Solo Safaris in Kenya

I worked with Justin Van Wyk at Discover Africa Safaris to arrange safaris in Zimbabwe and Botswana, including a stop at Victoria Falls, for two of my children and me. The safaris were exquisite, and Justin was phenomenal—professional, responsive, and detail-oriented. He patiently helped refine my changing requirements and dreams until we created a luxurious, once-in-a-lifetime trip. The adventure was extremely well organized: there were no surprises, we were greeted at each location, and transportation between destinations was well planned and flexible when needed.

The six luxury camps arranged by Discover Africa and Justin were outstanding. The food was excellent, and even my picky daughter ate well at every meal. The accommodations and furnishings were beautiful, and the staff were welcoming, attentive, and friendly. Everyone at the camps prioritized safety and made sure we always felt comfortable and secure.

The actual safaris and activities we out-of-this-world. My goals of this trip were to have my adult children see the Big Five and to capture pictures of leopards. We saw a leopard on the first day! And around a dozen in all. Many amazing pictures were taken as well. With a side trip to see rhinos, we did see the Big Five, and many, many more wild African animals. We even caught tiger fish…

Thank you, Justin and Discover Africa,
Bill Reid

PS – Captured acceptable Milky Way photos in Botswana as a Bonus!

Many thanks to Discover Africa for organising a great trip to Victoria Falls and Botswana. Chrizaan was extremely helpful in planning the trip (including promptly arranging visa related paperwork etc) and answering queries. The quality of the accommodations was great (with a particular shout-out to Jackalberry Lodge in Chobe, which is a beautiful property) with excellent service throughout. The guides at Chobe and the Okavango Delta worked hard to make sure that the wildlife sightings were great (was just a little unlucky given the recent freak flooding in the Delta – even then, I had two excellent leopard sightings in Khwai!). Would gladly reach out to Discover Africa to help plan future safaris.

My husband and I started planning our Safari in Sept to go in May. Vihann at Discover Africa was wonderful!! He setup a video call on our timeline to ask what we wanted and actually listened. He came up with a plan that we agreed to and the rest was easy. All of our accommodations were exactly as promised, flights and transfers all went off without a hitch, so we had nothing to worry about the whole time just a wonderful experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Can not think of one negative comment to add.

From start to finish, every phase of our trip was seamless. From the man who greeted us at Nairobi airport when we arrived to the woman who assisted us at our departure, we were taken care of perfectly. Our lodges at Saruni Samburu and Saruni Mara were beautiful. The staff was welcoming and we had genuine conversations that gave us an appreciation of their culture. Matthys at Discover Africa listened to our priorities. He communicated well and made our remarkable safari to Kenya a dream come true.

We had a wonderful experience with Discover Africa from the planning stage all the way through to the end of the trip. I communicated what my family was looking for with a visit to Africa and Vihann helped construct a trip that provided the quality and experience to match our wishes. Using a travel agent, communication is of the upmost importance and Vihann was readily available during all parts of planning via email and even during the trip via WhatsApp.

If you choose to visit multiple countries in Africa and remote locations within those countries, transportation and logistics can be very challenging, and we were consistently at ease during our travel knowing that we’d always be in the correct place at the correct time because of Discover Africa. There were no hiccups or concerns going between locations and that alone made using Discover Africa worth it. In addition to logistics, Vihann chose incredible accommodations at each location in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

The camps in Botswana (African Bush Camps Kwai Lediba & Atzaro Okavango) and Zimbabwe (Old Drift Lodge) were luxurious and intimate and the staff at the camps made our stays far exceed expectations. On top of the camp hosts and staff being personable and accommodating, the safari guides were extremely knowledgeable and made it possible for us to see every kind of wildlife we wished to that was native to the areas (including lions, elephants, leopards, hyenas, hippos, and wild dogs).

While the price for the overall trip can change quite a bit based on the accommodations you choose, I strongly recommend paying the additional dollars for the comfort and service that you receive at the higher-end camps. Overall we had an amazing trip due to the planning and service provided by Discover Africa and Vihann. I would absolutely use them again in the future knowing that we would be taken care of and set up for success.

I chose a travel agency for four reasons. Years in business, quantity and quality of reviews, customisability, and local expertise. Discover Africa and my agent, Adelle, met or exceeded all expectations. I gave Adelle my budget and modified one of their suggested tours. Five stars.