Reviews of wild planet safari

Wonderful safari with a young motivated family team providing a personalised adventure.

Our group of 6 mature Australians really enjoyed our peronalised 5 day Kruger and Panorama Route Safari with the owners and now our great friends, Ryan and Thale together with their delightful young African assistant Langi. All booking communication was prompt, easy and helpful. The personalised service, expert cultural and environmental commentary on the safari from start to finish was enthusiastic and informative. We really enjoyed the personalised bush catering and mid level camp accomodation. I highly recommend this family based company to all age groups who want value for money, without fancy frills, but who want to experience and learn about Africa to the maximum in the time available. Kruger is awesome!

Les T.

best safari ever!

simply said: It was just amazing! we enjoyed such a great time with Ryan and his friend at the safari! Ryan knows probably everything there is to know about safaris and the animal kingdom in it. He finds a good balance of telling facts and stories and of just enjoying the wildlife. Furthermore, they cooked very delicious and even vegan for my girlfriend. They are very friendly and always helpful. I can recommend to book with them to every person who wants to enjoy a great safari-experience! At least for us it is clear: if we ever have time again to do a safari, we will book with Ryan!

Marco

Incredible experience - definitely recommend private tour with open vehicle

My wife and I went traveled to South Africa with my brother and his friend in Sep 2019. The safari experience was absolutely breathtaking and Wild Planet Safari did an exceptional job making this once in a lifetime trip come true. Because it was 4 of us we elected to do the private tour, which I strongly recommend as we were able to customize the tour to our liking. I also think the extra money for an open vehicle was well with the cost because there was nothing between you and the animals. Overall, we recommend Wild Planet Safari without any reservation.

Rohan

Wild Planet Safari delivers the best of Kruger National Park

My partner and I booked the 5-day express tour of Kruger National Park which took us through the central and southern parts of Kruger. Our tour guide, Chris, and his assistant, Hopeson, were excellent and friendly guides. Chris is very knowledgable about both fauna and flora and has an eagle eye for spotting animals. Hopeson made sure we were always comfortable and well-fed. We stayed at a different park lodge each night, which allowed us to cover a lot of territory. The bungalows are not luxurious, but have all the basic amenities (towels, soap, kitchen equipment, A/C, etc.), are comfortable and perfectly suited for mid-level budget travel. Included in the package was one night tour, which was great (we saw three lions, hyena, lesser bush babies and more). We also paid extra to go on an early-morning walk in order to get out of the truck for a few hours. This was fascinating as you are literally amongst the animals (armed guides accompany you for protection). I highly recommend Wild Planet Safari and especially Chris and Hopeson as guides.

David Nelson

Great service!

My experience overall was awesome. Highly recommend everyone!

Tugce Duzener

Our tour guides were very knowledgeable, patient, helpful, funny, and safety-minded

This was a trip of a lifetime thanks in part to our guides Eric and Ryan. We had a larger than normal group and they went above and beyond to take care of us the whole time. We experienced more animal encounters than I ever expected and they taught us a lot about the animals and the environment while making it fun. They were excellent hosts and excellent cooks! 😁

Caela

Excellent, knowledgeable, cheery, uncomplaining guides with sharp spotting eyes showed us so much.

First class communications. Prompt, friendly, helpful replies at all times and alterations made to personalise our tour including re-booking accommodation caused bt the BA flight problems. Coming from so far we tried to do too much. We would have preferred to have spent longer in each location with less time on the road so we will just have to return with more time. The bush walk in the Kruger was memorable as were the. Iews in Berg en Dal. We preferred to leave out the shopping trip to Durban as we had come looking for animals and birds and shopping malls are the same the world over but a quiet day relaxing near the beach was rewarded with a whale spouting. The trip to Rorke's Drift was an extra well- worth doing and the accommodation there something really special with San cave art a bonus. Animals at the Golden Gate were almost non- existent as the gates are now open and unmanned but the geology was impressive. The geology of the Drakensberg is simply breathtaking but you need to be fit. Just sitting watching the sunrise and set on the Cathedral was special In short: a first rate tour company which we would certainly recommend.

