​User Reviews – South Africa

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 551-560 of 1,114 Reviews
Enrique Del Castillo   –  
United States US
Visited: March 2019 Reviewed: Apr 6, 2019

Email Enrique Del Castillo  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Wonderful First Safari Experience
Overall rating
5/5

I would definitely recommend South Africa as a first safari experience. Pembury Tours did a fantastic job...highly recommended!

Paul   –  
United States US
Visited: March 2019 Reviewed: Apr 16, 2019

Email Paul  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Quick but Great
Overall rating
5/5

I only had time for about 24 hours in the Kruger Park but it was great. Great accommodations and staff, wildlife was good but I was expecting to see more but I was not there during their best viewing season. The accommodations before I went into the park was also amazing, wish I had more time at all of the places.

When talking to other people visiting, they all enjoyed staying at multiple campsites throughout their trip because different parts of the park have different experiences.

Lauren Carter   –  
Australia AU
Visited: March 2019 Reviewed: Apr 24, 2019

Email Lauren Carter  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excellent, once in a life-time experience
Overall rating
5/5

Very knowledgeable and friendly guides. We were lucky enough to see all of the big 5. Fortunate weather. Incredible food. One issue with the panoramic route day trip but very much so resolved, thank you.

Annon   –  
Namibia NA
Visited: April 2019 Reviewed: Apr 25, 2019

Email Annon  |  35-50 years of age

SOUTH AFRICA
Overall rating
4/5

Recently went to South Africa for a week.

Apart from the bad roads, worn down farms/buildings next to the road, rubbish everywhere, just like in Namibia, in some towns, and the fact that we were almost hijacked in Kimberly, I was pleasantly surprised!

We got great and friendly service from everyone right from the start, good food and drinks, exept from one place, best/affordable accommodation, clean malls, clean bathrooms, the weather was perfect and from the animals that we could see was a nice experience!

We visited a total of plus minus 6 towns. Every town is different. Every landscape is different.

Greg McTaggart   –  
Ghana GH
Visited: April 2019 Reviewed: Apr 26, 2019

Email Greg McTaggart  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Wonderful experience for young and old.
Overall rating
5/5

6 of us from 67 to 8 traveled to Kruger NP and has a most wonderful experience. It was easy to organise the trip in the first place, everything fell into place, logistically and we managed to see the big 5 all in one day along with numerous others as well. We had tented accommodation which is what you really want. The guides etc were all extremely knowledgeable and meals etc were special

Ben   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: March 2019 Reviewed: Apr 28, 2019

Email Ben  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

A thoroughly wonderful experience
Overall rating
5/5

Everything about the experience was well organised and exactly as advertised. We saw lots of the animals we wanted to see, we were provided with great food and entertainment in the evening. All in all, a must visit! Highly recommend.

Peter   –  
Greece GR
Visited: March 2019 Reviewed: Apr 28, 2019

Email Peter  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Peter and not that of SafariBookings.
a pleasant trip along the garden route
Overall rating
3/5

Cape Town was great as always, but for the weather, cold grey and foggy. Winchester Mansions hotel was very comfortable. unable to see anything at Cape Point and table mountain cable car was shut. V&A shopping improves with each visit.
Drove the garden route and stayed at Franschoek, The Avondrood Guest House, lovely, wine tram was great. Stayed at The Belvidere Manor Kynsa, nice complex of chalets outside Knysa, very pretty views and visited the Craggs sanctuaries , all of which were very good. Bird World is a very special place!
Drove to Port Elizabeth. Only stayed at one private game park on this safari, Lalibela which,we found out when we arrived, was under reconstruction( not the lodge, the reserve !!! ) . We were shown a video explaining their long term plans and why we would go on to see huge areas of devastation so the vibe was very muted at Lentaba lodge. Had we known they were taking hundreds of mature non indigenous trees out with heavy equipment we would not have stayed there. The bush has yet to grow back. The effect on the wildlife must be substantial. We paid for a chalet upgrade ( it was our wedding anniversary and my wife's special birthday ) only to find it was nearest to the very noisy generator which switched on every 4 hours when they experienced the Government induced power cuts. Very obtrusive in the room. It was so noisy it drowned out conversation at the pool! Sounded like a jet engine! . Weather was not good, with rain and mist and little sun, not a good time of year to safari. In all a holiday with some highlights but could have been so much better. Not good value for money to us.

