Guestbook

After our group tour through Namibia, this time we opted for a self-drive tour (again planned by Elefant Tours).

The accommodation – whether guesthouse, hotel or lodge – was always excellent. Service was a priority everywhere, and the meals on offer left nothing to be desired.

From the fascinating wildlife, Panorama Route and Garden Route to big-city flair, we were able to enjoy everything, and we will remain impressed for a long time to come.

Many heartfelt thanks to Jan Menke and the Elefant-Tours team for the excellent work on our South Africa trip!

In November 2025 we spent 3 days at Isambane Bush Camp. It was an unforgettable experience that we can only recommend.

Everything was well organised: pick-up from Hoedspruit airport and transfer to the camp, a lovely tented room with its own bathhouse (there are only 5 rooms in the camp in total), safaris twice a day at 5:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon, delicious food outdoors on the terrace three times a day, friendly staff and animals, animals, animals (even at breakfast on the terrace).

The impression of being in the middle of nature was heightened by an elephant once marching right through the camp and our having to stay in our rooms until it had gone.

Dear Ms Seitz,

thank you very much for organising our great self-drive trip through the north of South Africa.
From 1 to 17 September we travelled by rental car via Johannesburg – Drakensberg – Umdloti – St Lucia – Kosi Bay – Eswatini – Kruger Park – Timbavati and the Panorama Route.

We had super lovely experiences and impressions on this tour, which we will never forget.

Thank you once again,

The Mühl family

We have travelled on the African continent several times, and this trip was our fourth holiday with Elefant-Tours. Thanks to the tailor-made itinerary based on our wishes and ideas, as well as the great personal advice and care, it was once again a wonderful holiday.

Heartfelt thanks to Ms Walter for that! Once again we are taking home wonderful impressions. It is not for nothing that they say: “A world in one country”.

This time we explored the north and east of South Africa.

Once again we had very nice hosts and lovely accommodation, and thanks to the detailed documents and tips we were able to enjoy our trip to the full. It was certainly not our last holiday in Africa!

The four of us had a super great safari through the various parks.
Solio Game Reserve / Buffalo Springs National Reserve / Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

We were very satisfied with the planning and care from Ms Krone. We also had the best guide, our dear Emanuel.

We were sooo lucky and saw the Big Five after just 2 days, and always large herds with young animals, sooo lovely.

We were lucky with the weather too. After the safari we had another week on the beach in Mombasa at the beautiful Neptune Paradise Beach Resort & Spa to relax and take in everything we had experienced.

If we do this again, then only with Elefant Tours and Emanuel

We are still overwhelmed by this incredibly impressive trip.

Amboseli with its view of Kilimanjaro and its diversity of wildlife, Tsavo West with its beautiful landscape and many species of antelope. Simply breathtaking. The lodges were simply dreamy!

Also organisationally everything was perfect! From the booking with the great advice from Ms Krone, whom we could ask anything about our first safari at any time, through the contact on the ground, Alex, to our driver Justus, who could really say something about every animal discovered and even read tracks to find animals.

It was perfect!!!! If a safari, then with Elefant Tours!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this experience and for fulfilling my heart's desire.

On our fourth Africa trip too, we again relied on the excellent advice and care from Elefant-Tours and are once more totally thrilled.

This time we chose a “Best of Tanzania” private safari followed by a beach stay in Zanzibar.

Our trip began in Arusha with a night at Lake Duluti.
From there our excellent guide Albert took us to Tarangire National Park (two days), the incredible Serengeti (three days) and Ngorongoro Crater.

On this safari too we were once again fascinated by the huge number of animals and their diversity. The landscape, the people and life in Tanzania impressed us just as much, as it differs from Namibia and South Africa.

Afterwards we had five beach days in Zanzibar and let ourselves be pampered at Michamvi Sunset Bay.

We say a very big thank you, especially to Britta Franke in Cape Town, for the excellent advice, the care and the flexibility with the bookings, and to everyone on the Elefant-Tours team who made the trip possible for us at such short notice.

The preparation of the travel documents, the flights, the accommodation and the safari with Albert from Tanzania Experience were once again outstanding.

Many thanks too for organising the special offers such as a visit to a coffee and spice plantation or the walking tour of Stone Town.

We will always remember Tanzania!
It was simply a dream!

Thank you and until next time.

We liked this trip very much. From Maun to Victoria Falls everything worked out perfectly. We were very well and kindly looked after by our guide.

The advice was very competent. Ms Larissa Walter made the trip sound appealing to us, rightly so!

Very good suggestions and wonderfully worked-out options.

Considering that we were able to travel as a mini-group, we felt like kings in paradise. Together with our guide we could enjoy the safaris as we pleased. No rush, we had plenty of time for impressive moments.

