Owners Ines & Christopher
Indigo Safaris
- Offices In:
-
United KingdomUnited States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, APTA, FGASA & DEMA
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $1,214 to $17,345 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Email Cheryl Rampelt | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Agents are knowledgeable, organized and excellent at matching travelers with the right destination.
I am a solo traveler, who was seeking a safe way to do some African safaris for the first time without a tour group. Indigo Safaris made suggestions and we created a trip based on my priorities. My accommodations in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls and Botswana were unique, beautiful with good service and fabulous food! My guides were terrific. I literally felt like a princess, while at the lodges. All of my accommodations, including the cities, had dining so that it was not necessary for me to find places to eat. There was enough time built in for my pre-arranged transfers and for some explorations, meaning sight seeing not animal tracking, on my own, such as in Capetown and Victoria Falls. When I needed assistance a couple of times, Indigo personnel were responsive to that.
I have travelled quite a lot, and this was one of the best trips I have taken. I believe that one of the strengths of Indigo Safaris is that the agents you work with are so experienced. They personally visit the destinations and accommodations before sending their clients there. So, for example, they knew, where I would see many elephants, which are my personal favorite wild animal, but fewer tourists.
I felt the cost of my trip was very fair. I did voluntarily book my own airfares, which of course are a separate cost, but the trip cost included all of the land transfers and many of my meals. Indigo provided me with a digital itinerary, which would have been the perfect tool had I not had my cell phone stolen on my first day. Fortunately, the staff at my accommodations assisted with getting me in touch with Indigo and my family back home. I highly recommend Indigo Safaris for any sort of trip to Africa.
CA
Email Evangeline Smith | 65+ years of age
A great experience with Indigo Safaris in planning our visit to Cape Town.
I fell upon Indigo Safaris by chance while doing an internet search for our Africa trip. Our group of seven needed help in planning six days in Cape Town. We were connected to Kerry Wyatt, a senior specialist with the company. Our group has travelled all over the world and we have to say that Kerry met all our expectations. She was patient with our numerous requests, prompt in her replies and offered advice and her professional opinion on all our concerns. She was considerate of our budget, the average age of our group and dietary restrictions. Kerry booked us at La Splendida, a boutique hotel on the waterfront with spacious rooms and all the basic amenities. Breakfast is included. We were pleasantly surprised with the choice and quality of the breakfast at Sotano, the restaurant connected to the hotel. This restaurant has a fun and vibrant after work clientele and offers a great, and affordable, menu for lunch and supper. Kerry also, organized with care, tours for every day of our stay, from the Cape Town peninsula, to the vineyards, the museums and many other attractions of the city and surrounding area. On arrival to Cape Town we were greeted at the airport by a driver who took all seven of us to the hotel. The same attention was provided on our day of departure making sure we arrived at the airport at the proper time. I can’t say enough about Kerry and Indigo Safaris for taking care of all the details of our trip. Kerry arranged the car rides and day tours with the company African Eagle. Our guide Raegan Felix was a gem. We were, once again, very fortunate to have very knowledgeable and respectful guide who accommodated us in every possible way. Many thanks to Indigo Safaris for their diligent and very professional work. You made our trip to Cape Town one we will always remember.
Email Bess Thompson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent!
Michele was wonderful to work with. She was patient with our large group while we changed dates and plans. She was able to guide us through the process and ultimately planned the BEST vacation for us. Every detail from transport, to celebrating my Mom's birthday at every turn, to accommodations, tours and more was clearly thought out! I would highly recommend Michele and Indigo Safaris! You will not be disappointed.
Email Daniela | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A travel agent who does not listen based on my experience
Super disappointed about the experience: a travel agent who does not listen, empty promises, long wait after 5 hours of drive, another 2 hours for a room ( triple for a person)
Definitely not an agency which I recommend, try and get someone who is really professional and tries to do something for you
No value for money, despite promises of a good experience, just excuses
Reply from Indigo Safaris
Posted on Oct 22, 2024This is one of the most surprising and untruthful reviews we have ever received. As the Managing Director of a company I have built over the last 16 years by providing tailor-made experiences to travellers of all budgets and backgrounds, I take any complaint very seriously and look into them with commitment. Thanks to our detailed communication systems, I have been able to look into all the communication that took place between the client, Cristina (not Daniela), and my safari specialist Michele, who looked after this inquiry.
Initially Cristina enquired about a budget accommodated two-night short Etosha safari at short notice, which we found availability for, then changed her mind on the dates, then came back asking for a one-night Etosha trip from Windhoek, which we do not offer as we consider it to be too short a time on site for what are two long transfers either end. Our advice was unheeded, and Cristina insisted one night would be fine. Michele found availability at Etosha Safari Camp, booked it, invoiced it, and sent a detailed digital itinerary with images of the camp and details of the routing. The accommodation was reconfirmed as being at Etosha Safari Camp and not Etosha Safari Lodge via WhatsApp. All Michele's replies were punctual and very timely, and did as the client requested.
Upon arrival at Etosha Safari Camp, Cristina messaged Michele that the drive had been five hours. This is as per the usual driving time, and as per the information provided in the digital itinerary. I find it very surprising that someone who works in Windhoek and who has a senior position at the University of Namibia doesn't know that Etosha is five hours away. Nevertheless, there is nothing we can do about making the point of departure and the national park closer together. Moving either of Windhoek or Etosha NP is beyond our powers :-)
The client then complained about having to wait to check in to her room, even though she had arrived prior to check in time. Again, as a frequent traveller, I am at a loss to understand why she thought there would be an early check in as none was ever discussed or offered.
Christina then requested an upgrade to Etosha Safari Lodge. Immediately Michele enquired an found a room was available, at normal check in time, for an upgrade fee, and informed Cristina, who refused to pay it. Cristina then contacted the lodge by phone, and tried to make them believe we had sold her Safari Lodge and that is what she had paid for. Having worked with us for many years, the lodge found this hard to believe, and asked her to pay the upgrade fee if she wanted the upgrade.
During this time, Michele tried t ascertain why the client wanted to change, having been provided what she had been offered and paid for, to whit a private room with en suite bathroom, to no avail. Why it a room designed and sized for three occupants is a problem for single occupancy remains a mystery, as after the trip I reached out to Cristina to have a chat to try and ascertain where she felt Michele had made promises we didn't deliver on, but was told that she didn't want to talk about it.
Regarding value for money, this is obviously a matter of personal perception. This trip, as a two-night, three-day Etosha lodge safari with transfers is, in my professional experience of nearly 30 years of Namibia travel, very good value and the cheapest option out there at 9425 NAD for single occupancy for two nights half-board with a half-day and full-day game drive into Etosha (or 8500 NAD pp based on two sharing a room). As a one-night trip, it does lose some of its value for money as the transfers make a large portion of the trip, and this was communicated from the outset. But when the offer was sent, with images of the accommodation and camp, Cristina considered it to be what she wanted and one would assume value for money. I have tried to find out why that was not the case once on site, and why she felt the need to lie about our contract with her to a tested and trusted service provider, but no answers have been forthcoming.
The conclusion to my investigation is that Michele did nothing wrong, other than allow herself to be persuaded to provide a trip that I consider to be too short in duration in relation to the transfer times, in order to please a demanding client. Michele has been involved in African travel in many capacities over four decades; scuba dive business owner, lodge manager, and safari specialist to name some of them, and has excellent reviews from our clients, some of which can be found in reviews as recent as September and August below.
As we are as committed as ever to providing quality experiences for our clients, for whom we handle around 800 trips a year, I have reminded my team of experts that one night trips are not to be provided, however good the intention is.
Christopher Bartlett, Managing Director.
CA
Email Lynda | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Indigo Safari's Specialist Matthew Milward was professional, knowledgeable, responsive and friendly.
Matthew listened carefully to our needs and arranged for us to have a four day safari experience at Umkumbe Bush Lodge, on the Sabie Reserve, South Africa. Well done! This was a perfect match; we had wanted a smaller intimate family owned lodge.
Flight and transfer - The small Airlink plane from Cape Town to Nelspruit was on time and transfer to the lodge by the Oribis company driver was friendly and efficient.
Lodge - We found Umkumbe Bush Lodge well managed. Knowledgeable staff presented us with a warm welcome. They demonstrated a strong sense of teamwork; their schedules ran like a clock. We loved the Honeymoon suite. Located at the end of the property, it was quiet, luxurious and we saw impala, zebras, in the adjacent field and a curious baboon at the tent door. We made full use of the plunge pool. The bed was very comfortable and the bedding was soft high quality cotton. We appreciated the AC during the hottest parts of the day. All the meals were creative and delicious. The common areas were just as well appointed as our tent. We socialized easily with other guests. We left the main pool to younger guests who wanted to fry in the sun on off-drive hours.
