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Culture Archives - Coral Tree

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Cultural safari holiday experiences

Immerse in local cultures and historical influences

Experience type:

Adventure Beach Community Conservation Culture Kids Wildlife

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Walking safari

A walking safari is, without doubt, one of the most intimate ways you can get up close and personal with Africa's incredible wildlife. Plus, it is not as daunting as you might think.

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Private guide safari

The reasons to make your family safari holiday a privately guided one are many, and once you've experienced the delight, you'll likely never go back.

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Kids safari

People often ask us if they should take their children on safari, and our answer is always a resounding, yes. Not only are children enthralled by all there is to see, learn and do in the wild, but many of the operators we work with offer specially tailored kids’ safari activities.

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Cultural Immersion

Incorporating culture and community brings alive the human context of the country you're visiting in unique and wonderful ways. Africa's cultural heritage is dazzlingly rich and diverse. Engaging on an authentic level with people of myriad cultures can make for profoundly rewarding encounters.

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Boat safari

A boat safari is a wonderful addition to a family safari holiday for the completely fresh perspective it yields. Boats offer access to beautiful swathes of watery wild that aren't available by road or foot. Being out on the water combines an equal measure of tranquil calm and quiet, with the thrill of approaching animals you wouldn't normally see up close.

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Get in touch

Talk to Tess & Mike about your family's next big adventure

Call: +44 (0) 1242 908 720

Begin your adventure

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Google Rating

5.0

Based on 113 reviews

Coral Tree Travel

5.0

review us on See all reviews

1768078464

A trip to Africa has been a dream trip for over 40 years and I have slowly been saving to make this happen for our family of 5. As I began my research and consulted with a few agencies I had lovely conversations but was told our budget was too small and I felt like I was being encouraged to take more "cookie cutter" trips. Within the first few minutes of my chat with @Cameron Raffan I was reassured that our budget was absolutely fine and he spent much of the time wanting to hear about myself, my family and what we were hoping for on the trip. After that conversation Cameron was willing to rework the trip several times to ensure that it matched our expectations, our style of travel and sense of adventure. He was thoughtful, kind, incredibly helpful and really seemed to enjoy planning this with and for us. We leave in one month and I feel absolutely confident in the plans we have made and truly believe that we will be working with him again for a second adventure within the next 5 years (gorillas and chimps here we come!). The level of thoughtfulness of the entire team at Coral Tree and their communication has been top notch. I am so deeply grateful to Coral Tree Travel for helping make this dream come true and I will write an update once we have returned!

1768036603

We have recently been in contact with Mike and his team at Coral Tree Travel and to date, have had a very positive and professional experience. Mike has been efficient, helpful, professional and flexible to our needs in everyway so far. Our numerous questions and demands, whilst researching a dream holiday, haven't phased him, in fact he his exceeded our expectations in terms of responsiveness, advice, explaining options and ensuring we get exactly what we want later in the year. So far so very good!! His presentation, and willingness to spend his time with us over the Christmas period on flights and zoom calls was above and beyond. Can't wait for the holiday build up in the coming months, not to mention the safari of a lifetime! Thanks Mike :-)

1767834182

Mike came highly recommended to us from friends in the UK and Canada and we are delighted to be working with him to arrange our safari in Tanzania and beach stay in Zanzibar. His local knowledge and commitment to curating the best holiday for our large group has been invaluable. We can't wait to go!

Bernice Appleyard

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We recently returned from a wonderful safari in Tanzania, expertly organised by Cam from Coral Tree Travel. Our group consisted of six friends and we were able to travel as a party in our own jeep exclusively and the choice of driver/guide was first class. Our trip included a variety of accommodation stays, perfectly suited to our request and well placed to see everything we wanted to see and much more than we expected. The trip included a balloon flight over the Serengeti which provided us with memories we will never forget. Our safari was perfectly concluded with a trip to Zanzibar. We would wholeheartedly recommend Cameron at Coral Tree Travel to put together an incredible package for your safari.

1766922495

We have booked a family safari to Kenya in October 2026.The sheer volume of information on the internet is over whelming and knowing who to trust with such a 'big' trip made me very nervous. However, the advice and assistance received from Rosanna in planning our trip so far has been exemplary. She took the time to find out what our boys enjoy doing in order that lodges and activities could be tailored towards their specific requirements. Knowing too that she has been to the lodges and beach resort that we are going to, has given me the confidence that our trip will be exactly what we're looking for.

