African Safari Personalized Itineraries: The Only Way to Travel

Planning a trip to Africa can be difficult, but with Hills of Africa Travel, it couldn’t be simpler. With so many places, activities, and accommodations to choose from, it’s extremely important to find the ones you’re most interested in. Hills of Africa Travel is dedicated to planning the perfect African safari trip, catered to each individual preference. We make the planning process for our clients fun, easy, and delightful to be a part of.

Hills of Africa Travel doesn’t believe in providing clients with generic, prepackaged trip itineraries. We want our clients to experience all of the amazing aspects of Africa they would find interesting. A luxurious African safari vacation is a trip of a lifetime, and is unlike any other. We strive to provide clients with a detailed itinerary filled only with activities they want to do, and places they want to stay. We believe in tailoring personal itineraries around every preference.

In order to ensure that the perfectly crafted itinerary is made, we send a detailed questionnaire to all our clients. No detail goes unnoticed, and everything is taken into account. A trip this luxurious, stunning, and adventurous is well-worth our time finding you exactly what you want. Nothing pleases us more than making our clients happy.

One of our expert Hills of Africa travel agents will create an original itinerary molded around your personality and preferences. We carefully combine authentic safaris, personalized services, activities of your choosing, and accommodations of your choosing, to create a life-alerting vacation, filled with spectacular memories.

Our questionnaire includes questions that are unique and carefully designed to ensure we plan the perfect trip for you. Some sample questions are:

• Have you traveled to Africa before?
• What are your hobbies, interests, passions?
  
• What is your favorite flower?
• Do you like champagne or wine?
• Do you prefer red or white wine?
• What car do you drive?
• For a last minute getaway, where would you choose?
  

Once you’ve answered the questionnaire, we set up a phone call with you to discuss what you’re specifically looking for on your African safari vacation. Your answers to these detailed questions allow us to craft from scratch, the activities that fit your preferences. For example, if you’re a wine connoisseur, and not just any wine connoisseur, a red wine connoisseur, we would suggest an itinerary which includes Cape Winelands in it. Not just anywhere in Cape Winelands, but a plantation famous for its bold, red wines.

For a couple interested in a honeymoon safari, they’re most likely looking for a romantic getaway, filled with memories sure to last a lifetime. On honeymoon itineraries we add detailed activities, including private dinners in the bush, rose petals leading from the game-drive vehicle to a warm bath accompanied by a bottle of champagne, a couple’s massage, a picnic dinner on Table Mountain, private dinner on the patio, and so much more. Hills of Africa Travel believes in first-class service. This means, no group tours (unless it’s the group you’re vacationing with), only privately guided tours with the best experts in the area.

We want to make your dreams come true. Contact us today at (877) 845-4802 to begin planning your trip of a lifetime. Africa awaits you . . .

Cape Winelands: Every Wine Lover's Dream

Experiencing South Africa’s world-renowned Cape Winelands is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that should be at the top of every wine lover’s travel list. Nestled throughout the region are wine farms and estates full of rich history and wine culture. Many of these farms and estates date back hundreds of years ago and are still thriving today.

The capital of the Winelands, Stellenbosch, is considered the country’s most famous wine route. Here, you can visit wine and fruit farms, wine cellars, and museums full of the Winelands’ cultural heritage. The summer is the region’s harvest season and is an excellent time to enjoy a morning stroll through the vineyards, picking grapes and other berries. After berry picking, tickle your taste buds with wine tastings, while enjoying the beauty and magnificence of the sprawling vineyards in the background.

Franschhoek is another famous region in the Winelands, known for being the gourmet capital of the Cape and is another excellent place to enjoy exceptional wines. A spectrum of legendary restaurants can be found throughout Franschhoek. The region’s French roots explain the large abundance of delicious French cuisine found throughout many of the award-winning restaurants in this region.

Wine tasting, cellar touring, fine dining, and farm touring are a must when in the Winelands, as it boasts some of the best wines and food in the world. Indulge your senses with a variety of crisp white wines and the full bodied reds of Cape Winelands on a personal wine tour with Hills of Africa Travel.

We offer private wine tours that cater to any individual preferences. Whether you’re interested in the history of the wine, taste of the wine, or sheer beauty of the land, we will tailor your itinerary to your liking.

Learn how you can explore the magic of Cape Winelands and spoil yourself with the joys of world-renowned wines and spectacular adventures. Hills of Africa Travel will provide you with an itinerary tailored to your individual needs. Contact us today at (877) 845-4802.

Exploring Cape Town - A World in One Country

Cape Town is one of the world’s most marvelous cities with its gorgeous white beaches and magnificent rolling mountains. It boasts Dutch architecture, beautiful waterfront, and a mountainous backdrop, eliciting feelings of a quaint and charming European city. Cape Town offers excellent accommodations with stellar service and extraordinary varieties of food, rich with culture and unique flavors.

Rolling roads lined with tall pine trees in the wine regions are reminiscent of northern California. The food and wine are truly delightful and the people extremely hospitable. The road systems are sophisticated and wide, offering an extra boost of confidence to those intimidated by driving on the left side of the road.

