Travel Review: Luxury Africa Safari, South Africa, Bostwana, Cape Town, Chobe National Park

I had a great experience with this safari tour planner and Zicasso. My sons and I wanted to go to South Africa and Botswana on two weeks notice at the end of July, 2017. I knew we needed to create a bespoke itinerary but I was a little bit intimidated by not knowing my way around South Africa at all. I had done some preliminary searching and received multiple quotes that were absurdly expensive. Somehow I came across this travel planner and from the outset I could see that he was extremely knowledgeable and understood what I did want and what I did not want. I wanted luxury but at sane price; to be in the hands of people I could trust on the ground; great game viewing; adventure for my sons. Our travel planner booked us at Sabi Sabi Selati in Sabi Sands in South Africa and Mashatu in Botswana. We loved both camps. Selati is like an old world safari experience as I had always imagined it to be in terms of decor. The food was great, the evening meals with other guests at the lodge were cozy. Mashatu is a different experience altogether - the game viewing is more plentiful and less of a trek to find, the suites more luxurious, the compound more extensive and overall less expensive than Sabi Sabi. In addition, there are bicycling treks at Mashatu which my sons really liked as well as a dug out they call a hide where you can view the game up close as the animals drink at a watering hole. I had insisted that I did not want to fly from Sabi Sabi to Mashatu and our planner did arrange for a great driver to get transport us by road but I would not recommend doing that - the trip is too long (6 hours) and we ran into some difficulties on the road so if we go back, and I hope we do, we will fly from Sabi Sands to Mashatu. He also arranged for drivers to pick us up at the airport when we flew into Johannesburg, to pick us up the next day to take us back to the airport for the flight to Skukuza, to drive us to Mashatu, to get us to Polykwane Airport for our flight to Capetown and to pick us up at the Capetown airport and every one of those drivers were prompt, courteous, polite, knowledgeable about the area. I had made my own arrangements to stay overnight at the in Johannesburg and highly recommend that hotel - fabulous rooms and suites, great rooftop bar, gorgeous views of the city from throughout the resort. Overall, five stars to this safari tour planner - he will listen to you and steer you in the right direction.