South Africa Family Safari in Style

Itinerary

• South Africa

  South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa, and features one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town. A sublime location, great beaches, nearby vineyards, great food, and cheap diamonds - there is a lot of love about the city. The Garden Route is a short drive away, passing through the quaint towns of Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay and Nature's Valley. It is best experienced with an overnight in Knysna.  Kruger National Park is another top draw, and boasts some of the finest lodges on the continent.

• Cape Town

  Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Popular day activities include; Robben Island (Nelson Mandela's prison), Cape Point, Stellenbosch winery tour, diamond buying shops, and great white shark diving.

• Johannesburg

  Johannesburg or Jo'burg, as the locals call the city of the gold, is the biggest metropolis in South Africa. With its 3.2 million citizens the city on the Witwatersrand is the predominant commercial centre and the economic motor of the Republic of South Africa. It is the international flight gateway for most of southern Africa.

• Madikwe Game Reserve

  It is currently the fifth largest game reserve in South Africa and yet not widely known. The park is now 680 km² by itself, and 750 km², including the now incorporated privately owned land. The terrain is mainly open grasslands and bushveld plains, interspersed with rocky outcrops and single mountains. Madikwe has been regarded as one of the better conservation areas in Africa, offering all the major species, including lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, both white and black rhino along with almost all the plains antelope species.

• Sabi Sands

  The Sabi Sands Game Reserve is undoubtedly the most exclusive private game reserve in South Africa. The 65,000-hectare Sabi Sands Game Reserve is located on the south-western corner of the Kruger National Park. There are no restricting fences between the Kruger Park and Sabi Sands Reserve and the wildlife roams freely between the two game reserves. Some of the best and most exclusive private game lodges in the country are in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve and the chances of seeing the Big 5 (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino) are excellent.

• • Johannesburg
  • The Michelangelo Hotel

  Day 1: Johannesburg

  Upon arrival into South Africa you will be met inside the airport and escorted through Customs and Immigration avoiding any queues.

  Upon arrival you will receive all of your necessary documents for your trip which contains a detailed personalized itinerary, maps, restaurant suggestions, Top Tips for exploring each city or region and a 24 hour concierge service (for restaurant reservations, spa treatments, child minders, day tours etc).

  Airport transfer to/from your hotel with private vehicle

  Accommodation: The Michelangelo Hotel

  This elegant hotel has captured the spirit of a bygone era while being at the heart of the pulsating vibrant corporate capital of Africa, Sandton Square. The hotel offers unsurpassed attention to detail and ensures that individual needs and tastes are catered for in every possible way. Beautiful Renaissance-inspired décor ensures that guests enjoy the utmost luxury both in their private suites as well as in the lounges and other public areas of the hotel.

• • Madikwe Game Reserve
  • Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge

  Day 2: Johannesburg - Madikwe Game Reserve

  Airport transfer to/from your hotel with private vehicle

  Fly from Johannesburg to Madikwe.  Travel time is approximately 1 hour. 

  This afternoon you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your afternoon game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge to freshen up for dinner. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost dependant on availability.

  Accommodation: Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge

  Owner-managed and run, Jamala Madikwe, Royal Safari Lodge offers an intimate bush experience, where personal service and attention to detail are the cornerstones of every waking moment. The lodge successfully combines colonial style and African eccentricity in a delightful marriage of opposites. Set in the pristine 75 000 hectare malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve, Jamala Madikwe is the ideal place for that ultimate safari experience. A welcome fit for a king!

• • Zebra in the Madikwe Game Reserve

  Day 3: Madikwe Game Reserve

  Before first light you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your early morning game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge for breakfast. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost depending on availability.

  This afternoon you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your afternoon game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge to freshen up for dinner. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost dependant on availability.

  Accommodation: Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge
• • Crested Barbet in the Madikwe Game Reserve

  Day 4: Madikwe Game Reserve

  Before first light you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your early morning game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge for breakfast. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost depending on availability.

  This afternoon you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your afternoon game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge to freshen up for dinner. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost dependant on availability.

  Accommodation: Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge
• • Sabi Sands
  • Sabi
  • Founders Camp

  Day 5: Madikwe Game Reserve - Johannesburg - Sabi Sands

  Before first light you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your early morning game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge for breakfast. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost depending on availability.

