Family Safari Holidays

Dear Lisa. On behalf of the three generations of the Rowland family. Thank you, so much, for organising our wonderful holiday to Botswana and the Victoria Falls. The trip of a lifetime. The week mobile camping in the bush, with our guide Nandos and his crew was a fantastic adventure. How they manage to cook such wonderful food on an open fire is amazing. The sites were constantly visited by monkeys and once by elephants. We were even lucky enough to see two packs of wild dogs, once with a kill. Waterberry Lodge on the Zambezi River is a wonderfully tranquil place. Ideal to relax after the adventures of our safari and visiting Victoria Falls. Very many thanks once again

Godfrey R reviewing Private Mobile Family Safari in Botswana on 25 September 2023

Hi Lisa, Thanks for your email! It was amazing thank you! We had the best time, everything ran smoothly (aside from a break-down due to faulty clutch on day 1 of the tour, but our guide / driver sorted that and we were back on track by that evening). Saw all the things we wanted to see, even a mum and cub cheetah. Our boys have had such a different holiday and a fab taste of the world! Thank you so much for organising this for us. We’d definitely recommend our guide/driver (Tuhafeni) and assistant (Frans) again. Nicola

Nicola T reviewing Highlights of Namibia - Family Group Tour on 18 August 2023

Hello Lisa. We came back from our trip two weeks ago now so I am sending this email much later than I wanted to. Nevertheless, what I wanted to say was thank you very much for helping us organise an amazing trip. Our days in Mafia Island to celebrate my 50th birthday were exactly what I wanted them to be: a fantastic time with the family doing activities that we all love and enjoy in a relaxing, unusual, beautiful place full of sun, surrounded by water, wildlife and friendly people. We swam with whale sharks, did a lot of snorkeling, had two picnics on a beautiful sand bank, watched the sunset over the sea, did a bird watching excursion and tried scuba diving.
All merit to you because Pole Pole in Mafia Island was your recommendation. I never heard of Mafia Island before and didn't consider Tanzania to start with. It was an amazing place to stay: friendly, relaxed, beautiful, comfortable, with great food and fantastic service. Thanks not only for finding the place but also for your patience as we prepared the trip and I explored options and decided what I wanted. All went incredibly well (places, transfers, flights) and we had a very memorable time together that we will all remember forever - as we still do the safari trip to South Africa you organised for us 5 years ago.
I cannot wait to plan another trip! I am already thinking about where and when. Hopefully no pandemic will get in the way this time. And I will come to you as my favourite travel agent.
I copy in this message the Tourdust office because I want them to know how good you are and how much I appreciated the different trips you organised for us (including the trip to India for my parents that was cancelled due to Covid). I cannot thank you enough :o)
Kind regards, Carol

Carolina O reviewing Relaxed Bush & Beach Family Holiday in Tanzania on 25 November 2022

Can't praise tour dust enough, they helped us to create a holiday of a lifetime that has given us family memories we will treasure forever. From start to finish the whole experience was exactly what we wanted and more. Due to covid we waited 2 and a half years for this trip but worth the wait.
Carly

Carly R reviewing Value KwaZulu-Natal Safari and Mauritius on 07 November 2022

Hi Lisa

We had an absolutely fantastic time, thank you! My comments here contain just very minor things which could have improved it - please don’t take it as any criticism of the holiday which we absolutely loved, but small tweaks which could have improved it even further!

