Garden Route Adventure

Traveler Reviews

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  Ashish

  January 7th, 2020
  4
  South Africa is a fascinating and beautiful destination! I had a wonderful time overall, with amazing new experiences...
  South Africa is a fascinating and beautiful destination! I had a wonderful time overall, with amazing new experiences almost every day. Two weeks just isn't enough; the itinerary took us to many lovely places and showed us a good sampler of the region. Some highlights: Malealea in Lesotho, Addo Elephant Park, hiking in Tsitsikamma, the drive to Cape Town. Having said all that, I think that my trip fell short of what was possible, and what I generally expect from Intrepid or G Adventures. Evenings were generally wasted (neither a local "hangout" spot nor a chance to go anywhere), about a third of the campsites were in poor locations, the bus was not that comfortable, food was not a priority until the passengers took over, group dynamics were poor, and the tour leader, while responsive to direct requests, unfortunately did not do a good job of "leading," facilitating, and especially communicating. Do come to South Africa. And don't forget to bring your sleeping bag!Show more
  Traveled in December 2019
  

  Reply from: Intrepid Travel

  Hi Ashish, We appreciate your feedback and sorry to hear your trip was not as you expected. I have passed this feedback to our customer care team who will look into this further and liaise with the relevant parties to make improvements to the itinerary. If you would like to discuss your trip further, simply email us at customerrelations@intrepidtravel.com.

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  Daniel P

  September 18th, 2019
  4.2
  These trips are not for everybody.
  Traveled in February 2019
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  William M

  September 18th, 2019
  4.5
  I quite enjoyed the trip. I had not camped for over 5 years!So, it was indeed an experience.I coped.!!
  Traveled in February 2019
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  Sael R

  September 18th, 2019
  4
  Locations were beautiful with every place having something different to offer. I liked the fact the days we're open...
  Locations were beautiful with every place having something different to offer. I liked the fact the days we're open to do things. However did feel like too much was packed in and at times things were rushed, the included activities were a slight let down.Show more
  Traveled in January 2019
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  Elizabeth W

  September 18th, 2019
  3.8
  It's an interesting trip. Long days but good
  Traveled in January 2019
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  Charlotte B

  September 18th, 2019
  4.2
  I enjoyed the trip but felt it has room for improvement in the itinerary.
  Traveled in January 2019
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  Samira N

  September 18th, 2019
  4.5
  First up, it was absolutely incredible. Great tour, amazing scenery, stunning wildlife, people and a perfect...
  First up, it was absolutely incredible. Great tour, amazing scenery, stunning wildlife, people and a perfect itinerary. 1% one of the best holidays I've ever had. Colin is an experienced and great guide. It wasn't an easy time of the year and some people in the group were very demanding (wanting to book certain excursions 1 days in advance, asking for upgrades a week in advance etc.). It's the busiest time of year, and some of the campsites obviously didn't handle the bookings very well, causing confusion and delays in checking-in (this is not a complaint, welcome to Africa and welcome to travelling over Christmas /New Years). Where I'm going with this is that Colin handeled everything like a pro and for that I'd like to thank him for that! Also thanks to Intrepid for allowing us to stay in Little Switzerland (lovely place by the way), that was awesome and unexpected. Siya was also a great guy, I always felt incredibly safe in the Truck thanks to his amazing driving skills! He entrusted us with the information that he'll be doing his guide exam soon and I wish him the best of luck! He'll be a wonderful guide. Everytime Colim was busy sorting things out and we were waiting Siya would hop on the Truck with us (while it was parked of course) and keep us updated on what's going on and tell us some things about the place/area. He helped Colin a fair bit and I really hope I may meet him as a guide one day when I return to Africa. Maybe a small suggestion for the end, most of the campingsites were situated perfectly and had everything we needed, the only place that felt a bit unnecessary was Hermanus, I'd recommend to drive straight to Cape Town and spend the last 2 nights there after only doing a short stop in Hermanus for lunch and to look at the town. Also, if it's in any way possible to pre-book the most popular tours (night drive Kruger and Addo) then that could be an advantage during the busy time of year, many people were disappointed that they couldn't partake in these activities. Once again, a massive thank you to Colin, Siya and Intrepid! It was a real adventure and I can't wait to return to Africa (probably next year around the same time :))Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Lucia T

  September 18th, 2019
  4.5
  This was my firs trip with Intrepid. Overall I am satisfied with the trip and the guides who conducted the trip. The...
  This was my firs trip with Intrepid. Overall I am satisfied with the trip and the guides who conducted the trip. The itinerary was follow3 as per the description of this trip. The accommodation was overall good. The food cooked by the guide a Collin was excellent and the driver Sia was really safe and comfortable. However, I would suggest a couple of improvements. The system for booking optional activities in the places we visit3d was always a bit problematic because we couldn’t book in advance and secure a place. In two occasions we missed to do a night game drive despite having told Collin we wanted to do it a week in advance and ask him to call to book it. Unfortunately a day before we were to arrive to Ado he told us he called but there was no availability. The group was very disappointed. I’m aware that the guide is incharge of many tasks but I think that the main office should be able to assist with booking in advance to avoid disappointment as we were only to book activities once we got to the place and in some occasional there was no availability. On a different note, the food provided and the cooking were very good but I would really recommend to have a cafetière or a filter coffee for breakfast. Having Nescafé every morning was painful and I think it Willard a huge difference to everybody particularly with all the early mornings.Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Anke S

  September 18th, 2019
  3.8
  I had amazing experiences on this trip and enjoyed it very much. I got a great insight into the country, and the...
  I had amazing experiences on this trip and enjoyed it very much. I got a great insight into the country, and the included activities worked well and were fun. Only one thing that could be improved: I fully understand that not all programme details might be possible due to local restrictions. What I do not understand is that if the complete group wants to participate in an optional activity and gives early notice, that this activity (e.g. a night game drive in Addo) is not booked in advance to make sure we can join. It was not a big surprise given the high season that when arriving at the location that optional activities were already fully booked. The same for upgrades for accommodation. It would have been great to make a reservation in advance (for those who are interested in an upgrade) instead of arriving and hearing that the last rooms have just been filled up.Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Hannah N

  September 18th, 2019
  3.2
  The itinerary was spot on and really well thought out/planned. The lack of flexibility and proactivity from the tour...
  The itinerary was spot on and really well thought out/planned. The lack of flexibility and proactivity from the tour leader however let the overall experience down. This wasn't helped however by some members of the group who were extremely high maintenance and difficult to deal with. This tour could have been absolutely fantastic except for some areas that need to be reassessed. If I hadn't known of other tours that friends had done who have had completely opposite experiences, I wouldn't book with Intrepid again....there are other companies which offer similar tours with better tour leaders unfortunately. If I do book with Intrepid again, I will be doing so because my friends have had better experiences....Show more
  Traveled in December 2018