Alison

Informal and easy going

+ves: - Wild Planet Safari responds promptly to all email communication. It is very easy to organise the tours. - They demonstrate much flexibility and can adapt to your last minute request. - They are a small team and seem to be passionate about wildlife. Ryan shows significant know-how of the wilderness. - Polite with a true sense of caring. -ves: - The vehicle is quite humble, no land rovers here. - no fancy food on the tours

Sand

Love it..

Wild planet safari is really very helpful and supportive... I got wonderful experience thanks again.....

Robert Neville

Fantastic safari tour company and memorable trip!

This review is long in coming and the delay not a reflection of the service and time experienced! My husband and I traveled to South Africa last October and had the great fortune of booking our 7-day safari trip with Wild Planet Safari. From the very beginning, communications with Thale were prompt, very informative, professional and friendly. At the start of our trip, we had some health issues that caused us to delay our trip by a couple of days. Thale was once again incredibly supportive and worked with us to coordinate alternative options while making sure we didn't miss out on our trip there. Once at Kruger National Park, we met with our guide Chris who on a daily basis went out of his way to make sure that each outing was maximized and that we saw and experienced the wildlife as much as possible. Chris also catered to our every wish and humored us in taking the "not such traditional" perfect pictures, like of dead trees, rocks and whatever caught our eye in the moment! Not only was Chris a wealth of information about the wildlife, always providing interesting facts, but he is also an amazing cook! Every meal he prepared was amazing! We had an excellent experience with Chris and Thale and look forward to the next opportunity when we can come back again with the rest of the family! Thank you Wild Planet Safari for the great vacation!!

M & D

Once in a lifetime!

You know that you have dreamed about experience the wild life in Africa since you where a little child. Wild Planet Safari makes your dreams come true, and MORE! I am so grateful for every minutes, hours and days we spent together. I have learned so much about Africa, the wild life, animals, trees, flowers etc. etc. And we got to see so much animals!! It was like a dream. I will never forget this trip. And I will never forget your great service, good food, fantastic game drives and that you did everything to make this the best holiday EVER!! I'll be back!! :-)

Solvår Hardesty

Delightful young man, full of knowledge and an obvious love of "Kruger" animals & birds.

What an amazing experience we and 4 other "Aussies" had visiting "Kruger", in March 2018 under the wonderful leadership of Ryan & Thale & their very delightful African assistant Langi. An exceptional young couple who were a pleasure to spend time with around the campfire enjoying the delicious meals prepared by Langi. Ryan is a book of knowledge, in all areas whether it be animals, birds or the area we traveled in. He knew exactly the places to visit, and the right time of day to do so to find all the animals & birds we sighted. A faultless 5 days way beyond our expectations. Would recommend them to all thinking of visiting "Kruger".

Don & Cheryl

Most amazing experience i have ever had in my life

A fantastic 13 day adventure trip. Ryan with his outstanding knowledge of the wildlife, plant life and the knowledge about the entire African continent, and Tale with her service and has also become a very good tour guide. Thank you, i give my best recommendations. Best regard Bjørn Farstad

Bjørn

Kalahari Adventure.

A special custom adventure (it was so, so much more than a safari!) for my wife and I. Part accompanied self-drive in 4X4 Hiluxes and partly in Wild Planet's customised VW Truck. Apart from the usual first class Wild Planet food, service and Wildlife spotting we had some major desert adventures, the highlight was Ryan Organising the 4X4 trail in the Kalagadi for the morning of my wife's Birthday, she loved driving those dunes - then to cap it we saw lots of Meerkats (very close!) - her favourites. Personally I loved watching the lions hunting in Pilanesburg and found the desert scenery absolutely breath taking. We saw so many different species and had such a wonderful time that we have made our minds up to travel with Wild Planet again and again. (This is the third trip we have done with Ryan and they just keep getting better.) If you want a tailor made Safari with the most knowledgeable guides I have met go no further than Ryan and Thale of Wild Planet.

Neil

Everything was just what we wanted in a safari and everyone had a great time.

