Big Five Safari And Breede River Valley Guided Day Trip

This was such an AMAZING experience!!! Our tour guide Lynn and driver Sungani were professional, timely, fun and so knowledgeable! I did this tour with 10 people and we all said the same thing. We loved the pit stop at the winery and the Aquila Safari reserve was so amazing! We saw everything from lions, elephants, antelope, zebras, buffalo and so much more! I also must add how intuitive Ms Lynn was! She suggested going to the Table Mountain lift since the weather the rest of our days was questionable. They even happily stopped for us to get a champagne bottle! I was so incredibly happy with booking this tour and would suggest it to anyone else who may be interested!

Mike was a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable about what we were doing and Cape Town in general. The safari was great. The ranger took great care to give us plenty of time with the animals and shared his deep knowledge about them with us. A wonderful day. This tour company was very helpful in answering questions and excellent to deal with.

I really enjoyed this tour. My tour guide picked me up at my hotel and we spent a lovely day together. Lynn introduced me to South Africa. I did the wine tasting for the experience, even though I rarely drink. The drive was beautiful! Aquila Wildlife Reserve met my expectations. The lunch was ok but I was fine with it. We saw all the major African animals except the elusive leopard. I enjoyed my guide so much that she was actually the highlight of my day. So fun!!

This is great experience. The drive is a little long but it's worth it. Make sure you get a good night of sleep the day before.

The Safari was a new experience for me . What I saw can hardly be called Safari . What I thought and expected to see large herd of animals but actually I saw few numbers of animals here and there . In order to not misleading your customers, I would call it mini-safari comparing to normal safari i. Kenya or Tanzania .

It was a wonderful trip. Our driver and guide to the Reserve, Chesny, was excellent in explaining everything along the way and sharing some history and culture o the area.

I had a wonderful time on this day trip with Mike. He was very knowledgeable and gave me lots of tips on how to get around safely in Cape Town as well as historical facts. He was very keen to share his personal story and I felt like I was riding with a friend at the end of the day. He really went above and beyond to provide me with the best experience possible and for that I'm very grateful! I paid extra for the private safari tour, and it was certainly worth it, as I was able to take pictures easily from all angles and ask all my questions about animal life. I still cannot believe how close I was to the elephants!

Mike was a great tour guide giving a true Capetonian vibe with plenty of information about the local history before the safari with lunch which did not disappoint.

We had an absolutely wonderful experience with Werner Klopper! He was incredibly kind, friendly, professional, and genuinely caring throughout the entire tour. Werner made us feel comfortable from the very beginning, shared interesting stories and local knowledge, and made sure we had a fantastic experience. He was also very patient and attentive to everyone in our group. We truly enjoyed the day and would highly recommend Werner to anyone looking for a great tour guide in Cape Town. Thank you, Werner, for making our experience so special! 🇿🇦❤️

A full day tour. A few stops on the way before the Safari to stretch your legs one of them a beautiful winery and the Safari stop exceeded our expectations absolutely incredible Werner was our driver for the day and very knowledgeable and friendly

Awesome experience at the Aquila Safari just about 2-3 hours from Cape Town. Enjoyed our safari where we saw Lions, Elephants, Rhinos, Zebras, Giraffes, Hippos and more! The views on the way to the Aquila Safari were spectacular and the buffet lunch was amazing! Great tour!

The Day Trip Safari was an incredible experience from start to finish. Everything was well organized, and the admission fee was worth every penny. The full-day tour gave us plenty of time to enjoy the wildlife and beautiful scenery. The atmosphere was amazing, the park never felt overcrowded, and the guides and staff were professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend this safari to anyone visiting Zanzibar who wants to experience Tanzania's wildlife in just one day.

Wonderful guide Werner made the trip so interesting - safari was fab lots of amazing animal encounters and a lovely buffet lunch included

Wonderful experience for the whole family. The winery was tranquil, bakery had great food and a playground for the kids to keep busy. The drive was serene the whole way. Safari was unbelievable, saw four of the big five within 30 minutes. Food was excellent and our guides were very friendly and outgoing. Amazing experience that I wish we had do earlier on our trip

So happy Born in Africa didn’t cancel when there were only two of us. Our guide, Mike Klerk was amazing, providing much information and ensuring we had a first class experience!

Chesney was a fantastic guide. During the drive, we had great conversations about the country and its people. We had a wonderful time at Aquila National Park. We saw many animals, and the park guide shared a wealth of information about the wildlife living there. We can absolutely recommend this tour.

Wonderful experience seeing few of the remaining gems of the African brood... The big 5 never lose taste!

Werner was our tour guide for the day and this tour exceeded expectations. We got to stop at a winery on the way and then proceeded to have lunch at Aquila before heading out for our game drive that we booked. We saw over 10 different animal species and 4 of the big 5. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to experience a safari but is limited on time

The guide was excellent. The game drive was costly and disappointing compared to most game drives we have been on.

