Phinda Vlei Lodge

Reviews

"Just spent 4 nights at this lodge and I cannot praise the staff and resort enough. We had private safaris here and used Daryl Dell as our guide. The reserve is great for the big five and Daryl made our trip here one of the best experiences we could have hoped for."

- David

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"My family and I stayed here Aug 1 - 3, 2014. Our children are 16 and 14 years old. The Vlei lodge was outstanding in every way - rooms were beautiful, great views and very comfortable. The service by the staff was excellent. The game drives surpassed our high expectations. We highly recommend it!"

- Matt

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"My wife and I stayed at Vlei lodge for a week as part of our honeymoon trip at the end of July 2014. Our safari experience started at Phinda closest airport, where our ranger and tracker were waiting for us in a safari jeep that took us to our lodge. At our arrival, we were greeted by the camp butler who offered some drinks and snacks at the lobby before taking us to our room. The room (which is in fact a chalet) was spacious, cosy, and decorated with taste in the colonial style. There were only 6 rooms in the lodge, so it was very quiet. Every day, animals, including elephants, drank water from our private swimming pool. Also, we often spotted monkeys playing around in the trees surrounding our room, and the most courageous ones even played on our terrace. On the game drives we sighted lions with cubs, cheetah with cubs, elephants, rhinos, leopards, buffalos, zebras, giraffes, loads of antelopes… Our ranger and tracker seemed were simply the best at these animals, even at night! The highlight of our trip was the sighting of lovely cheetah cubs (they must have gained a few kilos since then) with their mother that we spotted twice. The food and the local wines were delicious. The butler as well as the staff attended to all our needs and were always ready to go the extra mile to make us feel comfortable. That’s a place I would definitely recommend to a friend."

- Mich

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"We just spent 3 nights at Phinda Vlei Lodge as part of a two week safari in Botswana and South Africa. This was our third safari trip to Africa, and the 7th andBeyond property we have been to. andBeyond knows how to run safari lodges and camps, and we recommend them highly. We thought our room was spacious and beautiful, set on the open vlei, with animals wandering by most of the day. The main lodge is small but accommodates the total 12 guests very well. Dining is private, which is a nice change from large group dinners in other locations. The chef, Happiness, does a good job with food preparations. The breakfast is one of the best we have ever had, with a large tray of goodies delivered to you, along with eggs cooked any way you like them. Look out for those cheeky monkeys, though! they steal toast, and stuff their mouths with fruit quickly snatched from our table! Our guide, Devon Myers was amazing. He is full of great information about not only all the wildlife, but the various ecosystems within Phinda. Our travel agent gave us a wonderful gift of a private, specialist safari at Phinda. Along with our tracker, Muzi, we saw some amazing animals up close, including mating lions, and adorable cheetah cubs! I went on a bush tracking walk with Devon and Muzi one morning, tracking a huge bull elephant. What great fun to get within 100 feet of a wild animal without being discovered! We had heard for years that Phinda was amazing, and it did not disappoint! Every game drive delivered lots of different animals, including 7 white rhino in one group!! Certainly one of our best experiences in Africa."

- Marla.

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"This was our 5th safari stay, and 4 of the 5 have been with andBeyond. The level of quality and service are the best, and the total experience was unforgettable. Our guide and tracker (Devon and Nsika) could not have been better, although judging from other reviews we have read, they are all first class. Since Devon is certified, we went on 3 separate tracking walks, stalking and finding giraffe, white rhino and buffalo. The goal was to find the animals, get a reasonable view of them, and get out - without the animals knowing we were there. If you ever get the opportunity to do such stalking - TAKE IT! This was unforgetable! Our game drives were equally rewarding, with sightings of every large species with the exception of the often elusive leopard. We had 3 very long and great up close viewings of a mother cheetah and her 2 cubs. Saw a 'journey' of 21 giraffe (that's the term for a group). Located a huge group of elephants who crossed the road near us. Started with one, then kept going. All told, there must have been 30 in the herd. Food (prepared by Happiness) was excellent, and the entire staff was first rate. Manager Luke was always friendly, available, and professional - a real asset to their team. Can't say enough about the level of quality at all of the andBeyond lodges. The only problem with going on safari with them is that as soon as it's done, you will want to start planning your next one."

- Craig