Cape Town
Arrival and transfer were superb - lovely to be met straight off the plane and smoothly transferred straight to the waterfront.
You should note that Lawhill no longer has a dedicated reception - this caused a couple of issues getting into the accommodation and meeting our guide. Just worth letting people know as nothing which wasn’t overcome with a couple of calls to the complex reception.
The accommodation itself was ideal for us - spacious, clean and a great base to relax and go out to dinner.
Our guide from AWOL, Bevan, was first class - really friendly knowledgeable and great with the kids. 10/10!
The tours were a perfect balance for us of interesting stuff for adults and children
If I could change anything from our holiday, I’d have had an extra day at leisure in Cape Town, so much to do in the city itself.
Also worth noting the cable car to Table Mountain seems to be closed during August - just worth noting in advance as we had planned to do that. The aquarium was a good second best though which the kids probably enjoyed more!
Departure was a pain - our car didn’t turn up at 4.00 as per the schedule which was a pain, particularly that early in the morning. On contacting them, they said it has been booked at 4.45 - an extra 45 mins sleep would have been good - just worth double checking those in future.
Madikwe
Transfer to Madikwe was superb again and really easy
Accommodation was good - I guess this might be because we originally booked a couple of years ago, but the bed for the kids was a bit small for a 9 and 11 year old. Our bed was so big however that Chloe just bunked down with us so no problem at all. Food and service was first class.
Our safari guide, Pride, was amazing. I’d recommend a private safari to anyone - we were able to be flexible with times and destinations (for example on one day he picked us up a couple of hours early to we could drive much further into the reserve which was rewarded with some cheetahs, another day we went on an all-dayer rather than morning and evening) - mixing things up to see more made a great experience even better.
Transfer back to Johannesburg was just as easy
Johannesburg hotel was ok - nothing special but for a transfer hotel it did what we needed!

Mauritius
Transfer to and from the resort was seamless
The resort is lovely - food, accommodation and facilities all great. After such a busy start to the holiday we didn’t really take full advantage of all the water sports but anything we did do was really easy and great fun. Would definitely recommend it to others!
For a family like ours the drinks package wouldn’t have been good value so pleased we just went full board (having a few drinks during the day and a bottle of wine with dinner our bill came to about £450)
Just to note a specific plus from the resort: I has some issues with my banking whilst away - the resort waived the fees on my phone call back to the UK to sort it out. Little things like that really make a great impression and reflect so well on the management.

Thank you again for all your work helping us get there in such difficult times. Great memories of a superb holiday for all the family!

Best wishes
Matt

Matt W reviewing South Africa Madikwe Safari and Mauritius on 31 August 2022

Hi Lisa

I don’t know if you collect feedback but thought it might be useful for you! Happy for you to use any of my comments in testimonials etc.

We had an utterly amazing holiday and firstly I want to thank you for your patience during what was a very frustrating process for all of us / my procrastination, then covid, date changes, flight cancellations / I can’t quite believe we got there in the end and the trip lived up to all our expectations. Our itinerary felt pretty much perfect so thank you for all the advice and steering in the right direction.

Thank you also for your flexibility in terms of allowing us to book certain aspects of our trip independently (Cape Town) and then adding flights at a later date. The flexibility to do this and change dates etc was brilliant.

Originally we intended to self drive, mainly to save cost and then I got nervous about it and we had transfers for the whole trip. Once we were there I was aware that pretty much everyone one was self driving and that the N2 route was actually quite straightforward. In retrospect we could have done self drive however my husband and I both agreed that for us the transfer option was probably best. Although a straightforward route, the N2 is quite a hairy road with lots of trucks and there was a definite etiquette for driving and overtaking. Our son is quite anxious and I think he would have found the driving stressful and so we feel we made the right choice.

It obviously meant that we were not able to do any self drive safari but this did not matter, I would not have wanted to the advantages of being taken with someone who can spot things we would never have seen, imparting huge amounts of knowledge and having the right vehicles for going off road were worth every penny.

St Lucia, this was a great place to start our safari, we did a night drive (highly recommend), a day safari up to Cape Vidal and also a boat trip on the estuary. Would recommend all of it. Our accommodation at Lidiko Lodge was comfortable and they do a lovely breakfast on a gorgeous terrace. The rooms are quite dark and although there was nothing wrong with it, it was probably our least favourite accommodation on our trip.

