Guestbook

It was already our second self-drive tour with Elefant-Tours. In 2017 we did Intensive East, and now the Garden Route as far as Addo Elephant Park and back to Cape Town. The classic tour was extended to 20 days for us and we got further great places to stay. We can only recommend everyone to take their time on round trips and not just “drive through” quickly. Packing the east and the south into one holiday is far too stressful – you simply have to plan several holidays to enjoy South Africa in peace. There are enough dreamlike areas with great hiking opportunities to fill the days. With Elefant Tours you get the trip tailored the way you want it for yourself. Even the accommodation in the national parks was still possible despite late booking. Of course the staff on the ground in Cape Town are also an advantage, as they really do know the country and its people and can give good tips. A self-drive trip is also possible for people who do not speak perfect English, as everything is perfectly organised. We can recommend Elefant Tours to anyone – value for money is top, and individual wishes are accommodated.

We were in Kenya with our 7-year-old daughter from 30.09. to 12.10.2019.

After a short overnight stop in Nairobi, we were greeted in the morning first by Alex, who gave us all the important information and was always reachable. Afterwards we drove with our guide Eli to the Masai Mara. There we had three unforgettable days and nights…

You can hardly get more animals, and the nightly visit of the hippos and buffalo at the tent was a special experience. The staff at Julia’s River Camp and very especially Eli were absolutely top. You can hardly get friendlier…

After that we spent another 8 days at Diani Beach for a beach holiday. Here too we had a dreamily beautiful time.

As on our first trip with Elefant Tours in 2018 (then a 3-week South Africa self-drive tour), everything was once again perfectly planned and carried out by our adviser Stephan Schuff this time too!!!

We certainly were not in Africa with Elefant Tours for the last time.

Kind regards

The Sauthoff family

In November 2019 we experienced the 11-day “Fish Eagle” camping safari in Botswana!

..and we are absolutely thrilled! Our expectations were exceeded by far. We were truly “in the middle of it and right up close”, with wonderful campsites where we were able to experience ourselves as guests of the wilderness. Countless goosebump moments, at night when lions roared in the immediate vicinity of the tent or by day when elephants approached the bush toilet out of curiosity; and countless other breathtaking and touching encounters…

We were very lucky to be accompanied through this time by two very special people: our guide Eddie, full of love for his country and the animals, clever and humorous, with whom we felt absolutely safe, and our cook and camp assistant OT, who managed to amaze us every day with his varied, excellent and healthy meals. The meat dishes were fantastic, and it was especially lovely that there was also a lovingly prepared vegetarian alternative (for Petra)… and great desserts! And all of it prepared over the campfire!

The highlight at the end was Victoria Falls and the great lodge there; the two of us tacked on one more day and did white-water rafting on the Zambezi! Wow! Pure adrenaline!

Here too: a great team, with a lot of emphasis on safety, which was also necessary 🙂 now and then someone does go overboard..

Many thanks to Elephant Tours, especially to Ms Berger for the competent advice, the very professional and personal service overall, and the quick support when there were problems with the return flight because of a strike at SAA!

We have just come back from our 14-day Intensive South Africa South tour. It was a great adventure trip that took in Cape Town – wine estates – beaches and wildlife.
We were 6 Westphalians and 4 Bavarians who got on brilliantly. Our German-speaking tour leader Uli was on duty 24 hours a day to organise things perfectly or improvise. I also found it remarkable that the founder of Elefant, Holger Wiebe, personally treated us to a porridge (we call it a barbecue) after a hike, in order to get feedback from us too.

Admittedly, the programme was tightly scheduled. I would have liked more time for Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. These two places are truly exceptional.

It was a great trip that was very well planned and carried out by Elefant Tours. South Africa – we will come back!

This year in September we spent 17 days as self-drivers in Namibia. And we can only report positive things. The many wonderful impressions make us happy to think back again and again. Varied landscapes, friendly people and the diversity of wildlife make a nature lover’s heart beat faster. We will especially remember the lion at Etosha National Park. Every night he roared loudly. Experiencing something like that in a tent in the wild is unique.
We had booked the trip through Elefant-Tours.

