Cape Town & the Garden Route

Customer Reviews

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  Trish Sayers

  · November 15th, 2013
  A wonderful trip with so much to see and do from day one to the end. Apart from the wine tasting (which was at best bizarre) I couldn't fault the trip. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Hermanus and the Southern Right Whales.  I really couldn't believe how close they came into shore and so many of them, although we still took the boat trip out which was well worth it as we had some stunning sightings.What did you think of your group leader?Piena was without a doubt the best tour leader we have ever had.  Somewhat lacking in a sense of direction, but this led to some really funny moments for the rest of us.  Extremely knowlegeable about all the places we visited and the things we saw and with a wonderful sense of humour - a great trip companion (in fact you should clone her so that every Exodus trip has a 'Piena' as a guide)Do you have any advice for potential travellers?The weather was very changeable so make sure you have something for all eventualities, and the evenings do get very chilly.  Do add on a few days post tour in Cape Town to give you time to see more of the sights.  We chose one day to do a Safari with a tour company called 'Mile by Mile' which was great value for money and well worth doing (Hippos, Rhinos, Lions, Zebra) and included breakfast and lunch at the game reserve.  Also the 'Red Bus' is great for seeing Cape Town and the near surrounding area.Is there anything else you would like to add?Book it ...... it's a fabulous experience.
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  Trip date: November 2013
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  Margaret Newman

  · November 12th, 2013
  It was a really varied trip fitting in so much in a short space of time - elephants, wild cats, spectacular coastal scenery, ostriches, Cango Caves, whale watching, penguins, Cape Town, Table mountain and the Cape of Good Hope.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?My favourite day when we arrived in Cape Town. We went up Table mountain, then drove along Chapman's Peak where we had stunning views, visited the penguins on Boulders beach and then had an impromptu swim in the sea.What did you think of your group leader?Piena was brilliant. She was very knowledgeable, helpful, funny and such good company. There was a wide range of ages in our group but she got on well with everyone.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?If you can, stay on longer in Cape Town. There is so much to see and do and the City sightseeing hop on - hop off bus is a really good way of visiting all the attractions. I am really pleased that I decided to stay a couple of extra nights.Is there anything else you would like to add?I would recommend this holiday.
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  Trip date: November 2013
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  Sarah Parkes

  · October 31st, 2013
  This is an ideal trip to see as much of the beauty of South Africa in a short space of time. There are so many places i'd like to go back to having spent a little bit of time everywhere and the tour was very good at fitting in everything that we wanted to do even though we were a big group. It was stunning and I always felt safe. The first half is more wildlife based which I loved and the second half is more scenic so there's something for everyone. Maybe it was just our group but we weren't too bothered about the wine tasting and all agreed we'd have much preferred to have a longer drive and carry on to Capetown and have an extra day there. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Even though I initially went to see elephants (which were amazing) the part I most enjoyed was swimming in the sea with penguins on the penguin beach. Completely spur of the moment and a gorgeous day and it was amazing.Aside from that, the actually experience of going there and having such a wonderful solo group has already inspired me to book another trip to Africa.What did you think of your group leader?Piena is a legend. Organisation and a sense of direction she might not have but she was hilarious, supportive, energetic and so much fun. She went out of her way to make sure everyone got along and felt comfortable and had a wealth of information about everything. We all almost cried when she dropped us all of at the airport and have kept in touch since.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?There are lots of brilliant things to do in many of the places that aren't offered or even mentioned in the trip notes. For example once you hit Knysna you are only a 15 minute taxi ride from Knysna Elephant Park but because you aren't told about it in advance I could only do the basic tour and none of the amazing extras they offer as it was fully booked up. Same with the Cheetah park - we could only do the basic tour instead of the sunrise walk-along. It's good to research what attractions are in the local area and let exodus know well ahead of time so you aren't disappointed. Is there anything else you would like to add?Just go for it! I wish i'd added a week extra in Capetown as you don't get much time there just to look around and explore the place.
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  Trip date: October 2013
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  Eva Doyle

  · October 4th, 2013
  This trip was not very good value for money. Much of the accomodation was charmless and badly located. A majority lacked wifi which is just not acceptable in this day and age even if the standard in the country is not great. While our driver was lovely, he was not a guide and did not tell us much about the country. He also didn't have much knowledge about places to eat or to explore when we had some time - we had to rely on guidebooks and trip adviser (in the few places we could get wifi). As he did not drink, he was also not very good in the wine region. The lack of an itinery shows he was not on the take, but 'we will just go into a few places and see where looks good' is not really the standard I would expect. In addition, the mini bus was very cramped given the amount of time that you had to spend in it.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Negotiate a large discount or use another company.  This would be good value if it was GBP 400-500 cheaper.
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  Trip date: October 2013
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  Margaret Hamilton

  · April 23rd, 2013
  Very glad I went on this trip for all sorts of reasons. I would recommend it as a good overview of South Africa.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?I loved the Addo Elephant park, the Birds of Prey at Nature's Valley near Plettenberg Bay , Kirstenbosch Gardens ,the penguins at Boulders Bay and of course Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope. It was very humbling to visit the Township and see the children in a primary school.It gave some insight to the poverty and problems which exist today in S.A.What did you think of your group leader?Emma was fantastic as a group leader, informative and attentive to one and all. We also were very lucky to have her husband drive us as he was careful and safe considering some of the roads we had to travel on. Also he was very observant and pointed out many different animals and birds. 10 out of 10 good team work Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Go with an open mind and absorb all the sights and sounds of this fantastic country. Listen to advice about safety.Is there anything else you would like to add?Perhaps Exodus should recommend contacting the hotel rather than London when there are transport delays/ problems. We wasted a couple of calls when Port Elizabeth airport was closed.
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  Trip date: April 2013
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  Gary Davey

  · April 17th, 2013
  A well paced holiday which included a couple of longer drive days that were well broken up which helpded. Too many 'shopping' days for my liking and there are better wineyards to visit
  Trip date: April 2013