Ghost Mountain Inn, we arrived here after 4 full on days in Cape Town and then 2 days in St Lucia so were ready for a bit of a rest and it really was lovely. We had lovely rooms, enjoyed the pool, food and did a fantastic trip to visit the local Zulu village and then a morning game drive into Mkhuze park (they have hides here and it was wonderful to watch the animals come to the waterhole to drink) it felt slightly more intimate than watching them from a vehicle.

Rhino River Lodge, undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. The food was lovely, the level of service was amazing (little touches like hot water bottles on your seat at dinner and hot flannels and an aperitif handed to us as we returned from our evening game drive. It was 3/4 star rather than 5 star and the rooms were quite rustic (very comfy beds) but we really liked that (not 5 star people) and felt very comfortable with the children who were made very welcome and there were food options to suit them (although mostly they ate the adult food but nice to have an alternative, simpler option). The ONLY downside is that you can hear the N2 from the lodge and initially it bothered me a bit but actually it was such a fabulous place it didn’t really matter in the end but maybe something to flag to other clients.

Fairlight Beach House – I’m glad we only had 1 night here as actually the weather at this point was not great but it was a great place to gather ourselves before the flight home (I would NOT have wanted to go straight from Rhino River to the airport to fly home). Lovely, super comfortable place to stay and we spent the morning watching dolphins and whales breaching less than 100m from the shore line.

My only regret is that we didn’t make it to Drakensburg Mountains (Rorkes or Fugitives Drift). If I was planning the trip again I probably would just do 2 nights (instead of 3) at Ghost Mountain and add one extra day to give another 2 nights to get to the mountains.

Thank you Lisa and I really hope that we will have the opportunity to do another 'Big Trip' at some point soon and book through you!

Josine

Josine B reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families on 30 August 2022

Hi Lisa,

The trip was great. Thank you!

Summary of key points below. If there is anything else that would be helpful to know please do get in touch again.

Dubai part 1
Airport transfers all ok.
Palace Downtown - really lovely hotel. Very central location. Tastefully decorated. Great pool etc. Direct access to amenities eg mall/fountains etc. We ate lunch there by the pool and the food quality was very good, but we went elsewhere for dinner.

South Africa
Transfer by Ilios from airport to hotel - really Excellent
Oyster Box - best service I have ever had in a hotel, excellent, food great, rooms great, location great, but only so much to do.
Transfer by Ilios from hotel to Safari - really Excellent
Amakhosi Lodge - excellent. Facilities excellent. Food all fantastic. Very helpful staff. The house we stayed in was really lovely. Spacious, own splash pool, amazing views etc
Safari guides and trackers - excellent - lovely people, could not have done more to be friendly and helpful. Our boys got a sickness bug for 24 hours and they were as helpful as possible about that and so kind and caring
Really hardworking staff - made sure we saw all the key animals. Safari was suitable for children and adults. As we had the house you automatically get your own private Safari vehicle with that which was nice to have.

Transfer by Ilios from Safari to hotel - really excellent.

Oyster Box second time - again - best service I have ever had in a hotel, excellent, food great, rooms great, location great. However I would say that 3 days was probably slightly too much - I think 2 days would be a more suitable amount as beyond the hotel there's not loads to do very locally and although there is lots of security in the town everywhere which is great you do feel a little conscious with guns etc around. Maybe if you had a younger family 3 days would work if by the pool the whole time. But that aside I cannot fault the excellent hotel.

Transfer oyster box to airport - really excellent

Transfer Dubai to Sofitel Downtown - not great. The driver was late so I had to ask an agent from TUI if he had seen him and he ended up calling him for me. Once he found us he didn't really apologise and was very rushed/driving fast etc so ok but not great.

Sofitel Downtown - a good hotel but I would say had a bit more of a corporate feel - so I preferred the Palace one. Breakfast was very good - lots of choice and the staff were all helpful. The pool area was very good. We didn't eat dinner here. It's location was a little further from the mall so not quite as convenient - you could walk along a tunnel for 10/15 mins to get there but we used a taxi.