The price was justified and the services excellent.

Our guide, Mr Kaiser Mbwe, is simply the best!!!

He practically anticipated our every wish, very helpful and at all times very friendly and competent.

We did not have to worry about anything; everything worked to our complete satisfaction.

The route we chose unconsciously, but it was totally right. First the “dry side”, then the “wet side” was extremely impressive. Pure nature, the many animals in the respective areas, we were totally thrilled.

Every day was “just another beautiful day in paradise”. All the lodges were totally well chosen. The helpful and nice people everywhere. Animals right up to the lodges invited hours of observation. Fantastic, indescribable.

The accommodation after the safari, Courtney Lodge, is very nicely located, a little secluded. You feel as if you are in an idyllic, wonderful park and can enjoy the peace. Only the noise of the flights of the fly-in safaris over Victoria Falls was somewhat disturbing.

Overall impression: overwhelming, thrilled and very satisfied. However, we will not be making any further trips to Africa. The nice people we met in the lodges said we were “crazy people” to still be taking such trips at our age….

At first we were sceptical about travelling in an organised way, being long-time independent overlanders, but it was unique: ANIMALS, landscape, people, lodges … top!

Expensive, yes, but worth every cent! Outstanding planning including adaptation to our special wishes by Nadja Krone, and the very best implementation in the local conditions by the subsidiary, represented by Luca and Andrew.

And in particular the considerate, attentive and experienced guide and driver Gasto, who confidently steered us more than 1,300 km through partly adventurous terrain.

While our tours on the continent had so far been marked by rather modest wildlife sightings, in Tanzania this picture changes. We see all the Big 5 in a short space of time. With the lions in the Serengeti we lose count, more than 50 animals pass us, often within touching distance. And then the cheetah with her almost newborn cubs … Unique! Again and again!

Those responsible should definitely invest more in the rare picnic sites, especially the toilet facilities, the latter are in places awful!
More on our travel blog https://majuemin.de/2023-start-gosouth-2-0-ostafrika/

Our round trip through southern Africa was an unforgettable experience! The route offered a perfect mix of desert, sea, safari adventure and the majestic Victoria Falls – plus impressive landscapes and fascinating flora and fauna.

Thanks to our likeable and extremely experienced guide we felt very well looked after at all times. The accommodation was varied – partly luxurious, partly rather basic. Especially with the high temperatures, we would have liked air conditioning in some lodges.

We were especially thrilled by the diversity of the wildlife: we actually got to see all of the “Big Five” and gained deep insights into the lives and behaviour of the animals.

The encounters with the other travellers were also very pleasant – a great group with many lovely shared moments.

In Botswana we experienced beautiful landscapes, but it was very touristy there. Because of the large number of boat safaris, the animals are noticeably disturbed in their habitat in places – that gave us pause for thought.

The programme overall was very extensive, which meant the days were often long and intense. Unfortunately that left little time to enjoy the lodges, as there was a change of location almost every day. Around the middle of the trip it would have been nice to spend a second night in the same lodge, to come to rest a little and experience the surroundings more intensively.

Conclusion:
A breathtaking trip that we will never forget – full of natural wonders, exciting impressions and unforgettable encounters.

We are still blown away, we enjoyed the holiday very, very much! We had a wonderful honeymoon.

Everything worked out brilliantly and we are very glad we booked the holiday through Elefant-Tours, as it let us explore the country independently as self-drivers while still having the security of an organisation in the background in case we needed help.

We spent 2 nights in each place, so we could enjoy every place, were not “just passing through” and had a relaxed travelling pace; we would do it that way again every time!

We really liked all the individual places, some more than others of course, but overall it was really perfect for us and there is no place where we would not stay again. Everywhere the people were helpful and super friendly, the rooms great and the food, absolutely always, really very tasty!

Our highlight was clearly Hoodia Desert Lodge, simply because everything fitted, both the programme (for our wedding anniversary ;)) and the people, above all our guide who looked after us, the food and the ambience. We also liked Otjiwa Collection and Mokuti Lodge very much; here the outings and programme items were our highlights.

Overall, in hindsight we could even have spent 1–2 nights longer in/near Etosha.

If we ever return, we would book one or 2 nights inside Etosha Park, which we imagine would be very nice as well, also because you can be in the park for longer. The boat trip in Swakopmund was very impressive despite the fog.

In conclusion, we can only say that we had a great holiday in a beautiful country, which we enjoyed very much! We are truly very grateful for the help and support beforehand from Ms Petersen, which made the trip very relaxed on the ground and let us enjoy everything a little more carefree!

Should friends of ours also want to book a Namibia trip, we will recommend Elephant-Tours warmly!

