South Africa Highlights & Safari Reviews

5 Rating 173 Reviews

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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.

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“very well run, our guide was excellent. wish we had more time in Swaziland. Also would have liked more included dinners even if the price was raised slightly.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“We loved almost everything about the tour. The guide Sean was outstanding -- probably the best guide we have ever had. Since we skipped the Victoria Falls extension, he went out of his way to arrange a visit for us to a lion breeding farm on the day of our departure from Johanesburg. The game drives through the 2 parks were terrific and we had close up encounters with Cheetahs at the breeding farm where we stayed in Hluhluwe. The best game drive was offered as an option to driving through Kruger on our bus. This game drive enabled us to complete the big 5 and see lions and leopards that we would have missed on the bus. The hotels were all very nice and well located. The group was not too big - 24 people and the bus was very comfortable. The hotels were very nice and well located. Also, the included breakfast buffets and dinners were delicious. Our only complaint was the optional tour to the vineyard in Stellenbosch where we were led by a local guide who spent way too much time in the wine cellar and tasting room and gave us very little information about the town. The stores were all closed by the time we got there.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Our trip to South Africa was a truly amazing and eye-opening experience. Our tour guide, Jeremy Poole, was extremely intelligent, knowledgable and organized. We learned and saw so much on this adventure and highly recommend it. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. Overall, the tour was an excellent value for the money. The optional tours were very worthwhile. Most of the hotels were good, but a few were below our expectations.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Fantastic trip. We loved every minute of it. Jonathan was our guide and I can't say enough good things about him. I wanted to bring him home with us. He was on top of everything, made us comfortable and shared so much knowledge One suggestion would be to have name tags for the group for at least the first night or 2 so we get to know each others names in the group quicker. This is the first organized tour we had ever been on but we were more than happy with every thing. I can't wait for the Greece tour.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“We have done 4 Smartours over the years. South Africa, Macchu Piccu, Galapagos, India and Nepal. Each and every time we have been so very happy with EVERYTHING. The tour, the accommodations, the food, the tour guides, especially the tour guides. Safe, knowledgeable and fun! I recommend Smartours to so many people you would think I worked for the company. 111 countries and the very best of these were done with Smartours.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“We have done 4 Smartours over the years. South Africa, Macchu Piccu, Galapagos, India and Nepal. Each and every time we have been so very happy with EVERYTHING. The tour, the accommodations, the food, the tour guides, especially the tour guides. Safe, knowledgeable and fun. I recommend Smartours to so many people you would think I worked for the company. 111 countries and the very best of these were done with Smartours.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“This was the first tour we’ve taken, having always arranged transpiration, hotel and sightseeing activities by ourselves in the past. I had less confidence about doing this for Africa and when our friends suggested SmarTours, we decided to try it. Efficiently hitting all the highlights, the South African Tour was outstanding and our guide, Jeremy was absolutely top notch. Very informative, on top of every detail, he arranged absolutely everything flawlessly. We will definitely be doing more SmarTours in the future! Signed by Susan Miller-Pinhey”

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Posted 5 years ago

“This was our seventh tour with smarTours and it did not disappoint. The hotels, included meals, safaris, and guide exceeded our expectations. We saw the big five and enjoyed every safari. Our safari guides did everything possible to ensure we saw animals from the best vantage point. We extended our trip to Victoria Falls. This is highly recommended. We spent a full morning visiting the falls. Our entire group embarked on the optional tour to Chobe National Park in Botswana; this is not to be missed. If you are taking the extension to Victoria Falls and Botswana, you will need to buy a multi-entry visa upon arrival in Zimbabwe. Our tour guide gave us the entry form the previous night so we could complete it before departure. This was a great time saver, as many other arriving passengers, were filling out their forms at the entrance way to customs. We purchased a Kasi visa, which allowed us to walk across the bridge from Victoria Falls to Zambia. This self-guided tour was a highlight of our trip. The taxi from the Zambia side of the bridge to Livingstone cost $7. South Africa highlights and Safari is our most favorite trip.”

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Posted 5 years ago