Emirates flights - all went well. Good flights. Good staff. Airports all ran smoothly in Dubai and South Africa. Only airport that ran less well was Heathrow! Baggage took ages and on the way out check in was long!

Overall though the whole trip worked really well and felt like a good mix of adventure time and relaxation time. I also think having to stop in Dubai anyway added something more to the trip as we saw that city as well as South Africa. For the first Dubai part we stayed in the newer areas and for the second Dubai part we went to the creek and the historical areas and souk areas so that was interesting to see the two sides of the city.

I hope that covers all.
Thanks for your help and I look forward to planning another adventure in the future.

Kind regards
Louise

Louise C reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families on 30 August 2022

We had a fantastic time. Thank you and it went smoothly in the main except for British Airways!

The trip had the right degree of luxury and relaxation (for me) and adventure (all of us).

A few points:
Driving directions to Umlunghi Lodge were slightly wrong. The driving directions should read at the 4th roundabout take the first exit and turn right over the railway. We loved it there. Anton, Bianca and her son and Harriet were very informative and entertaining. The snake talk and handling, night walks and seeing scorpions and the walk in the bush and "bumping" into a giraffe were really special. The kayak trip to Makuzi pan that the lodge organised was good and Tomaz was very informative and kept a respectful distance from the hippos.3 nights was plenty.

Rhino River Lodge game reserve was incredibly luxurious and we felt very looked after. The lion siting in camp the day we arrived sent an extra frisson of excitement down our spines. It was easy to forget there were predators that could attack us with all that luxury. The staff and guides (Karl) were knowledgeable and invested in their set up. We saw rhinos with baby, cheetahs with young, porcupine, Genet, wildebeast, Impala, Lion with young, buffalo, a puff adder, ostrich, zebra and giraffes. 4 nights was also plenty.
They all served great food but I felt Ghost Mountain Inn topped the lot. The variety was amazing. We arrived at 10.30 but could not get into our room until 2 ish. The service was not so personal I guess because it is larger (far more than 50 rooms). We had been a bit spoilt at Rhino River! My daughter and I had some treatments at the Spa and loved it. We also went on a large boat trip on Jonzi and had a closer encounter with a large bull hippo and also a hike up Ghost Mountain with Patrick who was very informative and passionate about his people and his country. Isaac the other guide there took us on the boat trip and pointed out the sugar cane harvest on the way. he was very informative also.

Lastly, Lalaria Lodge was fabulous and we all piled into the surf of the Indian Ocean. There was hardly anyone on the beach. It was "too cold" according to the landlady. The view from her terrace was of the ocean and whales breaching in the distance. I could have sat there all day. She very kindly provided us with a Scrabble board of her own for us to play. We took a Microlight ride from Ballito over the coastline in the hope of seeing whales and dolphins but no luck. If we had stayed longer we might have gone on a boat trip from Durban. We had a meal at a restaurant called Mozambique which was great fun with vast portions, plenty of carbs and fresh seafood!

The value of the Rand to the Pound was excellent and therefore we felt that we got excellent value which also played a large part!

Katrina P reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families on 02 September 2019

Hi, just back home now as stayed in London last night. It was fab! We loved it! Amazing all round- Thankyou. Best holiday ever!!!

Accommodation great at both places, guides lovely, staff great. We saw more animals than ever expected: giraffes, lion, elephants, water hog, wilder beast, impala, white rhino, crocodiles, hippos in lake Sybia, monkeys in trees at Tonga.

Beach beautiful, but a bit windy, waves v rough but didn’t deter my boys. We snorkeled which was fab but too rough on day we booked to do ocean experience.

My boys swam in all pools!!!

Weather better than we expected!

Must go and do some laundry, but hope that helps?

