Piper & Heath Travel — Local services in San Diego

It has been a dream to go to Africa; but planning a trip to Africa seemed too overwhelming. 2 years ago, Chris, Emily & Mark started thoughtfully planning our trip. Initially, we had a long phone conversation where Chris asked about each of our interests (11 & 12 y/o girls), to put together a perfect itinerary. After a few tweaks we committed! During the months between booking and traveling, the team fielded dozens of questions ranging from flights, attire, camera & lens tips, vaccinations, weather, tipping, safety, provided our luggage, and even found a volunteer opportunity for us. Would we recommend them to plan a trip? Absolutely

We started our trip in Joburg @ the Fairlawns Hotel which was the perfect place to rest. We spent a day in Soweto, bicycling through the community, talking with locals. We spent time with children at a youth center and visit a home. Our family learned tons about the gold rush, Apartheid, Soweto uprising, the life of Nelson Mandela, and the history of South Africa.

From Joburg, we traveled to Botswana. We arrived at the border and were greeted by Dan & Eddie from Mashatu. We got in our vehicle and started our drive to camp. D&E were laughing at our excitement over the animals. At camp we were taken to our stone that overlooked the bush. In the nights that followed, we’d hear elephants outside of our room. For 4 hours, 2/day, we would go on a unique drive. The male leopard put on a show for us while marking his territory along the river. The elephants were fun; the baby’s were playful, and moms protected them & were quite aggressive when our vehicle posed the slightest threat. Giraffes were curious. The lions – clearly the King of the bush. The baboons were funny, and lived among the antelope and monkeys. They hyena babies were curious and playful, and moms so protective. On our evening drive, we’d watch the sunset, taking perfect pictures with animals in the background. We’d stop for wine & jerky. With our experienced guides, we never worried about safety. Mornings, we were off to find the animals and watch another perfect sunrise. Between drives, many people napped; others sat outside reflecting on the trip.

Leaving was sad, but we were excited to head to Mala Mala. Our guide, Michael, met us at the airport and took us to camp where he showed us the lodge, the balcony that overlooked the river, the infinity pool, and to our hut which had 2 rooms, a balcony overlooking a pond & our hippo. Here we saw the Big 5, were educated about animals, astrology (you can’t imagine the sky at night), entertained by stories, followed the lion prides and learned more about bird life than imaginable. Sitting by the pool meant watching the animals walk through the river. Evenings, we met in the lodge where dinner was announced by a tribal dance. Our guide was brilliant and passionate about his work. There was not a question he did not have the answer to. Leaving was heartbreaking.

Our next stop was Cape Town. We stayed in the impressive Cape Grace Hotel. The girls were surprised with gifts of earrings in the room, we experienced a whisky tasting, a high tea and amazing breakfasts. We spent our days exploring the peninsula, shopping, penguin community, and even had drinks next to Charlize Theron!

Next, we headed south to Grootbos, recently featured in National Geographic. Along with our guide Gareth, we explored the sand dunes, caves, milkwood forests & feynbos. Meals were fantastic. In our house, with a generously stocked mini bar. Chris and team had arranged a tree planting ceremony for us which helped us to feel connected to this beautiful place.

We finished our trip with a stop to Vergelegen Winery; beautiful grounds, great food and delicious wine. What a perfect way to toast an amazing trip.

If you have the chance to have Piper and Heath plan a trip, you will not regret it! Perfect way to bond as a family, disconnect and get a whole lot of perspective! We will certainly have them plan...