This day safari outside of Cape Town far exceeded our expectations! We saw 4 of the Big Five, along with numerous other animals. It was so amazing to see them roaming in the wild. We opted for the private vehicle, which I would highly recommend! This was well worth the money and was amazing!

It is a great experience with breathtaking views. I won´t give any spoilers, only maybe take a warm jacket and hat because it might get a little bit cold. Definitely a must do if you are in town. Fantastic crew and the food was very good.

Excellent communication from the tour operator. We recommend this tour provider because they facilitate you pre-paying for your safari to guarantee there will be a seat for you timed with your arrival at Aquila. We opted for the private safari vehicle, and thought it was worth the up-charge. We really enjoyed the wine/coffee stop on the way to Aquila. It nicely broke up the drive, and allowed us to get to know the other couple in our transport van (NOTE: private safari vehicle does not mean private transport from/to Cape Town). Our only wish was that we had more time for the buffet lunch...we were only allowed 45 minutes for bathroom and buffet before our safari departure (and with multiple safari vehicles going out at the same time, there were some lines). You should be aware this is a small game reserve with not a ton of animals. We were aware of this going in, but due to flooding rains during our visit, all of our other safari tours along the Garden Route were canceled, so we opted for the only day trip available from Cape Town. We saw some things on our private safari vehicle the other couple in our transport van did not see on their group vehicle. Not sure if it was just timing or if our private driver was able to alter his driving path better to see more. Our tour transport driver James/Jamie was on time, informative, and pleasant company on the journey.

Mike was an excellent driver and guide. He knew so much history and was fun! Recommend very highly to everyone!

Very very exciting and memorable experience, despite the terrible weather. We could observe various kinds of animals. James was a very kind and experienced guide, and very helpful.

Our safari experience (including the transportation both ways) was superb! James was an excellent guide! He ensured that we arrived safely and had a great time even in the midst of a major winter storm! We highly recommend booking with Born in Africa tours!

Cape Town was hit by a very severe storm on Monday and Tuesday, apparently the worst for decades according to our tour guide. We checked on Tuesday evening that the tour was going ahead on Wednesday as there was heavy rain forecasted for the day of the trip and as we were going into mountainous terrain, it was pretty obvious to us that the accumulation of rainfall over 3 days was going to cause a lot of problems at lower levels. After 30 minutes from starting the trip the guides were told that a tunnel was closed and they showed us a notification on their phone that virtually all major routes were also closed. They made a call to Michelle at out of Africa and she was encouraging them very robustly to find another route. We then spent a total of 6 hours in a minibus and throughout this time we only made it as far as 40 minutes away from Cape Town with the Aquila game reserve being at least 2-2.5 hours further away. We have videos of the condition of the roads, it was treacherous, there were landslides, mud slides, fallen trees and extensive flooding on all routes. When we finally stopped for a toilet break 5 hours after being picked up, the guide met a safari driver from Aquila who said that the reserve had closed and as he was at least 2 hours away from the reserve at the time we met him that means the reserve must have closed by 10am latest. This trip should have been cancelled the night before or at the latest by 10am on the day but instead we were subjected to a lengthy ordeal and were terrified we would not be able to get back. The guide suggested we postpone the tour but as it was our last day we were unable to rearrange so instead it was suggested we visit a winery which no one wanted to do so we were taken back. The passengers who did rearrange will have experienced the trip they booked for no extra cost and we feel it is very unfair that due to our circumstances we have lost over £400 and we are aggrieved that we had to endure the best part of the last day of our holiday being subjected to what I can only describe as a pretty frightening ordeal. The guides said they knew it would be worse than the previous day because of the rain water coming down from the mountains as it accumulated so why did they persist in going ahead, it was reckless and dangerous and in our opinion they were being forced by Michelle from out of Africa to continue with no real consideration of our safety, just wanting to make money! Viator and out of Africa have offered us £87 in total back which is an absolute insult, what should have been the highlight of our holiday turned into a very expensive and frightening ordeal not to mention a complete waste of our last day!

We opted for the private vehicle safari. Totally worth it. It happened to be cold and at times rainy. Our tour guide, Josh, had warm blankets and ponchos. The diffused light made for excellent pictures. We saw so many animals up close, it really was remarkable. Our kids, ages 8-14, loved it. Highly recommend the experience.

Despite the most severe weather (gale-force wind, torrential rain - trees & high sided vehicles blown over) Mike our driver got us there & back safely, providing an informative & interesting commentary all the way. Mike was courteous & friendly and afforded us ample time a stops on the road and whilst on the safari.

