Discover Africa Safaris Review 2026: Is It Worth It, What It Costs, and Who Owns It

Discover Africa Safaris, the Cape Town safari company Steve Conradie and Andre Van Kets built from a 2002 travel business, scores 88/100 on our six-criterion operator review, joint second of the thirteen operators reviewed with Micato Safaris: full marks for independent reviews and destination breadth, 24 of 25 for expertise, and 5 of 10 for ownership transparency. SafariBookings rates it 4.9 from 593 reviews, it prices 17 trips on its site from $1,080 per person, and it has 13 named experts, an office in Cape Town and UK, US and Australian phone lines. What a buyer cannot find: who owns the company, and the financial protection its marketing promises, which its booking terms do not name.

Verified 24 September 2026 · Discover Africa's own pages, booking conditions and group site · SafariBookings and Trustpilot · ATTA directory · NBC New York and the Mail & Guardian · Skift

Discover Africa Safaris at a glance: the company record

Discover Africa Safaris is a division of Discover Africa Group (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2003/012380/07, which trades from Fedgroup Place in Bellville, Cape Town, and also runs Drive South Africa and 4x4 Hire. Every row below links to its source and was checked on the date shown.

Is Discover Africa Safaris worth it?

Discover Africa Safaris scores 88/100: it has 593 reviews on SafariBookings at 4.9, a team based in Africa and prices on its site, and it loses most of its points on what it does not publish about itself. Co-founder Steve Conradie was first taken to the Kruger by his grandfather in 1976 and in 2002 made a six-month Land Rover drive "all the way to the Serengeti in Tanzania"; Andre Van Kets, who runs its marketing and technology, studied business and computer science at the University of Cape Town. Its team page names 13 experts, each with the countries they know, among them Vihann Van Wyk, a former professional field guide. Against that, its site does not say who owns the company, and its booking conditions name none of the protection its marketing describes.

Where Discover Africa Safaris stands on Uncompromised Travel

At 88/100, Discover Africa Safaris is joint second of the 13 safari operators reviewed on these six criteria, level with Micato Safaris and one point below Go2Africa. It already appears on two of our awards pages as a World Travel Awards nominee for Africa's Leading Safari Company: on the World Travel Awards safari page for 2026 and the award-winning safari companies page for 2025; Safari.com won both years. It has not been assessed on our safari planner index or payment terms index.

How much does a Discover Africa safari cost?

Discover Africa Safaris prices 17 itineraries on its safaris page per person sharing in US dollars, from $1,080 for five days at Victoria Falls to $2,820 for six days in Botswana; most are short trips of three to seven days, and many are shown against a higher crossed-out price. The itinerary pages list what is included and excluded: the three-day gorilla trek in Rwanda, from $2,700, includes transfers, internal flights, all meals and local drinks, and excludes international flights, visas, insurance and tips. Each page shows a calendar of peak and low seasons but does not say which season or year the price applies to. Longer tailor-made trips are quoted individually. Our safari cost by budget guide shows what longer trips cost.

Prices as listed on its safaris page on 24 September 2026. For context, our South Africa safari cost guide, Kenya safari cost guide and Rwanda safari cost guide set these prices against the market.

Who plans Discover Africa trips?

Discover Africa's team page names 13 people, all with the African countries they have travelled, and says its team has "over 60 years of collective experience". Reviewers often name their planner, and its site says it offers "24/7 Support", but it does not promise one expert from enquiry to return. The Head of Product quoted by NBC New York in December 2024, Murielle Mignot-Vegezzi, is no longer on its team page; Alice Lombard now holds that title on the group team page.

What do Discover Africa Safaris reviews say?

Discover Africa Safaris is rated 4.9 on SafariBookings from 593 reviews, the newest from 22 September 2026, and 4.8 on Trustpilot from 177, where 95% are five-star. SafariBookings reviewers describe planners who were "knowledgeable, responsive and always prompt"; on Trustpilot, "She listened to what I wanted to do and put together a perfect itinerary". The complaints found concern individual lodges, such as mismatched room descriptions, cleanliness and plumbing at one lodge, and slow email replies when a problem arose. The review widgets on its own pages show different counts on different pages, and its reviews page adds "933 Reviews" across platforms. Our safari operator review index explains how we weigh platforms.