After our arrival we were picked up at the airport by Sven. From him we also received all the documents, maps and instructions. He has a great deal of experience and was able to prepare us superbly for our self-drive tour. Our route went via Windhoek, Namib Grens, Sesriem, Rostock Ritz, Swakopmund, Aba-Huab Camp, Etosha National Park, Waterberg and back to Windhoek.

At times the roads took some getting used to, but we coped well with them in our Land Cruiser. The campsites were well chosen and organised. In Swakopmund and Windhoek we stayed in guesthouses. All bookings on site were made in advance by Elefant-Tours.

It all worked out perfectly. In two years we want to go back to Africa and we will certainly book through Elefant-Tours again!

The planning for my trip (as a solo traveller), already in Germany, was perfect thanks to Ms Berger. The flights, everything perfect. The trip in South Africa, the Garden Route, was unique and beautiful. The accommodation, also for me as a solo traveller (double room for single occupancy), was outstanding. The guide was simply fantastic. I have already booked another trip through Elefant-Tours. Many thanks for everything, Ms Berger. Keep it up !!!!

We have booked an Africa trip with Elefant-Tours for the second time. This time Tanzania/Zanzibar!

The care from Elefant-Tours is uniquely good. Already beforehand, during planning, we were extremely well informed and our wishes were implemented immediately. The respective contacts are superbly well informed about the destination and always keep you up to date!

We had an unforgettably beautiful holiday! The 5-day safari with our guide Amani and another couple in our vehicle was wonderfully beautiful! We have been on safari several times. But this tour even surpassed everything we had seen so far.

The accommodation was really lovely, the staff friendly and the service great. Among other places, we spent two nights at Kati Kati Tented Camp in the Serengeti. A real adventure for us Europeans….. but highly recommended!

Our hotel at Jambiani Beach on Zanzibar was also exactly what we had imagined! Pure relaxation, rounded off by a tour to Stone Town and a spice farm.

So, we would travel with Elefant-Tours again and again!

Many thanks for the lovely time!

Dear Ms Borchardt,
a wonderful and exciting trip lies behind us. Thanks to the perfect organisation by the Elefant-Tours team in Germany and on the ground, we were able to spend a carefree holiday in Botswana. The extremely friendly and helpful people in the camps contributed to this. There were no unfulfilled wishes; we were lovingly cared for.

All the camps (Chobe Elephant Camp, Pom Pom, Khwai Tented Camp, Savute Elephant Camp, Shinde) offered perfectly and lovingly furnished and clean huts or tents, excellent food, a super laundry service and more comfort.

We particularly liked the pool right at Savute Camp, where at night, thanks to the lighting, we could watch countless elephants drinking/bathing from a terrace. A wonderful spectacle!

Besides the usual animals, there were leopards to admire in every camp. Hunting wild dogs were also a highlight.
Our second trip with Elefant-Tours was a complete success. The company can be recommended most warmly.

Dear Ms Wehrle,

rather exhausted, but full of positive impressions, we returned today from our Botswana tour.
We would like to give you huge praise and thank you most warmly for the great planning.
The lodges were great. The sequence was fantastic. Each of the lodges had its own appeal. We are so positively impressed by the people we were able to meet on the ground and who looked after us there. It will certainly take us many more days before we can take in all the impressions. Everything, from the flight transfers to the transfers, ran “like clockwork”.
There is one favour I would like to ask of you. When we arrived in Maun, we were unexpectedly and extremely warmly looked after by an employee of Wilderness Tours. Because of a system failure at check-in, everything there was a bit hectic. Unfortunately we lost sight of the employee at security. We would so much have liked to thank her too for the wonderful and caring attention. Perhaps you could pass this on there for us.
I can already assure you today that at the next opportunity we will gladly use your services again. How gladly we would travel to this wonderful country again soon.
With warm regards from Hamm
Manfred Schmitz

We had booked a self-drive safari in South Africa with you.
The trip was beautiful and unforgettable. We came back with many pictures and impressions. We were amazed by the great accommodation. Thanks to the map and the maps.me app we also found everything easily.
We were advised very well by Mr Vonderstraß, who patiently tailored the tour to our partly individual wishes.
I can only recommend this travel agency to everyone.

