Discover Africa Safaris — Local services in Bellville

Background we are well traveled family. I know good service from not so good.

We had planned a week Safari in Botswana. It went okay until the end when Megan did not call and check the distances from the lodge she put us in. We in turn were unable due to the long driving distances involved to reach Moremi park.

This was one of the important parks we wanted to take our kids to and were surprised when the lodge we stayed at told us it is not really a feasible day trip because the entrance of Moremi was 3hr drive. We were shocked as we were told it was next to the park and a short drive. So we made our own arrangements with the lodge to do something.

Still we missed the last portion of our trip due to the company rep not checking distances. I know she never called the lodge as the manager told us. Its been about month and she is " still looking in to it" not much to look into. You messed up we missed part of 25,000$ safari because you didn't follow up with the lodge you sent us too. With all the travel choices for such a trip I think A&K next time. Horrible customer service. I Am surprised at this price point this was not quickly addressed. I asked for a manager she won't give me contact info....

A manager reached out. It shouldn't have taken this post to get a manager to respond. I will update this after we communicate.

I have discussed the details of our incident with the manager. It appears the tour company doesn't want to take responsibility for their mistake. When someone books an itinerary and that doesn't happen due to the company's fault, the company should make good. They claim since we made the best of it with a mokoro trip and was offered food and a closed vehicle for the return trip we got what we wanted at no extra cost.

REALLY? I paid for the transport and I expected a closed vehicle both ways. Who would expect less. I was never told there are different price levels for closed or open vehicles. I would have paid who wouldn't'... The transport company in fact didn't ask for more money for closed vehicle...Just saying.

Ugh. a 3 hr drive in an open safari vehicle? Is that appropriate for highway driving on dusty road between destinations. To ask for a closed vehicle seems to be a no brainer. In fact not having closed vehicle seemed wrong.

Food: The fact is when you pay for a lodge and they ask what you want to eat and you give some examples and then they in turn offer options, That is not a bonus, that is what you paid for....., if they offer pizza for kids why is that something so special? Seriously. Pizza is cheap compared offering fish and beef to whole family.

For a tour company to say because you got these items and seemingly had fun on your trip (we did not enjoy the mokoro trip it was horrible...) will offer a refund for just the game drive part is crazy. I wouldn't have had to go on the really bad mokoro ride. 25minutes of nothing.....If we were told we could not do the Moremi game park in the first place. we would have made different plans to see Moremi

I am in utter disbelief how this tour company is handling their mistake trying to blame us. Like we would know. We were told 2hrs to lodge under hr to Moremi park it was 3hrs to lodge and 3hrs to park entrance each way with kids...not feasible... No small planes sounded like the perfect way to see the park. It turns out, not so much....

Make your own choice on tour companies. The first 2/3 of our trip was fine.

In my opinion there are many tour companies to use. I would suggest another....Couldn't be worse customer service at this price point, missing part of an itinerary is unacceptable. You wouldn't go to China and not see the great wall or Paris and miss the Eifel Tower. Just as you would not miss Moremi Park in Botswana.

Unless they compromise I won't be updating this again nor will I use them again. There are some good reviews on them its when things wrong you need make sure there made...

I went on a safari to Sabi Sands this year, and Discover Africa arranged the perfect 5 day stay for me. I was planning on a fairly short notice of 2 months considering Oct is high season in the sands, but Barry Greenshields was able to fetch some great accommodation options for me. He recommended the Sabi Sabi little Bush Camp and it was absolutely amazing; the wildlife experience, the accommodation, cleanliness of the camp, facilities, the food, guides and the staff was all top notch. Being a photography hobbyist, I had laid out my expectations of getting some great photos of wildlife especially big cats in the safari, and surely enough I managed to have some amazing sightings on Lions and the elusive Leopard. I had quite a few Leopard sightings, during the day as well as in the night, making for some amazing photos. Other than the big 5, I also got to see some very beautiful birds which are always a great subject for photos along with other prey animals as well.

Being a tour operator, I think the real value the company can offer is i) giving accommodation recommendation based on experience (actual stay experience is up to the accommodation management but the tour operator must know what it is like and whether it would meet the client's expectation), ii) effective and responsive communication, iii) being transparent with costs and iv) ensuring the booking process is smooth and the client does not experience hiccups on the logistics or payments etc. I was very happy that Barry was great in all these areas - from the planning process, from recommending the accommodation, accounting for my budget and tending to all my queries. Communication was fast and responsive with all channels available i.e. email, WhatsApp, call etc and I didn't have to wait long for getting responses despite it being busy season. He was also very transparent with trip costs i.e. the accommodation cost, flight ticket and transfer cost etc so that I would know exactly what I am paying for and make adjustments accordingly to suit my budget. Sometimes tour operators do not provide cost breakups since the client would then make comparisons, but I believe that if your service is good, you have fair prices and a host of accommodations to choose from then there shouldn't be anything to hide - the client will recognize value and pay for it accordingly. They had booked air tickets as well to and from Johannesburg and every thing was super smooth throughout the trip - I just had to sit back and enjoy the trip. The payment process was also very easy - i.e. no "5% extra if you pay by credit card", etc.

If I go to South Africa again, I would definitely book with Discover...

My wife and I just returned from a three-week adventure in South Africa and Botswana that was custom designed by Megan Warrington of Discover Africa. We could not be more pleased. We arrived in Cape Town where we recovered from the long flight from Boston and leisurely saw the sights including going up Table Mountain, a wine tour, and a visit to the botanical gardens. Our hotel was the V&A and it was top notch, in a perfect location on the waterfront, and we were truly pampered. Next were multiple safaris at Jock Lodge in Kruger National Park. We saw the big five three times in four days (or four if you count seeing the same pride of lions in a different section of the park). The lodge was first class without any airs—our guide was top notch, the staff extremely friendly and can-do, and the meals were over the top. From Kruger it was on to a ten-day mobile tent safari with Letaka, visiting the Okavango Delta (Moremi National Park), Kwai Concession, the Savute Marsh, and finally the Chobe National Park. The tent safari was just that—simple with a bucket shower and pit toilet. But we lacked for nothing—comfortable bed in a stand-up tent, hot water whenever we desired, and the cook was a magician who never duplicated a meal. Our guide’s knowledge as well as his eyesight were mind boggling. One distinct advantage to a tent safari is that there is no fixed schedule. If we saw something interesting (like witnessing a buffalo kill in process) we could take our time. Our guide would radio the cook who would adjust accordingly—no rushing back. The entire trip’s itinerary was perfect in that each stay was like a stepping stone for the next. However, the trip almost never happened because of covid. After Megan designed the trip, covid was in full bloom and we dared not risk travel. She was totally understanding. She kept in touch occasionally over many months. When we finally decided to go for it and had a thousand questions, she would always answer our emails promptly. Between us there were over 70 emails and our relationship seemed to morph into more of a personal one rather than business. My wife and I give Discover Africa and Megan the highest...