Reviews of wild planet safari

Authentic and Personalized Experience!

My husband and I did the 7 day, 6 night Kruger safari with Wild Planet, and they really surpassed our expectations. We had the best time! Thale was so helpful when we booked, especially with the wire transfer, which was nerve wracking and not entirely straightforward due to South African banking rules. We picked Wild Planet because we wanted an authentic and personal experience, and we felt we got exactly that. I cannot even convey the wealth of knowledge Ryan has about every plant and animal. He knows every inch of Kruger - where specific animals hang out and tricks to help increase your chances of animal sightings. We felt like they respected the park, its rules, and its wildlife. It felt like we had an insider's view of the park, which was awesome! The entire safari was built around our interests and desires. It was truly an authentic and personal experience - something you don't get with the larger safari companies. We wouldn't hesitate to send any of our friends and family to Wild Planet and we plan to book with them again in the future.

Amanda

A wonderful travel organised by Wild planet Safari

We were very lucky to have our short tour from May 18 to 20, 2019 in Hwange National Park and Matobo National Park organized by Wild Planet Safari. Lance did not only answered my request very quickly, but also adjusted the whole programm in accordance with our wishes. We appreciate his flexibility very much! Lance accompanied us personally during the whole tour and took great care for everything. The two restaurants booked by Lance for our dinners are located so beautifully with a real ambient, and we, of course, also enjoyed our food very much. The game drive in Hwange National Park was unforgettable. I made some of my best photos there. We are also very grateful to Lance for all the first-hand information not only about the parks and animals, but also about Zimbabwe. Our tour ended in the hotel in Bulawayo, but Lance offered us transfers from the hotel to the airport without any extra charge for this service.

J. Wang

An Awesome Family Adventure!

My family had the most wonderful safari in October 2015. We are a family of 5 with boys aged 11, 9 and 6 and it was a fabulous experience for all of us. Our itinerary was based on the 14 Day Wild Planet Family Safari with additional days spent with family along the way. All organisation and bookings were done by Ryan and Thale, which was awesome. Coming from Australia, we take for safety for granted and just before leaving I admit I was nervous about taking the family to South Africa. From start to finish, however, we felt safe and well-looked after. I appreciated having a local to drive us around and pass on his knowledge about the country. We travelled around 4000km and every day there was so much to see and do. The van was spacious and comfortable and good for kids. The boys like to be active and are not always patient and quiet but the game drives were designed to suit and the excitement of being in Africa and the amazing wildlife had everyone spellbound. Accommodation was suited to the family and better than we had anticipated; swimming pools in most places we stayed were great for expending energy after a game viewing drive. Ryan’s knowledge of the country and of the animals was incredible, his assistant Lungisani was great with the boys and lots of fun. Highlights were - Game viewing. Managed to see the big five but we learned about all creatures large and small, which had the boys fascinated - Curio shops along the way for traditional African crafts - Impromptu Zulu dancing after dinner in Hluhluwe - uShaka Marine World in Durban - extreme water slides for a change of scene - The Drakensburg Mountains We'd be happy for all of our holidays to be African safaris and will definitely choose Wild Planet Safari for our next one. We can recommend Wild Planet Safari for an excellent family adventure!

Wendy

Excellent and unforgettable!!!..

We have really enjoyed our unforgettable experiences in a 4 days tour in the Kruger National Park. Our best thanks to Wild Planet Safari and our guide Adriaan for the excellent services provided. We were in a group of 04 people and our transport was made in a van vehicle (kind of mini bus). It was relatively new, quite reliable, very safe and equipped with air conditioning and all other items to make our tour extremely comfortable. We stayed in very clean and cozy rondwel huts in Skukuza and Satara Rest Camps. Adriaan is a highly qualified, extremely well informed, very professional, creative and most friendly guide. His first class guidance and competent support as well as the information, stories and jokes about the wildlife made the tour even more interesting. His assistant during the tour was Lucky, a quite helpful professional as well. Wild Planet Safari is not apparently a big company, but its services are provided on a highly personalized basis as a big difference in its favor. I strongly recommend its services and for any further information please contact me.

