South Africa Travel Agents & Reviews

My boyfriend and I booked a three-week trip to Africa this fall through Zicasso’s travel company. We visited Johannesburg, three safari camps in Zimbabwe and Zambia, Cape Town, and Hermanus. It was our first trip to Africa and we relied heavily on our travel team's expertise in booking our trip.

We are back home now and I can say our trip was a smashing success. Zicasso's travel partner did such a great job for us that he is now booking another trip for us next year.

Some highlights:

The accommodations and service in all cities and camps were beyond our expectations.

All travel and transfers were hassle-free, with transfer agents with us at each step.

Our agent personally escorted us in cities, making sure we were safe, comfortable, and had a great time. He was super-fun. We laughed a lot!

The food was amazing. We are both on diets now.

Our safari guides were knowledgeable and made sure we got close to the action while staying out of trouble.

The sundowner experience was a great close to every day in the bush

What we experienced will stay with us for the rest of our lives; it was an action-packed, magical trip.

I would highly recommend our travel company work with you on your next trip.

I just got back from a wonderful two-week trip to Southern Africa and want to thank Zicasso for putting me in touch with the travel agency and Shannon, who did a wonderful job of constructing my dream trip. Everything was top-notch and well-executed, and Shannon was friendly, responsive (I'm very picky and made many revisions), and a great communicator. 

When there was a wrinkle (which fortunately was very rare), she was right on top of it (in one case a lodge had booked us into their other property and tried to move us there, but Shannon showed them proof that we had booked over a year in advance and insisted we stay in the original property. They honored that).

Here is my review of specific aspects of the trip:

Cape Town. I can't say enough about the hotel, which was one of the best we'd ever stayed in. The property itself (it's a very modern and beautiful boutique hotel steps from the beach) and the customer service were wonderful. We stayed for four nights and I can't imagine a better place to stay in Cape Town. We spent one night in the wharf area before coming to the hotel and I'm so glad we opted to stay near the beach instead. Having a beautiful ocean view and being able to walk to the beach to watch the sunset every night was incredible. 

Also, the staff were over-the-top amazing; they were so flexible and accommodating (if you wanted breakfast early or after the regular serving period, they would happily oblige; if you walked in with take-out, they would plate it for you and bring it to your room. They would also pick up take-out and deliver it to you). 

There were also many special touches - free wine, free, stocked mini-bar, free hot cocoa, and popcorn that they would deliver to your room any time - we felt very cared for. One of the managers led us on a guided hike up Lion's Head mountain, which was super-fun (he not only brought tea and snacks, but is an excellent photographer and took beautiful photos of us that he shared). I highly recommend the activity to anyone who is reasonably fit (the views at the top are outstanding). We also did a peninsula tour and an all-day food and culture walking tour the next, and highly recommend our guide - she was delightful and fun.

The lodge. Wow, I had read all the five-star reviews of this lodge on a private reserve near Kruger before we left and wondered how it could ever meet such high expectations, but it exceeded them. This was more like 10-star than 5-star. The staff (much like the staff at our hotel in Cape Town) were so friendly, professional and responsive. They would do anything to make you happy. And like them, all of the warmth and special treatment felt genuine rather than fake or forced. 

The food was amazing (and plentiful - all meals, alcohol and high tea were included), but what set this lodge apart was the amazing rangers (we were lucky to have the head ranger and his tracker). I learned so much from them about animal behavior as they were incredibly knowledgeable (and extremely respectful) of the animals. As a result, we saw all of the big five multiple times (my favorites were seeing three leopards and seven lions, including both male lions sleeping after a kill and female lions slowly hunting Cape buffalo in the early evening). We met people at this lodge who had stayed at multiple other five-star lodges and all said this one was the best, which I can believe.

Victoria Falls. The lodge was the number one rated lodge in Victoria Falls and though it was very nice, it did honestly pale by comparison to our lodge near Kruger (the outdoor bathtub and pool were both dirty and not usable. I'm not sure how one would remedy this, other than to re-order the trip so one ends in Sabi Sands). 

