Tales from Africa Travel

Tales from Africa Travel Travelife-certified tour operator, Southern and East Africa. 2024 Skål Award winner, Tour Operators and Travel Agents category. This is our story.

Tailor-made trips with local guides, community experiences and ethical wildlife encounters, memories that last a lifetime. We're an award-winning tour operator based in South Africa, organising tailor-made tours in Southern and East Africa. "It always seems impossible until it is done" – Nelson Mandela

This quote by Nelson Mandela challenged us to realise our dream of founding a tour operator built on responsible tourism principles from day one. We believe tourism should leave more than footprints. It should support the ecosystems it moves through and the people who call them home. It should inspire, teach and let visitors experience what Africa is really like. Not touristic Africa, but the real undiscovered continent that is Africa. Our Africa is the Africa of endless horizons, stunning landscapes and some of the richest wildlife ecosystems on Earth. It's where we dream of the last frontier, of unique places and remote regions where only a lucky few dare to tread. It is also the Africa of wildly different people, people who will receive you with open arms in their homes, their villages and towns, and who will share their lifestyle with you. It's the Africa where your visit supports local guides and community-run experiences, where wildlife encounters are chosen with animal welfare and habitat impact in mind, and where you're welcomed as an honoured guest, not a money-machine. We back this up: we're Travelife-certified and Fair Trade Tourism-approved, and every trip is paired with a carbon offset partnership through Trees for Travel. So, let us share the magic, the wonder that is Africa. Let us share our Tales from Africa with you, through tailor-made, well-organised experiences that are guaranteed to give you memories of a lifetime. As Madiba, Nelson Mandela, said: "A good heart and a good head are a formidable combination."

Field Notes FridayPacking for a safari is not packing for a beach holiday. Learn that the hard way once, and you never f...
11/09/2026

Field Notes Friday

Packing for a safari is not packing for a beach holiday. Learn that the hard way once, and you never forget it.

Here is what we tell our travellers. Neutral, muted colours where you can, layers, because mornings on a game drive are cold and afternoons are not. A good hat and real sunglasses, the African sun does not warn you first. Binoculars if you have them, most camps have some but yours will fit better.

And less than you think. Most lodges do laundry, so nobody needs eight outfits for a five day trip. Pack light and you are also packing kind, less fuel burnt flying heavy bags around, less plastic too. A refillable water bottle and a reusable toiletry kit go a long way, many camps now refill rather than hand out mini bottles anyway.

The best packing list is not the longest one. It is the one that lets you actually enjoy the trip instead of dragging a suitcase through sand.

What is the one thing you always forget to pack?

A beautiful website and a beautiful stay are not always the same thing.Before we recommend a lodge, camp, or activity to...
07/09/2026

A beautiful website and a beautiful stay are not always the same thing.

Before we recommend a lodge, camp, or activity to our clients, we do not just read reviews or look at photos. We go, we stay, we ask questions. We talk to the people who run the place and the people who work there. We check how they treat their staff, how they handle water and waste, and whether the community around them actually benefits from having them there.

Photos can hide a lot. A conversation usually cannot.

A place needs to look as good from the inside as it does from the outside. That is why we go and check for ourselves. Won't you agree?

Introducing Field Notes Friday.Every Friday we'll share something we've picked up along the way, wildlife facts, destina...
04/09/2026

Introducing Field Notes Friday.

Every Friday we'll share something we've picked up along the way, wildlife facts, destination knowledge, small details that make a trip richer. Got a question about Africa's animals, landscapes, or travel here? Send it through and we'll dig it up for a future Field Notes Friday.

This week: how a pack of wild dogs decides whether to hunt.

The light is dropping fast, that deep gold before dusk turns to grey. A pack of African wild dogs stirs, nose to nose, tails going, a ripple of energy passing through them like something is about to happen.

Then, sneezing. Not one dog, several. Almost like a vote being cast.

Researchers in Botswana found that's exactly what it is. The more sneezes, the more likely the pack moves to hunt, and a sneeze from a senior dog counts for more than one from the rest. A democracy, decided one sneeze at a time.

Wild dogs are among Africa's most endangered predators, and some of the hardest to find. If you're ever lucky enough to catch that moment before the hunt, you're watching something most people never will.

Got a question for next Field Notes Friday? Drop it in the comments.

We're in! Tales from Africa Travel has been selected to join the 6th edition of , a programme run by Amadeus and IE Uni...
02/09/2026

We're in! Tales from Africa Travel has been selected to join the 6th edition of , a programme run by Amadeus and IE University for travel entrepreneurs driving positive change in the industry.

Over the next four months we'll be learning alongside founders from India, Ecuador, Jordan and many other countries, all working toward a more sustainable and inclusive future for travel. The programme covers growth strategy, impact measurement and digital innovation, with mentorship from Amadeus along the way.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Tales from Africa Travel on this journey so far, this is an exciting next step.

Would you rather...Wake up to a sea view stretching to the horizon, or to a bush sunset with the sounds of the wild just...
02/09/2026

Would you rather...

Wake up to a sea view stretching to the horizon, or to a bush sunset with the sounds of the wild just beyond the deck?