Pedro Ramos

Absolutely fantastic!

We would highly recommend Wild Planet Safaris to anyone wanting to visit Kruger. It struck us that this was one of the only safari operators offering a truly tailored and customisable trip with all safari drives being in a private 4x4 (except the night drive run by SANparks). They met us directly from the airport to suit our flight arrival time and we were in Kruger and on safari the very same evening! Our two and a half days of safari were jam-packed with animal sightings including all of the big five. Our guides, Chris and Lungisani, were always on time to meet us at our rondavel (even at 4am!). Chris’ driving meant we got close to wild animals for amazing photographs while remaining safe and respectful of their wild nature. Lungi’s keen eyesight meant we spotted animals only visible with binoculars! Both Chris and Lungi were very friendly and extremely knowledgeable of the bush. We learned so much from them that we then decided to do a self-drive safari in Addo Elephant Park and saw far more than we would have had we not had this guided experience beforehand. The food which Lungi prepared for us every day was delicious and kept us going during our long days of game-spotting. On the final morning, despite being pushed for time to get back to Jo’burg for a domestic flight, we squeezed in a final safari drive where we stopped to witness two lions mating! Chris ensured we arrived with plenty of time for our flight after driving the scenic Drakensberg Escarpment route, again the timings were tailored to suit our schedule. We had a truly unforgettable experience with Wild Planet Safaris.

Beth

Best Safari Guide and Trip

We just finished eight EPIC days with Wild Planet Safari. Every day was an incredible experience due to: 1. Superior planning of the company (great rest camp locations within Kruger park with access to exceptional wild life viewing). They were easy to work with to develop an customized itinerary. 2. Exceptional guide. Chris has eagle eyes to point out the smallest of chamelions, bee-eaters or king fishers ... as well as wildlife incredibly camoflauged (leopards and cheetahs). We sweat he whispers to the animals to bring them in so close they almost kissed the vehicle. 3. Outstanding logistics. Hob the cook ensured we had more deliscious food then was needed, including breakfasts on the road so we did not need to return to the rest camp at the end of each morning wildlife drive. We highly recommend this company for lovely intimate safari experience. Far exceeded all of our expectations.

Christine

What an amazing Safari with both personal and very professional guiding!

I highly recommend traveling with Wild Planet Safari! We travelled as a family with our two sons (7 and 10 years old) to Kruger park and Blyde canyon and it is certainly an adventure we will never forget! Everything was so well organized, with effort put into many details. Like the coffee and rusks we were served (hot chocolate for the kids) while waiting for the gates to the park to open in the early morning! We saw lots and lots of animals, and our guide Ryan was very knowledgable. He could answer all kinds of questions and give us insights to the lives and behaviours of the animals! When some bad weather came in with some fog on our last day, Ryan managed to plan around it so that we could still make the most of the foggy hours and then see the wonderful Blyde Canyon when things cleared up. The view was stunning! The food was really good too, with new favourites for both kids and adults! All in all, both kids and adults were very happy with the whole trip! (We also got some extra guiding from Ryan's son. Our kids were very happy to find a new friend in South Africa!)

Clara

Amazing safari with very professional staff!

My girlfriend and I took a 6 day safari and absolutely loved it. They were very patient with us asking a ton of questions during the booking process and once there, everything was perfectly planned. We saw lot of animals, and our guide Chris was very knowledgable and had an eagle eye to spot animals. He made sure to find activities were friendly, and the safari itself was just amazing. Chris and Hope were taking care of setting up the camp and cooking/grilling delicious South African food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For the last morning, we did the Panorama Route what was also a truly highlight of the trip. We would definitely book again with Wild Planet Safari.

