Our Travelers

“I don’t have enough great things to say about this Africa safari tour operator!  I used them to plan our dream honeymoon to South Africa and couldn’t have done it without them.  I actually had gone with another travel agency  due to the higher number of reviews, but after I had a negative experience with the original agency, I decided to give this company a shot and I am so happy that I did.  A few highlights:

• PERSONAL TOUCH: The owner scheduled a time that was convenient for us to talk over the phone as soon as I reached out to them about my inquiry.  Even though they were based in Cape Town (more on that later), they were always accommodating to my schedule even though I live in the States.  He personally went over what we were looking for, gave me some great advice, and assigned a rock star agent to handle the details.
• FLEXIBILITY: I like to be hands-on with trip planning and loved that the company was so flexible with all my requests.  They let me use my miles/points to purchase some of the plane tickets and also book hotels on my own when I found a better price online.  I always felt like they cared more about making me happy than making money.
• LOCAL PRESENCE: Being based in Cape Town was actually a huge advantage.  Having that local knowledge and relationships came through on more than one occasion.  One example is when we landed in Cape Town late in the evening, I didn’t realize that the rental car was a manual.  I can drive manual, but since we were driving in a new country and on the other side of the road of what I was used to, I really preferred an automatic.  I called the travel company office number not expecting anyone to pickup the phone so late in the evening, but not only did the owner answer, he also arranged for me to swap out the rental car the next day.  They even covered the additional cost and called to make sure everything worked out.
• Our agent!!!: I felt like I had to dedicate a whole section to our personal agent/concierge/go-to for everything.  Since this was our first time traveling to Africa and going on a safari, we had A LOT of questions.  I think I sent 50 emails to her before the trip and another 20 during the trip.  She replied to all my emails quickly and positively each time.  She even met us while we were in Cape Town, bought us a drink, gave us a thoughtful gift basket of local treats, and provided personal recommendations for activities and restaurants.  All of her recommendations were spot on and it was great to get advice from someone that had personally experienced everything she recommended (ex. the vineyard that we stayed in Franschhoek was not only her favorite, it was also where she got married).  She has followed up with me since then to make sure that we got back okay and didn’t just move on to the next client like most companies would.

Our Africa safari travel company has gained a client for life and my wife and I will be recommending them to all of our family and friends.  Don’t let the limited number of reviews dissuade you, they are a small, boutique company that provides a personal touch, but have the resources and experience to handle the most complex itineraries and requests.”

Nothing but great things to say about our experience with this Africa safari travel planner!! The day after we entered our Zicasso request online, we were contacted by our agent.  We clicked immediately. She got right away what we wanted to achieve during our trip and began helping us to develop a workable plan. If we drove her crazy with all of our revisions, you would never have known it: she was focused, resourceful, and upbeat, offering great advice at critical junctures to come up with a plan that met our needs and maximized both our time and convenience. She went the extra mile to ensure that we had a great trip, checked in frequently to find out how things were going and made great recommendations for restaurants and local attractions. We felt very pampered and we were! The outlines of our final trip included stops in Cape Town; the Blyde River Canyon; Kruger National Park; Victoria Falls; Botswana; and  Johannesburg.

The company made all arrangements for us at two great safari camps: Kings in Kruger, and Shinde in Botswana. Both were excellent – knowledgeable guides; incredible surroundings; generous and welcoming staff.  We lucked out and managed to see the Big Five in just two days!  A highlight of the Botswana safari was spending 45 minutes observing a pride of eight lions congregated about 40 feet away from our open-air jeep. At Kruger, we had a similar up-close and personal viewing experience of two leopards and two white rhinos.

Our travel company also made all arrangements for five internal flights and pick-ups and one wonderfully guided day tour of the Blyde River Canyon: there was never a hitch! We even crossed four borders. The hand-offs were smooth; the transport vehicles clean and comfortable; the drivers safe and enthusiastic. All the practical details were attended to from tasty box lunches to confirmation calls the day before transfers.

Our travel company also arranged two wonderful tours in Cape Town for us and we were especially privileged to have them led by the Managing Director of the company.  He is a consummate professional and was incredibly knowledgeable and informative about every topic that we discussed. He is also charming and delightful on a personal level and all of these qualities are reflected in the company he manages.  Our two day-tours were to the Cape of Good Hope which included a spectacular gourmet multi-course wine-paired lunch at the Flagship, a restaurant located in the home of the chef and situated near the edge of the sea in Simon’s Town with beautiful views all around. We were joined by a handful of other quests and spent a lovely afternoon in their company sharing a great culinary experience.

The Managing Director also led us on a one day tour that included stops at Hermanus in the Western Cape for whale watching and at two beautiful towns in the wine country – Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. We tasted the extraordinary wines of the Delaire Graff and Tokara estates, both of which had distinctive architecture and art, but the Delaire setting was breathtakingly luxurious.

All in all, an unforgettable trip thanks to this company!