Dear Elefant team,
dear Ms Borchardt,

it was an absolute dream trip for us, the route to northern Namibia was very beautiful, the lodges well chosen, each had its own charm!! Etosha National Park in particular, simply brilliant. The good preparation gave us a unique time, the documents and map were very clear, and the descriptions of the accommodation were accurate too. We all agree that this was not our last trip to Namibia. We will gladly come back to you.
Warm regards to the whole team!

This year we booked with Elefant-Tours for the second time – a South Africa self-drive tour in 2016 and a Namibia self-drive tour in 2019. Each time we had only positive experiences with the agency. The contact and advice before the trip is always extremely friendly and the answers come quickly. For the Namibia trip we received a very detailed and good map that showed almost all the lodges and sights, so that we found all our destinations without any problem.

The booked accommodation is a great surprise on arrival every time – it is superbly chosen and the location and facilities are unique. The route is also well put together and on neither trip were there any problems or difficulties with the bookings. We would definitely book with Elefant-Tours again for our next Africa trip and can only recommend the agency most warmly.

Dear Ms Borchardt,
many thanks for organising our trip to Namibia and for the comprehensive care before and during our self-drive tour.

We all liked it very much.

The constantly changing landscape, the animals, the accommodation – simply incredibly great. Particularly worth highlighting is Lapa Lange Game Lodge at the start of our trip, with the bungalow right in front of the waterhole.

Best wishes and until next time.

Dear Ms Borchardt,

thank you for the phone call. It was nice that we could talk again on the phone and I could share my enthusiasm.

I tell everyone who wants to hear it (and the others too) about my wonderful experiences. And I know that the guests from Austria are also making plenty of positive publicity for Tanzania Experience.

Warmest regards from Stuttgart

Susanne Ullrich

Dear Mr Vonderstrass,
we wanted to give you some feedback on our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar. It was a beautiful trip with many unforgettable impressions. You organised the trip perfectly in advance and there were no problems during our stay. Thank you once again for the excellent advice, planning and booking.

On the safari we had a great guide in Isaac, who, through his extraordinary commitment and excellent knowledge of the country, people, animals and nature, let us experience many wonderful moments.
The beach holiday after the safari was just right for us. It let us go over the impressive experiences of the safari once more and relax superbly.

Both Jambiani Villas and Next Paradise Resort were much more than just a beach holiday. We enjoyed the calm and composure of the staff, but also the comfort and great service at both places to stay.
Should we plan another Africa trip, you will definitely be our first point of contact, many warm regards, the Kopf family.

Dear Ms Ruppenthal,
I wanted to give you brief feedback on our trip to Tanzania booked with you, which is sadly already over again.
I really cannot describe how wonderful and impressive this trip was for us.
First of all I must say that everything was perfectly organised and there were no problems at all. So here too, a heartfelt thank-you to you for the great advice, planning and booking.

Our guide Alpha was also great. We could not have found a better guide and we all took him to our hearts.
For my whole family, but especially for me, this trip will be remembered forever. The wonderful landscape, the great wildlife, the people…it all impressed us and we enjoyed every minute.
Sometimes there is a risk that, when you have a big dream, reality falls short of the idea, but in this case my expectations were even exceeded. The safari was simply indescribably beautiful.

