1,584 South Africa Tour & Trip Reviews

South Africa Tour & Trip Reviews

1,584 Reviews
4.7 out of 5
Excellent 1,293 Great 208 Average 21 Disappointing 10 Terrible 52
96% Recommend
Value
4.7 Guide
4.7 Activities
4.7 Lodging
4.7 Transportation
4.7 Meals
4.7

Editor’s Take

What to Look For in South Africa Tour Reviews

Most trip reviews tend to focus on some or all of these 5 key areas, not all of which may be relevant to you: the tour guide, travel company, service level, country or countries traveled in, and the trip itinerary.

Remember, just because you see a 1 star review doesn’t necessarily mean that person disliked the country.

First, for a majority of travelers, the flight to South Africa is long. From many spots in the United States, you’ll spend near 21 hours each direction in the air. Australia and Asia experience similarly long flights. For travelers who find themselves having a layover, consider an overnight layover, where you can spend a night sleeping in a bed. This helps ease exhaustion, especially for those who can’t sleep on planes. You’ll arrive ready for your South African adventure.

There are some security issues when it comes to South Africa, which can be a shock for some travelers. Especially if you go to Johannesburg, you’ll feel the more “dangerous” sides just by being outside and driving through the city. This should not discourage you from traveling to South Africa!

Being prepared and knowing your surroundings, it can help immensely. Many homes have bars on the windows, and security guards, even in the higher end areas. Violence was a huge concern, and can still be, but don’t let this break your trip. There will be a shock but shortly after, travelers see this is just the way of life in South Africa.

Many travelers have mentioned South Africa as one of the best experiences of their life, which is no surprise. Between the ocean, the mountains, the wineries in the capelands, and the wildlife, it’s pretty hard to not enjoy yourself. There is surely something that everyone will enjoy. South Africa is filled with history, art, and great food. There are endless adventures, and the pace of life is very relaxed.

Many reviewers mentioned the safari. Some may say a day or two is enough for a safari. You can see these animals at the zoo. This is far from the truth. There are very few things that beat seeing a family of elephants strolling during sunrise, or watching the hippo crossings between dusk.

Looking in the brush for the lions trying to hide from the hot sun, and zebras running through the grass. All of it is amazing and every game drive is different. Every animal encounter is magical.

Another South Africa “hot spot” among reviewers is Cape Town with a side trip to the wine area, either Stellenbosch or Franschhoek. Stroll through the cute towns filled with restaurants, shops, and markets. Hop on the wine tram, that transports you between wineries in the region.

Consider a stay in a bed and breakfast. Transportation between wine country and Cape Town is about an hour, and there are numerous buses that leave each day between the two. While this is an easy day trip, you may want to consider staying overnight. The region makes for a great weekend trip!

If you want a professional take on traveling in South Africa, see the Travelstride South Africa Guide »

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Tour Reviews

MM

Does Not Recommend

Don’t not give this company your money March 2022

1.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Guide 1.0
  • Activities 1.0
  • Lodging 1.0
  • Transportation 1.0
  • Meals 1.0
Don’t not give this company your money! Also, don’t believe the positive reviews. When the pandemic shut down international travel ACIS kept peoples hard earned money. When they started getting bad reviews because of it they shut down their page. This is truly a scam company.
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AP

Recommends

Feb 2022 Italy Trip was AMAZING thanks to ACIS! March 2022

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
My school has been using ACIS for about 10 years now. I took over running the Europe trips 4 years ago and all of my experiences have been great! The last week of February 2022, I took 31 students to Italy and it was AMAZING! Leading up to the trip is always nerve-wracking, especially during Covid times, but Tom (the regional director I work with) was able to guide me through everything I needed to do to prepare for this trip in a safe way. We got all the students covered with the correct insurance needed (based on their grade year) and it was comforting knowing that if anything were to happen we had a team of people we can contact any time in the US or Italy. Adrian, our tour manager, has been someone we worked with for years and he made sure we were safe and comfortable (while also having fun) at all times. The students had a BLAST and the parents were so happy with how smooth the experience was when traveling with a bunch of students to Italy, after not having traveled in years. I will continue to work with ACIS and I cannot wait for the next trip we plan together!
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DB

Recommends

The best in student travel February 2022

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
The absolute best in student travel, period. When traveling I often see other student travel company groups and can’t help but think that they have no idea what they are missing. ACIS takes care of everything from start to finish and has the most professional guides, managers, and support staff. I’ve been using them for 10 years and will continue to do so. While Covid disrupted travel, ACIS offered numerous protection plans, and any traveler who opted for one of these plans received full financial protection/coverage/refunds. We just completed a February 2022 trip and it was fantastic. Would absolutely recommend ACIS to anyone who wants an amazing, smooth, and enriching student travel experience!
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PS

Does Not Recommend

As others have said February 2022

1.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Guide 1.0
  • Activities 1.0
  • Lodging 1.0
  • Transportation 1.0
  • Meals 1.0
As others have said - don’t use this company. They scammed my daughter out of thousands of dollars when trip was cancelled due to COVID. She was a senior in HS and will never be able to use the voucher they provided. They could have and should have provided 100% refund because I know they were able to get their money back from the places that were booked for the trip. I’m wondering when the people in this review page took their trips to write these reviews since travel has been on hold for a while. Don’t use ACIS they will take your money!
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NS