1766739864

Coral Tree provided truly exceptional, outstanding service from start to finish. I decided to book a last-minute holiday to South Africa with less than a week to plan, and after sending an enquiry, Coral Tree immediately called to help bring everything together seamlessly.We spoke with Ben, who was incredibly helpful, enthusiastic, and genuinely invested in creating the best possible safari experience for us. Despite the tight timeframe, he was amazing throughout the entire process.Ben booked us for three unforgettable nights at Shamwari Safari. From the moment we arrived, everything was perfectly organised - personal meet-and-greets at the airport, smooth transfers, and the most incredible staff at the lodge. Every detail felt thoughtful, personalised, and effortless.I cannot recommend Coral Tree highly enough. Their service exceeded all expectations, and I would absolutely use them again without hesitation.

1765725160

We have just booked a trip to Southern Tanzania for next autumn. Mike, at Coral Tree, has had endless patience with two rather demanding clients(!) resulting in an itinerary which perfectly matches our requirements. We cannot fault his attention to detail and friendly support.

Charlotte Nicholson

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Coral Tree absolutely exceeded our expectations.Cameron took the time to really understand our requirements and used his extensive knowledge of Kenya to create an itinerary that has the whole family excited.We approached several well-known agencies while planning our trip, and none came close to the level of customer service and local insight that Coral Tree provided.The way the itinerary was presented—clearly showing distances, locations, and how each stop fit together—made everything so easy to visualise and understand. We couldn’t be happier with the experience so far.

1764331412

Mike has been brilliant in organising a family holiday/safari for 3 families incorporating a 50th birthday celebration. He had to deal with customers with different requirements across multiple time zones, which he did with patience, attention to detail and has come up with an incredible itinerary that caters for everyone's needs. Would highly recommend!

1763803967

Cam has been fantastic at helping us to plan our Honeymoon. Starting with very little idea of where we wanted to go, other than ‘Africa’, Cam helped us to understand all the options available and built a totally bespoke holiday for us. He had great local knowledge of all the camps and locations, also arranging some special add ons for us.

Marisa Rattinger

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We’ve just returned from the most incredible holiday, expertly organized by Cameron and the Coral Tree team. It was our first safari, and thanks to Cam, we visited every place we hoped to see and experienced even more than we could have imagined. The planning was flawless and completely seamless. Communication was fast and very efficient.When additional friends decided to join us at the very last minute, Cameron immediately found solutions and adjusted our itinerary without any stress on our side. He understood exactly what we wanted from the trip, and his deep knowledge of Tanzania, the stunning lodges, and the different safari experiences was truly invaluable in crafting the perfect journey.Every detail was taken care of for us, right down to a beautifully prepared itinerary, a helpful packing list, and quick answers to every question we had. Toward the end of our trip, when the political situation in Tanzania caused our return flight to be cancelled and the entire country lost internet for days, the Coral Tree team still managed to step in and ensure we were safe, supported, and able to make it home smoothly. Their thoughtful approach and incredible foresight made all the difference.I am beyond happy that we chose to plan our trip with Cam and Coral Tree and can recommend them wholeheartedly 100%.Already looking forward to the next one! Thanks so very much

1763127610

We've just booked our third trip with Coral Tree Travel, this time to Zambia in October. Having had a really successful trip to Kenya in August 2024 and wanting to return to a different African country, the only people we considered booking with were Coral Tree. Mike planned a great trip for us - he listenend to what we wanted, chose three very different safari camps and then Diani beach for R&R. Again he hit the nail on the head and gave us exactly what we asked for. We had a couple of issues whilst we were away and we contacted Mike. He responded immediately and sorted things out efficiently and without fuss and we felt very well looked after.So we've had fun planning our trip to Zambia and are looking forward to it enormously.Thanks again, Mike and well done!!Update:November 2025It's a month since we returned from what was the most wonderful trip to Zambia and Malawi and we have a new memory every day from our first glimpse of the mighty Zambezi river to arriving by boat at our first camp (Potato Bush Camp) to remembering the elephants in Kutali camp preventing us from getting to the boma to elephants up close and personal when we in a canoe to watching mating leopards and a lion with his kill in remote Kuyenda Bushcamp. And then the memory of Likoma Island - we fell in love with it the moment we landed. Beautiful island, beautiful people and spectacular Kaya Mawa.On the trip, the food was fantastic, the guides were knowledgeable, welcoming, protective - we felt completely safe at all times, and the logistics were non-problematic.This was possibly our best holiday ever!Thank you once again Mike, for yet another superb African adventure. We are looking forward to planning the next one with you.

