Niarra Travel Reviews 

We worked with Emily from Niarra Travel to plan our seven-person family trip to Cape Town & Sabi Sands. Emily went above and beyond, and we could not recommend her and Niarra Travel more. Do not look any further than Niarra Travel! We talked with a few different agencies and Emily was by far the best! She is so personable, kind, adaptable, and organized. She does an amazing job understanding exactly what you are looking for out of a trip and making it happen. She also ensures that things run incredibly smoothly down to the tiniest of details. She has the best recommendations and can truly plan the most luxurious, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime trip! We highly recommend the Cape Peninsula tour she set up in Cape Town as well as airport transportation, FYN, and La Colombe for dinner! The drivers and tour guides that Emily works with are INCREDIBLE! They are kind, funny, and so knowledgeable and made us feel so comfortable and safe. Emily also booked our inter-South Africa flights on a great airline. She booked our 4-night stay at Dulini Lodge and it was unforgettable. It was the best four days of our lives! Emily even booked surprises along the way since the trip was a celebratory graduation trip. Anything that we mentioned, Emily went above and beyond to make happen. She is truly a one-of-a-kind planner and we couldn't be more thankful for her!

Niarra Travel literally planned the best trip of my life to South Africa! We worked with Emily and she was so incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, thorough, organized, and informative!! Emily listened so carefully to our goals for the trip and then truly made all of our dreams come true. She was also extremely responsive throughout the entire planning process and the entire trip! I cannot recommend Emily or Niarra highly enough! The best experience and the best customer service!

Niarra as a company was absolutely amazing from start to finish! Emily worked very closely with us to make sure our trip was exactly what we wanted and that every detail was accounted for. She was a great pleasure to work with and made herself readily available not only throughout the planning process but during our trip as needed. We always felt we could reach out to either Emily or Annie (our in country contact) and they were always quick to respond and incredibly helpful. We can’t recommend Niarra and their team enough for anyone looking to book a trip of a lifetime. We look forward to working with Niarra on future travels!

My husband and I used Niarra for our honeymoon in South Africa and would highly recommend them. Jack and the Niarra team made it seamless for us to plan and book a complicated two-week trip. Jack started out by getting to know us and genuinely listening to what we wanted to get out of the trip. He then proposed an itinerary of destinations and accommodations that was a great fit for our dream honeymoon. We were overwhelmed by options and it would have taken us many, many hours to choose between the various hotels, safari lodges, tour companies, restaurants, etc. It was such a relief to delegate all of that vetting to an expert like Jack.

Niarra's value became all the more evident when our flight from the US to Cape Town was cancelled. After sending one text to our Niarra team, they took care of all the on-the-ground adjustments (on Christmas Eve, no less!), so we only had to worry about was re-booking our travel and making it to Cape Town safely. The peace of mind of not having to handle all of our hotel, restaurant, and tour adjustments was enormously helpful when we were already overwhelmed dealing with airline issues.

Once we arrived in South Africa, we had a blast on the itinerary Jack had booked for us. Our guides were phenomenal, and our accommodations were all lovely. We had a fantastic trip to South Africa and already want to go back. When we do, we will use Niarra again!

Emily and her team worked diligently to ensure I had amazing experience. They didn’t miss a single detail!

Niarra gave us a perfect experience: the drivers were knowledgeable, friendly & supportive, the accommodations flawless, the meals delicious, the crews in the camps a pleasure to deal with, the flights punctual & comfortable. The only surprise was that the Serengeti, while on the equator, was much chillier than we expected. Bring warm clothing!

We had a fantastic trip to South Africa and Mozambique organised by Niarra Travel. Rebecca took the time to know what we were looking for and all worked out perfectly. We loved the places we stayed at and the "logistics" and transfers were without worries. We shall use Niarra Travel again to organise future trips.

The Niarra staff were super professional and helpful in organizing a once in a lifetime trip for our family. From flights, meals, massages, etc. they did it all. They strongly recommended staying at Tswalu as well as Royal Malawane. We are so thankful for that. Tswalu was pure magic!