Lydia Stadlbauer   –  
Austria AT
Visited: April 2019 Reviewed: Apr 28, 2019

Email Lydia Stadlbauer  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Going on Safari was one of the best and most amazing experience I have ever had!
Overall rating
5/5

Doing Safari in the Kruger Nationalpark was amazing. We have been so lucky with the weather and the wildlife. In only 4 hours we saw all of the BIG 5. So close to us, that you thought you are still dreaming. It was an indescribably feeling to watch the animals in their natural surrounding. Our guide was very good in spotting animals. He saw everything, even a little camelion next to the street or a lot of rhinos in the distance. He was very smart and had a huge knowledge about every animal we saw. We felt so lucky to doing safari with safaribookings. Everything was just perfect!

Jennifer   –  
United States US
Visited: April 2019 Reviewed: Apr 29, 2019

Email Jennifer  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Vacation experinece of a lifetime
Overall rating
5/5

The wildlife, scenery, weather and all guides were amazing. The accommodations were good, not excellent but it depends on what your looking for. The Lodge in Johannesburg was very basic. The people were wonderful but do not expect much from your room. If we were not arriving after dark and maybe someone else would have been staying on property we may have felt better about the place. We met the owner or Manager and her daughter the next morning and they were wonderful. The pool area and courtyard were pretty. I feel like if we had met them before heading to bed or like I said been there during daylight I would have felt better about the whole set up. The Adventure lodge outside Kruger was exactly as expected and what we were trying to do. We had a private chalet and did not do the tent camping but it still felt like we were camping which is what we wanted. The meals were good but not much variety. The guides and safari's that we took were amazing - We did 3 Safari's while in Kruger and then 4 more in other areas - Botswana and the Chobe River. They were all amazing. While we did stay in luxury accommodations for the remainder of our time in South Africa (6 additional nights) we were glad that we experienced the Adventure lodge as well. We do plan to return to Africa if we can in the next few years and will come to Kruger again and will stay with you again - I understood you are also going to be offering Botswana now.

Chris Fletcher   –  
Australia AU
Visited: March 2019 Reviewed: May 1, 2019

Email Chris Fletcher  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

What an amazing 5 star 'bucket list' experience.
Overall rating
5/5

Firstly can we thanks Vanessa for organizing such an amazing trip and for making sure the hotels and game parks were able to cater for my unusual way of eating (as i require all my food to be puree as i'm on a PEG). Firstly the hotel in Cape Town at the base of Table Mountain was first rate as was the room upgrade! Great location, friendly staff and wonderful food, big bonus was the free shuttle bus with-in 8kls to ferry us around and even pick us up. Next was the internal flights up to Joburg and the private transfers to and from the Waterburg Biosphere where our 2 lodges were located. First was the 'Clifftop exclusive safari hideaway' and though one of the older lodges was so warm and welcoming, the 5 large private suites spread along the cliff with large terraces, private plunge pool and furnished bale for shade. The food was just mouthwatering (so my wife told me) and excellent selection. This lodge was all inclusive and free flow of wine, beer and selected spirits which made a lot of difference at the end of the day. Our game park guide was incredible and we spend 3-4 hours starting at 5.30am and again at 4pm let us cover large areas of the park and see the BIG 5. We then moved to Makweti safari lodge, this was also a 5 star lodge with good food though drinks were not included. The 5 lodges were smaller but the main building was filled with amazing Africa antiques and a HUGE wine cellar! We were so impress with how close the animals came up to the lodge and again the amazing staff. A big thankyou to all.

Average User Rating

  • 4.8/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star 945
  • 4 star 144
  • 3 star 15
  • 2 star 3
  • 1 star 3
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