1761886877

We have just returned from a family safari in Kenya and had the most incredible time! We have four kids, ages 10, 8, 6 and 3 and the logistics of finding places that were suitable for large families and for young kids was difficult for me to do on my own. I looked up several family safari companies to help us and settled on Coral Tree because of their great reviews, their excellent communication, and the amazing lodges they recommended from personal experience that I never would have found otherwise. Rosanna was so great to work with and helped with every little detail leading up to the trip, she made it so easy for us. I will be forever grateful to her for planning this most unforgettable holiday for our family!

1761586515

Cameron was patient and very pleasant to deal with. Just booked a trip to Kenya and although we haven’t travelled yet, all good so far!

1761561334

We've just booked a family safari and beach holiday with Coral Tree Travel, having received an exceptional level of service from our travel consultant, Cameron. He has planned an excellent itinerary for us after listening really carefully to our family's requirements.

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Abbi Rhodes-Allardice

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We chose Coral Tree to organise our Safari trip this year because from the outset they listened to what was important to us and what we wanted from the trip. The result was a truly magical experience tailored to our families. Both Charlie and Cameron designed a once in a lifetime visit to Kenya and Zanzibar and everything was so well organised we just relaxed and enjoyed every moment. Cameron was always available to answer any questions (even on his day off!), gave us great advice on packing and applying for visas and ensured everything we needed on our trip was accommodated (inc. dietary requirements and a fridge for medicines in our camp tent). I would recommend anyone to trust Coral Tree to organise their next adventure and we are so grateful to them for creating the best holiday we have ever had, far exceeding our expectations and leaving us with wonderful memories.

1759685943

Great experience booking our special holiday for 2026. Rosanna was extremely helpful her knowledge and great communication was very much appreciated.Thank you

1759411962

This has been our best vacation ever. It was more than a vacation but an extraordinary experience. We'd like to give full credit to Mike, whose arrangements made our trip to this new continent perfect. The airport pickup, light aircraft, camp in Serengeti, lodge in Zanzibar were all perfectly arranged, very comfortable that we wouldn't want it any other way. Mike was in constant contact with us thru the whole process (one year before the trip till one week afterwards!). We were also well informed about everything (visa, insurance, luggage, tips and cash, etc) that needed to be prepared for the trip. We really can't think of anything that could be better than this. Highly recommend!!!

Suzanne Bradley

1759142788

As soon as l made my first Enquiry with Mike Kelly, the service has been impeccable. From the initial phone call conversation, right up to actual booking of this safari, Mike was on the ball, my questions and concerns were dealt with immediately, and he really made me feel like " one of the family" so l feel very assured that our party of 4. ( including a 78 year old) will be very well looked after. I cannot recommend Coral Tree travel enough. I will be sure to post photos of our experience, on return which will be March 26.So many Thanks to Coral Tree. Looking forward to the adventure.

1758917113

Mike was great from start to booking, he helped me understand all of the options available and put together the perfect package for my family safari trip which has been a dream for a long time. Highly recommend their bespoke service for anyone looking to book their next adventure (and where you won’t be just seen as another number which is the experience I had elsewhere). Coral tree travel, don’t look anywhere else!

1758298145

A truly bespoke service with a wealth of experience to share and enable your experience to be tailor made for your family group. Mike has been really patient with us, we have a large group and after many iterations we now have something planned that's going to be amazing.

1758293751

We had an incredible experience working with Coral Tree Travel and Mike for our trip to Zambia! From the beginning, they were attentive, knowledgeable, and genuinely excited to help us plan the adventure of a lifetime. Every detail was handled flawlessly and communication was timely, professional and enjoyable.

