Safari and Adventure Holiday Specialists

Patti and I are very happy with the arrangements you made for our recent trip. No problems or issues.

We liked Cape Town and were very impressed with Hermanus. 138 Marine Drive was a great place to stay. Of course, Victoria falls was great, and we very much enjoyed Botswana.

Thanks for the helicopter ride over the delta (first I’ve been on). We really (!) liked Savuti because we saw an incredible amount of wildlife, and the accommodations were great.

Just an FYI … thanks to your great itinerary and our never ending sharing of photos, we now have two couples that say they would like to travel to Africa with us in the future.

Your planning is always great, and we just thought we ought to say so. Thanks, Astrid!

Our trip was OUTSTANDING!!! Can’t say enough about how incredible everything was, from the people, the safari’s and guides, the places we stayed, the tours we took. Nothing but great things to say about each and every aspect. We are already spreading the word to our friends and will continue to do so. We can’t thank you enough for all your efforts!

I do have to say you did an amazing job putting our trip together and I think you read us well. Everything was amazing and we had no glitches with your arrangements.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, or should I say ngiyabonga!

We certainly will recommend you to others that might consider Africa! We might even consider another trip down the road, I do have ideas to consider.

Thank you a thousand times for arranging our Africa trip!  This was "the trip of a lifetime" for me and Randy!

All aspects of the trip exceeded our expectations.  The information you sent ahead of time was extremely valuable and greatly appreciated.

The lodging at every location was beyond comfortable - we have never stayed at such beautiful and unique places with such welcoming hosts.  I would especially recommend Abby Manor, 528 Hotel, Camelthorn Lodge, and The Safari Club to other travelers.  By the way, the new bungalow which we stayed in at 528 Hotel was absolutely wonderful - the owner suggested that we let you know what we thought. You will want to book your clients in the bungalow for sure!

The guides and representatives were wonderful, informative people who quickly became friends.  Emeco travel representatives took exquisite care of us in Egypt.

The tours were perfect!  We saw and learned so much that it makes our heads explode.   We appreciated how well scheduled everything was so that we could see as much as possible and still be allowed a bit of nap time on most days - much needed!

There was never of moment of confusion, discomfort or untimeliness. The entire trip came off without a single flaw, thanks be to your skilled planning.

And we discovered that your reputation is golden among African travelers.  We ran into two other groups on our flight from Cape Town to Victoria Falls who had used AET.  Shar was looking at the small daily itinerary guidebook while on the flight when a man behind her noticed it and asked if Astrid had booked our trip.  Of course, Shar said "yes".  At that, another couple in front of us also chimed in to say that you had booked their trip as well.  And, then at Camelthorn, we encountered an out of state couple that had also booked through you.

It will be a pleasure to recommend you and African Eyes Travel to others who wish to travel to Africa! 

Working with you was a pleasure, and I appreciate all the “hand holding” you had to do with me.  I think Africa will probably “call” for us again.  When that happens, you’ll be the one we call first.

All flights were set up well.  Delta and Airlink were good experiences.  Accommodations in all cities were very good.  Sanctuary Mandela was exceptional.  Abbey Manor was great! 528 was really good.  Staff members were outstanding.  The Zulu Nyala Safari was memorable.  They only lack in the food department.  But, after Sanctuary Mandela, it’s a tough act to follow.  Guides Jono and Daniel were extraordinary.  We invited both to visit us in the US!

Thanks for everything. We truly had the trip of a lifetime and fell in love with every aspect of our journey. The natural beauty, history, resilience and optimism of the people, and the slower pace of life were all huge highlights. Your recommendations for accommodations, tours/guides, and other activities were very helpful and spot on. We were treated like royalty at every place we stayed, and had zero issues with service. We particularly loved the Sanctuary Mandela, Jono and Danie - they were such a wealth of knowledge, so kind, and a lot of fun. 