Game Drives - Our guide, Peter, was fabulous - friendly, knowledgeable, very open to questions, and had a great sense of humour. We saw tons of animals. I wanted to see a rhino - we saw lots, including a couple who had recently had a run-in with a hippo and stomped and strutted in front of us, not wanting to give us the road. There were either only four or six of us on the safari vehicle on all drives; everyone had an excellent view. This safari was truly a memorable experience. Thank you Matthew and Indigo Safaris!
CA
Email Nicolaas van den Berg | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best ever
I contacted indigo safari about having a few days in safari and they definitely didn't waist any time got right to work 😑
Shannon is amazing and she really did great a wonderful experience custom made just for us because I have a few medical issues she worked around it and she delivered the best experience for me and my wife...Needless to say we are already booking with her again and can't wait to see what she comes up with next a big thanks to Shannon
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ruaha, Rufiji and Mafia Island Tanzania with Indigo Safaris
Having looked into a family safari holiday using large travel agencies we were troubled by the cost, lack of specific knowledge and inflexibility. We turned to Indigo Safaris, I had met Chris Bartlett on a diving holiday in Raja Ampat and was impressed by his first hand knowledge of the diving and safari world. Chris simply tries out the resorts himself and knows what he is talking about from personal experience.
He very quickly came back to us with suggestions for a tailor made 3 centre holiday at a very reasonable price. He supplied excellent and accurate information and pictures of each resort, what we would expect to find and see, and the logistics of travel.
The holiday was a great success in no small part due to Chris' organisational skills. The staff at the resorts and even the owners of the Safari Camps knew Chris personally which is a testament to his larger than life no nonsense personality and the fact that he has actually visited the places he recommends.
We would definitely use Chris again for another safari (or even a diving) holiday/s.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Wisdom of Animals
Christopher Bartlett with 7 passengers in 2 4WD's drove to excellent spots for viewing animals in their natural habitat, the amazing arid zones of the Namib. At night we often camped in wondrous solitude with stars and sort animal sounds for company. His cooking was superb and photography tips forever of value.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely fabulous trip!
I've been on one safari before (Tanzania), which was organised locally and was so so. The trip with Indigo Safaris however completely lived up to my expectations. I intentionally didn't want a "mass market" trip and that's exactly what i got. Christopher paid a lot of attention to making sure all seven of his guest's requirements were catered for before and during the trip and that we got on together (in a small group this could have been a real problem). The trip was organised to a very high standard, using excellent equipment and wasn't at all mass market: our itinerary fitted in an excellent selection of game spotting opportunities, some cultural moments (with a real sense of a relationship between Indigo and the tribes we met) and a lot of fun! I will certainly be going on other trips organised by Indigo and i'm telling all my friends about them, if only so other people can share Christopher's recipe for "plains game bolognese" :D. Overall a fabulous trip and one i'll remember for many years to come!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unbeatable value for money
I went with Christopher on a safari in Botswana last September. I'd wanted to see the Okavango Delta for, oh at least 15 years, but could never afford the 'better known' travel agency prices... especially with a single supplement on top. Christopher, however, managed to design a fabulous itinerary taking in several national parks and included 3 nights in the much anticipated Delta. The camping on Chief Island in Moremi was very basic to be fair but it still felt awesome to BE there at looong last... there was no one else at all on that island and it made everything more intense.
The game drives were good fun too - like treasure hunts really. I'm an avid photographer, have travelled extensively all over Eastern & Southern Africa but it was refreshing this time to travel with someone who understood that lighting is everything in photography and knew where to position the jeep to avoid shadows or back-lit subjects (if at all possible of course as wildlife is unpredictable).
The Backpackers place he'd booked us in Maun was an absolute gem, with a en-suite permanent tent. The owner knew him well and it could be why we secured one of the very best tents, right by the river. When you think of what the top luxury lodges charge in this part of the world... the whole trip was amazing value for money.
I enjoyed it so much in fact that I'll be doing another TWO safaris with Christopher in 2014. The first one in Zambia over Easter. I'd mentioned when we were in Botswana that I'd always wanted to go to South Luangwa and within weeks he came back to me saying he would organise something there ! Can't beat that kind of service ;) He really listens and is a Maker of Dreams Come True as far as I'm concerned... after that I'll join his South Tanzania tour in Selous & Ruaha early Nov 2014... and I'm also hoping to go to Papua New Guinea with Indigo Safari, probably in 2015...
Too many places, too little time, too little money... but at least with Christopher one can easily get "4 trips for the price of 1.5" elsewhere ! For those of us who have more sense than money Indigo Safari is a real godsend...
Thanks again for everything Christopher and for all the thorough & well illustrated notes before we go away too. Keep on living your life to the full.... 'Travel like there's no tomorrow'....