Hi Faye and Sean, Hope all is well back in - what seems to be a really hot - Cape Town! Just wanted to say a huge thank-you to you both for the excellent recommendation on Shamwari Bayethe. It worked out really well and Penny and her team were super accomodating with everything. We had a great private game drive in the afternoon and the setup they organised was awesome, fire, table with a whole lot of snacks, roses, drinks - the whole shebang! The accomodation was incredible and perfect due to it being so secluded. We popped into the Born Free Rehab centre the next morning which was definetly a highlight for Claire! Faye, thanks for all your assistance and putting it together so nicely. I would not have changed a thing! Let me know if you guys are ever over in London as it would be great to meet up for a drink! Thanks again - Adam

Richard,

Well..........you did it ..a trip of a lifetime..every detail that you took care of was PERFECT!!!!  All the transfers , collections, flights , drivers  etc were on the ball and always on time ..the Tintswalo and the Simbambilli were just different enough that they really complimented each other. The staffs were all so friendly and accomodating...just a delight ..You are now on my referral list as #1... Cape Grace as you know is always on top of the Conde Nast listings and it deserves that top rating... Our stay there was most enjoyable ...and I could go on and on ..the people of your country are so warm and friendly.  We all just loved  the entire experience and cant stop raving of how perfect everything was..

Again ,thanks ever so much for your professional help with our vacation.

Marvin

Richard,

Thanks for reaching out, everything was great and we had a fantastic time, we couldn’t have been happier with the trip.  We enjoyed all of the resorts and all of the drivers/guides were excellent as well.

Our favorite part was probably the safari (we really enjoyed Simbambili) although all of the stops were great.  We really wouldn’t have changed anything and I’m very glad that we chose to work with you and thank you again for all of the help putting the package together.

Tim

Monique

Just to thank you for clearing up the issue with the car. We had an incredible time in an incredible country, one of our most memorable holidays ever.

We certainly wish to return within the next 3 years.I have to say that the country side is stunning but the best asset is the people, they are unforgettable. The kindest people we have ever met.

Thanks once again.

Regards Nick Burdett

Hi Richard,

Hope this mail finds you well.

We’ve been meaning to write you a thank you note but we were completely swarmed with everything you can imagine once we touched down. Nevertheless, we wanted to express our appreciation for your speedy responses before, and while we were there in South Africa. Also, the car transfer locations were very well planned. We were worried for a moment.

The places and routes you recommended were exactly what we wanted – adventure and sights. The Game reserves turned out to be one of the most intense highlights of our lives. For a brief, but unforgettable moment, we were in the midst of an elephant stamped!

We have recommended you to a Singaporean couple for their South Africa trip next year and I believe they are communicating with you already.

We really enjoyed ourselves. We hope to patronise your services again! Thank you very much.

Cheers! Ee Chian & Kriss

Good morning Rhynhardt,

Sorry that it took a while to come back to you.

Our vacation was fabulous. First of all it is off course your wonderful country which impressed us a lot, secondly it was the outstanding planning. The tour with the exclusive locations was very well planned and organized. Thank you very much for that. The most impressive however for me and my wife was Shamwari. What a wonderful resort. Also the other locations were very nice and again it was the best vacation ever.

Thank you very much for everything you did for us. We appreciate it a lot. Best regards to Paul.

Hope we stay in touch. Have a nice evening 

Best Regards

Good morning Rhynhardt,

Hope you are well this morning in a sunny Cape Town!

We returned to Germany safely Friday morning after a wonderful 3 weeks touring in your lovely country. Today we would like to let you know how much we appreciated the perfectly organized trip. In addition to the excellent accommodations we had at all booked hotels, we were happy that there was not any problem neither with the rental car nor with the transfer. Everything was arranged to perfection and you took good care of us!!

What a delightful surprise it was to receive the gift of wine from Mr. Gardiner. He somehow found exactly the right wine for our taste and we very much enjoyed it. Thank you very much for this kind surprise!

