Family vacation to South Africa & Swaziland
Highlights
Johannesburg | Blyde River Canyon | Tshukudu Game Reserve | Big 5 | Kruger National Park | Swaziland | Stay in traditional hut | Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary | Kosi Bay | Zulu village | DurbanTravel Team
If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
Toll free 1-866-821-6866 Calling from outside the US? rosy@responsibletravel.comCheck dates, prices & availability
Small group family vacation
This is a 'small group family adventure' - typically you will join several other families and travel in a group of approx. 16 people. The trips are great value and a great way for you and your children to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of time to yourselves. Please check with the operator to confirm the minimum age for this tripResponsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your vacation will help support conservation and local people.

Kruger National Park is very focused on conservation of wild animals, and so they have restrictions and rules set to ensure visitors minimise their impact. We travel in 4x4 land cruisers, with 8 people per vehicle to minimise our impact. In Tshukudu we visit a lion breeding and conservation project in the park which contributes income to the valuable work being undertaken by the project.
In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.
The Impacts of this Trip
We stay in great places within the reserves so that the money can go back into the parks, to aid the local community and the animals. Our Tour Leaders are all trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference. This then percolates down through those they deal with.


Kruger National Park is very focused on conservation of wild animals, and so they have restrictions and rules set to ensure visitors minimise their impact. We travel in 4x4 land cruisers, with 8 people per vehicle to minimise our impact. In Tshukudu we visit a lion breeding and conservation project in the park which contributes income to the valuable work being undertaken by the project.
In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.

The Impacts of this Trip
We stay in great places within the reserves so that the money can go back into the parks, to aid the local community and the animals. Our Tour Leaders are all trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference. This then percolates down through those they deal with.

1 Reviews of Family vacation to South Africa & Swaziland
Reviewed on 05 Aug 2019 by Marina Symvoulidou
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Tsukudu Game Reserve. Excellent guide, very knowleadgeable, fun, knew how to make the most of environmental interpretation.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
As a lot of things are optional keep in mind that depending on the optional activities you want to book you may need another 300-500 euros each for food and activities. Also pack warm clothes too. For the early morning late evening game drives you will need them.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I am not really sure since we do not know what percentage goes to local people. We visited a zulu village that seemed quite touristic as an experience, too pre-fabricated but at least I hope the proceeds go to them. The "orphanage" optional experience in Swaziland was a complete no for me. It was just another turistic show of their cultural songs and dances, not really unerstanding their needs. It would be preferable if wwe could actually visit the scool and orphanage and instead of an oprtional experience make it a basic one, with pre-information of the travelers so that they could bring textbooks or pencils or clothes or other items of need instead of asking for a voluntary conmtribution on our way out.
As for the environmental aspect we did visit a glass recycling facility however for the most part we saw very little of the actual conservation that is supported, we could have visited a rehab or a conservation dfacility, talk with a couple of rangers etc (which we didn't)
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Overall it was a good experience, I was expecting a bit more on the responsible side to be honest as well as more time spend in Kruger.
Read the operator's response here:
See our guidelines below:
https://www.responsibletravel.com/vacations/volunteering-with-children/travel-guide/volunteering-with-children-issues
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