I’m wondering if anyone has experience with OAT‘s ultimate southern African Safari? Their reviews are a mixed bag, but also many people who have taken dozens of trips with them. I’m particularly interested in reviews for the last year or two. Looking forward to hearing from you thanks!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23790 posts
You might not get many answers here since this site is mostly devote to Rick Steves tours.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2401 posts
I have a friend who raved about her OAT experience on safari in Africa. However, I don't know the name of her tour or where it went.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks much! All information helps ☺️
Posted by
Virginia
358 posts
I haven’t taken that one, but I have done five OAT trips all of which were very good. One was to South Africa last year (that particular itinerary is no longer offered). Our guide told us that Ultimate Africa is the most popular trip (in terms of numbers) of any of OAT’s trips, not just in Africa but anywhere, so considering that they have many, many trips all over the world I guess they’re doing something right with that trip.
Posted by
Duluth🌲
9446 posts
You might not get many answers here since this site is mostly devote to Rick Steves tours.
Frank, there are a lot of people who frequent this forum who have take not only OAT tours, but other non-Rick Steves tours.
Posted by
8923 posts
I am not sure South Africa is safe enough for me to go there.
If you are mainly interested in a safari, I strongly recommend Kenya and/or Tanzania. We did a wonderful safari in both countries during THE GREAT MIGRATION.
My Son and his friend went with us on the safari and had previously done a safari in S. Africa. They said that our safari in East Africa was way better than what they did in S. Africa and Zimbabue.
We used a local company, Good Earth Tours and they were great.
Posted by
8923 posts
At least compare the cost of your OAT Safari with Good Earth. I know OAT is a good company, but compare prices.
Our safari was only a group of 4 persons and we had our own driver/guide and stayed in top ranked hotels and lodges.
Posted by
new york
493 posts
I've taken five or six safari trips to Southern Africa; each one was arranged by www.southerndestinations.com
I highly recommend that Capetown-based agency, with an 800. number for free phone calls from the US.
You travel o your own but you are helped every steps of the way by guides set up by the agency.
Posted by
boise, id
13 posts
My husband and I did the OAT Ultimate Africa tour last year for our 40th anniversary. We (especially my husband) are typically not "tour people", but this one exceeded all our expectations. We don't have experience with any other tour companies, but we had no issues. We have done a lot of self-planned and self-guided travel, but decided there were certain places where we wanted to let the professionals take care of the details. The itineraries, logistics, lodging, meals and staff were all fantastic. An additional aspect we really liked was the inclusion of culture, customs, local issues, etc. including chances to experience "a day in the life" of local people. We chose this company because of referrals from other travelers who have traveled far more than us.
Posted by
Snohomish WA
27 posts
My husband and I took the OAT Ultimate Africa trip in October 2023. It was our first trip to Africa and we would like to do another. It is a fantastic trip. There were only ten of us in our group and had 2 jeeps. The trip leader was fantastic as were the safari guides for each camp. The 4 camps are each different and very nice and the food is consistently good. We learned so much about the 3 countries we visited and saw so many animals. The only mistake we made was to go in October which is the hottest month. We have now done 8 OAT trips and they are consistently good. If you have any specific questions you can message me. Go, you will have a great time