The leaders, the hotels, the local guides, the personal experiences far exceeded my expectations. I could not have been happier with my choice of Backroads for my first African safari. Already planning my next adventure, just can't decide where to go next. The trip leaders of Backroads are truly incredible people. They are what makes the real difference in a good trip versus an amazing experience. Thank you and I'll be back real soon.

From scenic tours and biking in the south, to hikes and Safaris further north, the trip exceeded our expectations! We learned a lot, ate a lot, exercised a lot, and created memories to last a lifetime!

This trip was amazing on so many levels. This may be a longer review - it was 11 amazing days and 5 awesome hotels. I'll start with Cape Town - what an amazing city with so much to see and do. Take your time before the trip starts to just enjoy Cape Town. Meeting up in Cape Town after a nice breakfast at the meetup hotel (not where we stayed) we hopped into some vans and went on a great hike across some of Table Mountain dropping into the botanical gardens - wow - have your camera ready after the lunch feast. First hotel - amazing. Trip to Cape of Good Hope - what a great day - the hike down to where you will start biking - wow- have your camera ready! The ride... have your camera ready - do push yourself to keep riding - it's beautiful. OK - going to save myself time- always have a good camera ready on this trip, everything was amazing. Bushman Kloof - awesome. Mashatu - awesome. Hazyview - awesome. Londolozi - otherworldly! Bring a good zoom lens for the game runs - we brought a 100-500 zoom lens and it was excellent. Not enough praise can be made for our guides Kevin and Ciaran as well as our game drive guides and trackers. You will explore some very amazing places, each one very different than the last and no day is complete without a sundowner. This trip is one we will always remember (but still really glad we had our good camera always ready!).

This was a life-changing amazing trip to South Africa and Botswana! We took the trip in April 2022 which was the first one in 2 years because of Covid. Backroads did an amazing job of making us all feel safe traveling and we were outside for almost all of the trip seeing amazing animals and the wonderful landscape of Africa. Our guide Paul was fantastic! He is a naturalist who grew up in South Africa and he knows so much about the history of the country and all of the amazing animals, birds, and plants we saw. Our drivers and guides were so friendly and the lodges we stayed at were beautiful with delicious food! This was our 12th Backroads trip and our favorite! I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to go on an African safari! Also, the weather was perfect- sunny and 70's, but bring a fleece for 6 am and evening game drives and a windbreaker for the Cape of Good Hope- gorgeous bike ride but windy!

This trip is one of Backroads best. Every hotel is stunning in its own way. The private planes to get you easily from place to place, the huge amounts of incredible food, and the chance to see wild animals from a bike make this trip very special.

We have been on 18 Backroads trips and this definitely is at the top as far as experience combined with the activities and premier accommodations. Of course, the leaders are always great but these two were stellar.

Trip of a lifetime!!

We were excited for this trip but it really surpassed all expectations. We could not have had better guides with Stacy and Paul. I would think we were staying at the most amazing place and then the next location would be even better.

Just scrubbed the last of the African soil off my hiking boots and am already planning when to return and bring our most adventurous friends with us on this spectacular Backroads trip. You will be amazed, energized, sometimes exhausted and always in love and awe. While the opportunity to cycle through game reserves was the reason we chose this trip (and it exceeded our high expectations), you cannot imagine how much you will love what else Backroads has in store for you. From crashing through the bush in search of leopards (fortunately, on Landies, not on bikes), to exhilarating bike rides and hikes, to the most astounding wildlife encounters you will ever have -- from end of the day massages, to fantasy lodgings, to unforgettable meals (sometimes outdoors in the boma), to "sundowners" as the day ends, this is the trip of a lifetime. The leaders take all the burden of logistics away and always bring the enthusiasm and energy you're looking for on a trip like this (Cameron and Riley, you're the BEST). (And, in case you're wondering, the private air transport is TOTALLY worth it, allowing you to bypass the horribly long drives and get back in action and to the action quickly.)

The uniqueness of each hotel and location on this active vacation was outstanding! Our guides were encouraging, super knowledgable and added so much value to our experience. I would go again in a heartbeat.