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

“The above named tour starting on Feb 16 was excellent. The hotels were all good to excellent and the tour director was one of the best we have ever had. The included and optional tours were excellent except for Chobe which was only good possibly due to the time of year.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Everything was great! South African Airlines treated us very well - lots of food and drink, polite, helpful staff and comfortable space. Our tour director, Jason Gresak, was personable, articulate, well informed and well organized. His daily Mandela quotes and breadth of knowledge about the regions we were passing through added immeasurably to the enjoyment of this trip of a lifetime. He has a great sense of humour too! The hotels were all first rate and the included meals were excellent. The safaris were excellent and we saw lots and lots of big, and small game and birds. The Cat Walk at Emdoneni Lodge was an amazing experience - getting up close and personal with cheetahs, caracals, serval and African Wild Cats unforgettable. One of the main highlights of the trip was the Walk with the Lions north-west of Pretoria. Another unforgettable time - and the brick-oven, warthog pizza was awesome. Will definitely be recommending smarTours to my friends. Thank you.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This was the best trip of my life, Jason Gresak was a phenomenal tour guide. He was knowledgeable, personable, patient, super organized and went above and beyond in many ways. The hotels, meals, buses (and drivers), sights and experiences far exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend this tour with smartours!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This was our first Trip with Smartours and it was fabulous. Jason was our wonderful tour guide . He was very knowledgeable and presented everything in a clear, interesting way, and he was very engaging , and accommodating . The hotels were all acceptable. Protea Kruger Gate was lovely with a very nice staff. Our favorite hotel was Victoria Fall Safari club which we were upgraded to. They have exceptionally beautiful rooms with views and wonderful amenities . The staff was very accommodating . I particularly remember Tandy and Patience who c ould not do enough for us. The hotel offered free laundry service which I really appreciated. The highlights for us were the optional cultural tour in Cape Town, the safaris, the optional lion walk and elephant experience in Victoria Falls. I would have preferred to have had early morning and /or late afternoon safaris rather than mid day. All in all, a great trip!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The trip to South Africa was both wonderful and exhilarating. Our accommodations in Cape Town were superb. It was easy to get around and the tours and our tour guide Roger was well informed and more than willing to help in any way possible. Moving on to Johannesburg we were excited about our safari tour but not so much about the hotel . It was in the middle of nowhere with nothing nearby within walking distance. We saw very little of Johannesburg only in passing through. Overall I enjoyed for the most part the itinerary set forth by SmartTours and would definitely use them again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Immensely enjoyed this trip taken in late January 2016 with wife and 2 teenage girls. Group was small (26 ppl, incl. us) and mostly older couples, but we didn't mind. Shawn Bartnick was very informative regarding South African history and current political & civic environment. Included meals were surprisingly decent, & the meals we paid for were not expensive. Highly recommend the optional township tour in Cape Town. I wish the Victoria Falls extension (which we passed on) was shorter period & less expensive, since we had to get back for work & school schedule. Rufus Makwela, safari jeep driver at Kruger, was fantastic ... you must ask for him!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Excelente Vacaciones no tengo palabras como expresar lo bello que fue este viaje. Nuestro directos Jeremías excelente ser humano con una gran experiencia de lo que hace. Los hoteles excelente servicio en todo. Gracias a Smar Tour por bajos precios en sus paquetes.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“We had the fortunate opportunity to be on the January 12, 2016 South African Highlights tour led by Ron McGregor. We cannot find enough words to express what a fabulous adventure this trip was. From the first minute we met Ron until the very last day at the airport, he was the Tour Director Extraordinaire! He warned us that this was not a vacation – it was a holiday. His organization kept us all on our toes and allowed us to get the most out of the tour. Ron gave us a realistic lesson in the politics and history of South Africa and there was no question he couldn’t answer. In all of our travels Ron is the best guide we ever had. He led us from place to place and tackled every problem that arose calmly, professionally and proficiently. The extras that he arranged for us – the extra safari, and those of us who didn’t go to Victoria Falls, got the awesome experience of Walking with Lions – which we know none of us will ever forget. The hotels, the food, the local guides, etc. were all more than we ever expected!! This was our first Smartour but it’s not going to be our last one!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago