The Travel Café Cape Town Reviews 122

Our safari adventure, with family members across three different generations, was an incredible experience from start to finish. The accommodation throughout the trip was excellent, and we truly loved our stays at Ichingo Chobe River Lodge, Chobe House, and the camping sleep-out, which was a real highlight.

The activities were a wonderful mix, with the game drives, boat experiences, and cultural visits all standing out. The visit to the school, the church, and especially the football match were magical and gave us such a meaningful connection to local life. These moments, together with the wildlife experiences, will stay with us for a long time.

Everything was very well organised by JD, Charlotte and the team, from transfers to day-to-day logistics, and the support before and during the trip made the whole journey feel seamless and stress-free.

Overall, a truly memorable family adventure that exceeded our expectations, and we would absolutely travel with The Travel Café again.

I can’t thank Charlotte at the Travel Cafe enough for the work she put in to design the perfect first time trip to South Africa.
I found the company by pure chance but was taken with the company name. I contacted them and Charlotte responded and from our first conversations she knew exactly what would suit us.
The whole trip and accommodations were exceptional.. just what we wanted.
Everything was covered perfectly and we will be forever grateful for the response we got to our inintial contact.
Amazing customer service and I will continue to recommend Travel Cafe to whoever asks about our trip

From the initial contact requesting information about the small group 14 day Essentials tour of South Africa, through the zoom call, the emails, by the time we arrived in Cape Town we felt like we were visiting with old friends. The touring in and around Cape Town is thoughtful and diverse and spectacular as is the rest of the tour of the wine lands and then the safari. I couldn't have coordinated such a wonderful experience on my own. the Travel Cafe Staff are just as thoughtful, spectacular and diverse as the country we were touring. A magnificent adventure holiday beautifully curated.

Well-curated 3 day trip to Victoria falls from Cape Town.
-Pamarah Lodge was a great find. Breakfast was a real highlight.
-Our guide was awesome!
-It was about the right combination of activities after a few hectic days at a wedding
-Lovely sunset cruise with Zambezi Vista, seeing an elephant almost immediately (the cruise was brilliant - elephants, hippos, giraffes, a crocodile, various antelopes, monkeys).
-Great helicopter ride (the flight of the angels was perfect).

We came for a wedding and decided to make it a true adventure.

We loved every step of this trip!!
A great mix of experiences!!
The Travel Cafe just crushed it!

We recommend The Travel Cafe' with 5 stars.

The Travel Cafe did a great job in organising our vacation to Tanzania with our children
We loved our guide and the safaris in all the Tanzanian parks
Everything was perfectly organised.

I wish I could post 15 stars. Our experience with Charlotte at the Travel Cafe was over and above any travel experience I have ever had. Charlotte took care of every detail we could dream of and many that had not even occurred to us. Our accommodations, transport, locations etc were ideal. We return to our world utterly replenished and ready to take any trip that Charlotte plans for us. I cannot recommend Travel Cafe highly enough, also a foray to their side venture Starry Starry night was deeply memorable and exquisite. We are people who have always booked our own adventure and may have been slightly reluctant to work with a Travel Agent. "What can they do that we don't know how to do?" Well, we're here to tell you, almost anything and everything you can imagine. This was the most relaxing, eye popping vacation we've had in memory and this has everything to do with Charlotte.

Our recent trip to South Africa organised by JD, Francois & The Travel Cafe Team went far beyond our expectations. The itinerary was varied making the adventure exciting and diverse suiting all our wishes. Every aspect of the trip was professionally organised from the initial communication we had with JD, to our flight details, transfers, accommodation and excursions. The travel app we were given was a great addition and easily navigated for all information regarding the trip including documents for boarding passes, local information etc. Our only worry is that if we are to book another holiday like our SA experience they won’t live up to The Travel Cafe’s expertise. We highly recommend The Travel Cafe and wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again.

We recently returned from an incredible holiday in South Africa which was expertly organised by The Travel Cafe and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the experience from start to finish. The team were attentive and genuinely invested in creating a memorable trip for us. They took the time to understand our preferences and put together an itinerary that perfectly balanced adventure, relaxation and cultural experiences. Every detail was seamlessly handled from flights, transfers, accommodation and excursions. This was a brilliant holiday thanks to all the Travel Cafe team. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again and would highly recommend their services to anyone.

Travel Cafe were absolutely brilliant. We did the South Africa Essentials tour in November 2025. They were so caring and went over and beyond to keep us informed and in touch, the personal touch was impressive. The intinery was provided in not only hardcopy form, but also in a dedicated app. A WhatsApp group was created so that we were always able to communicate with the owners and very helpful staff of this small and friendly South African tour company. Care was taken in producing a varied and interesting itinery that went not only to the 'must sees', but also places not always on the regular route followed by many companies. We did the Garden Route add on at the end of the tour, which was great for us to have some time on our own and relax a little in a safe environment. Overall the pace of the tour was perfect, we were not rushed and didn't cover huge distances by road. The experiences and informative guides gave us a comprehensive insight into South Africa, its culture and people. The small group tour made everything cosy and friendly and looked after everything including all experiences and meals, we also enjoyed trying a lot of the different cuisines in South Africa. We thoroughly recommend Travel Cafe.

We were very happy with the service we received from Travel Café, throughout the process of arranging our recent holiday in South Africa. The itinerary was well-judged and they were quick to take on board our feedback to ensure that everything was exactly as we wanted. The house in Cape Town was great and a very good base from which to explore.
We particularly appreciated the responsiveness of Charlotte and her team whenever we had any queries and also liked the way that while there were suggestions and recommendations as to restaurants and activities, we were also free to go our own way.
Travel Café curated our holiday beautifully and I would have no hesitation recommending them to anyone considering a holiday in South Africa.