We had an excellent trip with Born in Africa. The communication leading up to the day was great, with lots of detail so that we could prep properly for the trip. Jamie was great, telling us all about the region and history on the way to/from Aguila. We did the wine tasting, and enjoyed the wide variety of options included in the wine flight. The Aguila reserve was incredible. We went from animal siting to siting, with very few gaps. Not only was our guide great at getting us close, he was very knowledge about the animals, their individual histories, and explained the care provided by the reserve. This was definitely a day to remember!

Michelle did a great job getting us set up with a private safari tour back in December 2025 for our May 2026 trip. Werner was our guide and he did an excellent job. He made sure everyone had fun at the wine/coffee stop. He got everyone set up for their safari too. We also enjoyed our safari guide. My wife and I did this trip with our disabled son. Good commentary on the way too. We saw numerous animals on the safari. Hippos, white rhinos, zebras, giraffes, gnus, ostriches, elands, springboks, oryx, lions, baboons, and many birds.

Our guide James gave us a very informative tour about the region, very helpful and accommodating, and Adan our private safari guide was awesome and knowledgeable. If possible, get the private safari, it is well worth it.

I was picked up by the most amazing toe guid I have had in all of the years traveling, he was super nice and extremely knowledgeable, it was just me and Werner and off we went on a super exclusive trip to see the big 5, with several stops along the way, a winery, a country type store and finally Aquila Game Reserve, we I transferred to another game vehicle for another private tour of the reserve, of course after hearty meal on the reserve. I can’t recommend this trip enough and especially Werner.

Beautiful experience for all

We have done other game drives. This one was very good, we saw all of the expected animals. The guides was very knowledge. We had a great experience.

James was great and very knowledgeable. He made sure that I was ok and made the perfect number of stops to stretch legs and have a comfort stop. The game drive was the most luxurious I’ve had. The vehicles were new and I was surprised to make a stop halfway through for a refreshing beverage and bathrooms. I just wish it was longer.

Friendly and knowledgeable driver to/from preserve. Delicious buffet. High quality safari vehicle and driver. Good variety and quantity of animals on preserve. Pleasant refreshment stop at the halfway point of the safari. Beautiful facilities. Highly recommend.

Mike took care that we fully enjoyed our safari trip to the private gaming reserve. The stop at the winery was peaceful and calm, supported by a very pleasant pinotage. We felt absolutely comfortable and privileged throughout the journey. And we were able to see lions, buffaloes, elephants, hippos, ostriches, giraffes and more animals. We definitely recommend this activity to others.

Awesome, we enjoy the private tour, the guide was nice, the experience was there we seen the big four close enough

Super amazing day! We saw 4 of the big 5 as well as other animas like giraffe and zebra. Out guid mike was brilliant would highly recommend this experience

Great day with excellent timing at every stop. Chesney was a great guide and made sure we didnt miss a thing.

It was a great way to see these big 5 without spending a ton of money on a larger safari. It was just right for us or families with children.

Unbelievable host so knowledgeable great day answered alll our questions just a nice man use this firm

Can’t recommend this activity enough. We were picked up by our guide Mike first thing in the morning and he couldn’t have been more helpful. We really felt the VIP treatment! We saw 4 out of the big five and we were driven home by ole tired but with memories for a lifetime.

The tour exceeded my expectations! It’s been totally life changing. Lynn deserves ever one of these stars. She was SO helpful and informative on the history, geography of the area, even on the ecology. I got to see so many animals, more than just the Big Five. I highly recommend this tour and would do this again!

A wonderful experience from start to finish. Our guide Chesney was engaging, knowledgeable, and incredibly attentive, making the day both enjoyable and insightful. Even though it rained and made parts of the safari challenging, it was still a fantastic experience. Highly recommended!

This was a very nice experience! Our tour guide Chesney was wonderful - very nice, with lots of interesting information, and always looking out for us. The first stop on our way to the safari, a wine tasting spot, was delightful. Lunch at the safari was good, and the actual safari, with tour guide Trevor, was so much fun! We saw lots of animals and Trevor had a lot of great information abou the animals. We are very happy that we took the tour. We can certainly recommend this for safari beginners.

Would definitely recommend this trip, we had a great time and saw 4 of the big 5! Mike, our guide was very knowledgeable and made the journeys really interesting.

Really fun experience with Werner and Sungani. We unexpectedly had a fun stop at a fabulous winery, and then spent a few hours at Aquila nature reserve. We saw lions, hippos, rhinos, baboons, zebra, elephants, and more! We had a private vehicle which was great. It does get expensive - there is this tour, but then entrance fees on top of that and a private vehicle (which probably wasn't necessary in the end). If you can't make it to a full safari (multi day) this is a great introduction, and our guide at Aquila, Abriel, was a real expert.

It was really nice , I was lucky enough to see all 5 😊 and the guide was fantastic. The safari and wine tasting part of the day was wonderful however my driver to and from the location put a bit of a damper on the day. Melodie was an agressive driver with road rage. She also was not mindful of sharing her opinions about topics that may be offensive to others.