Ale

Outstanding

Excellent communication when making arrangements. The operator did everything they could to provide us with outstanding service. We actually did a 4 day 3 night safari with Wild Planet, in Kruger National Park. It was amazing! Our driver Chris was great. His knowledge of the park was remarkable, and he went above and beyond to seek out specific animals that we hoped to see. He has an extensive background in animal behavior which gives him an edge. His assistant and our chef was Hope. He is also a skilled guide, but his craft is hospitality, he planned and executed amazing meals for us, making us feel at home. Together they are a formidable team that provided a perfect visit for us. One day, due to their diligence we actually saw the “Big Five”, in a single hour early one morning! Heartfelt tanks and appreciation go to Hope, Chris and Thale at Wild Planet, for an unforgettable safari in Kruger.

Jay Murter

Excelent!!! Our guides (Ryan and Lungi) were extremely attentive and are very knowledgeable.

communication was good, but could have provided the phone guide that would in search at the hotel, because the day before we wanted to confirm the time and send email, but we had no response. Ryan cared about what we wanted to eat and what kind of animals we wanted to see.

Magali e Giovanni Rattacaso

excellant

this was the best expeience of my life loved every day and new adventure and so much to see the animals were so awesome and all i could say was omg beautiful babies the food was great hope was an excellant cook and so friendly to visit with. Chris was great at finding the animals we wanted to see and we all had such a great time definetly want to come back again with them two. thank you for such a wonderful experience and all my baby animals i will cherish the memories for my lifetime.

Diane Williams

Best. Week. Evaaa

Me and a friend went on a six day, camping only, safari tour in Kruger national park with Ryan and his assistant Lungisani. As it is already pretty clear from the previous reviews, both Ryan and Lungisani were tremendous to hang out with and really know their stuff about every wildlife and flora you can possibly encounter at Kruger. Ryan is a fantastic guide and a great guy with storytelling abilities around the braai to die for and a pair of eagle eyes which can even spot the smallest bird a mile away. Pair that with some quite amazing cooking skills as well and it's safe to say we made the right decision of booking our safari trip with Wild Planet Safari. After three days his assistant Lungisani joined us and made the trip only better. He is a really fun guy and always happy to help with whatever, plus his spotting skills are not too bad either... Overall we had the best time with Ryan and Lungisani. We saw a bunch of different animals, had the best food imaginable, had some good laughs and we were able to do it with two great people. It really was the trip we were hoping it to be thanks to Ryan, Lungisani and Thale and we really recommend going on a safari with Wild Planet Safari.

Nicholas

Two week round trip from joburg up to Limpopo, through Kruger, Durban, zululand, draakensburg,return

Undoubtably the most memorable two week journey we've experienced. Cute loved up guides, Ryan knows his subject, Thale great bush cook. Personally tailored service from guys who love the job, plenty communication prior to setting out. Mostly camping ( cos that's what we asked for) with a few nights in cosy accommodation. Dawn to dusk game drives, plenty game, astounding scenery. God's own country. Particularly enjoyed arriving and leaving at the home of Ryan's folks who made us feel like we'd known them for years. Loved the whole experience and would do it again tomorrow.

Andy and Angela, Southend, England.

An overwhelming Christmas- adventure

We had the best time of our life with Wild Planet Safari christmas 2014 We went on a 11 days tour from J.burg-Hazywiew- Merloth-Swaziland-St. Lucia- Durban- J.burg. And would do it all again tomorrow without any hesitation. The knowlegde of both Ryan and Thale made our trip complete, and with the patience for our four children (5,8,9,10) it was absolutely phenomenal. Travelling with Wild Planet Safari is highly recomendable, and you will get the best service, food and experiences of 'em all!:)

Marianne and family

Time of my life!

