Did you know that with a standard ‘highlights of South Africa’ tour from other tour operators, you spend 3500-4000 km on the road? On average that is 1,5 to 2 hours per day, but because you will not be traveling every day, you will have a 5- to 6-hour drive every third day. If you include the time of checking in en out at your accommodation, your whole day will be filled with travelling. That’s a waste of time if you ask us.
A company and competitors analyses conducted by students from the Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, shows that in our tours you drive on average only 1400 km and only 49 minutes per day. So the travelling days every third day will be limited on average to a 3-hour drive, allowing you time to still do some fun activities that day! We do have some longer drive days occasionally, but they are few and far between and often followed by several days at your next destination.
A company and competitors analyses conducted by students from the Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, shows that in our tours you drive on average only 1400 km and only 49 minutes per day. So the travelling days every third day will be limited on average to a 3-hour drive, allowing you time to still do some fun activities that day! We do have some longer drive days occasionally, but they are few and far between and often followed by several days at your next destination.
South Africa vs Europe
We believe that you do not come to South Africa to spend half the time in the car on the highway, so we try to minimise time spent on the road. Unlike most tour operators, we usually choose to stay somewhere for several days so you get a real 'experience'. This means that you do not need to unpack your suitcase everyday, which also allows for a more relaxing holiday experience. South Africa is a big country, more than 32 x larger than the Netherlands for example. Let's see what that actually means: below left is the route of a 20-day trip of one of the many well-known large tour operators. The map on the right shows exactly the same distance (albeit mirrored) through Europe. Such a journey through South Africa is basically the same as driving from Amsterdam to Berlin, from where the next morning drive is into Poland, followed by a day’s drive to Milan via the Czech Republic and Austria. After a night there you go to Monaco for a night at the casino and then two nights in Marseille to recover. Then on to Barcelona and so on, ending with two days in the Ardennes. Our question to you: Does anyone travelling through Europe in such a way actually see and experience Europe? We don’t think so. This person has, at most, seen and photographed a few famous sights.
We believe that you do not come to South Africa to spend half the time in the car on the highway, so we try to minimise time spent on the road. Unlike most tour operators, we usually choose to stay somewhere for several days so you get a real 'experience'. This means that you do not need to unpack your suitcase everyday, which also allows for a more relaxing holiday experience. South Africa is a big country, more than 32 x larger than the Netherlands for example. Let's see what that actually means: below left is the route of a 20-day trip of one of the many well-known large tour operators. The map on the right shows exactly the same distance (albeit mirrored) through Europe. Such a journey through South Africa is basically the same as driving from Amsterdam to Berlin, from where the next morning drive is into Poland, followed by a day’s drive to Milan via the Czech Republic and Austria. After a night there you go to Monaco for a night at the casino and then two nights in Marseille to recover. Then on to Barcelona and so on, ending with two days in the Ardennes. Our question to you: Does anyone travelling through Europe in such a way actually see and experience Europe? We don’t think so. This person has, at most, seen and photographed a few famous sights.
We are not letting you travel through South Africa like this
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Simply because you also would not want to travel through Europe like this
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We ask you to choose one or maybe two regions and then we make your tailor made safari that you actually will experience, instead of just travelling through
Making choices
To truly experience South Africa, choices have to be made. Therefore, we try to limit our tours to only one region of South Africa, indicated on the map opposite.The dark blue area is appropriately called the Elephant Coast and offers everything one would expect from a safari: impressive wildlife parks with lions, elephants and the rest of the Big 5, majestic mountains, sun-sea-beach, coral reefs, whales, dolphins and turtles, not to mention culture. Advantageously, all destinations are close together, so you hardly need to travel. This area is easily to combine with the Drakensbergen (light blue) where you can enjoy the magnificent views and can do amazing hikes.
The black circle indicates the 'Kruger and more' region. It is full of national parks, so perfect for many safaris. But there are also several beautiful mountains you can visit in this area. The yellow circle shows the famous Cape Town and Garden route. Great culinary and cultural experiences are awaiting you. You can also do adventurous and diverse activities and go on a safari at Addo Elephant Park to finish your tour off with. Lastly there is the red circle, which is the relatively unknown, but beautiful and adventurous, Northern Cape. Here you can also expect a perfect balance between safari, culture and adventurous activities, with the Kalahari Dessert as a highlight of your tour.
To truly experience South Africa, choices have to be made. Therefore, we try to limit our tours to only one region of South Africa, indicated on the map opposite.The dark blue area is appropriately called the Elephant Coast and offers everything one would expect from a safari: impressive wildlife parks with lions, elephants and the rest of the Big 5, majestic mountains, sun-sea-beach, coral reefs, whales, dolphins and turtles, not to mention culture. Advantageously, all destinations are close together, so you hardly need to travel. This area is easily to combine with the Drakensbergen (light blue) where you can enjoy the magnificent views and can do amazing hikes.
The black circle indicates the 'Kruger and more' region. It is full of national parks, so perfect for many safaris. But there are also several beautiful mountains you can visit in this area. The yellow circle shows the famous Cape Town and Garden route. Great culinary and cultural experiences are awaiting you. You can also do adventurous and diverse activities and go on a safari at Addo Elephant Park to finish your tour off with. Lastly there is the red circle, which is the relatively unknown, but beautiful and adventurous, Northern Cape. Here you can also expect a perfect balance between safari, culture and adventurous activities, with the Kalahari Dessert as a highlight of your tour.
Don’t you see much less on such a trip? Of course not, you have your eyes open for the same amount of hours per day don't you? The difference is this: With us, you see much more ‘purposeful’ sightings, i.e. wildlife, whereas on the larger tour operators’ trips you will see much more of the highway... It's as simple as that.
Combining regions? Of course that's possible! By taking affordable domestic flights these regions can be easily combined. But also in this case we stick to our concept, a relaxed itinerary, with multiple days at each destination. We will give honest advice on what to do. So wherever you want to go, just let us know, it is your tailor made safari after all!