When at Zulu Nyala, we opted for a day trip to St Lucia, the lion safari, and a tour of the local village/school. Meeting the school children was a highlight of our trip and something we can definitely recommend to others. Seeing the lion was also very special. We had massages at their spa which were amazing. The entire staff there was incredible - especially our guide Siya.

Blackheath lodge was amazing and while in Cape Town, we also opted for a tour of Robben Island and a trip to GOLD restaurant. We would highly recommend both to fellow travelers. Robben Island, in particular, was so humbling.

Victoria Falls/Zimbabwe/Zambia were a great way to round out the trip. The people at 528 were so helpful and accomodating. The only hiccup we had was being unsure about what day our sunset cruise was, but the staff helped us iron that out immediately on arrival. They also helped coordinate a helicopter tour of the falls and a helpful driver to arrange transport to the park/rainforest and Zambia.

I have already recommended your service to a friend and her husband who are planning a safari trip and will continue to recommend it to anyone I know who is looking.

Thanks again for a one of a kind experience. We were honestly very sad leaving Africa to come back to the US and the trip far exceeded our expectations.

A friend of mine and I recently took a trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Our planning process started a year ago and made us crazy. Too many choices. However in the end we did not want to travel with a group and appreciated the individual planning and trip options offered by African Eyes. We both talked to Astrid numerous times until we came up with a trip that was personalized for us. We traveled for two weeks; went to Johannesburg and Capetown before beginning the game camp portion of our trip. I can't say enough about how wonderful EVERYTHING was. The coordination was flawless. Astrid was responsive when we needed her (due to our mishaps). The accommodations were beyond our expectations and my friend and I had the trip of a lifetime. We cannot thank Astrid enough for putting together a great trip

How do you properly express what a person has done for you in a way that properly expresses the gift that they have given you in language of pure joy? The planning, the connections, the level of beauty in each accommodation, the sense of security, the amazing and generous guides, the relationships with the hosts, the special events that make each moment more memorable than the last... this is what Astrid Graf has given me in the incredible journey to South Africa and Zimbabwe that she planned for my daughter and me. In addition to possessing magical qualities, she is kind, patient, humble, passionate, knowledgeable, brilliant, thorough, organized and a great reader of people. I WILL go to Africa again and there is no human more capable of creating and curating a trip of a lifetime than this wonderful and talented human. Astrid, thank you thank you thank you for the incredible gift you have given me. I will never forget all the wonderful things you have given me.

Thanks, Astrid! We did have a wonderful time! Everything you organized was great. We really loved Zulu Nyala, our guide, and all the outside trips. We really enjoyed the outside of the reserve day trips, like the St. Lucia river tour(Phil swam in the Indian Ocean) and the Elephant Encounter at Bayette. We found out that the larger game reserves don’t do the outside trips so we were so glad that we were at Zulu Nyala. We got the rare chance of seeing a leopard—twice! Our guide was so excited that he drove off road and got a flat tire. We were thrilled with all the animals we got to see. Parker Cottage was great and staff was so helpful. All the flights that you organized in Africa were well-timed and went well. We saw some people struggle and stress over flights because they didn’t time it right for customs, etc. We attended an African service on Easter morning before our flight. It was a great way to end our time in Africa.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you… for arranging an absolutely lovely itinerary. South Africa is breathtaking! We were beyond satisfied, and all of the people who helped along the way — from the airport drivers (particularly Lori who provided a sense of calm and warmth the day we were leaving ZN and educated us about SA/Zulu history on the way to the airport) to Rudi, our magnificent ZN safari guide, to Alan and Dominic over at Cape22, and to dearest Vince, who was a pleasure to learn from and a joy to explore Cape Town with — only enhanced our experiences and helped cement unforgettable memories in all of us.

