scotty2061

I'm planning a trip to South Africa in October. I found a tour company called Rhino Africa that has provided me with an itineray that is exactly what I am looking for.

Only drawback is I've never heard of them and they haven't come up in my attempt to search the board.

Has anyone ever used them before? If so what was your experience like and would you recommend them?

They are members of the SATSA (Southern Africa Tourism Services Association), ATTA (African Travel and Tourism Association), and the SATour (South African Tourism group), but I'd still like to hear from someone that has used them before.

Ashley9779

I'm also considering using Rhino Africa. Did you end up going with them, and if you did, was it a good experience? If you didn't, would you mind telling me why?

617amyc

I am considering using Rhino Africa as well. They've put together a great itinerary but I'm running into the same concern -- they don't come up in any searches on this board and I haven't seen any reviews of them otherwise, either. Has anyone used them? What was your experience with them?

tacos10

I'm using them for a small portion of my trip, 3 days in vic falls. Tehy organized everything for me and had pretty good prices and good communication so far. I leave in 2 days so I can let you know how it worked out when I get back.

617amyc

Thanks, tacos10, that would be much appreciated. I've so far noticed that they have good prices and are quite responsive.

tacos10

Remind me in late August if you can.

ShayTay

Perhaps you could ask them to provide you with references, people that live in your country that have used their services. Talk to them and see what their experiences were.

fbirder

I'm another one tempted by their itineries and prices. Any new news?

tacos10

They were great for me. I only used them for a small portion of my trip, but everything was as expected or better. I searched around for prices and they had some of the best deals for what I was looking for. I was in contact with them quite often and they were very responsive to emails. Highly recommended.

617amyc

I ended up booking my trip to South Africa (this January) with Rhino Africa. I asked for a reference and they put me in touch with someone who had just returned from South Africa. I'm looking forward to it and am glad to hear that you had a good experience, tacos10. I'll update the board on my experience with them upon my return.

jbella

I know this is an older post but it seems like people are still curious.

I am in the final steps of confirming my trip for Aug 2008 with Billy at Rhino Africa. So far I have been very pleased with his helpful suggestions and their prices.

He has emailed me a Company Statement. Here is just the first paragraph:

"Katherine and David started the company in 2004 - both having extensive industry experience, with Katherine having managed a number of top safari lodges in Africa, and David heading up one of the largest on-line tour operating companies in Africa, Go2Africa".

I'll let you know how everythng went when we get back.

Poppins

I work for a tour operator called Southerndestinations.com which is a direct competitor to Rhino Africa. As such I can vouch for Rhino being above board and perfectly safe to book your holiday through.

atravelynn

I hope Rhino gets some more usage and reports. I have Rhino in my radar.

617amyc

I've been meaning to post on my trip to South Africa for... um... months, but...

We had a wonderful trip to South Africa in January, coordinated by Kathryn Goodale at Rhino Africa. I've been recommending Rhino Africa since our return, and as I made yet another recommendation of their services I realized I never got back to all the folks that helped me make the decision to go with them in the first place!

We booked our own flights (BOS-LHR-CPT; JNB-LHR-BOS), but Kathryn created our itinerary based on what we were looking for, our budget, and the types of places we like to stay.

The hotels are, of course, suited to our taste, but here are the details for anyone who is interested:
- 4 nights in Cape Town at the Metropole Hotel (http://cybercapetown.com/Metropole/index.php). Fantastic, great, wonderful staff at this hotel.
- Rental car (Originally we didn't want to rent a car - we prefer to walk cities - but this turned out to be one of her many essential recommendations. We wouldn't have gotten to half the places we checked out in the Cape Town environs without one, including the great white shark cave dive we decided on last-minute!)
- 2 nights in Franshoek (http://www.lefranschhoek.co.za/). Again, a great recommendation by Kathryn. We weren't originally considering the winelands (felt it was too much to pack into 10 days) but this was perfect: a beautiful countryside, wonderful wine, and a relaxing pace. Our experience in Franshoek gets eclipsed by the safari when we talk about our trip with friend, but it really was one of our favorite parts of our trip.
-Flight from CPT to Kruger airport, transers to/from airport-safari.
- 3 nights on safari at Arathusa Safari Lodge (http://www.arathusa.co.za/). Perfect place (for us). Again, great staff, and an excellent overall experience.

We posted a couple of photos, mainly from the safari, on flickr if anyone is interested:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/5250809...7603778741295/

I hope this is helpful for any future travlers considering Rhino Africa tour operators. They did a great job, were very responsive (I had LOTS of questions), really helpful, and I definitely found them to be reliable experts!

mpkp

We have a trip booked with them in November and, so far things have been well. I like that I can reach them on the phone when I call and their prices were competitive.

KymH

We have been working with Billy at Rhino Africa to plan our trip, and we leave Tuesday. The planning has been good, and we'll let you know how it went when we get back! Kym

atravelynn

I ran into a couple in the middle of their trip to South Africa and they went with Rhino. They were very happy with their trip so far.

africanj

i worked for Rhino Africa as a tourist guide. Great Company....no hassels.
Rhino Africa is a great company. Have a great tour...


...I always fing it fascinating how aware people are of using facilities where animals are being mistreated etc. but they never check that they use facilities are where the workers are treated well.

jbella

We're back from our Aug. trip that lasted 20nights and took us from Vic Falls to Okavango Delta to Drakenburg Mnts. to Phinda to Sabi Sands.
All arrangements were made by Billy at Rhino Africa. We had hiccups such as Nationwide Airlines going belly up after our tickets were booked and paid for, delayed flights on SA that caused us to miss a night at a camp.
We had not only the phn number for Rhino Africa but Billy's cell number to call when we had a problem.
He was there to handle all our requests before traveling and to help with the glitches (none of them his fault) while traveling. I would recommend the company.

KathrynHauge

617amyc, I know it has been years since your trip to Africa but I just read this email thread and you said such lovely things about me and booking your trip. Have you been back since then? I now own a company now called I Found Africa and still specialize in trips to Africa.
Hope you are well !
Kind regards,
Kathryn