As Africa newcomers, the four of us took a self-drive round trip with 16 nights in Namibia in September. We were highly satisfied with the organisation and care from Elefant-Tours in the person of Ms Petersen (and, as her stand-in, Ms Seitz).

All our wishes and ideas were turned into a perfectly planned trip. The lodges chosen were wonderful, apart from the state-run camp Okaukuejo (but we knew that in advance). We had deliberately decided not to visit the south, but rather to spend 2 nights in a row in one place as often as possible. For us this was exactly right.

You do have to factor in that you spend a great deal of time in the car to visit this big, impressive country. And so we almost always had one day on site to join excursions and game drives.

Particularly memorable were the kayak trip among the seals in Swakopmund / Walvis Bay, the sunrise at Sossusvlei, the morning walk in Erongo, the desert elephants at Twyfelfontein and the lion family at Onguma Bush Camp.

The suggestion to enter Etosha Park from Galton Gate was also spot on. The western part is still much quieter than the eastern. We were also very happy with the choice of vehicle for four (nearly new, 4x4, large).

In short: it was a wonderful (dream) trip in magnificent nature with an absolutely recommendable travel provider. Thank you very much!!

My Botswana tour was almost 2 months ago now and I do not want to miss the chance to thank you for the outstanding organisation.

In the end everything went perfectly with the flights, luggage and transit. Next time , however, I would fly both long-haul legs with LH – it is somewhat more comfortable than Discover.

I can only praise Bushways in the highest terms. Guide and cook were excellent, as was the team spirit in the group. I and others also liked how the guide Gabriel sometimes insisted on discipline with the paying Europeans. Departure is at 6 and not at 3 past 6 – that has to be better tomorrow 😀.

He also always behaved respectfully towards the animals and never jostled for position like other safari drivers. He often knew exactly how the animals would behave and parked smartly, so that lions and the like walked right past us.

The equipment (tents, mattresses, etc.) was of the best quality and the Bushways safari vehicles are very cleverly thought out too. Many charging sockets at the front (USB, European and SA sockets), fridges under the rows of seats, a water treatment unit and so on. And on the trailer with the bush kitchen and so on, everything had a sensible place, and when changing camp the group could stow everything in no time in teamwork with K.K. the cook.

But there was one overwhelming common denominator throughout the international, well-travelled group: The immediacy of the nature experience was the USP of this trip and will stay with all of us forever. Hyenas, hippos and honey badgers in camp, lions and leopards roaring, and an elephant watching me shower – MEGA!!!

If we go on safari again, then only with Elefant-Tours.

Our trip through Namibia was an unforgettable experience – a wonderful holiday full of impressive moments and unique impressions.

The accommodation was exceptional and consistently very tasteful – every stop had its very own charm and helped us feel completely at ease.

It was particularly pleasant that we never felt surrounded by crowds of tourists. The peace and vastness of the country let us breathe deeply and truly switch off.

Our rental car was in almost new condition and absolutely reliable – an important factor on a self-drive tour that took us through some remote regions.

The whole tour was excellently prepared. You could tell that a lot of attention to detail had gone into the planning. For future trips, however, we would recommend allowing at least two nights per stop – that leaves more time to enjoy the surroundings and really arrive.

Namibia is a country that may look uniform at first glance – but behind every bend and every hill a new scene is hidden, which surprises and delights.

Sometimes the landscape looks as if it had been painted: colours, shapes and light merge into a picture you never forget.

Experiencing the wildlife in its natural surroundings was simply magical – a quiet, reverent moment that moves you deeply.
A special thank you goes to Ms Petersen, who took care of everything with great commitment. We felt in the best hands at all times and were able to enjoy the trip to the full.

Perfectly organised dream trip in Namibia.

For 40 years I had dreamed of an Africa trip. This year the dream came true: with my husband and grown-up daughter I enjoyed the 10-day camping tour with a private guide, followed by 4 additional nights in various lodges.

Even beforehand, the communication and advice from the tour operator were excellent, especially with regard to the flight dates (better ticket prices) and the route, slightly modified on request.

The tour itself is wonderfully designed, a perfect mix of magnificent scenery and great game drives. And when you see a giraffe up close for the first time, a herd of elephants at a waterhole or hundreds of zebras accompanied by various groups of antelope, the happiness is already very great.

And we will never forget the lion that strolled calmly past the waterhole in front of us. Scenic highlights were the dunes of the Namib and the starry sky at Gamsberg.

Our guide was brilliant – very friendly, competent, flexible and yet always good with the schedule, and on top of that a great cook. We learned far more about the country than we had expected.

No question went unanswered. And last but not least, our guide led us camping beginners calmly and patiently through the adventure of camping in Africa. In fact, thanks to the good equipment and the lovely campsites, it was very relaxed.