My parents brought my brother (13 yrs) and me (16 yrs) to Kenya for a family trip in June 2024, which my mom had planned with Mads from Piper and Heath. I have to say that it was one of the best trips I have ever been on. While I'm only 16 years old, I've traveled to many amazing places around the world, and Kenya was definitely one of them. When we first arrived in Nairobi, we spent two nights at Hemingways Eden. We had all kinds of fun adventures including wildlife sanctuaries, museums, and amazing food. We saw the landmarks of Nairobi and learned so much in the process. When our time in Nairobi was up, we traveled by small plane to the Naboisho Conservancy by Maasai Mara where we stayed at Encounter Mara. The camp had such a great atmosphere and (even though I wasn't involved in the process of booking and planning the details of the trip) everything was perfect for our family. For breakfast and lunch we ate as a family, and for dinner we would eat at a larger table with all the guests of the camp. It was such a nice way to meet new people from all over the world who shared our interest in learning more about Kenya. Additionally, the Maasai Mara was the first place I had ever experienced a "game drive" and it was the most magical experience. The wildlife was incredible and it was a breathtaking experience. I'll never feel the way I felt after seeing that wildlife for the first time up close! Next, after 3 days in The Mara, we traveled north to Namunyak Conservancy. As soon as we arrived I knew that it was going to be such a different experience from what we'd seen before and that made me so excited. From each camp to the next, things just kept getting better and better. No two of the places we stayed were alike - except in the kindness of staff and amazing hospitality- and that's what made this trip so special for me. Sarara Camp offered many activities that the other places hadn't, and so I was very excited to hear about safaris on foot and even on horseback! At the end of our time there, I was so sad to leave but we continued on to Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Tambarare Camp and, as before, it was another unforgettable experience. I remember being starstruck by how nice our accommodations were, and how close up we could see the wildlife. When it was time to head home again after our Kenya trip I was heartbroken, but I was also so grateful for my experiences and all the amazing people I met along the way. Also, don't even get me started about our guides. Across the board all our safari guides were absolutely incredible, kind hearted people, who were so passionate about their work. Many of the people we got to work with were from local tribes and it was very special hearing their stories and experiences growing up so differently than I had. A lot of this trip to Kenya was eye-opening for me in ways that I never expected, and definitely changed the way I see the world as a kid from New York City. In many of the places we stayed, we were the only kids around which is one of the reasons I wanted to help my parents write this review. Throughout our trip I learned the importance of not just learning about nature or people's experiences in media (as so many do nowadays), but instead going out in the world, seeing it for yourself, and asking your own questions. I am so grateful that even though I'm just a kid I had the opportunity to take this trip, which some people don't get to take in their whole lives, and learn and grow as much as I possibly could from what I found in Kenya. I want to thank Piper and Heath for this trip because the experience they curated for my family was more than I ever could have imagined. Thank you, N (from my...

9-13-21 Piper & Heath arranged our recent trek to see the Silverback Gorillas in Rwanda and to have 3 different flora/fauna experiences in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL!

Spending time, 10 feet from a gorilla family, was unexpectedly moving. Surreal! After coming off the mountain, P&H had us staying in the lap of luxury at Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge…..not to be missed!

Each camp in Botswana represented an exhilarating aspect of the Delta: on water via mokoro; tracking lions and leopards through the bush; seeing young giraffes and impalas spar for ascendency; watching a lion pride eating a buffalo; encountering an elephant in our path while on a bush walk. We’d often just sit in our vehicle and watch a group of elephants, hippos, or baboons go about their everyday lives. Or face a herd of Buffalo menacingly stare us down. Best African experience ever!

These were our 3rd and 4th safaris arranged by Piper & Heath and they are masters in African travel. We’ve visited over 95 countries, and we usually handle our own travel…..but not to Africa. We needed someone to listen to our African wishlists and tailor a trip to the nuances of specific regions or camps to fulfill our dream trip. Piper & Heath is headed by a CEO who was born, raised and employed in the travel industry in Namibia, before moving to the US and starting P & H. Chris has contacts all over Africa and regularly returns to evaluate the camps, people, and logistics and uses this to customize each African experience for his clients.

A note about Covid: each country has its own entry and testing protocols. Piper and Heath schedule testing for you throughout the trip (they had a helicopter meet us at a bush airstrip for a Covid test!).

Tourism has only recently reopened and the camps and their employees are especially welcoming. It’s an ideal time to travel to Africa. ————————————————- I have always been able to arrange my travel without outside help....until my trip to Africa. I turned to Piper & Heath to plan and execute my two week trip to Namibia and Tanzania in July of 2019. Wow! What an amazing adventure they put together. The CEO of the company was born and raised in Namibia and he flat out knows Africa, not just Namibia.

I told them what I wanted in Tanzania and they suggested two camps instead of one, both closer to the animals we wanted to see. We wanted to see herds of animals on the savannah without seeing herds of vehicles. Check! We hoped to see the “Big Five” and saw a leopard in a tree eating an impala, while her cubs played below. Later we found a lion nursing and bathing her cubs. And the list goes on.

Our big wish was to see the Wildebeest migration, and after two days of searching, we saw thousands of Wildebeests in a frenzied stampede. Magical!

In Namibia, I had a few ideas of what to see, but Piper & Heath said that would be a mere chapter in the book that is Namibia. So I asked for the book....and got it. They had us flying small planes across the desert, over the mountains and along the coast. Gorgeous! We had three different lodging experiences: Sossusvlei, the stunning red sand dunes; a rugged mountainous area populated by desert-adapted wildlife( where we tracked a rhino for hours until we found him);and the wild, pristine Shipwreck Coast. We also visited a local tribe at their village. Fabulous book!

One other thing. Though Piper & Heath is an American-based company, they CARE about Africa. Their CEO spent years in animal conservation in Africa and the company gives back to African causes 1% of its gross revenues (NOT 1% of net revenue like some companies do). Their passion for...