South African Escape

Customer Reviews

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  Maria

  · May 27th, 2024
  Loved South Africa, but we were disappointed with Expat Explore! I would definitely recommend going to South Africa, but using another company. Positives: - The tour covered a lot of South Africa - it was quite intense but that's the nature given just how much is covered in so few days! So it was a good route for trying to see everything South Africa has to offer. - The tour guide, Willem, was great! Energetic and helpful and always had things to entertain us on the long journeys. - Most hotels were good, all at least satisfactory. Again this is only as expected, but to manage expectations for those considering the tour. Negatives: - Terrible pre-tour treatment and info. We had to postpone and had a letter from Dr saying unfit to travel and TourRadar trying to assist but they made us forfeit money saying they'd spent it. Yet when I asked what hotels and flight info we had, they hadn't organised it yet, so was a lie. - No pre-tour info sent and anything sent was incorrect. We had info on 'our trip to Europe'. Still chasing for info on day 1 of tour! This caused us (and we know others on the tour too!) a lot of anxiety and stress. - Info then sent was incorrect - excursions changed, excursions missing, prices incorrect. This meant we did not have enough money and lost money due to having to pay bank fees to draw out internationally. - Tour information misleading. E.g. said there is an included game drive in Kruger but there is not, you drive through Kruger on the bus, so not the same thing and means that tour is less value for money when this is all factored in. - Collection of cash for excursions not appropriate - making us carry large sums of cash unsafe and this was not collected on a regular basis. - Felt rushed through some excursions. E.g. paid for a meal and Post-Diving debrief in the Shark Diving excursion and didn't get to do either due to being told needed to leave. - Those who had dietary needs sometimes didn't get options, and ended up having to pay for their own additional food. Please note, however, this was typically the hotels own fault and not Expats. - Expat Explore said could not organise pre/post tour accomodations but then was doing it for some people, so unfair treatment based on where you book via. Rooms not always equal in quality between tour goers. Overall, we had a good time there, met lovely people and experienced the culture and great environmental and activity offers. The tour guide meant it was better than the pre-tour experience had us worried it would be. However, it felt like Expat Explore was very amateur and definitely unorganized. This caused us stress and anxiety and wasted us a lot of money. We've traveled with other tour providers and not felt like this, so was very disappointed. But the country itself was absolutely incredible so don't let it put you off going to South Africa! I just would recommend doing it with another tour company.
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  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback on our tour. We're pleased you enjoyed the itinerary and appreciated Willem's assistance. We apologize for the issues you faced with overall organization. Your feedback is valuable, and we're committed to reviewing our... Show more
  Trip date: May 2024
• JJ

  Jodie

  · April 28th, 2024
  I have just returned from an incredible two weeks. It was an amazing experience of animals, wine, and adventures. Our guide was Matt and he kept us entertained and safe and really helped bond the group. It wasn’t a relaxing holiday as lots of early starts, but it was worth every hour of lost sleep!
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  Trip date: April 2024
• 

  Tan

  · December 19th, 2023
  Very comfortable pace tour, and u will get to see most of the good stuffs. It could have been shorter but at the expense of rush factor. But it's very comfortable for me. The tour guide Matt, and our driver Benny, were both very professional, with Benny also being a high average driver. Just take note of the optional tours and it's prices that you are keen to take up and prepare some cash in advance. Matt will arrange time for ATM visits occasionally though. Nice tour!
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  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your tour experience! We're thrilled that you had a fantastic time. Your positive comments about our tour guide, Matt, and driver, Benny, are much appreciated. We take pride in our professional team, and it's great to see their... Show more
  Trip date: November 2023
• MD

  Michael

  · November 13th, 2023
  An incredible experience that will stay with me my whole life
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We look forward to welcoming you back on another adventure soon.
  
  Trip date: October 2023
• JN

  Jenny

  · November 1st, 2023
  Very good and would thoroughly recommend it to my friends. The accomadation was reallly nice just long trips in the bus and the 1 night stays were tiring but that couldnt be helped because of the distance to Kruger Park.
  