Our stay on Zanzibar was also wonderful, although for me the safari clearly came first. My children, however, thought the beach holiday on Zanzibar was great. If I ever want to book another Africa holiday, I will turn to you and Elefant-Tours again.
Many thanks again & best wishes,
Dagmar Eiermann

This was the second trip we have booked with Elefant-Tours. Once again we had our trip put together individually, defining the destinations and wishes ourselves, and Elefant-Tours created a great package from that. We left Elefant-Tours a free hand with both the stages and the choice of lodges and campsites. It paid off, because all the accommodation was absolutely brilliant. All we had to do was drive ourselves, the rest was superbly organised, and so we experienced a dreamlike trip through Botswana and Namibia.

• In the Okavango Delta, the Big Five within 2 days,
• in Deception Valley, fighting giraffes and Kalahari lions,
• at Nata, hundreds of thousands of flamingos on the Makgadikgadi salt pans,
• in Chobe there was wildlife overload,
• at Vic Falls we almost walked in the footsteps of Dr Livingstone,
• in the Caprivi Strip birds, hippos and crocodiles
• and at the Waterberg scenery and rhinos

Our Kenya safari with our guide Simon from Kenya Experience (Elefant-Tours’ local partner organisation) was an unforgettable, fantastic trip through the national parks of Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and Tsavo West. We began in the Masai Mara, where we saw a great variety of different animals. Right after the park entrance a leopard was hiding under a bush, twice we saw a large pride of lions lazing in the shade. One day we followed a cheetah on the hunt for hours and observed its behaviour.

Simon always knew where there was something exciting to see and explained the habits of the large and also the small animals, such as the kingfisher. Simon was almost as excited as we were and always found it hard to stop following a track. The big safari truck was well equipped (even with a small fridge) and took us safely everywhere and, considering the “roads”, quite comfortably. The organisation of the whole tour was perfect. Many thanks for that to Elefant Tours, in particular to Markus Vonderstraß for the very good advice beforehand.

From mid-April to early May we went on a guided safari through Namibia.

It was a wonderful, dusty and strenuous trip (approx. 3,800 km) through a beautiful country. An experience of a special kind, in the most positive sense.

Many thanks to the Elefant-Tours team and Namibia Experience, who organised and carried out this trip in an absolutely professional way.

Our special thanks go to our local guide, Lucian Fineberg, whose commitment and excellent knowledge of plants and animals, land and people made the trip a special experience.

This will definitely not be the last trip with Elefant-Tours!

Many thanks from Esslingen

Betina & Günther

Dear Elefant team,

many thanks for the good advice and planning of our Tanzania trip in January 2019.

As a family we did a 9-day safari, visiting Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Our guide David was simply super, responded to our wishes, and as a result we had unexpected and spectacular experiences. So no wishes were left unfulfilled: 2 hunting prides of lions, two cheetahs on the hunt, leopards with prey, fighting giraffe bulls and fighting elephants. Golden jackals with super cute pups, a female cheetah with three cubs. We also had a lot of joy watching a serval, small foxes, or a large group of mongooses.

David explained everything to us superbly and also drew our attention to many small animals. In his care we always felt very safe and looked after.

We felt especially at home at Kati Kati Camp (where we had the tastiest food of our trip), at Burunge Tented Camp and at Ngorongoro Coffee Farm.

Everywhere we were welcomed very attentively and with great

hospitality.

We already did a fly-in safari in Botswana with Elefant Tours in 2016, and our next Africa trip will certainly be booked through this agency again.

Many thanks again from Frankfurt
Ingrid, Jürgen, Christoph & Dominik

After many years of deliberation and postponements for health reasons, finally experienced at the age of 73! 13 days in April by rental car on the Garden Route from Cape Town via Swellendam, Plettenberg Bay, Port Elizabeth to Amakhala Woodbury Tented Camp, back via Addo and Addo Elephant Park, through the Little Karoo to Oudtshoorn and via Stellenbosch for another 5 days in Cape Town.