We would not want to have missed these 10 days of camping.

The 4 nights in lodges (then without a guide, but with organised transfers) were a good idea – after the eventful travel and safari days it was nice to be able to let the impressions sink in and truly unwind again in the cosy accommodation.

In addition, in the game parks and rescue centres we were able to see the animals that had been hiding from us until then (cheetahs, leopards).

Namibia is certainly an uncomplicated travel destination anyway, but thanks to the good trip preparation and our considerate guide we felt 100% safe at all times – without the sense of adventure being short-changed.

We would book through Elefant-Tours again at any time and can recommend both the operator and the format of a camping tour with a private guide without reservation.

Dear Elefant-Tours team

Thank you very much for the detailed, friendly advice and booking that actively responded to our wishes.

The itinerary “Namibia Highlights” lived up to its promise, all arrangements went smoothly and the accommodation chosen was truly excellent, yet each place different.

The staff there were always competent and friendly and the quality of the food consistently excellent. A truly great holiday experience! THANK YOU

Hello dear Ms Krone,

as promised, I am getting in touch after our trip. To keep it short, you did not promise too much.

It was BEAUTIFUL. Everything worked wonderfully, we were very well looked after from the 1st to the last day and were warmly welcomed in every camp and lodge.

On two days we were able to experience the “great migration” . Simply an incredible spectacle of nature!

With Nelson as our travel companion and driver we were enormously lucky. Now we are back home and think back with a smile on our faces about the wonderful days in Tanzania.

Dear Ms Walter,

it is now almost a year since, with your help, we were able to experience a great Namibia trip. I would like to thank you most warmly for that and for your great support in the preparation.

It was an impressive travel experience with many facets. The lodges and hotels were first-class. The food superb.

The tour guiding could not have been better: we had Hans as tour guide, a Namibian-German institution, a real ranger with comprehensive knowledge of land/people/animals/stars… And we had Usuhna, a young Namibian training to be a tour guide, who grew up in the GDR during the war years and today has a quite different view of his country from Hans. Sometimes unbridgeable contrasts, but they also showed us the country's problems.

The nature was breathtaking and sooo varied. We were spoiled with wildlife sightings – even lions and a leopard.

It was a success all round!!

I can only recommend everyone to visit Namibia at this time of year (November/December) and with your company.

Once again heartfelt thanks and best wishes to you personally,

Kathrin Biolik

Our Kenya safari was an unforgettable experience! We saw an incredible number of animals and experienced the impressive nature up close.

We were especially delighted by the camps in the middle of nature, where in the evening over dinner we could watch the animals at the waterholes – simply magical!

Another highlight: we were lucky enough to see Kilimanjaro. Our guide Manu was outstanding – top-notch professionally, full of humour and extremely well connected with other guides.

Thanks to his experience we were able to find all the important animals. He also taught us a lot about the wildlife, nature and culture. We can recommend Manu and Elefant-Tours without reservation!

We visited Namibia for 16 days as self-drivers. It was important to us that at the start we could visit our niece in Gobabis. Ms N. Petersen took this into account and put the round trip together.

It really was a dream trip. The daily routes by car were very well planned. Navigation with OsmAnd maps worked perfectly. The lodges were easy to find.

We particularly liked the different lodges. From “simple” to “exquisite”, from “touristy” to “quiet”. Now we are able to take these insights into account for a next trip.

If you can say you would do the trip again with small adjustments, that says it all.

We had a dream trip with many great, unforgettable moments.

From 22 June 2025 to 20 July 2025 we travelled in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

We travelled for 18 days as self-drivers through Namibia and then for 12 days on a small-group tour through Botswana with a stay in Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls.

It was an absolute dream trip, which Ms Petersen of Elefant-Tours put together for us. The daily routes were well planned, not too long, so that we could often still go on game drives in the afternoon; the lodges, guesthouses and tented camps were simply top-notch.

Everything worked out superbly. Our highlights were lots and lots of animals at Etosha Pan, the helicopter flight over Victoria Falls and, finally, the stay at Setari Camp in the Okavango Delta. Simply incredibly beautiful.

We can only recommend Elefant Reisen. This dream trip was absolutely outstanding.

Fantastic private safari through north-eastern Tanzania

Quite spontaneously, we decided in March to go on a safari with a private guide in Tanzania and then relax for a few days in Zanzibar.

Despite the short-notice planning, Mr Schuff organised a wonderful trip through various national parks and Ngorongoro Crater. We booked the flights to and from Germany ourselves and, sure enough, our luggage was left behind at the connection in Addis Ababa.

The helpful staff of Elefant-Tours' subsidiary, Tanzania Experience, made sure it was delivered to us promptly. Everything on this trip worked perfectly: the pick-up service, both at Kilimanjaro Airport and in Zanzibar, the safari itself and the flight to Zanzibar.

