I will be first time solo traveler (widowed year ago) and am planning a trip for Aug-Sept 2025 for 3+ weeks. I’m interested in Capetown, Victoria Falls, Namibia, Botswana, etc. I know I can’t do everything. What I do value is being with a very small group, having well informed guides, a substantive schedule and opportunity to stay or eat with folks who live where I am travelling. I generally have not done tours because I like to plan my own trips. I saw a National Geographic tour which limited to 16 people, went to a number of places I wanted to see, had local experiences, and used flying to reduce travel time to get to these places. BUT I read some complaints about past tours with major last minute itinerary changes and poor responsiveness about refunds during covid. So I’m wondering if folks have had experience with Natl Geo or experience with comparable companies. Thanks for any suggestions or direction.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
I haven't gone with them yet, but Gate 1 Discovery Tours (Discovery designates that they are the smaller group tour) has lots of happy participants on the Gate 1 facebook page that continually post fabulous photos and rave about their trips.
Gate 1 has a "flash sale" for 20% of Africa trips right now. I'm unsure how long it will last.
Also a widow and I know that first trip is a challenge. I know you can do this and have a wonderful time.
Posted by
Virginia
304 posts
I haven’t traveled with Nat Geo but I think that with them you pay a lot extra for that brand name. I have traveled several times with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) and they may have what you’re looking for. Actually I’m traveling with them to South Africa in October but they have discontinued that itinerary going forward. But they have others that go there.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5865 posts
You could also consider a custom safari. A friend and I went to South Africa and Botswana and we used a specialist agent to put together our itinerary. We visited Cape Town and 3 camps in different regions of Botswana. All the transfers between camps (by air) were arranged. Our agent was Bert Duplessis at Fish Eagle Safaris. We took the trip 20 years ago, but the company is still around and is still run by the same family.
https://fisheaglesafaris.com/
Posted by
Reno, NV, USA
2555 posts
We have done 2 African safaris with Odysseys Unlimited and will be doing a third safari in another month. They are a great company. They are pricier than OAT and Gate 1. You need to look at a bunch of different companies to compare group size, accommodation, reviews, etc. We have traveled with Nat Geo four times and they are pricey. We only use Nat Geo if they are the only company with an itinerary that no one else does.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1380 posts
saadno,
About 12-15 years ago we went to Kenya on a safari arranged through Lion World Travel, a Canadian company. We had a wonderful time. Their on-the-ground company did a superb job. Our guide, Simon was kind, friendly, extremely knowledgable and made the trip very memorable. He really knew his Kenyan history, flora and fauna. We were just the five of us, basically a private tour. Our only complaint was the flight arrangements with British Air. They lost our luggage on the way there, and on the way back. It was a 9 day trip counting flight days. We couldn't afford a longer trip, but we loved it! First night at the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi, then five nights at three different safari luxury camps, then a day room at the hotel in Nairobi before our late night flight home.
Lion does lots of African safaris and I would go with them again for my next goal, Botswana.
Check them out (NOT Lion Travel, a Chinese company) Lion World Travel, Canada.
Posted by
8321 posts
We did a wonderful safari with my Son and his friend last year in Kenya and Tanzania.
They had done one in S. Africa and said our safari in E. Africa was way better. We did it in early August, during the great migration.
We used Good Earth Tours.
Posted by
Calgary
1744 posts
I'm not sure if you'd be interested in a private safari, but we did one with Tracking Namibia Safaris, and it was wonderful. I know they also go to Botswana and Victoria Falls, but I'm not sure about Capetown.
You wouldn't be lonely. The safaris are run by Francois (a VERY personable former police officer) or his son (whom I haven't met, but if he's anything like his dad, he's probably a wonderful and humorous conversationalist and a knowledgeable guide).
Tracking Namibia will design a custom safari for you, according to your interests and budget. In our case, at least, the cost was not much different from a small group safari, because Francois found savings for us by booking at sister lodges. We stayed at "mid range" accommodation, but to us it was very luxurious.
The best thing about doing a custom safari was having choices. If we were interested in a sighting, we could stay a bit longer. Sometimes we had a choice of routes (e.g. longer and more scenic vs shorter and slightly less scenic).
It was a truly wonderful experience. If you are interested, you can read my report here: https://www.safaritalk.net/topic/17676-namibia-a-midsummer-tourists-dream
In fact, the Safari Talk forums might be a good resource for you, in addition to the Rick Steves forums.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for all the suggestions. I am looking into them.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2309 posts
I'll be traveling to South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania in September with a friend who has been there many times. She strongly recommends Alastair with Mammoth Safaris and the two of us will be doing a six-day trip with him. She said she always learns so much when traveling with him. I am guessing that he would arrange a trip to your desires.
Posted by
Orinda
18 posts
My husband and I went on a 2 week tour with Adventure Life, on safari to Camp George in the private part of Kruger National Park (extremely luxurious and unbelievable animal viewing experience), Capetown, and Johannesburg, in 2022. We had a fantastic trip. We traveled alone, independently, but Adventure LIfe made all of our hotel reservations, transfers, flight reservations, had people to meet us at each stop, and arranged tours in each location, sometimes with other people, sometimes just for the two of us. I highly, highly recommend Adventure Life; ask for Erin Correira.