The staff were nice and the food was wonderful, and like our other lodge, activities were included (the guided trip to Victoria Falls was very informative as was the private "sundowner" river cruise we had on our arrival night. We saw male elephants engaging in "horseplay" in the water, a trip highlight. However, the game drive (no tracker and a much smaller park) paled in comparison to those we did in Sabi Sands). 

The optional (extra charge) elephant interaction at their sanctuary was really amazing and we highly recommend it to anyone staying in Victoria Falls. The falls were about a third dry because we went after the winter dry season. Shannon had warned us about this in advance, so they were a little underwhelming, but I'm still glad we went because we wanted to see them and weren't sure if we'd get back to this part of the continent on another trip. If you want to visit the falls, be sure to look at photos of how they look during certain months so your expectations are met. 

Chobe River Cruise (Namibia).  I'm so glad we did this cruise because it was a great way to end our trip on a really high note. We originally wanted to book the Zambezi Queen (which is bigger, more modern, and more luxurious), but only the Chobe Princess was available for our dates and we ended up getting the smallest (four rooms) of the three CPs. I thought it might be underwhelming, but I was wrong. We had a great time on our small ship with six members of a German family. 

The staff were wonderful (amazing food from Chef Edgar!) and "game drives" on the river turned out to be a game-changer. Although we saw many animals during our land-based safaris, we did see different behavior from the water (elephant herds crossing the river; baboons at play for 30 minutes at a time, whereas on land, the baboons would run away; huge groups of giraffe in an open field). 

Unlike on land, where you would sometimes drive 30 minutes or an hour in search of a sighting, we saw animals the entire time we were on small boat excursions from the larger boat. Essentially, we'd spend 30 minutes watching elephants and then move to crocodiles, baboons, and giraffes, etc.). Of my top recommendations for people going to Africa, it's to do this river cruise in addition to land-based safaris.

Thanks again to Shannon (and Zicasso) for making our dream trip come true. Although we've been to many wonderful places (including Patagonia, Bora Bora, Australia/New Zealand, etc), my wife and I agree that this was the best trip we've ever taken. And we will be back!

Zicasso matched us with two excellent travel agents who were both professional, responsive, and knowledgeable. We selected this travel company. Our agent, Richelle, worked with us to design an itinerary that transformed our wish list into an incredible African journey. Her prompt responses to our questions or needs were greatly appreciated.

We were attempting to see a lot of South Africa and Namibia in only two weeks. Throughout our trip, the accommodations, transfers, guides, restaurants, flights, and activities that Richelle had arranged or suggested were superb. She helped us create a portal for our trip that served as a source of information, pick-up times, e-tickets, and things like our allergies that restaurants knew ahead of time. Additionally, she was there for us as we were traveling in case we had a problem or question. We can't say enough about her professionalism, patience, and genuine concern that our vacation would be everything we hoped for.

Our itinerary was ambitious, but Richelle's preparation made it possible. First, we spent three days at Marataba. The accommodations, food, and staff were first-rate. Our guide on the safaris was excellent and the variety of game we saw was impressive.

The next part of our trip was in Cape Town. We arrived in a storm that the locals called "the storm of the century". There was extensive damage and some loss of life as well. While the storm certainly curtailed some activities, the following days had brilliant sunshine. We had a great time visiting the V&A Waterfront, a colony of African penguins at Boulders Beach, enjoying the gorgeous coastal scenery along Chapman's Peak Drive, and a too-short visit to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Our accommodations at the hotel in Sea Point were excellent for location and the professional staff.

After three days in Cape Town, our guide drove us for about an hour to the Cape Winelands. We arranged for two wine tastings in Stellenbosch. The winery was outstanding for the beautiful views and excellent wine. We also saw zebra and impala in the field just in front of the outdoor verandah. We had lunch at a boutique hotel and winery with spectacular views and delicious wine and food. Our accommodations at the hotel in Franschhoek were outstanding. The setting, service, food, and beautiful views were a highlight of our trip. Our room was large and beautifully appointed. An example of their generous hospitality was that all items in the minibar, including a bottle of wine produced at their winery, were gratis. We regretted having to leave after only one night's stay.