We liked the accommodation chosen very much. For us the tented lodges in the middle of the national parks (Tarangire and Serengeti) were a particular highlight. At night you could hear the lions, buffalo and elephants especially clearly, and we marvelled at the various animal tracks we could see in the camps in the morning.

Tanzania's wildlife delighted us again and again. Here we would also like to especially thank our private guide Jackson, who accompanied us reliably for eight days, drove safely over the sometimes very rough roads, made many wildlife sightings possible and shared his great knowledge of Tanzania, its flora and fauna with us. Thanks to him, too, the trip became something very special.

The safari took us to Arusha National Park (we particularly liked the guided bush walk here and would do more of that in future), to the enormously diverse Tarangire National Park with its large elephant population (great, Tarangire View Camp with its especially friendly and helpful staff) and to Serengeti National Park. Here we could only marvel at the huge herds of wildebeest and zebras, the many hippos and all the other animals.

Only the tour of the coffee plantation after the national parks did not quite thrill us, which was certainly also due to the not-too-inspired guide. This tour might have been more interesting for us at harvest time.

In hindsight we would have preferred another game drive to the coffee plantation, but as we heard, other trips have had different experiences.

A great finale was the game drive into Ngorongoro Crater – again lots of animals against an impressive backdrop.
Because of the muggy heat in Zanzibar we held back on activities there and only joined a tour of a spice farm and Stone Town on one day. Both recommendable in our opinion.

The unforgettable high point of the entire trip, however, was clearly the many encounters with Tanzania's incredible wildlife.

It was a wonderful trip through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The care from Elefant-Tours was very good. The trip was perfectly organised and our guide Mathias very obliging and friendly. We felt very comfortable and travelled home a little wistful but with many lovely impressions.

Hello Ms Kayssler,

I do not even know where to start.

We had a dream trip with many great, unforgettable moments.

The varied landscapes, the many different wildlife sightings and perfectly chosen lodges made the holiday an unforgettable experience.

I think if, after a holiday like this, you can say you would do it the same way again (with small adjustments), that says a lot.

Thank you very much for the great planning, support and the documents provided.

The perfect briefing by Ms Petersen also took away many uncertainties for us.

Of course, everything is also down to the fortunate circumstance that there were no incidents.

We never felt we were in danger, nor did we feel uncomfortable anywhere, and the car, too, worked perfectly (not even a puncture).

Perhaps a few more remarks:

• The route and distances turned out to be very manageable and we would do it the same way again
• Next time we would always stay at least two nights. One night makes no sense
• Whether you need to stay 2 nights each at Anderson Gate and Lindequist Gate can be questioned
• A stay at Fish River Canyon only makes sense in combination with a night in the lodge directly at the canyon, as we had it
• In the assessment of the lodges with their respective offerings, one falls short of all the others, namely Elegant Desert Lodge (far from Sossusvlei, the lodge's surroundings not really appealing, rooms in a terrace – no individual bungalows)

Thank you very much and all the best.

Our self-drive trip from Windhoek to Victoria Falls in May 2025 was a wonderful experience.

On previous trips of this kind we have generally done the planning and booking ourselves. In hindsight, we can say that working with Ms Walter and the Elefant Tours team on this trip was a perfect decision.

The competent, accurate and realistic statements and recommendations saved us from planning mistakes and contributed to our trip working out perfectly and, in my opinion, being worth every extra euro.

In May 2025 we travelled through Namibia, Botswana and, to finish, the impressive Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on a 24-day, individually put-together self-drive tour.

Almost a year in advance, Nicole Petersen supported us with the planning. She turned our wishes and ideas into reality promptly and worked out suitable proposals. She also implemented requests for changes straight away, was always reachable, reliable and friendly – every phone call with her made us look forward to our trip even more.

A great service – heartfelt thanks, Nicole!

We were delighted by the personal meeting in Swakopmund , which confirmed our very positive impression. The self-drive briefing with Sven Schmidt offered by Elefant-Tours was also very helpful for a relaxed car trip through Namibia.

Namibia is a fantastic country!

The endless expanses, varied landscapes, very hospitable people who always welcomed us warmly, fascinating, exciting wildlife encounters and the great lodges in special places left us with unforgettable memories.

Many thanks to Elefant-Tours, but especially to Nicole Petersen, for the perfect organisation of our trip.

We have already had the privilege three times of travelling to beautiful Namibia. Each time the country fascinated us anew. The people, the nature, the wildlife and the absolute freedom – breathtaking every time.

Whether central Namibia, the hot Kalahari Desert or the green, beautiful north. Namibia is always worth a trip.

