Wanderful went cheap at our expense. A disappointing tour for many reasons. Our first hotel in Johannesburg (Holiday Inn Sunnyside) was in a very unsafe area where the hotel itself advised checking with reception before opening the room door! Thus no local eating options and very average food in the hotel. The advertised accommodation for the safari was Mabula Game Lodge - the actual accommodation was Eclectic Safari Lodge. Whilst a beautiful location with an excellent safari guide it had the feel of a homestay. The owners live in 1 of the 4 lodges (fan but no aircon) and share the common areas. Their excessive desire to please was intense and intrusive and detracted from what could have been a very relaxing experience. Dining options - food and timing - were essentially the host's choice, though the meals were good quality. However the anticipated Mabula Game Lodge offered aircon rooms and far more facilities. Comfortable transfers to & from the Game reserve.The Garden Route could have been a much better experience had the tour been designed by a local guide. Arrival in Knynsa is too late to explore the town or area. The next day was 5 hours drive for a 2 hour experience and a late return again preventing exploring the Knysna area. These experiences could have been seen en route from Knysna to Franschhoek thus allowing us to experience more of the Garden Route.The hotel L'Ermitage was a jewel amongst generally disappointing hotels that are clearly at the very bottom end of their star ratings. The wine tram experience in Franschhoek was excellent and highly recommended. Had it not been for our local guide Paul from Experience South Africa who flexed the itinerary and made it a much better experience the Garden Route tour would have been very poor as designed.The Cape Town hotel (Colosseum) is located next to a huge shopping centre and 9km from the city centre. Another hotel that appears to be the cheapest possible 4 star option. The hotel does not have a pool or a gym. Exploring the city or waterfront requires Uber transport as very few tours pick up from this location.Mama Africa restaurant is a great experience but the drumming does not happen every night and ask for the tasting menu. It is also half the cost if booked directly with restaurant. Communication from Wanderful Holidays is the worst we have experienced, even using WhatsApp. The itinerary was not shared with us until midway though the trip, and then we were blamed for not having received it! Daily requests for information and then having such poor customer service was a stressful and anxiety provoking experience that materially detracted from this tour.All in all a tour around South Africa such as this is a recommended experience - but not with Wanderful Holidays. What they advertise and what they deliver are significantly different. Very poor value for the money. Wanderful do not know South Africa and have relied on second hand information that is inadequate.In reply to Wanderful's response - this is a carefully curated extract of our communications taken out of context. The tone, though is typical of their approach to customer service - it is the customer's issue.Buyer beware.
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Travel company offering Leisure travel solutions across the globe, with local representations in Europe, South Americas & Asia. We have no qualms about announcing that we are a young and an enthusiastic company wanting to Impress & Inspire. Our Vacations are designed to offer the best of experiences, with all necessary inclusions, but at the same time offering a bit of flexibility and free hours for the much needed “me” time. We make travel enjoyable & convenient by offering honest prices for some immaculately designed Vacations.See more