Only recommendations are to do a little more vetting on the guides. Also, more daily communication on schedule, pick up times, guides names, etc. would be helpful.

Rebecca Cook is an absolute dream. She completely understood the way in which my wife and I like to travel and the vision we had for our African honeymoon. Through the many times we changed our minds about this detail or that, she unbegrudgingly updated our itinerary over and over until it was perfect in our eyes and eventually sent us out on the honeymoon of our dreams, all under budget, all extraordinary. She was even there for us when a medical crisis the morning of our trip almost derailed the entire thing. I cannot speak highly enough about Rebecca and the entire Niarra team. I have planned some ambitious trips, and I went through a lot of travel companies before getting to Rebecca -- but look no further. 11/10, the perfect experience.

Rebecca Cook can do NO WRONG! I've been fortunate to work with Rebecca 3 times (Africa twice and Indonesia once) and I don't know if I can explain in words how amazing she is! I mention what I'm thinking and then she takes it to an experience 10 times better than I could have imagined! Her experience, knowledge,love of travel and need to make travel more sustainable shines through. She's just BRILLIANT and I know you will be so grateful to work with her as I have been and will continue to do.

We could not have imagined a better experience! From planning to getting home, all around wonderful! Every detail was taken care of and the experience was tailored to our family (ranging 6years to 73). We don’t know how we can travel without Rebecca’s help.

Emily really nailed our Kenyan safari - delivering 4 unique and amazing camps. We talked about everything I hoped to get out of each visit and she catered the offering to deliver exactly what I imagined.

Great trip to both Uganda and Kenya! Lodging, staff, and activities were amazing everywhere we went.

Emily at Niarra listen to what we had hoped to experience and crafted a tour beyond our expectation. Beginning in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls River Lodge, we went on safari land or water, am & pm, then were pampered at the lodge in between time. Our accommodation exceeded hopes. We listened to the hippo and baboons at night while drifting off to sleep in our “tent”. The staff, the food, the lodging, the people we met, the sundowners, all A+. Riding down the dusty national park road while the full moon rose and the sun set—with giraffe and elephant in the distance— was a highlight. Just fantastic. I recommend adding a helicopter tour over the falls.

We moved on to Botswana to The Mashatu Game Reserve. A special shout out to guide Rodgers and our tracker KB who really took care of us, made us laugh, served us drinks at 5, drove us under a leopard (awesome) and generally made us feel as if we were well and truly friends. They made a point to make every ride different and memorable and fun. They also wowed us with a mini tour of the night sky. Mashatu is remote. Special. And is teaming with life while also desolate and harsh in the dry season. I arrived only with the expectation I’d see wildlife. I left with lasting memories. Botswana may be one of my most favorite places I’ve ever been. Thanks Emily.

We ended in Cape Town at a beautiful hotel—The Mount Nelson— with all the amenities which we took advantage of! Niarra arranged for wine tasting, food tourism, a trip to see the penguins, and so many marvelous meals. Our guide Ryan pivoted to ensure we visited historical sites and took us to the top of Table Mountain.

Excellent trip. Excellent tour company. And FYI our WhatsApp group provided contact with a person on the ground. Worth the price. We checked boxes we didn’t even know we had.

Jack was extremely professional, helpful, and patient. This is our first safari, and we had no idea what the cost would be. Jack gave us multiple options, and he did not try to 'upsell' us. Through educating us on the different lodges and what they provided, we chose to upsell ourselves!! Now we have an amazing safari to look forward to. Jack also provided great tips for our time in Cape Town and Johannesburg. We will definitely be reaching out for his assistance on our future specialty adventures!