We would like to praise the Elefant-Tours team here! Thanks to you, too, the trip becomes something unforgettable! The traveller is not just a customer or a number, and your hearts are in it!

Here too, many thanks for your constant support in the individual planning of our self-drive tours.

Thanks also for the patience and commitment. And a special thank you to Ulrike Joubert, who stood by us on the last trip and the coming one! 🙂

We can hardly wait until we can travel to Namibia again in September 2025 and also get a taste of “crossing over” to Botswana.

The experiences we have had in Namibia have been positive throughout. We can recommend everyone to travel to this country! You will be thrilled and will not regret it!

And if Africa – then with Elefant-Tours. 😉

We document our trips on our YouTube channel “J&A Adventures”. In this short film we show what inspires us and fascinates us about this country.

Do drop by.

Best wishes
Jenny & Alex

Dear Ms Kayssler,

Thank you very much for your message. We have landed back in Germany healthy and well, with fantastic impressions and above all very rested.

We enjoyed the trip very much from start to finish, everything worked wonderfully and was well planned by you.

The briefing by Sven Schmidt was also very good support, which we would not want to have missed.

During our trip we made brief notes on the hotels/lodges. Of course this only reflects our taste, but perhaps it is helpful anyway.

Windhoek: The Elegant Guesthaus: lovely, friendly, good location

Kalahari Game Ranch: upgrade to Dune Lodge: fantastic

Keetmanshoop: Quiver In Guesthouse: ok, thin walls

Fish River Lodge: dreamy, the last kilometres could only be driven with a 4×4 and sufficient ground clearance, 2 nights perfect

Klein-Aus Vista Desert Horse Inn: good, lovely location

Green Desert Lodge: fantastic, warm, we would have liked to stay 2 nights there

Elegant Desert Camp: fantastic, lovely location for dinner,

Cornerstone Guesthouse, tidy, very friendly, helpful, generous breakfast

Twyfelfontein Country Lodge: lovely location, lovely room, food rather below average

Grootberg Lodge: great location, very friendly, food good, 2 days perfect

Hobatere Lodge: great location, food good, room ok, very warm (no air conditioning)

Etosha Safari Lodge: room good, food good, 1 day would have been enough

Mokuti Etosha: top! here we would have liked an additional day simply relaxing by the pool

Waterberg Guestfarm: beautiful, here too we would have liked to stay 2 nights

Thank you again for the smooth and good organisation; we are happy to recommend Elefant-Tours.

Kind regards

Stefanie and Michael Ruf

Dear Mr Forster!

We have landed safely back home! Thanks to your planning, the trip was wonderful and really everything worked out brilliantly.

All the accommodation was really great; the friendliness, particularly at the Peech Hotel and at Milima Safari Lodge, was outstanding.

Milima Lodge, in a tent by the waterhole, was sensational; we saw the Big 5 too!

In Cape Town we also found our way around well by car and did all the sights you listed in 3 days!

1. Day: Cape of Good Hope with Muizenberg, St James, Simon's Town, penguins at Boulders Beach, great food at Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, Chapman's Peak Drive
2. Day: Robben Island, Table Mountain cable car, Signal Hill, Waterfront
3. Day: City Bowl with Bo-Kaap, Company's Garden, Green Market…, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, wine estates Glen Constantia (great food) and Groot Constantia, Camps Bay

We were also very lucky with the weather!

Heartfelt thanks again for your advice!

Best wishes

Martina + Hans-Dieter Torinek

A perfectly organised 16-day trip (March/April 2025) through Namibia.

Whether driving distances, accommodation, sights or culture, everything was very well matched to our needs and interests and gave us many lovely impressions and unforgettable memories.

The endless expanses of the country with its varied landscapes, the wildlife viewing and the warm hospitality of the people are overwhelming.

Many thanks to Ms Kayssler for the tireless and competent advice and the ongoing care. We felt very well looked after.

We will gladly recommend Elefant-Tours and will happily come back to you ourselves at a suitable opportunity.

We visited South Africa on a self-drive trip that was perfectly planned by Ms Walter. All our wishes were taken into account by her in the individual planning.

We set off from Johannesburg to Balule Private Game Reserve, where we had incredibly impressive days in the park with countless elephants, buffalo, giraffes, rhinos and countless other animals.

The accommodation was excellent, located in the middle of the park, and the guide also stood out for his high level of expertise. From the park we flew from Hoedspruit to Port Elizabeth, where we picked up our next rental car. Our self-drive trip took us along the Garden Route to our destination, Cape Town.

All the accommodation suggested by Ms Walter was very hospitable and everything was perfectly organised.

It was our first self-drive trip in South Africa and we can only recommend it. Do not be afraid of driving on the left; you find your way around quickly. We enjoyed the flexibility we had as self-drivers, especially compared with organised group tours that you encounter at so many sights.

