We just returned yesterday, and the honeymoon was perfect!
We had no problems at all. We really liked the Cloud 9 Hotel in Cape Town. The included breakfast was very good, and made to order, which was a pleasant surprise. Our driver and tour guide, Mario, was excellent. He went above and beyond the whole time he was with us and was very friendly. We loved that we had the same driver during the whole stay in Capetown. Our hiking guide, Riaan, was also excellent. He took us on a more challenging hike than we would have been able to do on our own with spectacular views. He was telling us all about the mountain and its history during the hike and took amazing pictures of us throughout the hike which we will always cherish.
Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge was the most beautiful place we ever stayed. We didn’t want to leave after the 3 days there! The food was amazing, the amenities were the best we have ever seen, and the staff was so helpful and friendly. All of the staff there went above and beyond. We definitely plan to stay there the next time we are in South Africa. The safari rides were great, and our ranger, Viviane, was excellent.
Chobe Bakwena Lodge was okay, and if I had to do it again I would have paid the extra money to stay in a luxury lodge in the park. But that was totally my choice to pick a less expensive place for Chobe. The staff was very friendly and we had a great time there, but the food was okay. Our ranger for Chobe, Roni, was excellent. He was extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife and about Chobe National Park.
My husband and I both felt that the safari experience was even better in Chobe than in Sabi even though both experiences were incredible. We are happy we did both safaris since we saw more unique animals in Sabi such as cheetahs and white rhinos, but overall we saw more animals in Chobe and also more animals interacting together in Chobe.
All of the airport transfers and flights went smoothly. We literally had no issues at all during the whole travel experience. The airports are no longer requiring a QR code for vaccination status. They only looked at our CDC vaccination cards. Let me know if you have any other specific questions.
Thank you so much for all your help throughout this 2 year process! You are the best, and I will be recommending you to anybody I know going to South Africa and Botswana!
(Travelled June 2022)