All the polish and comfort of a well-known lodge, or the feeling that your stay is putting food on the table for the people around it?

Tell us your picks below. We might just build your next trip around the answers.

Why we love adding train journeys to our itineraries 🚂At Tales From Africa Travel we love including train experiences in...
31/08/2026

Why we love adding train journeys to our itineraries 🚂

At Tales From Africa Travel we love including train experiences in our itineraries. Think Rovos Rail, the Elgin steam train, the Rovos Rail Vic Falls dinner train, and soon we hope to add the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe too.

It might be a scenic journey between destinations, a day tour, or an evening experience like the Vic Falls dinner train crossing the bridge as the sun goes down, but each one is an experience on its own. It is not just about the train ride either, it is also about the excursions and experiences along the way that make the whole journey come alive.

There is a real environmental case for it too. General data shows rail travel produces around 35 grams of CO2 per passenger kilometre on average, compared to around 170 grams for a petrol car and 246 grams for a domestic flight (source: Our World in Data). Just to be transparent, this is a general comparison, not a specific figure for heritage trains like Rovos or Elgin, since those run differently to standard commuter rail. Still, it gives a good sense of why rail tends to be the lighter option.

These trains also support small towns and heritage rail lines that depend on travellers like ours to keep running. And honestly, it is simply a different way to experience a journey, with a bit of nostalgia, comfort, and a view that changes with every kilometre.

If you could add one train journey to your bucket list...?

📸 Photos courtesy of Rovos Rail

Ever wonder how a small tourism company like ours reaches the travellers who want responsible, tailor-made trips in Afri...
28/08/2026

Ever wonder how a small tourism company like ours reaches the travellers who want responsible, tailor-made trips in Africa?

Honest answer, social media is one of our best tools for that.

Facebook and Instagram let people see the places and experiences before they even reach out to us. Behind the scenes, we use simple tools for planning and analytics, so we post with intention, not just guessing.

And when we talk about our sustainability work, we make sure we can back it up. Not just nice words.

We're curious, which platform do you trust most when choosing who to travel with?

There is something no vehicle can give you: arriving somewhere on foot. 🚶‍♂️The dust under your boots. A bird call you c...
26/08/2026

There is something no vehicle can give you: arriving somewhere on foot. 🚶‍♂️

The dust under your boots. A bird call you cannot yet name. The smell of rain three ridges away. And then, the sudden hush when your guide stops mid step and raises a hand, because something ahead has just told them to.

This is the truest way to meet a place, not just pass through it. And we mean that in every sense, from a gentle stroll to something far wilder.

Picture this: you are on foot in the bush, tracking a rhino by nothing but a print in the sand and a bent blade of grass. An armed, experienced ranger walks just ahead, reading the land like a page of text, spotting signs most of us would walk straight over. Your heart is going a little faster than usual. This is not a game drive from behind glass, this is Africa on its own terms, and you are part of the story now.

There really is a walk for everyone:

🚶 An easy hour through a coastal town or spice scented market
🌿 A half day nature walk to a hidden waterfall pool
🐘 A guided bush walk with an armed ranger, tracking game on foot
⛰️ A full day hike with views you had to earn, step by step
🏕️ A multi day trek, from easy w**e country rambles to demanding mountain crossings

Whatever your fitness level, whatever your appetite for adventure, there is a trail out there with your name on it.

So tell us in the comments: sunset stroll, or "let's track a leopard on foot"? 👇 Send us a message and let's start planning your walk into the wild with Tales from Africa Travel.

Did you know? 🐆At some reserves in Africa, part of what you pay to enter goes straight to the communities living alongsi...
24/08/2026

Did you know? 🐆

At some reserves in Africa, part of what you pay to enter goes straight to the communities living alongside the wildlife, not just to fences and rangers.

That conservation levy can fund schools, clinics, even anti-poaching units run by people from the surrounding villages. And it changes things on the ground too. A farmer who once saw a leopard or cheetah as a threat to his livestock sees it differently when that same reserve is helping pay his children's school fees. Conservation becomes something the community has a stake in, not something imposed on them.

It's one of the questions we always ask before recommending a reserve or lodge: who actually benefits when travellers come here? If the answer is only the shareholders, we look elsewhere.

Small detail on an itinerary. Big reason the wildlife will still be there for the next traveller too. 🌍



📸 Morukuru Goodwill Foundation

We don't send you a generic itinerary. We build yours.That starts with questions most agencies never ask. Not just "what...
20/08/2026

We don't send you a generic itinerary. We build yours.

That starts with questions most agencies never ask. Not just "what do you want to see" but who you are, how you travel, what you actually need to switch off. A honeymoon couple gets something different from two friends chasing wildlife photos, even if they're going to the same reserve.

Then we go further. Being based in the country means we're following what's actually happening on the ground, not relying on outdated info from a desk overseas. We call the guide, not the booking line. We know which lodge owner will remember your name on day three.

And every recommendation has to earn its place, for you, for the people whose land you're travelling through, and for the wildlife and habitat that made you want to come in the first place. We only work with partners who care about that as much as we do.

That's the difference between a trip that's planned, and one that's made for you.

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