Tau Pan

Going to south and central Africa was a bucket list item for me and booking a big and expensive trip always feels a bit risky and you hope you have made the right choice.

Booking with Discover Africa was fantastic from beginning to end! Our trip coordinator, Susan Veldman, was very responsive whenever we had questions or concerns and she checked in with us throughout the trip to make sure things were going smoothly. I especially appreciated the video call with her prior to leaving.

It was really great to be able to ask any remaining questions and she provided us with all the information we would need once we were there. The whole trip was seamless, from our transfers to the flights to the camps.

I was particularly impressed with Desert and Delta Safaris, the company who ran the camps in Botswana. The accommodations, food and staff were incredible! I would highly recommend booking with Discover Africa and I would book with them again if I decided to return.

Justin helped craft the perfect honeymoon for us! There are so many options when it comes to choosing a tour operator that I feel so fortunate we landed on Discover Africa. The experience felt seamless from start to finish. Our trip felt perfectly tailored to what we were looking for. You can tell that they truly listened to your situation and crafted the trip specifically for you. Planning an African safari can easily feel overwhelming, but Justin gave us nothing but confidence. The lodges, staff, guides, transportation, every aspect was top tier. There was constant communication from everyone on the ground to make sure you were where you needed to be on each leg of the trip. Save yourself the option overload and set up a call. No harm in getting a quote and taking it from there!

Working with Susan made our experience just perfect. She has everything organized and it all went so well. Her recommendations were perfect. We loved the safaris she chose, the lodges, guides, staff and the experience were wonderful.

Chrizaan Troch of Discover Africa helped us organize a recent safari in Chobe National Park. She was great to deal with – listened to what we wanted, and also offered other suggestions. She was very efficient, and always replied promptly to our questions.

We had a wonderful experience! We would happily contact Chrizaan for our next holiday in Africa.

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 had a wonderful experience with Discover Africa and, specifically, Dev Panaino. Dev helped us plan a dream vacation to South Africa and Zimbabwe and made the planning from our end effortless. We met with Dev via Zoom calls for the initial trip planning, and he regularly followed up with us via email. Dev was personable, easy to work with, and really listened when we outlined the experiences we desired on this trip. He designed an itinerary that met and even exceeded all our goals. With his knowledge of the area, he had great ideas for enhancing our adventure. Discover Africa provided us with comprehensive information on how to prepare for the trip down to the smallest detail. We left home with our travel documents safely in tow and the knowledge that we could reach out to Dev at any time should difficulties arise. And they sure did.

It’s worth noting that Dev arranged all our ground transportation at each leg of the trip as well as a private guide for several excursions. We traveled in unexpected luxury on the excursions with a knowledgeable, friendly guide who really added depth to the experiences. Dev also strongly recommended a safari lodge other than the more popular (and expensive) choices we had researched ourselves on-line. It turned out to be a true hidden gem, upscale yet cozier and more intimate than the others.

One of us had an unfortunate, vacation-ending injury on the fourth day of the trip (bad fall resulting in a broken kneecap requiring immediate surgery). We contacted Dev almost immediately in near-panic about what to do and how to get home. He really rose to the occasion, reassuring us that he would help and we’d be safe. Dev made many on-the-fly arrangements for us, from finding last-minute hotel accommodations and dealing with the local airline to arranging ground transportation and making all the necessary cancellations/re-bookings. Following our return home, he provided gathered helpful information to support our travel insurance claim.

Although our trip did not work out as planned, needless to say we highly recommend Dev Panaino at Discover Africa and would absolutely work with him again.