jenmakin

Has anyone visited South Africa with the UK based company: Explore! I'm looking for reviews of their trips and curious to know if you felt safe?

Thank you!

Treepol

I've done 3 Explore trips in Africa - in South Africa I did a trip over the battlefields to St Lucia, returning via Kruger.

I felt safe at all times and have found this company provide a consistent standard of soft adventure trips in Botswana, Namibia as well as South Africa. Accommodation and food have always been to a good standard, the vehicles are safe and well maintained and the guides were knowledgeable and considerate. I didn't do a trip report, but here is one from another traveller who did an Explore Botswana trip, http://www.birdforum...ad.php?t=127804

Go, you will have a great time!

Safari_Craig

Jenmakin,

I just want to make sure you are talking about the right company. The Explore I know is an extremely reputable safari operator but they are based in the USA and have been around for over 20 years. I am friends with the owner and in fact just got off the phone with her. Her name is Cherri Briggs. Google her name and you will find many nice articles about the company and her. She is also listed every year in Conde Nast as a Gold List agent for Africa.

EXPLORE, Inc.
www.exploreafrica.net
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
1-970-871-0065
[email protected]

I hope this helps. If you contact this Explore you will be in good hands!

Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond

jenmakin

Thank you - that's a huge help!

Gordon_R

But the OP asked specifically about Explore! http://www.explore.co.uk/ which is a UK company specialising in adventure holidays. This is a million miles away from the luxury safari trips offered by the US company Explore.

Treepol

Gordon_R thanks for updating. I noticed the confusion and intended to clarify my response which did indeed relate my experience with http://www.explore.co.uk/

Regards,


Pol

Gordon_R

In my younger back-packing days I did a number of trips with "adventure tour" companies, including Egypt with Explore. FWIW I thought they were very good, although the group size was a little high (25 people?). Explore had more of a mixed clientele in terms of ages than the other companies in this market (which arer more aimed at the 18-35 set), and the accommodation though certainly not luxurious was a step up from the "mozzie net under the stars" stuff I'd experienced elsewhere (though nothing wrong with that).

That said, you'll probably get better up-to-date feedback on Explore over at Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum. It seems to me that most of the folk on here are into expensive luxury lodges when they visit Africa.

Are you fixed on an organised tour? South Africa is relatively easy to visit independently on a fly/drive basis. We've been three times and never on a tour.

jenmakin

I'm open to exploring South Africa on my own - I just thought that it would be a safer idea to go with a group, as the media implies that I may be shot, mugged, raped, etc., if I'm on my own. I think that I've gotten myself too scared to go at all now.