It was brilliant and our thanks go to the Elefant-Tours staff who helped us work out this tour and be able to do it. What we were allowed to experience: outbound and return flights via Windhoek with Air Namibia, meeting many nice people, excellent lodges, good guesthouses, outstanding food and outstanding wines, hikes e.g. in Tsitsikamma NP, Mossel Bay, the beautiful Blue Horizon Bay, our large tent at Woodbury Tented Camp with an unforeseen greeting by the kudu female Nelly in the tent, morning and evening safari drives in search of the Big Five, a morning tour to the meerkats and a drive over the Swartberg Pass near Oudtshoorn, an unforgettable visit to Harry in Barrydale, a city tour in Stellenbosch with Christiana, in Cape Town a paraglider flight from Signal Hill, a helicopter flight around Table Mountain and a ride up Table Mountain by cable car (takes a lot of time queuing!) in the finest weather, day trips to the Cape of Good Hope and to Hermanus, a visit to the penguins along the way, and last but not least “swollen feet” from all the walking in Cape Town.

All of that with a great deal of sunshine and hardly any rain. And our conclusion: Africa, we will be back as soon as possible!

In early April we did a lodge safari in South Africa with a beach stay in the Seychelles.

Many thanks for the very good advice and organisation of the tour. Everything went smoothly.

We are still blown away and impressed by the beautiful country, the magnificent wildlife, the friendly people and the island paradise of the Seychelles. Great praise to Idube Safari Lodge in Sabi Sands. After only 3 safaris we tracked down the Big 5. Magnificent wildlife experiences!!!

We fell in love with the island of La Digue. Patatran Village, with its magnificent view, is very authentic and can only be recommended. We can’t stop raving and thank you once again most warmly for the great care. Africa: we will be back, and guaranteed with Elefant Tours again.

Petra & Petra from Iserlohn

As a family we travelled 4,700 km through Namibia for 3 weeks in early April 2019 in a rented 4×4 Toyota Hilux. Many thanks to Ms Borchardt, who supported us superbly in organising the trip, and also for the nice phone calls and the planning of the tour.

Namibia is simply a dream, the landscapes are stunning and the lodges / guest farms were all very beautiful, as was the food. We would like to highlight Vreugde Farm. An oasis at the gates of Etosha. It really could not be topped. Very nice hosts. The food at Vreugde Farm, and likewise at Immanuel Wilderness Lodge, was a feast for the palate.

We were pleasantly surprised how delicious the food in Namibia tastes. The vastness, the silence, the starry sky and of course the wildlife are fantastic.

It was our first Africa tour and it will certainly not be the last. Many thanks to Elefant-Tours for this beautiful trip and the many tips.

We have visited the "4 corners" of the world several times for both private and business reasons, but Namibia and Botswana were still on our "to-do list".

We have long outgrown the years when we only thought about somewhere to sleep at sunset. So we researched online how best to travel these two countries. The more we read, the less we knew what we wanted. By chance we came across the ELEFANT-TOURS portal, and in a constructive dialogue an itinerary took shape that fully met our expectations.

We chose the self-drive category with accommodation in camps, lodges and guesthouses. Included in the package were a side trip by bus to Victoria Falls and a flight into the Okavango Delta. Anyone who thinks the clocks tick differently in Africa should be told that the old Prussians could still have learned a thing or two about punctuality here.

The daily stages were chosen with care. All the accommodation had a high standard of comfort. We covered approx. 5,000 km in 3 weeks in the Nissan X-Trail. We can recommend something like this to anyone.

As a small family group, we did a round trip of Namibia from mid to late March. A big compliment to Elefant-Tours: the trip was superbly planned, everything worked out brilliantly, and our guide shared a great deal of interesting and useful information with us, with enormous knowledge of the country, its geology, wildlife and plants. We are thrilled by Namibia's landscapes, its vastness and stillness and of course its wildlife, and we hope this was not our last trip to southern Africa!

Back home and still fascinated by Tanzania

How can you put all the impressions and experiences into words without gushing and getting carried away with enthusiasm? Almost impossible, with this landscape and wildlife.