  Fly today between your lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve and Johannesburg.  Travel time is approximately 1 hour. 

  Fly from Johannesburg to Madikwe.  Travel time is approximately 1 hour. 

  This afternoon you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your afternoon game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge to freshen up for dinner. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost dependant on availability.

  Accommodation: Londolozi Founders Camp

  Seated in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Londolozi is a lush safari getaway for those who want to be pampered in the wild. Londolozi is one of the original pioneering lodges of the ecotourism industry in South Africa and an unashamedly family run, stand alone operation. The root of the word Londolozi is in the Zulu word for protect and means “protector of all living things” – an ambitious conservation ethic that Londolozi embraces in its sensitivity to the natural world. The reserve is internationally recognised for its far-sighted and progressive management of land and wildlife rehabilitation as well as productive community involvement.. World renowned as one of Africa’s finest game lodges, Londolozi was the first game reserve in the world to be accorded Relais & Chateaux status, reinforcing its commitment to luxurious accommodation, fine cuisine and exceptional service.

• • Morning Game Drive

  Day 6: Sabi Sands

  Before first light you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your early morning game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge for breakfast. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost depending on availability.

  This afternoon you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your afternoon game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge to freshen up for dinner. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost dependant on availability.

  Accommodation: Londolozi Founders Camp

• Day 7: Sabi Sands

  Before first light you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your early morning game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge for breakfast. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost depending on availability.

  This afternoon you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your afternoon game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge to freshen up for dinner. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost dependant on availability.

  Accommodation: Londolozi Founders Camp
• • Cape Town
  • Kensington Place

  Day 8: Sabi Sands - Nelspruit (KMIA) - Cape Town

  Before first light you'll meet up with others at the lodge and embark on your early morning game drive. Sunrise and sunset are when the animals are most active. You'll be out in the reserve for a few hours before returning back to the lodge for breakfast. A private vehicle can be booked at an additional cost depending on availability.

  Travel today between your lodge in Sabi Sands and Kruger Mupumalanga International Airport. 

  Take your flight from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to Cape Town today. The flight duration is approximately 2 hrs.

  Enjoy a private transfer between the airport and your hotel.

  Accommodation: Kensington Place

  Kensington Place luxury hotel offers spectacular views of Table Mountain and is close to the National Park. The rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated in the most contemporary style. Facilities include twin/king size beds, iPod docking facilities, safe and laptop and Skype phone facilities.Though in leafy suburbia, our luxury hotel is well placed for the city centre of Cape Town. Attractions include a wide variety of restaurants, Robben Island and beautiful beaches.

Accommodation

• Wildlife Encounters

  The African Elephant is a notably intelligent animal due to their large brain, and has a distinct social conduct from other animals. Herds consist of related females and their young, directed by the eldest female, or matriarch. Elephants remain close to their families, the relationship between each elephant is very strong and they recognize each other even after long periods apart. During migration, the matriarch decides the route and leads the group to all the water sources she knows. The other members of the herd will memorize these places for the future. Males stay with the herd only long enough to remain self sufficient, and then go to form their own groups with other males. They will only approach a herd in response to a mating call, which can occur at any time of the year.

• Culinary Delights

  South Africa has emerged as a polyglot cuisine. European colonization, the adaptation of the native Bantu cooking, and mass immigration of migrant workers have all contributed. The Dutch brought their forms of agriculture, and British merchants imported "mixed grills" that now include African game meats. The French introduced the cultivation of vineyards. Malay workers and East Indians added curries and spice to the plain English-Dutch influence. Local game, and lamb, the famous South African lobster, and a vast repertoire of fish combine to create a truly cosmopolitan cuisine.

• Kid's Fun

  Butterfly is the largest free flying park for butterflies in Southern Africa. It is an enclosed garden boasting a spectacular array of colourful butterflies which fly freely around you, as well as loads of water features and exotic plants. The location of Butterfly World is perfect as it lies at the junction of the main wine routes of Stellenbosch and Paarl. There is no time limit on a visit to Butterfly so you can take as many photographs and videos as you like, or just sit down on a bench and admire these beautiful creatures fly around you. Refreshments and light meals are available from the Schmetterling restaurant, and the craft shop stocks butterfly related goods.