We wanted a guided, private 14 day safari for six adults that showed us all of Kruger National Park from north to south, and also included the Panorama Route. Wild Planet Safari far exceeded our expectations in providing this. Our guide, Eric, was excellent, and we saw so much more wildlife than we ever expected to see because of his knowledge, experience, and skill. He knew all the best places for seeing wildlife, and even though we spent almost two weeks in Kruger and saw many animals multiple times, their situations and behaviors were always different, so it never got boring. We learned so much from Eric about the behaviors of wildlife in the park that we would be comfortable driving through there on our own now, although if we did we would still hire Wild Planet Safari for part of it, because you can’t beat having a knowledgeable guide with you. We were also impressed that Eric was helpful to tourists that asked him questions about sightings, just as he did with the other guides. Because of his knowledge we always felt safe with him; and he showed this even before we entered the park when we encountered the road blocked by people protesting. He pulled over well before the crowd, talked to other motorists coming from there about what was going on and the best route to avoid the protest, and only after having adequate information did we proceed. One big reason we chose Wild Planet Safari was they provide a cook, and since we wanted to eat what the locals eat, we thought this would be a good option. Our cook, Hope, provided that perfectly, and we really enjoyed having him with us. We also have one person who has to be very careful about what he eats due to weakened immunity, and having Hope as our cook, he never had any concerns. Hope not only provided delicious meals, but he also shared South African cooking tips with our amateur cooks, along with talking about what life in South Africa is like. When telling people about our trip, the great meals provided by Hope are always brought up, along with his stories of dealing with monkeys and baboons trying to steal food while he’s cooking. We wanted to stay at the camps inside Kruger, in rooms with beds, and again Wild Planet Safari was a perfect fit for us. Two places we stayed at outside of the park were very nice cottages, and all the single room cabins in the park were wonderful. Although park accommodations aren’t fancy, they are all unique, comfortable, roomy, and they always had a private bath and a refrigerator or small kitchen. It was fascinating to see the differences between American national park facilities and South African, and we even walked through a campground and saw that most African RVs and travel trailers have their kitchens attached on the outside under awnings, which considering the monkey problems was very surprising. The vehicle was perfect for 6 people. With 3 rows of 3 seats everyone had a window seat and an empty seat between for coats and bags. Even between camps, with our 5 carry-on suitcases under the back seats and one large suitcase on a back seat, we still had plenty of window seats for wildlife viewing. The provided blankets were wonderful. Even though we had warm jackets, layers, and hats for an open-air vehicle, even at the slow speed limits in the park it is surprisingly cold, especially at dawn. We also got to meet the owner, Ryan, and his young son when they resupplied us midway on our trip and joined us for meals, and again when he cooked for us on our last night. We had a great time listening to his stories over meals, just like we did on the rest of the trip with Eric and Hope. We only wish that Thale, Ryan’s wife, could of joined us, but she was out of the country. I always enjoyed talking with her via e-mails. She did a great job working with us, making all the arrangements, and even dealing with our almost missed first day due to a five hour flight delay. Thank you Eric, Hope, Thale, and Ryan for making our trip to Kruger full of such wonderful memories.

Kathleen

5 days, 4 nights custom Kruger safari

Incredible safari experience: - Very quick and easy communication with Thale throughout the entire booking process - Chris and Lungi were amazing guides with great "bush eyes" (as they call them) to spot even small animals and animals far away from our vehicle. They also demonstrated fantastic knowledge of plants, all the animals and the ecosystem as a whole - Lungi's cooking on a braai was phenomenal; we definitely did not expect to eat this well on our safari! - Accommodation was comfy and big enough, and we definitely recommend trying out Tamboti Tented Camp instead of just Skukuza or Satara. We would definitely book again with Wild Planet Safari

Roger

Great experience and servica. Highly recommended

Thank you Thale for the great experience. Everything from the beginning till the end was perfectly planned. We didn't have to worry about anything. The transport from and to Jo'burg, the lodge we slept in (amazing), the driver (the little 5 safari) and the extra activities. I will definitely recommend you to others!

Kim Claessens

Good experience

Ryan was very prompt in replying to my emails and very accommodating of our requests to customise our 15 day tour of eastern South Africa. He was very knowledgeable about the wildlife and particularly the birdlife of the areas we visited. The accommodation he booked for us lived up to and sometimes surpassed our expectations. It was a combination of lodges and luxury tents. Overall we had a very memorable and enjoyable safari tour and I would certainly recommend this company.

Therese

So knowledgeable and caring, clearly wanting us to have an amazing time!!!!

This was my second African safari and by the afternoon of the first day, it completely exceeded my expectations. I traveled with my brother and he was in awe!!! We saw several prides of lions very close up and I will never, ever forget looking into their eyes!!!!

Kathleen Brandt