African Welcome Safaris — Attraction in Kenilworth

Truly the trip of a lifetime!

When we started planning our trip to Africa for a group of 14, we contacted several agencies for quotes. Very quickly we decided to go with African Welcome Safaris. The choice was simple: the agency representative, Kathi Simon, was responsive, flexible, knowledgeable, and accommodating. In addition, the price was right. Not only did Kathi tailor our trip to our wishes, but she also made a number of excellent suggestions, which, as we realized later, turned our vacation into an unforgettable experience.

We started our tour with a four and half day stay in Cape Town. This included a city tour, Table Mountain (not to be missed!), Winelands tour, hiking on Lion’s Head (highly recommended but be prepared to do some strenuous climbing), and just leisurely walking around this interesting city. Kathi suggested that we stay at Lawhill Luxury Apartments, which turned out to be superb accommodations. The apartments were luxurious indeed. They were also less expensive and more convenient than comparable hotels.

The next leg of the tour was a safari at Kruger National Park. Our enjoyment of this portion of the trip is beyond words. Our rangers, Terry and Kyle, made everything possible so that we could relish every minute of the safari. We parked a few feet away from a herd of lions that did not pay the slightest attention to us and saw a leopard leisurely walk a few feet away from our Jeep. We would just tell the rangers what we wanted to see, say, zebras, elephants, and giraffes, and they managed to find all of those animals for us. We stayed at the Selati Camp of the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, which was also Kathi’s suggestion. The camp was a unique experience in itself. The “bungalows” were rustic enough to create a safari mood, but very comfortable and spacious, with twice-a-day room service to make you feel great. The camp had eight bungalows so that it was all ours. Most importantly, the camp staff was friendly and courteous. They went above and beyond to make our experience enjoyable.

Before moving to our next safari at Chobe National Park, Kathi suggested that we visit the spectacular Victoria Falls. We spent two unforgettable days there. Not only did we enjoy viewing the Victoria Falls from both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sites, but we also swam in the Devil’s Pool on Livingston Iceland, rode elephants and had a dinner cruise on the Zambezi River. These two days were a very nice change of scenery. Thereafter we moved to the Chobe Game Lodge, which is undoubtedly the best safari location at Chobe. The Safari experience at Chobe was different but no less enjoyable than the one at Kruger. The abundance of animals at Chobe is unbelievable. We could observe them not only from the Jeeps but also from boats on the Chobe River.

I cannot say enough to praise Kathi Simon who flawlessly organized and executed the trip that covered a vast territory of four countries: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Pre-safari correspondences were very helpful and to the point. Due to Kathi’s expertise and attention to details, we had a seamless transition from place to place.

We thoroughly enjoyed each and every day we spent in Africa. Together these days added up to an extraordinary vacation that we will...

Friends recommended African Welcome Safaris after their trip to South Africa and Victoria Falls. We were amazed at how informative, efficient, and personable Kathi was, and how easily she helped design our fantastic tour of Capetown and the Garden Route, as well as our trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. She asked us what we wanted to see, where we specifically wanted to go, and what activities we wanted to do. Once we started communicating, Kathi came up with an itinerary that included all places that met our desires and fit our timetable. She suggested guided tours with local guides and activities that we could book through her, or in some cases, we could book on our own. Kathi booked all our regional flights, transfers, and incredible accommodations. She also arranged a rental car for our self-drive tour of the Garden Route. We spent three nights at Arathusa Safari lodge at Sabi Sands bordering Kreuger and our ranger guide and tracker found all of the Big 5 plus lots of other animals including hyenas and crocodiles, impalas and kudus. Roy, our ranger guide had 21 years experience and could tell about the family relationships between lion prides and leopard mothers, cubs, and fathers! All in all, our detailed daily itinerary spelled out everything we needed to know to have a seamless travel experience. We highly recommend African Welcome Safaris to anyone seeking a tailor-made unique visit to South Africa, Victoria Falls, and Safaris. We can't...

I just came back from amazing 10 days in South Africa. Kathi had been absolutely fabulous through this process. I was a solo female traveler and wanted to feel safe. all the drivers, pick-up, hotels and itinerary were not only outstanding but were always on time as per plan. Kathi sends all the details exactly of when and where prior to departure. hotels were in a great location and of great quality, at times even better than expected. I stayed at the Commodore in V&A Cape town. Masion Chablis in Franshoek and finished strong at Kapama river lodge on Kamapa private game reserve....really everything 10/10. The only downfall i would mention is per plan i spent Christmas eve and day in Franshoek with the first having a guide that took me to 3 amazing wineries, and a "free" day on Christmas day. Normally i guess people get the hop on hop off tram to visit some vineyard, but it was closed as were most vineyards around, so i manage to find one open and got a private taxi over there. i could not recommend Kathi and AWS more, Only wish she did other destinations like...