We recently spent 11 days on a vacation in South Africa. Our tour was organized by Discover Africa and they did a fantastic job. We had originally made a deposit on a group tour with a well-known international tour operator, but I was concerned about the amount of travel time between destinations. Discover Africa was able to customize our trip and the price was much better, even when we lost the deposit on the group tour.
I worked with Antoinette to plan our trip. She made recommendations which I reviewed and made any changes that I requested. For our transfers and tours, she booked Jarat Tours. The transfers were always on time, courteous, and used very nice Mercedes vehicles. The tours were well organized and we had a great guide, Sorita, for our Peninsula Tour.
In Cape Town, we stayed at the Radisson Blu Waterfront which we felt was in a great location for us. We easily walked from the V&A Waterfront to the hotel, we used their free shuttle service, and we used Uber very easily here. They have a great breakfast buffet.
Next, we went to Stellenbosch. Sorita with Jarat Tours was again our guide and driver and she shared her knowledge of the wine industry there. We had enjoyed three wine tastings. We had lunch at a really nice restaurant in Franschhoek. Reservations were made by the tour operator.
We stayed at the Oulde Werf Hotel, which is near many restaurants. It was a charming and comfortable place to stay.
The main reason for our trip was to go on safari. We went to the Hoyo Hoyo Safari Lodge in the Mluwati Concession in Kruger National Park. With only six charming thatched cottages, it felt like a very intimate safari experience. We saw so many animals and enjoyed delicious meals – it was simply wonderful. We probably would not have found out about this place on our own, so we are thankful that Antoinette recommended it.
South Africa is a beautiful country. Even my husband said that he would like to go back – even with the really long flight!
All of the hotel, tour, transfer, safari and domestic air arrangements were made by Antoinette at Discover Africa. They provided a very detailed online itinerary, contact information, and general information that was very useful. If we have the opportunity to return, I wouldn’t hesitate to use Discover Africa again.
Safari planned by: Antoinette van Heerden