. Trying to go up Table Mountain as individuals is almost impossible. There was a queue which took 3 hours to get onto the cable car and another queue that took another 3 hours just to buy a ticket. We gave up eventually. Same issue with trying to go to Robben Island. Unless you are prepared to pay an exorbitant amount for a private tour, you can't get on a boat. Again, we had to give up. The V&A Waterfront is well advertised but in the end is only a shopping centre with some restaurants - quite disappointing. For an Australian, the prices in South Africa seem very cheap and it's a good place to go for a holiday once. Not enough different things to do to keep returning though but I would recommend it to anyone who has never been.

Very cool

Good people, good food, good safari. It was great days.

The safari was exciting and very interesting with very good guides.

It was my 2nd time in SA and the 1st time for my wife, so when talking about safaris I can compare the Kruger park with Pilanesberg which I think it's more preferable with a shorter ride from Jo'burg and also less driving around in the park to spot the animals.
The weather was perfect and the two places in Capetown and Jo'burg(Sandton) were we stayed at, were very good both of them.
Food was awesome and everything else during our time in SA worked out very well.....SA it is a highliht itself:-)

What an amazing animal adventure, one of my favorite trips!

We went primarily to see the wildlife in their natural habitat and the trip surpassed our expectations. The animals came so close to our vehicle and were not bothered by our presence at all. We got to see them behaving as they do, protecting their babies, protecting their kill, playing, eating, and sleeping. January is a good time to see the babies. The big cats are as awesome as you expect, the elephants are a delight to watch play in the mud, the giraffes are elegant, and who knew warthogs could be so cute! We did see the big five but those and the vervet monkeys and baboons were our favorites. I did not know what to expect with accommodations or food, but both were fabulous! Viewing animals outside your bedroom window is really cool and they fed us more delicious fresh, food than we could ever eat. The service was outstanding everywhere we went. People are friendly and helpful and our guides, Sebastion and Armand, and tracker, Rifos, were extremely knowledgeable. We hated to leave! Six days was really not enough to see and do all that South Africa has to offer. I recommend staying 10 days to 2 weeks if you want to get enough of animals, scenery and culture. We could have spent more time viewing animals and we missed out on museums and culture. Lastly, save room for the South African wine!

AMAZING experience!!

We were a family of 4 and used Viva Safaris with a stay at Tremisana Lodge. We did a 5 day/ 4 night safari. It was the most amazing experience from beginning to end!! We saw all the “Big 5” and so much more ! Tremisana Lodge was wonderful. The grounds were rustic and beautiful , the food excellent, and staff amazing.

Viva Safaris was beyond our expectations. The safari guides/ drivers were beyond knowledgeable and our itinerary perfect. The itinerary kept us busy, but with the needed downtime in between. It was the perfect balance of activities. From Bush walks, game drives, and animal rehabilitation centers, there was so much to do and see!! We would highly recommend Viva Safaris and a stay are tremisana Lodge!!

GREAT ADVICE AND EXPERIENCE 10/10

I was connected with Walter Kohrs thru Trip Advisor in August of 2017 for a Safari in July of 2018. Walter asked me many questions and wanted to understand what I was looking for before making any recommendations on what part of Africa, budget and type of things my family wanted to do. We decided on South Africa and specifically a Bush Camp in SABI SANDS.

We ended up at Nottens Bush Camp which Walter booked along with Airport Transfers to the lodge. Everything exceeded my expectations... I highly recommend Walter and his excellent knowledge and service he provides.. We traveled from the Orange County Ca with 17 year old twins who were not that excited to go initially . They both LOVED the Safari and the attention to detail provided by Walter and Nottens Camp.