We engaged Niarra Travel, a relatively new firm, to plan and book our 50th anniversary celebration in South Africa. This was our third trip to Africa and while we had used a different firm previously, Niarra came highly recommended to us. They were simply outstanding and so easy to work with. We worked directly with Emily who made all of the logistical arrangements for us. The airport/safari lodge transfers were seamless, as were the bespoke food and wine tours we arranged while staying in Franschoek, ahead of our safari. We stayed in 3 different safari lodges, each representing a more advanced stage of luxury. Niarra cleverly uses WhatsApp to set up a group text forum keeping you plugged into their staff, both on-site in South Africa and back in England. This was a very easy and reliable means to keep in touch with them on any question that might arise. We couldn't have been more satisfied and heartily recommend their services to anyone considering a first or follow-on trip to Southern Africa. Should we continue to 'suffer' from 'Mal Afrique', we will definitely use Niarra to book our next journey!!

We absolutely loved working with Emily at Niarra Travel for our 20th anniverary trip to Africa. She listened carefully to our preferences and gave us exactly what we asked for. It was an epic trip to Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar and was absolutely perfect. We will remember it forever. We highly recommend Emily and Niarra travel and are already working with them to plan a 2023 trip to South America. We can't wait!

Niarra Travel set up an absolutely incredible last-minute trip for me to Ecuador. I contacted them just a few weeks before I had some time available, and Emily had a full itinerary for me in days. Throughout the process of planning the trip Emily was nothing but a pleasure to talk to and work with, offering advice about the country and being totally amenable to my requests. On top of this, the places she selected were beyond what I would have imagined for my vacation. I was blown away. Leading up to my departure, Emily continued to make herself available and was communicative about events going on in Ecuador. She provided alternative plans if needed (which we didn’t end up needing) and acted as the liaison between me and my guides. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, and I hope to travel with Niarra again in the future.

Niarra Travel organized an extraordinary trip for our family to Rwanda in June, 2022. Emily, our tour advisor, attended to all aspects of the trip, both large and small, and we were immensely pleased with the entire journey. From the moment we arrived at the Kigali airport, our family experienced seamless transitions and top-quality lodging. It's obvious that Niarra carefully vets the lodging offered to guests as well as the local guides to ensure a wonderful experience. We began our trip in Kigali at the lovely Retreat, which provided a relaxing and beautiful way to recover from jet-lag and a 24-hour travel day. We then journeyed with Moses, a knowledgeable and hospitable driver/guide, to Magashi Camp in Akagera National Park. This gem of a park has rebounded from near devastation following the genocide in 1994 to an abundance of
great numbers of wildlife (including the Big 5) thanks to effective conservation efforts and ambitious wildlife relocation programs. Magashi presented us with probably the most hospitable place we have ever stayed - every staff member knew our names and made us feel truly welcomed and attended to every moment of our stay. The wildlife drives twice a day rewarded us with different sightings every hour. Magashi has the sole concession for touring in the upper part of Akagera, so many times we felt as though we were the only visitors in a "Garden of Eden" setting. Do not miss out on spending time at Magashi. After Akagera, we were transferred to Northern Rwanda to the Virunga mountains for a visit to Volcanoes National Park and the Gorillas. We stayed at the Bishop's House, a lovely small hotel where once again we were attended to with great care and expert hospitality. The trek to see the gorillas is everything you've heard about and more. Our experience with the Amahoro gorilla group is filled with memories we will always hold dear. Again, throughout the second part of our trip, Niarra planned for every detail to make our trip run smoothly and effortlesslessly. I cannot recommend both the country of Rwanda and Niarra travel enough to you.

Rebecca helped us book our honeymoon to Cape Town, Winelands, and Safari. During our intro call, she spoke so passionately about her own experiences within the country that we took a chance on the relatively new company at the time. She planned the perfect itinerary after learning a bit more about our interests and wants for this trip. We never felt like she was being "sales-y" or impatiently trying to get us off the phone. We did a food tour in Cape Town, a day trip to Cape of Good Hope, and a wine tour in the Winelands. All the guides were phenomenal and very obviously some of the best in the area. Every detail was meticulously and professionally executed, and we were blown away by even the airport transfers. During the trip, we had 24/7 support from Annie who responded to our questions within minutes via our whatsapp group chat. Thank you for making our experience so delightful and worry free!