It is the second trip organised by the travel agency Elefant-Tours, and Elefant-Tours will remain our first choice for further Africa trips too.

In January 2025 we travelled through South Africa, along the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.

Together with our friends and another (very pleasant) couple, we made up a small group led by Roy.

We were delighted with Roy every single day – a great tour guide with a real knowledge of his country!
He got us excited about the flora and fauna and took us on all kinds of activities!

Thanks to his passion for his country, its people and its landscape, we learned a great deal about South Africa over the 14 days.

The programme was great – varied and thoroughly appealing!
The accommodation was lovely, and just as top-notch as the wine estates, the restaurants, the cafes etc….

The days in South Africa will always stay in our memory as absolutely dreamlike!

Heartfelt thanks to all the staff at Elefant-Tours for the perfect planning and running of the trip!

Ingrid and Sepp

Elefant-Tours has been organising our individual self-drive tours in Namibia since 2010. Communication with Ms Verena Brode works superbly, and she is very reliable and competent. If problems arise during the trip, you can count on her quick help. You are never left alone.

In January / February 2025 we spent 6 weeks travelling in this beautiful country. It was our 7th tailor-made trip looked after by Elefant-Tours. I can highly recommend this travel agency.

From 14.02.25 – 20.02.25 we went on a camping safari with you and then spent a week on Zanzibar.

The impressions during the safari were overwhelming – the wildlife viewing and the feeling of being close to the African continent in a tent.

We feel a particular need to give our tour guide, driver and the cook on the safari great praise and a big compliment!

Our driver / tour guide Abraham and Elias the cook were always very helpful, attentive, friendly, polite and obliging. Abraham has excellent knowledge of the area and subject matter, organised everything well, and pointed out all the sights that would have escaped our attention without him, giving us the relevant explanations. Elias always looked after us superbly with his cooking.

The interpersonal atmosphere during the tour was exceptionally harmonious.

In particular, we greatly appreciate how the two gentlemen handled my disability (I, Gerd, am blind)! The necessary assistance, unobtrusive support and matter-of-fact way of dealing with the disability command our great respect!

Overall, we can say that this trip exceeded our expectations and went to our complete satisfaction! We can absolutely recommend the organisers of this trip!

We ask you to pass on our thanks to Abraham and Elias once more!

Kind regards

Martina and Gerd

From 14.07. – 03.08.2024 we booked the round trip Namibia's Diversity through Elefant-Tours. Mr Bernhard Forster recommended this trip to us. We greatly appreciated his friendly and expert advice. Whenever we had questions, he got back to us immediately. Top service :-).

Our trip with a group of six people will always stay in our memory as a dreamlike, unforgettable experience. We also have the fondest memories of our tour guide Mathias. He always took great care of the wishes and interests of all participants and of our wellbeing, and responded individually to each participant.

Thanks to his daily planning, after the day's programme we still had time to relax at the end of the day. The accommodation where we stayed was without exception very lovely, clean and in an excellent location. The wildlife viewing, including outside Etosha National Park (elephants, lions, giraffes etc.), was dreamlike, like everything else on the trip 🙂

In short, we are thrilled with Mr Forster's advice and can recommend Elefant-Tours wholeheartedly. When we next seek advice on an Africa trip, we will gladly contact Elefant-Tours for suggestions, based on our positive experiences.

Our trip through Tanzania was simply unforgettable! We started in Tarangire National Park, where we experienced breathtaking wildlife. The safari then took us to Serengeti National Park and on to the Ngorongoro Crater, a true wonder of nature. The crater floor nature reserve gave us the chance to see lions, rhinos, wildebeest and zebras in their natural surroundings – a real highlight!

I can only recommend the travel agency, especially Ms Franke, most warmly! From the first contact to the last minute of our trip, everything was perfectly organised. The guides were very competent and friendly and led us through the parks with great knowledge and enthusiasm. Every stop on the trip was perfectly prepared and we felt completely at ease. Particularly worth highlighting is the high-quality accommodation, which was both authentic and comfortable.

Dear travel agency,
thank you so much for this fantastic trip through Tanzania! Everything was perfectly organised, and it was an unforgettable experience to enjoy nature and animals in such a unique way. Every moment, from Tarangire to the Serengeti, was simply magical. We will definitely be back!

A dream start to our sabbatical

Fairly spontaneously, we decided to take a three-and-a-half-week self-drive round trip through Namibia in September 24. Back in late 2018 we had already made a two-week family round trip through this beautiful country, and as Elefant-Tours' organisation had been outstanding even then, we used their services again.

