Lion Sands Ivory Lodge

Justin helped us with the safari and Victoria Falls portion of our trip to South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The lodges were fantastic and ground transfers perfectly executed. We had an amazing time!

Coming in absolutely blind on how to plan an Africa trip, I stumbled across Discover Africa Safaris on the internet and reached out for an inquiry. Susan responded and started off with a video conference to ask about what we were thinking. Susan was extremely knowledgeable and answered all my questions as well as providing great insights that I wasn’t thinking of. My trip had additional complexities since I was going to a family wedding before, but Susan was able to navigate logistics with ease. She provided 3 options for our trip. Once we picked, she handled all the bookings/reservations in Africa. After things were booked, she proactively reached out for trip reminders, checked us in on our domestic flights within Africa, and reached out to ask how things were going while we were on our trip. Everything went perfect. We had an absolutely wonderful experience with the booking process and most importantly discovering Africa. 100% recommend!

Cayleigh put together an 18 day tour of Victoria Falls, Botswana and Namibia that was the best trip we have ever taken! The service was so personal and professional, we were taken care of every single step of the way. When a flight was cancelled for some of our party, Cayleigh was immediately in touch even though she was on vacation. Any time we had a question, Cayleigh was quick to respond. When our flights were changed and we were scheduled to arrive in the evening, she made sure that a dinner was waiting for us at the hotel. The accomodations were amazing, the staff at each lodge were awesome. All of our meals were exceptional, and included most of our beer and wine. Truly, it was an experience we will never forget.

We just returned from our first African trip and had an absolutely amazing and memory making trip. We are usually self planners for our vacations but with essentially no knowledge I attempted to do research on Africa and felt overwhelmed. As suggested from different sites I did contact several companies and ultimately chose Discover Africa and was certainly glad we did.

We worked with Susan and after a lengthy phone conversation and some e-mail follow ups she put our itinerary together. Revisions were not an issue for her and Susan provided some great knowledge when it came to deciding our ultimate plans. In hindsight, I never would have been able to co-ordinate all the different aspects of accommodations, air and ground transfers, and paperwork the way she did. The availability of using the TravelKey App was great.

Our 15 day safari far exceeded our hopes. Each camp/lodge had their own unique qualities and all the guides and staff overflowed with knowledge and kindness. As I told Susan, when the experienced guide gets his camera out because the siting was rare or exceptional you know you have had a WOW moment.

Susan was great about keeping tabs on us and assuring all was going smoothly. She even contacted the lodge to assist in getting my husband some food items more to his liking. Our trip itinerary consisted of:
2N-Xugana Island Lodge- Okavango Delta
2N-Camp Xakanaxa- Moremi Game Reserve
4N- Camelthorn Lodge- East Hwanga National Park
2N Insika Lodge- Victoria Falls
4N Sable Camp- MalaMala Game Reserve

We have been blessed with many wonderful travels prior to this trip but it’s fair to say we will go back and explore more of what Africa has to offer and Discover Africa, and Susan will take the lead!

We booked our safari adventures in Kenya and Tanzania with Susan at Discover Africa. The trip was nothing short of amazing, one of the best safari experiences we have ever enjoyed. Susan was thoughtful and patient throughout the planning process and really took time to understand what we wanted in a safari. Her recommendations were perfectly on point for us and our travel needs.

All logistical elements were smooth, and the services and amenities at both lodges that Susan recommended were exceptional. Our stay at Nimali Mara was particularly special with guide, Benson, offering us not only great sightings, but amazing animal interactions – from curious lion cubs playing (some still in the den) to lions mating to a lion challenging hyenas to access a watering hole! Our big cat experiences were truly top notch.

Thank you Susan for arranging such a special and memorable vacation for us; we will surely be in touch to plan our next African adventure.

We did a 3-week bespoke tour with Discover Africa and specifically Devryn Panaino. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana game parks. Our group of 6 had a fantastic time, as the itinerary was top notch, transfers smooth and now we can’t wait to go back. We were nervous about small plane transfers but it was very smooth and professional service. In fact, it puts Aussie’s Jetstar in the shade. We saw all the animals big 5, ugly 5, small 5 and everything in between. Would definitely recommend this company and Devryn. Hot tip: be prepared to spend a bit of money it’s worth it for a truly unique experience.

Vicki's Southern Africa Journey