South Africa Highlights & Safari Reviews

5 Rating 173 Reviews

About smarTours:

smarTours is a leading provider of direct-to-consumer, affordable travel experiences to exotic global destinations. The Company offers travelers curated, pre-packaged itineraries to over 50 destinations across the globe. By offering tours directly to consumers, the Company provides premium-quality experiences at value prices, and as a result, has cultivated a highly passionate and loyal community of repeat travelers. More than 200,000 travelers have taken a smarTours trip since the founding of the Company in 1996. smarTours is… the smarter way to see the world.

Visit Product Page

Phone:

800-337-7773

Email:

info@smartours.com

Location:

500 7TH AVE, 8TH FL,
NEW YORK
New York
10018

Visit Product Page

“This was an amazing tour if you love wildlife and adventure. We had a great guide, Shaun Bartnick, who provided us with information, fun safaris and happy surprises. We visited 5 countries in Africa, saw every animal you have ever heard of, including ones you haven't, like the stunning Black Sable Antelope. Wildlife roams around the National Parks like we humans wander around the mall, and our local guides knew how to spot them. You see more than you imagined on smarTours land and river safaris. Don't miss Victoria Falls! It's a spectacular ending to your trip, with elephants, hippos, giraffes, lions and more. I cannot say enough good things about Shaun. We had 3 people in wheelchairs (!) and he accommodated them beautifully without holding the rest of us eager adventurers back. He was super-terrific. In my opinion: Book it!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Great tour. Covered everything you would want to see and do. First class accommodations, transportation and meals. Couldn't ask for anything more.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Our guide, Ron McGreggor, lived up to his reviews. He made the trip so interesting with his first hand knowledge. Ron gets 10 stars on a scale of 1 to 5. He was that good. The included and optional tours were fantastic. Got to see the big 5 twice in Kruger National Park. Hotels & food were first class. Victoria Falls was awesome, especially from the helicopter ride. Did the walk with lions. Truly amazing.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Our trip to S. Africa was one of the best we've ever taken. Our guide, Jeremy, was very knowledgeable, having lived through Apartheid from childhood. He was able to present the information little by little so as to inform, not to bore. Our safaris were awesome! We saw tons of animals although the big cats hid from us throughout the trip. We recommend the cat sanctuaries and the Capetown cultural excursion and the Pretoria excursion. We were rather disappointed with the Victoria Falls extension. The people of Zimbabwe don't really get the value of the dollar, wanting to charge a fortune for what would cost maybe 2 dollars in the US. I have said many times that I feel like I paid for 3 star hotels and got 5 stars! The food, which was always buffets, was also delicious! We highly recommend this trip and this company!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Before we left, I read "The South African Story" by Ron McGregor. It was a good read to get a feeling for SA. To my surprise, Ron was our guide! He knew to go to Cape Town's Table Mountain first thing in morning to avoid the crowds. Gave us great advice about dinning and optional tours. On the bus, he gave us a running commentary about South Africa and being a South African. We saw the African "Big Five", penguins, protea and Victoria Falls. Busy every minute, it was truly the trip of a life time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Just returned from the amazing "South Africa Highlights & Safari" (March 15-27 trip). This was our 2nd trip with Smartours & it was the same excellent quality as our Smartours trip to Machu Picchu & Galapagos. Our Tour Director, Jeremy Poole, was by far, the best Tour Director we've ever had. He is personable, well organized, extremely knowledgeable, passionate & a great educator & story-teller. If you're planning to book this trip, try to book a date when Jeremy is the Tour Director. All of the hotels/lodges were 4* (except possibly, the Lugogo Sun in Swaziland -- it's a beautiful resort, but it could do with some updating) The included & optional tours & meals were excellent; the meals that we purchased were very inexpensive all through our stay in South Africa. South Africa Airlines is great -- crew is friendly & service is very good -- not many other airlines provide "real" meals & snacks, even on short flights; the "free" beverages include wine & beer, and they give you "sleep kits", even for passengers in the Economy section (all free of charge); seats are comfortable, with good leg-room and recline. The Victoria Falls extension (March 27-30), on the other hand, is VERY expensive -- the Lodge is lovely, the Falls are beautiful to see, and the optional side-trip to Chobe was wonderful, but meals and optional tours are very expensive. (and if you're Canadian, the costs for Visas to enter Zimbabwe (twice, if you do the Botswana side-trip) are significantly more than Visas for U.S. passport-holders)”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This was an amazing trip. I have traveled with many different tour groups and never had any tour director like Ron McGregor. He was very organized, on time, gave clear instructions. His knowledge of African history, culture and politics was wonderful. He gave us tips where best to get laundry done, where to change money and many other things.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“All South African Airlines flights and flight connections were fine. Tour Director Jason Gresak is a phenomenal director and guide. He is extremely knowledgeable, affable, charming, generous, accommodating, and well organized . His presentations on Mendela and the history of South Africa were very educational and interesting. His daily quotes from Mendala were an enriching way to begin each day. All the hotels were good to excellent but the the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge was exemplary. The tours were very well planned with the exception of the optional 1/2 tour of Hluhluwe Game Reserve, because it was superfluous. The cultural tour in Cape Town was exceptionally educational,l with an excellent guide. Walking with the Lions was an unforgettable experience, enabling us to send pictures that shocked our friends and family. Victoria Falls should not to be missed.(Appropriate shoes would be helpful). To summarize. We highly recommend this trip. Hopefully Jason would be your tour director.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago