Bench Africa Reviews 

Simply the best at all levels,outstanding accomadation from lodges, hotels and glamping. The food was such a cultural experience so fresh with variety. We travelled Tanzania to Kenya. Saw the big 5 we were overwhelmed with the experience. Excellent guides and service. We were emersed in these countries and learnt so much about the animals and culture.
The customer service from Bench is outstanding when I called with questions I was given support from knowledgeable staff speical mention to April you excelled yourself over the phone.

My husband and I recently went to South Africa and Zimbabwe and we booked with Bench. Julie was absolutely fantastic and she made sure that the entire trip ran smoothly. Little Garonga was a highlight for us - we just had the most magical time there. Thank you Julie for all of your hard work planning the perfect trip for us!

Strongly recommend not using bench tours, very very inflexible if have to change your dates or cancel, we lost about 5k in their fees and they were unwilling to even give a credit

10/10! Thank you April for seamlessly weaving my Makutsi Springs Safari trip in October.
I asked my usual travel agent in Perth WA who is the best for African Safari trips and she said "Bench Africa!". The price was excellent and no single supplement!! April Selby at Bench was clear, professional, and all of my questions were answered within 24 hours. My itinerary and supporting logistical/safety documents were sent on-time and were clear to read.
I would highly recommend Bench Africa for their prpfessional service, knowledge of the subject of safari in South Africa and pricing!

A wonderful, unforgettable perfect trip in Namibia.
The lodges, the activities, the flights, the food, the staff - everything was perfect.

From our first discussion with Lyndal at Bench until the last day of our trip, Bench delivers at every level. It starts with listening to what we want to achieve from our trip and making the small adjustments to make everything suit us.
Leopard Tours in Tanzania were outstanding and added to the depth of our trip throughout that amazing country. Our guide Issa, went above and beyond to provide us with not one but two opportunities to see the Migration.
The Masai Mara in Kenya provided us with memorable experience of watching animals living in their natural environment and the memories of our sundowner moments under the Acacia trees are now with us forever.
At the end it all comes back to Bench who were faultless.

Bench Africa made our family holiday in Kenya one of the most memorable holiday we ever had. Thank you to the knowledgeable Bench team for making the perfect suggestions and making sure that it all went to plan. Our safari guide in Kenya made every moment fun and interesting. The camps were beautiful and we are planning to return next year. Without question we will be using Bench. Highly recommended!

So, *SO* amazing.
Thank-you to Julia and to Bench Africa for the recommendation and then the assistance to get me and my family (wife and two teenage daughters) onto the Makutsi 7-day Safari. Julie was careful to understand what we were looking for in an African Safari and her recommendation far exceeded our expectations.
Makutsi was nothing less than incredible for all of us: so welcoming, such an *amazing* variety of animals in close proximity (leopards, lions, elephants, giraffe, rhino, antelope, cheetah, hippo... even a honey-badger!), such knowledgeable and charismatic guides, such a genuine interest in the welfare of the wildlife and the bushland.

The family rondavel was very clean and spacious, and the meals were wonderful. Very clearly a family-owned, family-loved and family-run experience.

Thank you Makutsi for adopting my family into your family for the special time that we were able to share your world.

We had our first trip to Africa with Bench some 6 years ago and longed to return. Someone said to me once if you could only visit 2 continents in this world twice, visit Africa. Never a truer word spoken. We booked with Bench again late 2019 for Xmas 2021 but little did we know what was around the corner. Our African expert Julie was with us every step of the way organising a trip of a lifetime again and has supported our changes along the way with great excitement for us. Once Covid hit we were of course like all of us in la la land and our trip unfortunately will not come through this year and maybe not nect year either. Bench's attitude with regard to Covid has been superior and they have supported their clients every step of the way. We are currently underway with refunds unfortunately. We will be back to Africa at some point with Bench once this crazy world comes good, we know that and cant wait one day to make our dreams come true once again. Bench has been around a long time and will survive these difficult days

We have used Bench for 2 of our African trips and had a 3rd booked. Everything was perfect on both previous trips and we would never use any other travel agent, why would we , Bench are the African specialists. In relation to our refunds due to Covid, it came through quickly and correctly and the process was stress free. Thanks Maria :)

we arrived in Sth Africa to find we were in an area ravaged by sudden cyclone . Despite this , our plans were quickly rearranged by Bench Africa and we had a truly epic and fantastic trip