Ms Nicole Petersen took a lot of time for us, listened carefully to our wishes and ideas and, in no time at all, created an absolute dream trip for us in which everything simply went perfectly. Despite the short lead time before the main trip, she managed to book really lovely accommodation for us, quite a few of which had a wow factor.

From Windhoek we headed south. Even the first accommodation, Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch, was a dream. From our bungalow up on the dunes we had a wide view across the Kalahari. The game drive was also great, during which we saw the first animals straight away, such as rhinos, and the fascinating cheetah feeding followed by a sundowner. This is where we got our first spectacular wildlife photos.

We continued south to Keetmanshoop, where we could admire the very beautiful Quiver Tree Forest and the so-called Giant's Playground. Away from the main roads, but on an all the more beautiful route, we approached the eastern side of the Fish River Canyon.

At Canyon Roadhouse, our accommodation there, they repaired our flat tyre without any fuss … The Fish River Canyon is absolutely impressive. We had the pleasure of admiring it once more from the west the next day, when we spent the night at the beautifully situated Fish River Lodge. It is only 28 km as the crow flies from the eastern rim, but as we first had to drive around the canyon (a very beautiful route via the south, partly along the border with South Africa), we covered over 400 km. This long drive was absolutely worth it.

In the far west too, in Lüderitz, we had a very lovely place to stay with the Alte Villa. A catamaran cruise and a guided tour of the ghost town of Kolmanskop are well worth it here. On the way north, the accommodation (Greenfire Desert Lodge / Elegant Desert Camp) offered perfect conditions for night-time astrophotography. Sossusvlei, the Namib – simply beautiful.

In Swakopmund, Ms Petersen had reserved the best table for us at "Jetty 1905". Thank you! The "Living Desert Experience", where we encountered the Little Five, was also fantastic.

Via Damaraland, with a detour to the desert elephants near the Brandberg, we headed towards Etosha NP. Here we finally saw them: zebras, elephants, giraffes, lions and much more. We were very pleasantly surprised by the state-run Onkoshi Resort, right on the salt pan, which can easily keep up in quality with the private accommodation. Elephants walked right past our bungalow here.

But we also liked the simpler Waterberg Resort at the mountain of the same name – and on the morning game drive we finally got to see the buffalo. Particularly worth highlighting is certainly also the Onjala Lodge near the airport, which made the perfect end to our trip.

Thank you very much, dear Nicole, for the outstanding organisation of the trip and the lovely support throughout. Our next Africa trip with Elefant-Tours is already being planned!

Dear Ms Kayssler,

I would like to thank you warmly for the wonderfully planned trip. We have now been back in Germany for a week and I am only slowly arriving back here.

The trip left so many beautiful impressions and will always stay in my heart: the varied, colourful landscape; the light and vastness of the country; the warmth and hospitality of the people; the many loving details on the laid tables and getting to know nice fellow travellers….

Your selection of lodges and guesthouses/guest farms was sensational and was a wonderful surprise every time we arrived.

I wish you all the very best too and send you warmest greetings

Kerstin Scherer

Our self-drive tour through the south of South Africa was ideally planned. This allowed us in 15 days not only to get to know the most important highlights but also to enjoy relaxing moments.

The accommodation surprised us again and again, whether because of the lovely location, the great hospitality or the comfort. The exemplary digital route planners proved very helpful.

We thank Elefant-Tours and especially Ms Petersen for the great advice and 3 unforgettable weeks in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Our self-drive tour was perfectly organised and guaranteed us this intense experience.

Thank you very much,
Rainer Merkhofer and Kerstin Paulick

Good day Mr Schuff,

We thank you for very good trip organisation (tips and advice) and congratulate you on your choice of partner "Foxes Safari Camps", whose staff made our time in the dreamlike camps and on the game drives as lovely as could be.

During our stays we were mostly the only guests or among the few guests at the accommodation. You can certainly imagine that the staff could take a lot of time for us and also spoiled us culinary-wise. On the drives through the parks we really saw lots of animals. Everything simply fitted.

The journey by light aircraft was an experience too and of course shortened the transfers considerably. The highlight was the stay at the Manta Resort on Pemba. Simply sensational, as we had not expected so much luxury.

We naturally recommended you straight away, and if I am correctly informed, you are organising the trip to Tanzania for our son and family next year. They are already looking forward to it like crazy (as Berliners say)!!

We wish you continued success as well as new ideas for relaxed trips and many satisfied guests

Constanze & Jörg Melsa

An unforgettable Africa trip!

A perfectly organised 18-day trip through Namibia and Botswana to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Heartfelt thanks to Ms Kassler of Elefant Tours, especially for the excellent advice and the very good coordination of the schedule and selection of lodges.

We will always remember this fantastic trip

Marion Heidenreich and Birgit Binjung