  Trip date: October 2023
• DB

  David

  · September 30th, 2023
  Matt was an amazing guide.Went beyond the call of duty.Treated everyone with kindness.There is nuthing Matt does not know about his home country of Sth.Africa. We were so lucky to also have 2 fellow employees of Expat Tours on our trip.Nico & Alex were gentlemen,kind & helpful to me now an old age pensioner.They enhanced the trip for everyone. Matts choice of tours was excellent. Had an amazing experience & already thinking of next years tour with Expat.
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  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your experience with us and for rating us 5-stars! We're so happy to hear that our team on the road took excellent care of you and that you had an amazing time. We hope that we will see you on another Expat Explore adventure in the... Show more
  Trip date: September 2023
• WP

  William

  · September 6th, 2023
  Great itinerary, terrific guide, very good buses and drivers, mostly very good hotels, really nice fellow travellers equals excellent experience
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your review; it brings us great joy to know that our team delivered a 5-star experience! Witnessing our tours transform a group of strangers into a circle of friends, united by shared memories, is truly one of our greatest accomplishments.... Show more
  Trip date: August 2023
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  Francesca

  · June 1st, 2023
  Overall the trip was amazing! I cannot say enough about our incredible guide Matt!! Do be aware that there are lots of early mornings and some of the hotels have very thin walls. Also be advised that even though the minimum age says 10, a 6 yr old was allowed on the 2nd half of the tour. Not all guests do the full 14 days, some only do the first or 2nd half and this can change the dynamics of the group. That being said, the tour itinerary and activities are excellent for the adventurous and active traveler. Amazing experience I will never forget.
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  Trip date: April 2023
• 

  Sarah

  · March 25th, 2023
  I have NEVER written a bad review for a company before and truly hate being the "Karen" customer, but I am so saddened by my experience with Expat Explore Travel. I spent thousands of dollars to go on the South Africa Escape - 14 Day tour. Two days before the tour, when my flight was scheduled to depart, my passport was stolen at the airport and I could no longer go on the tour. While I completely understand that I signed the terms and conditions, was required to get travel insurance, acknowledge that times are tough in the post-Covid world, etc., I thought Expat would at least offer some type of flexibility in my situation. They offered zero. No opportunity to reschedule, no coupon, nothing. I never would have expected (or even wanted) a refund, but I thought they'd at least offer SOMETHING in such unfortunate circumstances. I do not believe for a second that Expat didn't make some kind of profit off of my payment and they had no problem keeping 100% of what I paid for and telling me I'd have to rebook at full price in the future. Every person - and potential customer - who I have told about this situation has been absolutely shocked at the way it was handled. I have gone back and forth with Expat, but ultimately, keep being directed to work with my travel insurance. Again, I am aware that there are structures in place by Expat's management and legal teams to ensure the preservation of their company after the Pandemic, but I felt this was greedy, extreme and terrible customer service.
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  Trip date: March 2023
• LM

  Linda

  · February 28th, 2023
  It was a rather inexpensive tour which I appreciate. Some of the hotels were great. A couple, especially the one near Kruger was not a great place to stay for three days with dirt walkways through the mud. The dinners there were mediocre, too. Our tour guide had a dampening effect on the tour. He was very authoritative and I believe has a control issue. He was knowledgeable, but I felt like he was a drill Sargent in his manner of presenting how our time schedule was. I know that we needed to be on a schedule, but he was a lot overbearing. Many times when we asked him something he would say that he would answer the question later. Even when I tried to tip him, he told me I needed to wait until he was ready. We had many bathroom stops where there were souvenirs to purchase. I’m not certain we needed this many souvenir stops either. I’m wondering about the aloe stop since he was getting goods for his mom and sister and I’m sure we supplemented his purchases by having the tour stop there. Also, we were told we could only pay cash for our safari tours. However, when we arrived to start the safari tour and after we gave our guide cash, we fwaited for 45 minutes because the credit card machine (which was how we were paying for our safari) was not working. I’m wondering why if we had to pay with cash why the group paid with a credit card. It makes me think there was some money skimmed off the top. The tour itself went to some spectacular places and I will have great memories of South Africa. .
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  Trip date: February 2023