Our guide then returned us to the airport in Cape Town for our flight to Walvis Bay, Namibia. We were met by our driver at the airport to transfer us to the hotel in Swakopmund. The hotel was on the Atlantic Ocean and a perfect location to explore the town. The staff was top-notch. Warm, friendly, efficient, willing to help you arrange drivers, restaurant reservations, or figuring out how to work the TV remote.

After three days in Swakopmund, our excellent guide drove us to the lodge in the private Kulala Wilderness Reserve. Once again, the warm hospitality of the staff here and throughout our travels will stay with us for a long time. The lodge is a gateway to the magnificent dunes of Sossusvlei. Our guide was outstanding. He was an excellent driver over some awful roads and sand, and the depth and breadth of his knowledge were impressive. He cooked us a lovely chicken and salad lunch out in the desert. He drove us to Windhoek for our flight back to Johannesburg and our return home. 

There will be many wonderful things to remember about our journey in southern Africa, but Richelle's excellent guidance and the warmth of the African people are what will stay with us the longest.

We were a bit nervous about using a travel agent/company for the two of us rather than traveling with a tour group. We ended up working out a trip hitting six locations. The complexity and uncertainty of getting from one location to another could have been better explained to reassure us that someone would always be there to get us from one location to the next, but as it turned out, everything worked out great.

We loved our time and guest house in Victoria Falls. A couple of restaurant recommendations for lunch would have been nice. We did not realize that the guest house had a taxi driver they recommended until we were checking out, so over-communicating as much detail would have been great.

Also, in moving from Zimbabwe into Botswana, we did not realize we would have to treat our shoes for hoof and mouth. Knowing that ahead of time would have allowed us to have our shoes ready in a single bag in our luggage.

Also, flying into Zimbabwe from South Africa, we did not realize we needed $30 each in cash. I assumed a credit card would be fine. More clarity on that would have been much better.

Our first safari location was great. Our guide was excellent. The room and food were fine. It felt more like family there.

Our second safari location was also great. The food was a bit better. We did have an issue with never having hot water in our room, but that was specific to us and something they tried to resolve.

I would recommend exactly what we did, three nights in each safari location.

The rest of the trip in Cape Town, Franschhoek, and the wine region were perfect.

This was our group's first trip to Africa and it did not disappoint! Throughout the process, the Zicasso travel agency was quick to respond to our questions (there were a lot) and was on top of every detail. Our agents did a great job selecting the safari sights (Madikwe, Sabi Sabi, and Vic Falls), which allowed us to experience the differences in terrain and vegetation. We also enjoyed the small lodges. All of our transfers were seamless!

Zicasso’s trip planner created the perfect honeymoon for us. She was helpful with her suggestions, asked the right questions, was budget-conscious, and amazing every step of the way.

Zicasso's travel company was exceptional from beginning to end. They presented us with many options based on our preferences and had great advice on how to make the most of our once-in-a-lifetime trip. The lodges we stayed at on safari were wonderful, the staff took care of every need and the trackers/rangers were very knowledgeable and made our game drives so memorable. We really got to know everyone while we were there.

The beach getaway to Mozambique was also a great suggestion. The boutique hotel catered to us throughout our stay, offering incredible personal service, privacy when desired, and suggestions to make our stay even better. The day trip to Bazaruto Island was perfect.

Our agents answered every question we had throughout the planning process and made the entire trip seamless, with every detail covered.

I could not have imagined how smoothly everything would go; the stays, transfers etc. It couldn't have been better.

Working with Zicasso’s travel team was an amazing and incredible experience. From the beginning, when our conversations about our vacation started, our agent was patient and carefully heard what we wanted to accomplish, what level of accommodations we wanted, and what experience we wanted. He presented well thought out itineraries, listened to our suggestions, and edited accordingly. He was extremely cognizant of our budget and ensured he delivered the most value for the money spent. It was a perfectly tailored trip for our family.