'Charlotte was great, thanks a lot!’
Etosha Moutain Lodge: best stay ever!
Car rental - car was great and fully equiped with nice materials.
Loved the game drives
TokTokkie! Super special, once-in-a lifetime, lovely guide and people on the trip. However, Spitzkoppe and Etosha came close.

Francois, JD and the full Travel Café Team designed a wonderful Africa experience for us. They handled all the details which allowed us to focus on enjoying all of our "bucket list" events they had arranged. We loved that the accommodations, restaurants and guides were all local and excellent.
Overall this was our best vacation ever - and we have had many good ones!

We were so grateful to find The Travel Cafe Capetown when we were planning to travel to SAF. The team JD and Francois created listened to our wishes and came through for us in every area. From the guides, activities, accommodations and travel, we experienced the beauty of that part of the world. We were so well taken care of. We could not be more grateful for the experience they created for us and have recommended their company to many others already...until next time!!

If you are looking for a custom trip that is full of special hotels, restaurants and locations to visit, this is the tour company for you. Francois, JD and their whole team were very responsive to all our requests and we couldn't have been happier with the outcome. It was a seamless trip from beginning to end. The booklet and app itinerary were excellent, we always knew what we were doing and when. I enjoyed that the restaurants chosen were all local, all different and we were able to order what we wanted, not just a canned buffet. The variety of accommodations was impressive too. The price was certainly right for all we got. Thank you Travel Cafe for this remarkable experience. We will hopefully work with you again on another African adventure!

We had an amazing time in South Africa. The itinerary was well planned and the different accommodation well chosen. We really enjoyed our first game drive in an amazing reserve. It was our best experience so far! We could easily follow what was planned with an app, and Charlotte was always available in case we needed any additional information. The children really enjoyed this trip and are asking to come back!

The travel cafe' created an incredible experience for a large group of us! They began with 80 of us in our first 8 days in cape town for a wedding. We were brilliantly cared for with every transportation arranged from all the places we were staying and whisked away to 4 vineyards (wine farms as they are called in S. Africa), to the beautiful Cape Horn, Table Mountain, food tours, a Lion's Head hiking excursion as well as helping us book a chef for our airbnb where 10 of us were staying. There was never one tiny glitch in this enormous endeavor.
For the next 4 days, 30 of us were flown to Lalibella for an extremely boutique and extravagant safari experience. We went on 6 safaris, were invited to help change a tracker on a cheetah and give her a wellness check with the vet, and found out she was pregnant while doing so! Ruan and Jaimee were amazing wildlife guides-extremely knowledgeable and every day was packed with magic, wildlife and wonder. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all prepared for us and the accomodations were gorgeous and top notch.
For the last week of our stay, 10 of us were flown to Victoria Falls and stayed at the Royal Livingstone hotel-we were greeted with music, hand made hibiscus tea and chair massages as we checked in!! And it only got better from there, believe it or not! We enjoyed a Boma dinner our first night with local entertainment and hand crafted items to peruse. The next days were filled with a tour of Victoria Falls, a helicopter ride over the falls with a crazy, exciting flight through the nearby gorge, a fantastic opportunity to hang over the actual falls (with guides holding our ankles) after a boat ride to Angel's pool and then a chef created lunch overlooking the falls on the island.
We attended a full day of another safari in Chobe and 1/2 the day was from a boat so we were able to get up close and personal with hippos and crocs (yikes!) and elephants with their babies. Truly amazing.
The very best of this last 5 days? A magical afternoon spent at the Elephant Cafe'. We were boated over to an elephant sanctuary where rescued elephants hung out. We were allowed to feed and be with them for quite some time with their handlers. It was life changing and magical. Again, the lunch itself was delicious, and this is a must do if you have the opportunity to participate.
Hanjia and JD set us up with the Golden Circle, which took us from Cape town to Lalibela game reserve to Victoria falls and then back to Cape Town. Every flight, every detail, every transportation, each customs situation were all handled flawlessly by the partners The Travel Cafe chose to care for us.
We've been to a lot of places in this world and this was, hands down, the best experience we have ever had.

The Travel Cafe made planning our trip completely stress-free. From the detailed itinerary to the thoughtful touch of having food waiting for us upon arrival in Cape Town, every aspect was handled with precision and care. The attention to detail and professionalism were truly A+. Now I understand why my friend so enthusiastically recommended The Travel Cafe! JD and his team went above and beyond, ensuring that every part of our vacation was seamless and enjoyable. Highly recommend!

JD at the Travel cafe was super helpful in organising our trip to the Cape. Practical suggestions and advice and the whole week went off perfectly. Thank you - would definitely use them again when we next visit. The best aspect was their good communication with us.

We loved everything and most highly recommend The Travel Cafe😄! Hanjia put together an amazing itinerary tailored to our interests, made all the arrangements and stopped by our hotel on day one to make sure everything was as we had planned. It felt like she was with us at every step in our journey. Day trips from Cape Town for whale watching, wine tasting and exploring the Cape were great. Our stays at both Thabamati Luxury Tented Camp and Kings Camp were both outstanding for game drives and gourmet dining. We saw more and different animals than we had hoped. The Kings Warren Hide at King’s Camp was fantastic for photography and close observation of animals from elephants and hippos to dragonflies and turtles! Travel Cafe has got it locked in! We will certainly recommend Travel Cafe to any of our friends or relatives considering an Africa trip.