A thousand thanks for your support, it was a pleasure to book the trip with Southern Africa Travel and yes, we really left with unforgettable memories of this wonderful country!!!!!!!!!!

All the best from Germany

Ute and Gerd Sadowski

Queen Victoria Hotel - see review on Trip Advisor - but in the end loved it. We prefer smaller boutique, quieter hotels but also like great service. Once we got moved to a room with a better view, all was fine. Staff were very accomodating, food good, coffee GREAT! We liked the decor and size of this hotel and proximity to V&A.

Paradise Tours- Arn Durant - excellent. We loved him , his knowledge and the effort he gave to making each day special was appreciated. He picked great authentic restaurants for us - one near the Penguin Colony and another in Stellenboch. We would specifically request him again. His selection of wine estates was also well thought out..that day was perfect. We saw sooooo much with him and he never felt like a third wheel or 'in our way'...we had a good time together. I would request a larger, more comfortable car next time - especially for leg room for my husband.

The Roundhouse- our favourite meal of the trip. We will definitely go back to this restaurant. Table was excellent, food spectacular and service was some of the best we have had (in Toronto or elsewhere in the world!).

The Twelve Apolostles- we really enjoyed our table on the balcony overlooking the ocean for champagne cocktails before dinner... while listening to the jazz live music indoors. Dinner was also excellent - but we had to unfortunately compare it to the Roundhouse the night prior, and it came in a close second to that first experience! Service at Twelve Apostles and the sommelier were fantastic and very helpful. We would go back here as well but Roundhouse would be our first pick.

**Note here - when in SA next, I think we would like to look into staying in Camps Bay for a few nights - maybe at The Bay Hotel ***

Steenberg Estates- WOW - golf a great day this was, caddies perfect, lunch at the Bistro was a great choice and was also perfect and just loved the decor there. Took lots of pictures of the Bistro from a decorating standpoint for my homes here in Canada!

Le Quartier Francais- We are glad we upgraded from the Auberge to the Four Quarters Suite. The Suite suited us much better and we enjoyed our stay there entirely as well. Was perfect. I will write a review on Trip Advisor for this location as well and highly recommend it. We had lunch in the Common Room (both in and on the patio) and dinner on our Anniversary in the Tasting Room with another perfect table/view (thanks). Tasting Room was a great treat and very special culinary detail and tasting experience. We would highly recommend it.

We still rank The Roundhouse #1 though (over all) but The Tasting Room would be #2, Rust En Vrede #3 (but LOVED IT ON MANY FRONTS and we had a special meal there with again, great service) and Twelve Apostles and Reubens #4. All in all though, we found the dining experiences in SA better than most restaurants we have in Toronto and North America. Is truly hard to rank them as they are all good. Service is a 10 always and we were very impressed with that. I would return to any of them. They were all uniquely different. None of them failed in any way. We never had a bad dish or meal that had to be returned - and we tried lots of new and different foods. We feel that we ate and drank (great wine) our way though SA!

Pearl Valley Golf - another fun day but it was colder and rained for about four holes! The views were hidden by clouds for a part of the day - but since we love to golf, we loved our day regardless. It is a beautiful golf course and superbly appointed clubhouse, staff, service etc.

Tswalu- AM saving the best till last on purpose.....what can I say? Read my review on Trip Advisor. We will forever donate to this special place to assist in protecting it ... and will visit it many times. Was breathtaking, beautiful, special, and memorable. Tswalu effected me (very deeply) like few places in the world have. I still can't stop thinking about it and the experience I had there. I truly welled up and cried when leaving. My husband felt the same way.

If I missed anything and you want more comments on any one portion of our journey or one aspect of a restaurant or hotel etc., just ask.

I will be in touch. Again - our thanks.