Best Nicola

Nicola B reviewing Luxury KwaZulu Natal Safari & Beach Holiday on 24 July 2019

Hi Lisa

We had an amazing holiday.

Everything was fantastic.

The transport wa spot on, great drivers, all on time, vans really comfortable and water supplied, a really nice way to travel, and you also get to hear all about the local area. Both companies were excellent.

Virgin - was a brilliant airline, not sure why I haven't used them before, SO much better than BA.

Rhino ridge was amazing from start to finish. We has a great female safari guide, who we got very fond of. The wildlife is more sparse but as its more challenging to find we enjoyed this, the surrounding are spectacular. Our guide had great knowledge of the birds. walking safari was excellent and highly recommend. The rooms were superb, very comfortable.

Thonga beach lodge staff were brilliant, the whole place was amazing, the range of activities excellent and again out guides excellent. The food was wonderful. Again the bird guiding and general guiding was brilliant. We really enjoyed the cultural side of our visit, seeing the local communities and church etc. My only comment on thonga for future guests would be if they can afford it maybe to go for a lodge with a ocean view, our lodge was great , the childrens was quite cramped and low down with a very damp musty smell - not that they noticed it, but I think if people were expecting luxury they might not get what they wanted... saying that it was fantastic for us. The lodge staff were amazing and went out of their way for us.

Oyster box was a phenomenal hotel and quite a shock to be back in the world after Thonga - but really worth the stay - we loved it, they Kindly gave us a room for the next day as we had a late flight.

The whole experience was brilliant and really well organised- thank you. We ALL loved everything!

On reflection:

we loved having transport rather than driving, it meant we could relax , sleep and find out about the country from the driver.

If we changed anything, I might spend a little less time at the beach and maybe take in another safari region also. We were repeatedly recommended the Phinda private game reserve (andBeyond) so maybe we would have spent a couple of nights there, in addition, local guides and the tour people said it would give good variety to the Rhino ridge.

However we were 100% happy with what we did, we really look forward to our next safari !!!

Best wishes

Ali

Alison D reviewing Luxury KwaZulu Natal Safari & Beach Holiday on 23 July 2019

We had an amazing trip. Everything was well thought out and so much fun. What a great way to truly see the country and learn the culture.

Joseph was the perfect guide. Very kind, professional, knowledgeable and patient. The kids loved Joseph and keep asking when will they meet him again. He found the Big 5 for us which was unforgettable! Please pass along our appreciation to Joseph.

Maji Moto was also another incredible experience. They had great customer service and we loved experiencing their culture.

Sunbird was absolutely beautiful and I wish we had more time there. We loved the view of the lake!

One suggestion to make the trip even better for other guests in the future would be to have a cooler with drinks and snacks in the Jeep at all times because a ton of driving is involved and it would be helpful to have a cold drink and snacks during the long trip.

Thanks again for organizing this experience of a lifetime for us!

Brandon H reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 12 June 2019

Thanks for all your help in making the arrangements, everything went so smoothly from landing in Jo’burg to departing a week later.

We all had a fantastic time, Kirsty (our youngest) was able to go on all the game drives and we were very well looked after both on the drives and back at the lodge. The food was great, staff were all very friendly & nothing was too much trouble for them (e.g. providing hot milk for Kirsty at bedtime). The kids all enjoyed the rock pool during the day and we all loved the game drives.

We were lucky enough to see all the big 5, with the additions of Cheetah & Wild Dogs. I think it was the second to last day before we managed to see some Hippo (and finally I’ve been able to take some photos of them - I have only ever seen them at night before). We had the adventure of being caught up with some Lionesses stalking a herd of Zebra (one of the younger Lionesses went a bit early & scattered the herd).

We’re certainly aiming to go on safari again although it will be a while before we save enough to go again (maybe the kids will be taking us next time!)

Jeff W reviewing South Africa Madikwe Safari and Mauritius on 13 May 2019

We had an amazing time thank you. The itinerary was great as we felt like we saw lots of different things and it kept it interesting for our daughter. She especially loved the gorge at Hells Gate.

