TravelHouse Africa — Local services in City Centre

I was fortunate to finally get the opportunity to visit the Northern Serengeti in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara in Kenya in August this year which had been a dream of mine for quite a while now.

Billy from TravelHouse Africa was extremely helpful while I was trying to decide on the trip itinerary - a very daunting task indeed. Once I had finally decided, I was provided a step by step description of the entire trip through an easy to use app which came in very handy while on the move.

I ended up choosing an eight nights trip (9 including the lay over in Nairobi), two nights in the Ngorongoro Oldeani Mountain Lodge, three nights in the Ole Serai Luxury Camp in Kogatende and three nights in the Saruni Mara.

All three lodges were stunning in their own rights. The mountain lodge was extremely luxurious, Ole Serai gave me that sense deep immersion in the African bush that I had been seeking with the sounds of lions growling and zebras grazing next to the tent a night (the zebras that is, I think the lions were a bit further away). Finally, the views from Saruni Mara are simple unforgettable.

I got to see a lot during my trip including Lake Manyara which, although very beautiful, seems to have sadly been impacted by climate change rendering a lot of the park inaccessible while I was there due to unusually heavy rain a couple of weeks before, Ngorongoro Crater which was breathtaking, the mara’s grasslands which seemingly went on to infinity but the most special for me undoubtedly remains the Serengeti where I got to see a couple of river crossings, a reclusive leopard walking around peacefully and a cheetah chase among too many other awesome experiences to mention here.

Everyone on the ground was simply wonderful and went above and beyond to make my trip memorable. The guides did everything they could, using their uncanny observational skills and amazing driving, to get me to places and witness sceneries and animals from vintage points I simply did not think possible. The daily schedules, especially in Tanzania, were flexible which was fantastic and meant that I spent 10+ hours in the bush quite a few times and loved every minute of it!

One tip though, if you are travelling in August pack warm! I did not (even though I was warned to so) but luckily there were blankets to help deal with the bitter cold winds while travelling in the bush early in the mornings and late in the evenings.

The itinerary was quite hectic at times with multiple chartered flights scheduled in a day at times but everything went without a hitch which I attribute to the good planning that had gone into organising the trip by Billy and the team on the ground. I would like to take this opportunity thank Billy, the rest of the TravelHouse Africa team and all the wonderful hotel staff and guides who all helped make this the trip of the lifetime I...

A trip of a lifetime. TravelHouse Africa looked after us from start to finish and checked in with us regularly along the way. We wanted for nothing. We are normally not package holiday people, however having a bespoke holiday arranged by TravelHouse Africa changed our perception.

Our group travelled in February at the start of the crisis and unfortunately there were a couple issues with some suppliers. Billy and Ingo were able to resolve these minor setbacks beyond our expectations.

We stayed at the Safari Plains Lodge, highly recommended. The food quality and variety, location, and staff were all amazing, they looked after us very well; excellent swimming pool as well as animals from the reserve surrounding the property. We were permitted to stay beyond our allocated checkout time on the last day and enjoyed an afternoon at the pool prior to our journey to Johannesburg airport.

The tours and outings were excellent. A day out with the "Wine Fairy" in Cape Town is a must. Katie's professionalism and knowledge would impress the finest of connoisseurs. She is great fun to pass the day with. Even if one of your party is not a wine drinker, visits to the wineries, the scenery and lunch along the way make for an excellent day out.

We were very fortunate to be in Cape Town for Constantia Fresh. If your travels coincide, it is a must!

A holiday not to be forgotten and all the better for booking with...

What an incredible referral. Our daughter married her husband at a wine estate in South Africa even though they are both from New York. Their friends and family came from all corners of the globe and weren’t only interested in attending the wedding, but wanted to add bucket list travel while in South Africa. Billy Hare of TravelHouse Africa stepped in to coordinate over 100 reservations, trip itineraries, and simple restaurant bookings for demanding travelers whose expectations were very high. They were spending a lot of time and money and weren’t planning on returning so they were hoping for the ultimate experience - and all on different budgets. Billy and his team were exemplary in creating dream vacations for close to 100 people all at the same time and within their respective budgets, and without a single complaint. We have heard from many of our American friends since their return, and each, without fail, were blown away by their respective experiences. We will not use anyone else if ever someone asks for a referral for travel to Southern Africa and we plan on using Billy every time we return even though we are originally from South Africa. Our wedding experience was made that much more successful thanks to the stellar efforts of travel and logistics planning and coordination by Billy Hare and...