Discover Africa Safaris' awards and press

Discover Africa Safaris says it won World Luxury Travel Awards four years running, 2022 to 2025, and a CorporateLiveWire South Africa Prestige Award in 2020; neither could be checked at source, and the World Luxury Travel Awards site does not allow automated checks. Two press mentions were confirmed: a syndicated CNBC story on NBC New York in December 2024 quoting its then head of product, and a Mail & Guardian article in July 2023 on the group's use of AI, published as partner content. Its press page also lists a Skift article of 30 December 2023 that does not mention Discover Africa. Its HerdTracker service, the group says, broadcast the first live stream of the Great Wildebeest Migration in 2015.

Where Discover Africa Safaris goes, and its safari styles

Discover Africa Safaris has pages for 13 African countries plus Zanzibar and sells only Africa. Its experiences run from big cat, gorilla, migration, walking, horseback and photographic safaris to rail journeys, mobile camping, beach holidays and family and honeymoon trips, and it lists more than 40 lodge partners, among them Asilia Africa, Great Plains Conservation and Sabi Sabi. Its summary for AI tools says it does not offer group bus tours, budget overland trips or self-drive car hire, which sister brand Drive South Africa handles.

Who owns Discover Africa Safaris?

Discover Africa Safaris' site names its co-founders, Steve Conradie and Andre Van Kets, but not its owners; its terms name the company, Discover Africa Group (Pty) Ltd, registration 2003/012380/07, and South Africa's register could not be checked for this record. The group's story begins in 2002 with "Buybacks", which helped travellers plan vehicles for long trips in southern Africa, adds car hire, 4x4s, campers and an overland partnership by 2006, and launches Discover Africa in 2010. The group team page lists Steve Conradie as founder and Andre Van Kets as director. No investor or parent company beyond the group appears on its site or in the press checked.

Discover Africa Safaris' booking terms and financial protection

Discover Africa Safaris takes a 30% non-refundable deposit and the balance 60 days before departure; cancelling 60 or more days ahead refunds 70%, 30 to 60 days ahead refunds 50%, and inside 30 days nothing. Its booking conditions, last updated 30 May 2024, say it acts "as an agent", recommend but do not require comprehensive insurance, and name no bond, trust account or protection scheme. Its why book with us page says it is "bonded with industry-leading financial protection" and "accredited by the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA)"; SafariBookings lists SATSA among its accreditations, but SATSA's directory could not be searched for this check. Our guide to safari deposits and payment terms compares these with the market.

What the public record does not show

Seven things a buyer might look for could not be found or did not match on 24 September 2026. Each is listed so it can be answered; if Discover Africa Safaris publishes or corrects any of them, this record will change with a dated note.

• Who owns Discover Africa Group (Pty) Ltd.
• The bond or scheme behind "bonded with industry-leading financial protection", named in its booking conditions.
• One founding year: its homepage says "Over 20 Years", its summary for AI tools says "established in 2010", and another page says "17 years".
• The season or year its itinerary prices apply to.
• One named expert from enquiry to return, stated as a promise.
• A current summary for AI tools: its /llm-info/ page names two destination experts who are not on its team page.
• Press it lists that names it: a Skift article on its press page does not mention the company.

Discover Africa Safaris vs Go2Africa, Yellow Zebra Safaris and Ker & Downey Africa

Against two other Cape Town operators and a UK specialist we have reviewed, Discover Africa matches Go2Africa on reviews and pricing and trails it and Yellow Zebra Safaris on ownership transparency.

How to price a comparable safari

The fair test of any quote from Discover Africa Safaris is a like-for-like quote for the same camps, nights and season from a second specialist and a comparison platform. Ask each for the same lodges by name, the same room category and the same inclusions, then compare the per-person total with international flights excluded.

Get a second specialist quote from Go2Africa →

Compare safari operators' prices on BookAllSafaris →

Browse priced safaris on Safari.com →

What changed

Four dated changes shape Discover Africa Safaris' public record today.

30 May 2024. Its current booking conditions were last updated.

2024. The group added AI-based migration prediction to HerdTracker.

December 2024 to September 2026. Its head of product changed, from Murielle Mignot-Vegezzi, quoted by NBC New York, to Alice Lombard on its team page.

24 September 2026. This record opened with a score of 88/100.