Unfortunately the Menengai Crater walk was a bit hard for her although that probably had something to do with how hot it was!

We especially loved the Sunbird Lodge - it is such a beautiful place and all the staff were so incredibly welcoming and friendly.

Our guide, Joseph, was exceptional too and we can’t speak highly enough of him.

Suzanne S reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 30 April 2019

Everything was fab, I especially loved Tuningi such a special place and my son got to see his favourite animal the cheetah (after a bit of time hunting about on foot!). Mauritius is lovely we saw quite a bit of the island in the end.

Laura L reviewing South Africa Madikwe Safari and Mauritius on 12 December 2018

Everything was exceptionally well arranged and the whole trip, from checking in on line and printing out the outward journey boarding cards from home, until return to Heathrow, was completely seamless.

Although arriving slightly earlier than scheduled, we didn't have to wait before being collected at Nairobi by Elijah, our guide and Samuel the driver. On being told that we had hardly slept at all on the outward journey, they took us to a small B&B place they use (sorry, I've forgotten the name of the place) and we were able to rest/sleep for some 3 hours before setting off on our adventure. This was very much appreciated by us as that first day was full on after that.

They looked after us really well and both were very knowledgeable and good company and were flexible to our needs, with nothing being too much trouble for them.

The accommodation you picked for us was spot on. We were particularly taken with Sunbird Lodge (I could have spent the whole week there if it were not for being on the move due to the nature of the trip), which was quite informal and extremely friendly. We then moved on to the Maji Moto Eco Camp, where again everything was fine. Having stayed in similar places before, at my age now, the one night suited well and I was surprised when Dan was so taken with the place that he would have liked to stay another night! I think the camp fire might have had something to do with it. The visit to the school was also well worth it from Dan's perspective.

On then to Ilkeliani and I concur with what you say about it being so well priced for what it offers, that it is a good recommendation. This was slightly more formal at mealtimes than Sunbird Lodge but nevertheless, the staff were equally friendly. As adults, both my husband and myself enjoyed the food although the feedback I provided on their customer satisfaction questionnaire was that perhaps the evening meals could possibly have slight variations for children. We didn't see any signs of the suspended footbridge and as we didn't ask about it, I don't know whether it's still there or not.

I have to say that the beds in both Sunbird and Ilkeliani were very, very, comfortable.

The Mayfair Southern Sun was again a good choice although I think the room we had was perhaps a standard twin room. There were two what I call "three quarters" sized beds, i.e. larger than a single but not quite a double bed size, which meant it was a bit of a squeeze for 2 persons in one bed.

Both the Giraffe Centre and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Sanctuary were ideal additions to the itinerary. We had a 10 year old who was reluctant to leave Kenya!

Martha Ann Eileen C reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 14 May 2018

The holiday was amazing! Everything we wanted it to be! The safari was so we'll organized and our guide was very good. All the accommodation was superb. At the Masaai village we stayed in a mud hut which was different to the tent described in the itinerary, but so much better.

Pinewoods resort was lovely especially the staff who couldn't have looked after us any better. The food was exceptional.

pauline h reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 21 October 2015