Does Not Recommend

Don't believe these reviews. They deleted all the negative ones! February 2022

1.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Guide 1.0
  • Activities 1.0
  • Lodging 1.0
  • Transportation 1.0
  • Meals 1.0
This company literally TOOK my daughter's hard earned money during the pandemic. They did NOT refund her properly when our trip was cancelled at the start of the pandemic. They have changed their Facebook page to deceive all the newcomers of their ways. They are still in business ONLY bc they kept the children's money instead of reimbursing the students who lost out on travel simply due to bad timing at the start of the pandemic. Please do your research before using this terrible company. They are thieves. Read about them on the Better Business Bureau and look for the Facebook page ACIS Covid Refunds for students so you can see the large number of people negatively affected by this company. They DO NOT do right by the students and are greedy, money hungry, jerks.
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CH

Recommends

Traveling with the ACIS dream team was… January 2022

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
Traveling with the ACIS dream team was a breeze. Peter, Tom, Jennie, and Amber put together a fantastic tour through Budapest and were always available to make sure that all our needs were met. It's such a pleasure to work with professionals that understand the assignment: time, people, and geography management at its best. If I could give them 20 stars, I would!
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A

Does Not Recommend

DO NOT BOOK WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - LOST MY TRIP MONEY January 2022

1.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Guide 1.0
  • Activities 1.0
  • Lodging 1.0
  • Transportation 1.0
  • Meals 1.0
I booked a trip to South Africa with National Geographic... what I thought was a reputable company. A couple weeks before I was supposed to go, they canceled the tour.

They have not refunded any portion of my money. They said the airfare was non-refundable and that I couldn't even have a flight credit. But they are the ones that canceled the trip. However Delta told me that a refund check was sent to the agency. Then they said they would refund the other portion of the trip expense, but it may take 6 months. It is completely unacceptable. The entire 100% of the trip should be refunded and should have been refunded the day they canceled the trip.

The business is not responsive to this. I filed a complaint with the BBB and they did not respond. I sent a 30 day demand letter in preparation of filing in court against them. So far no resolution.

I expect a 100% refund AND I share this story to strongly advise against anyone ever booking a national geographic trip of any kind.

I will be posting this review online in every spot I can find.
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R

Recommends

ACIS knows what they are doing! January 2022

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
If you are looking for a group to use, this is it! ACIS is super professional and accomodating. They take care of you from start to finish and help with whatever you need.

W

Does Not Recommend

ACIS- lack of integrity and class- Parents beware January 2022

1.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Guide 1.0
  • Activities 1.0
  • Lodging 1.0
  • Transportation 1.0
  • Meals 1.0
What a disappointment this company is. After placing a deposit in early 2020, of course the trips to Australia were cancelled the next two years because of covid. Many companies that were in a similar situation offered full refunds and offered options to customers; not so with ACIS. Two years later with my daughter now in college and no visibility into the craziness in Australia the trip wont happen for her. Whether ACIS got PPP money or not, the right thing to do is to refund money for a service / experience you can't provide. I see many others are frustrated with similar experiences. A class action suit against the company may be the only way to go to get their attention. Do the right thing; it will pay off for you in the long term versus trying to give people the shaft today. What goes around comes around....
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E

Recommends

Great Service and Partnership December 2021

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
To say that planning a trip in the midst of a pandemic is challenging is definitely an understatement. It is in these times that ACIS truly shines! My interactions with ACIS staff have just given so much confidence that I can seriously say I am able to "seat back and relax" knowing that we are in such good hands.
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SM

Recommends

Convention to Budapest December 2021

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
I recently traveled on a teacher convention to Budapest Hungary. This was my 8th convention and probably the most amazing one ever. The trip was perfectly planned, the ACIS staff and the tour leader Peter Ede were exceptional! Everyone was so happy to be back traveling, and of course, Budapest is always fun and breathtaking!
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BE

Recommends

Hi James, December 2021

4.0
  • Value 4.0
  • Guide 4.0
  • Activities 4.0
  • Lodging 4.0
  • Transportation 4.0
  • Meals 4.0
Hi James,
We are counting down the days until we can travel abroad! I must say this “I CAN’T WAIT TO
TRAVEL AGAIN”!
My friends and I are planning to visit a foreign country, and we have not come to a mutual
agreement on which country to visit. As you know, we are cash strapped. As a seasoned traveller,
can you please suggest a budget-friendly tourist destination, the best mode of transport to use
and the duration of stay?
Bye! I am looking forward to your reply.
Regards,
Loli
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MD

Recommends

Natalie in support was amazing December 2021

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
Natalie in support was amazing! she helped me find my problem ASAP!

GS

Recommends

Thanks ACIS December 2021

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
I have been traveling with ACIS for more than 20 years and I believe that it’s a truly outstanding company. ACIS has done a terrific job during these difficult times. The professionalism, experience, and dedication of the staff has enabled the company to overcome challenges and to continue offering the best travel experiences in the industry. I’m very much looking forward to our continuing work together!
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TM

Recommends

ACIS is simply the best of the… December 2021

5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Guide 5.0
  • Activities 5.0
  • Lodging 5.0
  • Transportation 5.0
  • Meals 5.0
ACIS is simply the best of the educational travel companies out there. The quality and care is always consistent. We will never use another travel company! Thank you for always making each tour a success.
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Items 61 to 75 of 742 total

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