• • The Michelangelo Hotel

  The Michelangelo Hotel

  This elegant hotel has captured the spirit of a bygone era while being at the heart of the pulsating vibrant corporate capital of Africa, Sandton Square. The hotel offers unsurpassed attention to detail and ensures that individual needs and tastes are catered for in every possible way. Beautiful Renaissance-inspired décor ensures that guests enjoy the utmost luxury both in their private suites as well as in the lounges and other public areas of the hotel.

  • More information
• • Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge

  Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge

  Owner-managed and run, Jamala Madikwe, Royal Safari Lodge offers an intimate bush experience, where personal service and attention to detail are the cornerstones of every waking moment. The lodge successfully combines colonial style and African eccentricity in a delightful marriage of opposites. Set in the pristine 75 000 hectare malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve, Jamala Madikwe is the ideal place for that ultimate safari experience. A welcome fit for a king!

  • More information
• • Founders Camp
  • Chalet

  Londolozi Founders Camp

  Seated in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Londolozi is a lush safari getaway for those who want to be pampered in the wild. Londolozi is one of the original pioneering lodges of the ecotourism industry in South Africa and an unashamedly family run, stand alone operation. The root of the word Londolozi is in the Zulu word for protect and means “protector of all living things” – an ambitious conservation ethic that Londolozi embraces in its sensitivity to the natural world. The reserve is internationally recognised for its far-sighted and progressive management of land and wildlife rehabilitation as well as productive community involvement.. World renowned as one of Africa’s finest game lodges, Londolozi was the first game reserve in the world to be accorded Relais & Chateaux status, reinforcing its commitment to luxurious accommodation, fine cuisine and exceptional service.

  • More information
• • Kensington Place

  Kensington Place

  Kensington Place luxury hotel offers spectacular views of Table Mountain and is close to the National Park. The rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated in the most contemporary style. Facilities include twin/king size beds, iPod docking facilities, safe and laptop and Skype phone facilities.Though in leafy suburbia, our luxury hotel is well placed for the city centre of Cape Town. Attractions include a wide variety of restaurants, Robben Island and beautiful beaches.

  • More information

The Fine Print

• Trip Operator

  Horizon & Co. (founded in 1963), is a privately-owned leading boutique travel company. Horizon designs and stages authentic and deeply personal travel experiences that are carefully choreographed to induce a life-long memory. In addition to offering published trips on seven continents, Horizon builds private custom trips for discerning individuals and small groups.

• Contact Information

  Horizon & Co.
  Tel: 1-800-387-2977
  Email: admin@horizon-co.com
  Web: www.horizon-co.com

• What's Included:

  • Guaranteed departure - Accommodation, Activities, Transfers, Meals, Fees where indicated as per the itinerary - Local and international traveler assistance during your tour - Specialised and personalised services

• What's not Included:

  • Tips - Laundry - Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages unless explicitly noted - Optional activities/extras – Visas (unless noted) - Vacation insurance

• Trip Terms & Conditions

  • Your deposit is due immediately on booking (30% of program price, minimum $250). The balance is due 90 days prior to departure. We accept payment via credit card, certified check, wire transfer or money order.
  • Tour quotes do not include airfare to/from the trip start point unless noted on the itinerary
  • Cost increases in currency exchange, government fees, taxes, surcharges or hotel/lodge tariff increases between quote date and start date are payable by the client.
  • Availability cannot be guaranteed until booked. We will exercise best efforts to book hotels per the itinerary, however, in busy seasons and with client bookings made within 90 days of tour date we may be forced to offer substitutes.
  • Cancellations of confirmed bookings 90 days or more prior to departure will receive full refund minus a $350 (per person) administrative fee and any non-refundable paid fees (e.g. non-refundable airfare, cruise or hotel deposits). 60-89 days will be subject to loss of deposit. 30-59 days will be subject to loss of 50% of program price. 29 days or less will be subject to 100% of program price.
  • Payment of the program price constitutes your acceptance of the terms and conditions set out at www.horizon-co.com/terms-and-conditions
  • Living Standards and practices at destination may differ from those in North America with respect to provisions of utilities, services and accommodation.

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