I wanted to express my huge gratitude to you for our amazing holiday. From start to finish, I was particularly impressed by your organisation of everything.... the flights and all the transfers were smooth and on time. In fact the transfer drivers arrived early and were all very friendly and put me at ease immediately. South African Airways were excellent too - it was a very smooth journey all round.
Our safari at Rhino River Lodge was utterly superb. Your choice of safari for my son and myself was excellent. As you know, feeling safe was particularly important for me as I was travelling on my own with my son, and I have to say that at Rhino River Lodge, I immediately felt safe and welcomed. We arrived just in time for the afternoon drive and although we were tired from our long journey, adrenaline immediately kicked in when we pulled up alongside two cheetahs resting after their feed. The days that followed were incredible - each game drive was a different, amazing adventure - memories which will remain with my son and I for ever. The staff at Rhino River Lodge are really great - our game driver, Alex was superb and very informative. The food was great too and the accommodation was lovely, really hot showers and spacious room.
Our time at Lalaria lodge afterwards was very relaxing - again a good choice of place - the hosts, Linda and Tony, were extremely friendly and very helpful. On the evening we arrived, they laid on some homemade bread, dips and barbecued sausages out on the terrace for us and the other English family staying there - a lovely way for us all to get to know each other. To be honest, it felt like we were all friends sharing a BBQ rather than guests in a hotel. Linda and Tony were very helpful in organising taxis for us each day/evening and suggesting places to eat. The room we were given was great - a sea view room - very, very spacious.
It was a holiday of a lifetime and I can’t thank you enough for all the amazing organisation. I felt very looked after from start to finish and it was very important for me to feel that way. I will certainly be using Tourdust again and will recommend you to others.

Linda V reviewing Value KZN Bush & Beach Safari For Families on 14 October 2015

Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for a fantastic holiday in South Africa. We had an amazing time with tears at the airport as home came far too early!
Cape Town was amazing, so much to do and the accommodation at the V&A was a great starting option. Loved the Penguins at Boulders and the day we spent driving down to Caper of Good Hope was special. We loved the Auberge at Hermanus, and although no boats trips due to weather there were plenty of whales in the bay to see from land – and the hotel balcony! Also took a tour of the local township – Willy the guide was so helpful and his knowledge and information was a real eye-opener.
Cheetah Plains – well, what can I say? What a fantastic time we had during our 4 night stay. The way we were looked after was superb, and we could not have hoped for a better Safari experience, seeing the animals so close!! Cheetah Plains is a special place with a unique atmosphere and staff who make it really enjoyable and comfortable – felt like home!
Oliver’s had superb accommodation and food. The panorama tour was full-on and very enjoyable with a final day to relax at the poolside. Probably in hindsight I would have had 5 nights at Cheetah Plains (every game drive is different!) and just 2 at Olivers, although the rest of the family enjoyed doing nothing on the final day. Also a word about the drivers – an amazing source of information about South Africa. Amazingly courteous, helpful and friendly – hugely complementary about these guys!

Thank you for helping organise this trip – hugely memorable holiday. We miss South Africa already and we feel like we left behind the most magical time. We will never forget and really hope to return.

John W reviewing Cape Town & Kruger Family Safari on 14 October 2015

Accommodation and food at Karen Rock House were good. It was very quiet there as we were the only guests. Our transport, guide (Elijah) and driver (Oliver) were excellent. Elijah was very informative and patiently answered our questions about everything we saw. Our first day was very full, a long drive to Hell’s Gate, bike ride and gorge walk. Elijah suggested that we postpone the boat trip on Lake Navaisha to the morning we left Nakuru rather doing it on the way and this worked well. On the bike ride, our youngest struggled with an adult sized bike with bald tyres. Fine for us and our eldest though. The gorge walk was great as was the boat trip on Lake Navaisha.

Lake Nakuru Lodge accommodation, food and setting was excellent - as were the game drives with Oliver and Elijah. We saw a lot more here and close up than we did in Ol Kinyei and the Masai Mara.

Maji Moto Camp was an interesting experience. Again, we were the only visitors and the facilities & food were good. We visited the school before travelling to the Mara Adventure Camp but could have spent longer as there was a lot to see and our children enjoyed playing football etc with the school children.

The Adventure Camp was brilliant. We had a packed schedule of game drives (up at 5.30 every morning) and George and Wilson (guide and driver) were a lot of fun. They played football with us and were very entertaining on bush walks and game drives. We felt all the staff at the Adventure Camp worked really hard to make the experience an enjoyable one - from preparing the food, supplying endless hot water and tea and making sure we got to see what we wanted. The Ol Kinyei conservancy is beautiful (although we saw more at Lake Nakuru).