We went on a 10 day safari with Ryan, Thale and their son Felix. We started in Johannesburg, and went to Kruger National Park, then Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve, and ended up In Durban. The service level was great! Ryan is a very skilled guide, and knows everything about the nature and all the animals. He knows where to spot all the animals, and we got to see the big 5, and lots of other stuff. Ryan could tell facts and stories about everything we saw. He can answer any question regarding wildlife. He's a true expert. Thale and Ryan also did a great job taking care of us. They had full control of all the arrangements regarding accommodations, activities and logistics. They also provided good meals every night. Everything was well planned, accommodation, meals, drives around the parks. They took good care of us from the moment they picked us up at the airport in Johannesburg, until the drop off at Durban airport. And they are really nice crowd to travel with. The whole family are very friendly and professional! It was without a doubt the best 10 days I've had on holiday ever.Thank you so much, Thale and Ryan(and little Felix)! If you want a personal safari experience instead of a big group, Wild Planet Safari is definitively for you!

Erlend Hamre

No bad weather can spoil youir Safari if Chris, from Wild Planet Safari, guides you!

First Safari for the whole family, parents just around their 50s and kids of 12 and 15 years old. we were not lucky with the weather as it rained almost every day; yet the experience was unforgettable! Thales was super-helpful in organising the tour and, at the end, we can say her recommandations were spot-on! During the trip every effort was made to give us the chance to view as much as possible; the guide expertise proved so helpful to spot different species, even the rares ones (the big 5, 4 of the ungly 5v - only missing the crocodiles and many more..) and even when they were so far. He tought us so many things... and with a bit of luck, when we asked for Rhino on the last safari... we saw 18 of them!!! Camps are easy and clean; the chef always made something different and delicious.. even thought he couldn't cook under the stars as planned, due to the rain (hats off for how he managed). to cut a long story short, we would not hesitate to pick Wild Pülanet Safari again!

Stefano

A great honeymoon experience

We booked Wild Planet as the primary experience for our honeymoon. We searched around quite a bit for the right option, and found a place that gave a great experience without the need for overpriced lodges. The team was very responsive and flexible. They had a great itinerary for places to see in Kruger, and slightly adjusted it for preferences/circumstances (sometimes certain camps book up, but they knew where else to stay). They made sure we could go straight to Kruger for the safari as soon as we arrived. We experienced a week in an open air vehicle with a guide, served meals, and great stays in camps all over Kruger National Park. It was the trip of a lifetime! The guide, and Wild Planet's whole crew were super-friendly throughout the experience. I can't express how glad we were to have found Wild Planet and to have chosen to go with them for this trip. I already recommended them to family members and hope that others are as lucky as we were to go with this team.

Jeremy

Very professional but laid back.

Thale handled our booking and replied promptly to all our questions and provided a clear itinerary for our private tour. Ryan picked us up from Hoedspruit Airport and we were straight into wild animal spotting as we drove to our first camp, Skukuza. Bungalow here was all we could want. Ryan then turned into a bbq chef and cooked a lovely dinner which we ate under the stars. Next day we did a slow animal spotting drive to the center of the park to spend two nights at Satara camp, the bungalow here was even better with a great bbq and outside dining area. Before sun rise he had us waiting at the camp gate to open, serving hot coffee as we waited. We spent the day zig zagging around the park spotting every imaginable wildlife, Lions, Zebras, Hyena, Giraffes, Wilder beast, elephant Hippos, Leopard with baby, crocodile and many birds to name just a few. What amazed us was Ryan would always spot the animals before we did and he was driving. I think if we had been driving we would have missed many of the animals. On the last day he drove us back to Hoedspruit where we caught a minibus to Johannesburg. This tour was without doubt the highlight of our holiday which had started with a cruise from Singapore to Capetown.

Chris & Donna Parkinson

An unforgettable journey of a lifetime, a "must do" for everybody

It was so easy to book our trip (for my daughter and myself) with Wild Planet Safari. Everything was done online with Thale whose service and communications were excellent. Our guides Chris and Lungisani were friendly and courteous and great "spotters" of the wildlife which we saw in abundance. We were so lucky to see a pack of 12 wild dogs together, in addition to a group of six cheetahs in one sighting. We saw the big five plus more and were rewarded during our bush walk with a sighting of a pride of lions with cubs. It's difficult to mention a highlight of the tour, there were so many! I'll be back!

Pamela