Can we thank you for our lovely holiday in South Africa this month. We had a wonderful time & everything went smoothly from the flights (5 in all) to the car hire & the guest houses. We did a 3 centre holiday with 4 days around the Cape Town area where we met up with relatives & saw lots of whales. We then spent 3 nights at the Nottens Bush Camp which you chose for us, in Sabi-Sabi. It was a fantastic place, worthy of it's 5 stars & the food was wonderful & so much of it! We went on 6 game drives (saw the Big 5) & on 2 bush walks with the ranger.

From there we flew to Durban to spend 3 nights in St Lucia & were able to meet up with our friends who had emigrated to SA 30yrs ago! All in all it was a holiday to remember but now the nice warm weather & lovely scenery is just a distant memory!

We returned yesterday from Botswana and I am almost back in Paris (chilling out in Pretoria in the sense of all meanings, cold here!). I wanted to fill in the questionnaire but it does not leave enough space to show my complete appreciation with your organization of the trip. I am simply blown away how flawless this trip went. At every stage of the trip we were taken care of and at every destination we were pampered. You spoiled me for life!

Since the itinerary involved 4 countries in Africa I expected something to go wrong at one point of time, especially while being transported between the countries. I was holding my breath the day we left Zambia to arrive in Botswana, a journey that included almost all possible means of transport in one day (air, boat and car) but it went as smooth as one could possibly wish for. Excellent!

Needless to say that I'll recommend your service to any of my friends with an interest in exploring Southern Africa. We had a wonderful time and a true vacation, although many of our friends thought it would turn into a stress-trip. Thanks again for your help and outstanding service.

Thank you for helping me with the biggest trip I have ever tried to do. Our South African Journey was a huge success.  There were so many wonderful pieces, but I have to mention a few: The hotels were too fabulous for words. We loved the location and the breakfast at the V & A Hotel. The service at the Le Franschhoek was unparalleled in our experience. The Manager and some of the staff came outside to wave good bye to us, incredible. The marble bathroom and the view from the Westcliff, I will remember for the rest of my life.

Words cannot describe the beauty, service and elegance of the Royal Livingstone. We even had a Butler.  We needed him, too perfect.

Our Tour Guides, Audrey (the friendly talker) and Athena (total professional) were absolutely great. They gave us a lot of information as we drove from one location to the next.  The women (in the group) enjoyed meeting each other and were so impressed with the way everything flowed. Audrey and Athena meeting our flights and even in Livingstone, the tour company was there at the airport just as Athena said they would be. Perfect, just perfect.

We preferred Cape Town, but we did have experiences in Johannesburg and Kruger National Park that we will remember forever.  The game drives were not like anything we have ever done and that made it so much fun. I knew I was on a game reserve but the huge amount of wild animals so close was a bit of a surprise. They loved it. One night one of the monkeys jumped on our table and took Cheryl's bread. We laughed and laughed.

We had fun, took lots of pictures and the memories will be there forever. When I plan this trip again, I will definitely use Gilt-Edge to make my arrangements. Lauren, you were helpful and supportive and very knowledgeable about South Africa. Thank you so much for making our trip amazing.

I wanted to thank you for all your help before and during our recent trip to South Africa.  You truly went beyond regular levels of customer service not only to meet our needs but also to make our trip extremely memorable and enjoyable; the appreciation we feel is more than words can express.

Our favourite part was your recommendation, The Sands. We not only appreciate the sincere care, professionalism, and pleasant generosity shown to us, but also all the hard work behind the scenes that you and Rudi did to make our stay comfortable and extra special. We look forward to many returns and sending family and friends. Thank you again very much.

We've just returned from our FABULOUS trip to East Africa and have already started raving about it to friends and family. What a magnificent part of the world, and a truly special trip for us! Thank you for all your hard work in accommodating our budget restrictions while also booking us into terrific accommodation - Ryan's sister commented multiple times that she couldn't believe what amazing places we were staying in, your itinerary exceeded all expectations.