Our itinerary was good - it was busy and varied which suited us very well. We felt a bit rushed on Day 1 - in hindsight, it really was too much for one day. The day we travelled to the Masai Adventure Camp was also time pressured and we had a to cut short our visit to the school.

Overall, 5/5 - an unforgettable experience.

Tim S reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 11 November 2014

If you’re looking for a more personal experience of Kenya, something a little different from the standard safari and beach package holidays, then you should definitely speak to Tourdust!

We decided to have a family holiday with our two teenage boys in Kenya in 2014, a decision that turned out to be far from straight-forward as the FCO extended their no-essential travel guidance area by area in the months leading up to our holiday. After researching the travel companies specialising in Kenya , we chose Tourdust to organise our holiday, partly based on their highly informative website but mainly based on a conversation with Ben, who within a matter of minutes clearly understood what we were looking for.

Ben’s recommendation of the Laikipia Wilderness Camp, followed by the Sosian Ranch and then the Msambweni Beach House was absolutely perfect for us. Everywhere we went the experience was personalised, the service was outstanding and the quality of facilities was second to none. Yes, we did safari drives to see the fantastic range of wildlife in the area, but we also swam in the rivers, rode camels, went on game walks and ate delicious meals cooked on an open camp fire before sleeping out under the endless African skies listening to the lions roaring! Then a flight down to the coast and we relaxed in the luxury of the a villa overlooking the Indian Ocean, with massages on the beach, personal staff on hand and nothing too much trouble.

We knew that we didn’t want a standard package safari and beach holiday but what we got was beyond all our expectations – a truly personal, family experience of Kenya that we will remember forever!

Joanna H reviewing Best of Kenya Family Safari on 07 October 2014

My son & I had a superb time, there isn't one word to describe the trip but many adjectives come to mind; stunning, humbling, breath taking, beautiful, hilarious (that was due to my sons face when we watched lions mating!), fascinating....Each day was exhilarating and amazingly each day got better.
Our main guide Duncan was very knowledgeable and easy going, David our cook was excellent and also a good source of information. All the guides we encountered we were pleased with.
There were so many highlights it's difficult to pick one but our time at the Maji Moto camp with Masai is probably my main highlight, walking in the bush with a knowledgeable tribe member, the widows camp and the school very humbling and setting extraordinary.

The whole trip was well organised, flexible not fixed, I'd give it a 6/5!

Travelling alone with my son can sometimes feel daunting but I never had any concerns during our trip and the balance of activities and travelling was perfect for a family holiday.

joanne c reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 11 June 2014

Our Guide, Nicolas was fantastic. We bombarded him with questions which he was always able to answer and as a result we came away feeling that we had much more understanding of Kenya, not just the wildlife, but the people, politics and economy etc. The driver, Duncan was great too and seemed to know the Mara really well which meant we were often the only vehicles in an area and that we saw loads. Demetrius, the cook too were really helpful and made being vegetarian completely comfortable - the kids loved his food. And the kids say I have to feedback that the truck was awesome (it really was!).

Magi Moto was an interesting experience and one that we have thought about a great deal since returning home. It was not so rich in terms of wildlife - it's a fairly desolate place isn't it - but we were impressed by the projects there and the kids loved the warrior training. At times I felt uncomfortable that people's lives were being so openly presented to us, but I am not sure there is a way around this and also understand that our presence brought them a source of income. We met people there with an incredibly intimate knowledge of their environment that was quite inspiring. We did not do the complete walk to the Papesua Masai cultural village as it felt too long for Luca (7) and as it turned out there was no one there anyway. This was a good thing because it meant we had a quite period when we got to Mara Springs before going out for an afternoon drive. The children really appreciated the down-time and when a monkey stole Jasper's melon from the porch of our tent their day was made!

Cally H reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 24 September 2013