We visited Makutsi Safari Springs for 6 nights, commencing 14 March 2020.
This was organised by Bench Africa as part of a cruise package, Prior to our departure, Bench Africa provided a comprehensive personalised booklet on what was in store at Makutsi. On arrival we were advised by our travel agent that our 27 night cruise from Capetown to Athens had been cancelled.
After a warm welcome we settled into our comfortable rondavel and decided to make the most of this now very short holiday.
It turned out to be a fantastic and unforgettable experience, even though 3 days into our stay we were advised that the Australian Govt. wanted all Australians to return home as soon as possible.
We were treated to up close and personal experiences; on our first game drive our vehicle sat in the middle of a lion and lioness and two young lions feeding on their kill. More of the pride were sitting in the river bed just out of sight.
Day two our guide found the pregnant female cheetah. He happened to be in charge of the cheetah breeding programme and after he alighted from our open safari vehicle, the cheetah got up and walked over to him .Less than an hour later in a different section of the park, three more cheetahs crossed the track a little ahead of our vehicle.
We were told we would be unlikely to see elephants during our stay as they had migrated to the southern end of the park. However, we were told we would see several on our day trip to Kruger National Park. We enjoyed our day at Kruger and saw a wide variety and number of animals. Then on our last game drive at Makutsi, our guide followed elephant tracks, and we were treated to almost an hour among a herd of 19 elephants, a huge 30+ year old bull down to two babies. These were very up close and personal (and a bit scary but SO exhilarating.) There was no shortage of wild animals to be seen during our four game drives, including a night game drive. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
Another highlight was a day trip to Blyde River Canyon in the beautiful Drakensburg Mountains.
Our stay was made very enjoyable by the friendly staff, beautiful meals, the indoor and outdoor natural thermal spring pools, and many of the animals grazing around the camp.
Sadly, due to coronavirus and the travel restrictions, the camp was to temporarily close and most of the staff leave, shortly after our departure.

The biggest of thank you's to Lara, Maria & the team at Bench for going above and beyond to organise our dream honeymoon to Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar. It was everything and more than we had dreamed of!
Maria was exceptionally helpful and patient with all our questions, changes and calls!
Highlights were gorilla trekking in Uganda and Giraffe Manor - two unbeatable experiences I would recommend to anyone!
We're in love with Africa and we'll definitely be booking via Bench again next time!

Maria organised a fantastic trip. We had a great time in Africa and would definitely use Bench Africa again for our next trip.

We had a terrible experience at our hotel in Cape Town booked by Bench Africa and were directed to Zambia, rather than Zimbadwe, to see Vic Falls, when it is common knowledge in the travel industry that there is little water in the Falls on Zambian side and we could not get back to Zim side due to problem with visas, so we were denied seeing the most important part of our African experience; also the reception at our hotel in Livingstone insisted that we were Americans from DC and we spent 45 minutes before they reluctantly gave a us room, without functioning airconditioning, despite it being 35 degrees c , until the morning of our departure when the AC started operating!
Our 6 days in Makutsi Safari Park near Kruger was sensational and the Cresta Mowana in Kasane was also wonderful as we saw all the animals with wonderful guides and terrific accommodation and these 2 experiences made up for the hopelessness of the hotels in CT and Livingstone.
Overall, we refused to allow the 2 bad experiences to spoil our African experience and we are booked to return to Africa to experience more of its wonder and we are taking friends back with us so they can share our wonder too.
We told Bench Africa about our horrible time at the CT hotel and the disappointment of not experiencing the wonders of Vic Falls , but apart from a promise to look into why it all happened , we have heard nothing back and assume we were consigned to the "too busy" basket.

This is now our fourth trip to Africa with Bench International and this last trip we had the pleasure of sharing the experience with friends. Again our experience surpassed expectations in every way. The properties we stayed at : Madikwe Hills, Leopard Hills and King's camp provided luxury accommodation, exceptional service, wonderful food and fantastic game drives. What more could you ask for? It is just hard to fault any aspect of this holiday. We would like to thank Julie De Palo at Bench for again helping us with all the arrangements for this special trip, providing us with more amazing memories. It will not be our last trip to Africa!

Bench has always provided prompt and thorough information, and the booking process and holiday experiences just as described - very happy to book again and again! Our holiday this time was a bit different, stayed at Makutsi Lodge (outskirts of Kruger National Park) instead of travelling/touring, and had a wonderful time!

Wow..where do I begin, every aspect of this adventure was perfect. The trip of a lifetime ill of experiences I will treasure forever. Karen our travel conSultant from Bench, created a trip that delivered in every way. She asked what we wanted to do and see then created and worked with us to create that delivered everything and more than we expected. Everything went like clockwork there were no issues or hiccups throughout the month we spent in East and South Africa.
Travelling throughout East Africa was absolutely our highlight. We saw every animal possible, vast herds on the move and in their natural setting. The Lodges and service were fantastic and we were totally spoilt in every way. Cape Town, the vineyards and Victoria Falls were icing on the cake. An amazing holiday from start to finish.

We were very well looked after on our classic Namibia safari from start to finish. The itinerary provided a good deal of variety in our daily activities. Our guide was excellent in terms of his driving, knowledge, organisation and helpfulness. The hotels were wonderful and the camping days were fun and an opportunity to see some out of the way places. We were very impressed by the delicious meals during the camping days. We would not hesitate to repeat this safari experience.
Eric at Bench was so helpful and responded very promptly to email queries.

I used benchAfrica to book a week at Makutsi Safari Springs in late September. I spoke with Hank who was very helpful, and has kept in touch since I returned home by sending a Welcome Home card. He answered all my questions and gave good advice.