Perhaps to sum it up in the words of the Bible, Genesis 1ff
"And behold, it was very good."
Yes, it is very good. Yes, we had wonderful experiences and impressive wildlife sightings, and met extremely friendly people and enjoyed beautiful days.

The KatiKati tented camp was great, and here we felt as if we were in the film Out of Africa.
The Zanzibar holiday that followed at the Fruit & Spice Wellness Resort fitted seamlessly into this enthusiasm.

Friendly staff, good food, and a wonderful resort and accommodation made it hard to say goodbye.

Many thanks to the Elefant team and especially to Mr Vonderstraß for the excellent advice and organisation. Thanks also to Tanzania-Experience and to our guide and friend Oscar, who greatly enriched the safari with his excellent knowledge and keen powers of observation.

We will be back – and again with Elefant-Tours!
Jürgen and Petra Hilkene-Vath and friends

Private safari and beach holiday, 11 Feb – 27 Feb 2019

Dear Mr Schuff,

we would like to thank you once again for the very good organisation of our trip to Tanzania/Zanzibar!

We had a wonderful time and came back with many new impressions. We felt very well looked after in the tents at the National Camps and thoroughly enjoyed the safari. Our special thanks go to our driver Max, whose incredible knowledge of Tanzania's wildlife and plants and his thoroughly pleasant manner made our safari what it will remain for us – an unforgettable experience.

The hotel on Zanzibar, "Kisiwa on the beach", can also only be recommended. Thanks to the friendliness and attentiveness of the staff and the wonderful facilities, we had a very pleasant and relaxing stay there.

Kind regards from Siegburg,

Gunda Lambrecht

In September/October 2018 we did a self-drive tour through Namibia and Botswana to Victoria Falls. It was our second trip organised by Elefant Tours (the first went to South Africa in 2017). And once again the organisation and booking were perfect. All our wishes were taken into account when booking. We were rightly advised against the half-hour helicopter flight over Victoria Falls – the quarter-hour one is quite enough.
The tour itself was overwhelming. We thought long and hard about whether we could say where it was truly most beautiful – it is simply not possible. The wonderful Sossusvlei dunes (with a night in the dreamy Le Mirage Lodge), the Vreugde Farm at Etosha, the MBola Lodge in the beautiful Caprivi. The Chobe Bakwena Lodge is unbeatable, and the Okavango Delta is a place you simply have to have been.
We will definitely not be travelling with Elefant Tours for the last time. The same goes for friends of ours, who have already completed their first tour!

Dear Benjamin,

As promised two weeks ago, here is our short report on the "Fascination Namibia" trip. We are absolutely overwhelmed by the beauty and diversity of Namibia. It was a fantastic trip with incredible impressions, wonderful, specially selected lodges in impressive locations, very pleasant fellow travellers and a super good and lovable guide who introduced us to the country, animals and people of Namibia with great expertise.

Many heartfelt thanks once again, especially to Lucien.

We are back in Germany now, but in our thoughts we are still – and hopefully for a long time to come – in fantastic Namibia.

Thank you all for the superb organisation, it was perfect. Perhaps again sometime…

All the best to you and warm regards,

Elke and Hans-Uwe Evers

We spent 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year with our 3 daughters on a self-drive trip in South Africa.
The holiday was an absolute dream. The route that was worked out was perfect, as was the accommodation booked. We particularly liked that each one was a small family-run guesthouse. Everything was very personal and you immediately got into friendly contact with the owners. We were thrilled with the selection.
We did have to rush a little from stop to stop, but unfortunately we only had 2 weeks. Stretched to 3 weeks, the whole thing would have been the ultimate.
We can absolutely recommend Elefant-Tours.

Our 4-week self-drive round trip of Namibia from mid-December to mid-January was a wonderful experience.

With professional support and cooperative planning with Ms Brode of Elefant-Tours, everything worked out perfectly.

We will definitely book another Africa trip!