We had a FANTASTIC time and an amazing adventure! Thank you for the lovely itinerary and seamless arrangements. South Africa and Victoria Falls have hooked our hearts and souls. I’ll try to give you a concise recap:

As novice safari goers we thoroughly enjoyed Zulu Nyala. Beautiful setting and plentiful animals. We’d like to adopt our guide, Philemon, but he has a family of his own. His calm demeanor, knowledge, judgement and kindness greatly endeared him to us. We’ll miss him. Room and staff were quite good. We enjoyed the pool daily. Our only complaint might be the facilities expansion adjacent to the restaurant. Not a big deal. Most meals were good. Lunches were hit or miss. We were well fed overall. We went on all game drives and added the elephant interaction, St. Lucia cruise, and cheetah rescue excursions. All well worth the effort.

Randy and I had a great time, and all the hard work and planning that you did paid off. The game lodge Zulu Nyala was wonderful and the people could not have been nicer. Our guide for the week Bernadett did a great job of helping with the mission of photographing the game, she is also an avid photographer so that help a lot. Craig from Rhino tours was fantastic he met us on out last night at Zulu Nyala as planned and we talked about the rest of the journey. He was able to be flexible with the itinerary so that we had lots of time photographing game and that was very much appreciated. The Kwa Mbili Game Lodge was perfect, just small enough to make it enjoyable and not be overcrowded on the game drives. The staff and meals were fantastic Over all I think we would give African Eyes and Rhino Tours an A. And highly recommended other use your company for their African travel plans.

Astrid has been so patient with me while I spent a year back & forth deciding when to go. Every time I reached out she answered my questions. Once I was ready to book she came up with spectacular prices & arrangements... prices I couldn't find looking for almost a year on my own! Astrid is very seasoned & knowledgeable in what she does.

Astrid worked with me on the planning of a 16 day trip to So. Africa.  She asked a lot of questions to make sure that she understood our goals and then went to work arranging the itinerary.  The trip was outstanding from start to finish.  The properties that she reserved for us were beautiful and the service we received was perfect.  The tours in Cape Town were exactly what we wanted to see.  And the game resorts that she reserved for us were incredible; both in services and accommodations.  I highly recommend Astrid and African Eyes Travel.

Astrid helped us plan a trip of a lifetime and she knocked it out of the park! Can't wait for our next African adventure.

What an incredible adventure that was personally developed by this company. The personal service is what sets this agency apart from the rest. I cannot imagine our incredible trip without African Eyes coordinating the arrangements. What I loved was being able to discuss the items we wanted to visit, then sitting back & allowing them to work. No detail was overlooked, not one transfer was missed. Along the way, we listened to stories from people who did their own coordination & some of them were horror stories. We were so glad we allowed African Eyes to make our arrangements. If you are planning to travel to Africa, don't do the planning yourself, allow the pros from African Eyes to take the guesswork out. You will not be sorry.

Personal, friendly service. They have an amazing amount of knowledge about the areas they offer to their clients and have visited/stayed in all the places they recommend. They work with local communities on the ground..

Astrid is so helpful and knowledgeable. It's so powerful being able to talk to another woman who travels alone when you consider traveling to an entirely new continent. The resources and quality of information is beyond what I ever imagined. At the same time, the heart of this business is Astrid's deep and personal relationships with every business she uses. She offers extraordinary services at a beyond fair price.

Professionalism and Quality. After winning a trip at an auction, I went and met with Astrid. At first there truly was a language barrier, but we had that worked out. I told her what I was looking for and she set us up with a private guide throughout our 3 week tour. She did an amazing job on every place that we stayed at and we were amazed at the places! Our guide was fabulous in driving us from place to place and explaining about the country and people. We had the best time ever. We did book our own flights as we did use miles to upgrade and it was easier for us then her. We are planning, when it opens back up to go back and spend maybe 4 weeks this time. I will let her book where we stay as she does visit these places when she goes over there, so she knows the people and how they treat their clients. It was the most fabulous trip my husband and I had ever taken, (and we have traveled the world).

We just got back from an incredible trip to Africa. Astrid did a great job organizing a 3 week adventure for us our guides , hotels, luxury tents , airport transfers went perfectly. She gave us advice, and information, an easy to understand itinerary . She was referred to us, and we happily refer her to everyone . Thank you Astrid for an incredible trip of a lifetime . We are so grateful .