Stepping foot onto African soil will bring a smile to your face that won’t escape for the rest of your African safari vacation. The stunning days of dry and sunny weather offer a prime environment for the beginning or ending of an enchanting African family safari or romantic African honeymoon safari.

To start preparing for your African family safari or romantic African honeymoon safari, contact Hills of Africa Travel and we will guarantee you a trip of a lifetime. Call us today to Live the Magic of Africa.

Now is a great time to book a Safari to South Africa

With the strong US dollar to the South African Rand, NOW is a good time to start booking your travel to South Africa. The current exchange rate is 10 ZAR to 1 USD - WOW!

Even if you are only planning to travel in August of 2009, you should consider booking your travel now.

Why?

Because if you book and pre-pay all South African costs, then you are locked in at today's very good exchange rate and we are able to pass on fantastic savings to you.

Imagine all the amazing experiences you could have:

• Walk to the top of Table Mountain and have a picnic whilst taking in the beautiful scenery below you
• Take a wine tour and taste some of the best South African wines in the Winelands
  
• Go on safari and watch lions lazing under trees, and sit back whilst watching a huge herd of elephant walk right past you
• Stay at Birkenhead House in Hermanus where you will see amazing whale sightings from your own balcony
• Take a tour along the famed Cape Point Peninsula where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, see some of the most breathtaking scenery
  
• See African penguins
  

Hills of Africa Travel customizes all of our safari vacations to South Africa and will create a trip of a lifetime. Call us today and we will make certain you Live the Magic of Africa.

Day 3 of Hills of Africa Travel FAM in South Africa

This morning, we had to tear ourselves away from La Residence. Again, it was difficult.

We enjoyed 2 more wine tastings today ..... before lunch!!!! The first was at a place called Bouchard Finnlayson. The winemaker himself conducted the tasting. Our guide Pam, told us he is one of the most highly revered winemakers in all of Southern Africa, so it was a real treat to have the wine tasting conducted by him. He took us on a little tour of the operation and then proceeded to offer a taste of 6 or 7 wines. My favorite was Crocodile's Lair.

Then on to another wine tasting, right up the road. When we got out of the van in the parking lot, I had to stop for a moment because our views were so incredible. This was the first time I had been in a place in the winelands where I could see the beautiful rolling hills, the vineyards AND the sea all in one. It was gorgeous and I felt like i could build a little house here and never leave.

The biggest treat with this winetasting was that we went right down to the cellar and he siphoned the wine straight from the barrel. None of us had ever done that before and we had some pretty experienced people on board. When we finished, we rolled ourselves upstairs for a lunch. Then it was off to Hermanus. We got to Birkenhead House and we could feel the low key, beach vibe as soon as we arrived. We all saw whales pretty quickly. In fact, we even saw one giving us a show with the tail flapping on the water surface. Excellent indeed.

Another beautiful dinner that evening and quick to bed for another big day coming up.

Book your travel through Hills of Africa Travel and we will make sure that you have a trip of a lifetime.

Day 2 of Hills of Africa Travel FAM in South Africa

Here is some wonderful news from Meredith's familiarization trip with Travel Agents in South Africa:

What a huge day....I think we ended up fitting 2 full days of touring into one. We left Tintswalo Atlantic quite late because we couldn't tear ourselves away from the incredible sea views, delicious breakfast and warm hospitality. We set out on a tour of the Cape Peninsula,stopping at the Cape of Good Hope, and Boulders Beach. We were so lucky to have perfect weather for the day....it was blue skies everywhere,but not too hot. At the Cape of Good Hope, we were able to do a great hike down to the bottom and we could see forever in all directions. Incidentally, this is where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet and it is the most south westerly point in the African continent. We then moved on to Boulders Beach where there is a large penguin colony. We learned that penguins are only found in the southern hemisphere so it's a treat for Americans to see them outside of an aquarium. They are so cute!!!!

Moving onwards, we trekked over to the lovely town of Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands, after driving through Stellenbosch. We were so taken away by the beautiful scenery. I think it looks especially magical on perfect weather days like we had. It is spring here and all the flowers are blooming too. We had a quick lunch at a lovely little sandwich shop and then made it in time for our 4PM wine tasting. Yippee! It was so fun to finally get the chance to do a proper wine tasting in the Cape Winelands. Far different from a wine tasting in California....they set up 5 or 6 bottles and you get to taste each one, and it was all prepaid.

This set the mood nicely and we were off to La Residence. Oh My God!!!!! We had heard that it would blow us away but we still weren't prepared for it. IT was mindboggling nice. Barbara, one of the agents, said that La Residence was tipping their favorite place in the world, Villa D'Este in Italy, down a rung in their list and that La Residence had now taken the top spot. It really is something to see. It is the former villa of owner Liz Biden. Every room is decorated with an incredible touch and eye for detail. It's almost like staying in a museum, but a very comfortable one. The views from every window are of great hills and vineyards and mountains in the distance. Just so beautiful. They put on a wonder-FULL dinner for us, beginning with a demonstration. We all slept well that night!!!!

Book your travel through Hills of Africa Travel and we will make sure that you have a trip of a lifetime.