Thank you also for arranging the "honeymoon alert" to Serena lodges - we were greeted by bowls of fruit and cakes, which was a much appreciated special touch as we celebrated our first anniversary! Thanks again - as always, you and Giltedge have given us an African experience that we will talk about for years to come. Oh, and we've already more or less convinced Ryan's mom & stepdad and my parents that they must follow in our footsteps, so watch this space! 

The unpacking is done and we are settling back into the snowy winter conditions.  We have a mini snow storm today with the temperatures at -8C.  Not quite as HOT as Cape Town! Thanks for organizing a most memorable trip for us.  We learnt so much about South Africa and its people during our stay.  We hope to find an occasion to bring the family for a visit.  You made everything so seamless we felt really on holiday; choosing our wine was the most difficult decision of the day! 

I would like to thank you again for all the arrangements. My parents, Regine and I were most pleased with the quality of the accommodation and other arrangements including the guided tours. La Residence was indeed fabulous and we enjoyed the very personal service we received there.

This, simply to let you know that Valerie and I are now safely back home after having spent a most enjoyable holiday in your beautiful country. We had a very relaxing time at The Last Word and the two young ladies who run the hotel were very attentive and friendly. Franschhoek was delightful and we kept ourselves busy viewing and visiting the many places of interest.  The time passed far too quickly. The battlefield tour was both moving and memorable. We certainly made the right choice in selecting Fugitives Drift. I would like to go back again one day. In closing, special mention should be made for the excellent organisation and attention to detail, given to us by Lauren. She was great and you must immediately double her salary!!! 

We had a fantastic time, honestly couldn’t fault any of it. Mombo was just superb – highly recommend it to anyone considering safari. So much game viewing it was unbelievable, by far the best we went to, and also the best food and best variety of food. Very nice rooms and a fantastic main area. Selinda was very nice too.  Exeter Lodge probably had the best rooms of the lot – big baths and plunge pools in each room. One&Only Hotel was great as always. La Colombe and Le Quartier Francais restaurants were both excellent – personally I thought La Colombe was better and one of the best meals I’ve ever had! Thanks for all your help. 

First, thank you for organizing everything to perfection! All transfers were perfectly timed and all were right on time – compliments to Bushtracks, Mfafa and Maucotours. Compliments also to the guys in Johannesburg – the half day tour was very informative, especially the tour of the Apartheid museum gave us unforgettable insights. Toko Leya was great. Very personal service, everybody very friendly, rooms spacious and luxurious, great location, great food. Game drive and tour of Victoria Falls very interesting. Savanna Private Game Reserve - Our first experience with Safaris! Unforgettable and we have already plans for further visits of this type!  The people at Savanna welcomed us like we were old friends, the safaris were spectacular – we have seen the BIG 7 with the exception of a buffalo on our first day!! Oliver’s was very comfortable, big rooms, good service and food. Golf at Leopard Creek was special too.  Definitely yes to Africa – we will love to come back for safaris. And definitely YES to Giltedge – you made our trip easy and comfortable, thank you very much for your efforts!! 

We are now back to home after a 24 hour travel. I really would like to thank you for the very good organization from the beginning to the end. We all enjoyed it very much. Our guides were very helpful. I especially would like to thank Jimi. I forgot to say goodbye to him while running after the children at the airport. So I would really appreciate if you could forward him my greetings. Thank you again for everything and I would tell all my friends planning to come to Africa that they should contact you. Best regards from very cold Turkey

What a fantastic trip. We greatly appreciate all that you did for us. Your suggestion to stay at the Londolozi Granite Suites in Sabi Sands was wonderful. We had not heard anything about Londolozi before, since most of our friends have stayed at Singita or Mala Mala. I obviously only know what they told us which sounded great, but we don’t believe there could be anything better than Londolozi especially the Granite Suites. All of the Mantis properties near Cape Town were great and ending our stay at Cape Grace Hotel was perfect.