1758220006

We are travelling with Coral Tree for the second time. Rosanna has looked after us so well .Everything is seamless. Highly recommended

Selvi Dinakara Babu

1757704675

We had excellent experience right from booking to the end. It was a personalised service, tailored to our needs. The camps were excellent and we had guides with lots of local knowledge. Our game viewing was great, our guides were giving us regular information to make the viewing enjoyable. They answered my endless questions on types of birds. They bent over backward to make sure we have the maximum wild life viewing. Rosanna from coral tree was regularly in touch via WhatsApp asking us if we are doing well and enjoying the trip. I have nothing negative to say about the company.

1756810861

Mike has been nothing short than super supportive in bringing together our wishes and ideas for our Tanzania vacation. He was always very responsive, adjusted quickly and always stayed patient with our back and forth. Even with some concerns that we had, he managed to ensure us that we are doing the right thing! We cannot wait for our vacation to come! If it turns out to be as perfect as the planning process, then everything is just amazing!

1756208453

We have recently booked a holiday of a lifetime with Coral Tree Travel. So far, we have received 1st class service. Cameron has been very responsive, and was able to arrange a video call last minute to chat through our Itinerary. They have answered our questions and concerns, and have planned a wonderful Itinerary for us - including upgrading our accommodation in one area for free due to a very small issue with the booking. We hope this service will continue throughout the process and of course on the actual trip!

1755272760

Mike and Coral Tree have been wonderful to work with in arranging our planned family safari this summer. Mike has been continually responsive, even during his December holidays and while in flight to another country. We were nervous about taking a family safari with our three-generation family, including younger children and grandpa, and meeting everyone’s needs in an experience we know nothing about, but I think Mike and team have nailed it. In helping us design our specific trip, he has used his own travel experiences with his own family in similar age to explain why some things we were thinking wouldn’t work and while others we had overlooked would be a better fit. He even talked us out of extra experiences (ie. safari hot air balloon) that were more money and he could have charged us for, because our younger daughter would not have been able to see well over the side of the ballon basket, as he had experienced with his own daughter. I’d like to think we’re fairly savy and experienced, but also budget conscious international travelers, and we got a good vibe from Mike and Coral Tree. No BS, just a family run business. I’ll happily update this post after our trip this summer (2025) and provide additional feedback. Good luck with planning everyone![Update, Post-Trip]Although belated, I wanted to be sure to follow up on our safari booked through Coral Tree in July. In short, our trip to Kenya and Tanzania was everything we had hoped for and Mike's recommendations for our multi-generational family (w/mobility challenges), were spot on! El Karama Lodge (Kenya) was a huge hit and we highly recommend it for families with children of all ages (ours 6 and 13). The service, food, hospitality, swimming pool, and Bush School for the kids were all most excellent and the kids adored our guide Andrew. Mike and Coral Tree stayed in contact with us throughout the trip and ensured each piece occurred without a hitch. Our final leg to Zanzibar, a three-day excursion, was also a wonderful end to an amazing trip. While East Africa safaris are expensive, I felt we absolutely received our money's worth from Coral Tree and their recommendations. As my kids get older and are able to do longer, more adventurous trips, I plan to seek out Mike and Coral Tree again to arrange our travel. I highly recommend them to others, especially those with teenagers and younger kids. Thank you Mike and Team for such a wonderful and memorable family trip!Cheers,Scott and Family

1755097945

The process (to date) of providing an itinerary and booking the trip has been smooth and great!

1753901859

Cameron Raffan, from Coral Tree Travel design for and with us a wonderful and unforgetable trip to Kenia and Tanzania, including a few days in Zanzibar. The service is excelent and it just took one week to finalize the last version of the trip. Everything is Included and convenient and we just have to enjoy this fantastic trip. Thank you very much to Coral Tree and congratulations to Cameron for his só well donne job!

1753778638

A trip to Tanzania has long been on my bucket list and I'm so pleased I booked it with Coral Tree Travel. Mike was incredibly helpful in suggesting an itinerary which ticks every box. The information provided was clear and the links gave a clear picture of what we can expect. He replied promptly to every email and was happy to chat on the phone for as long as we needed. Exemplary service and can't wait to go

Charlotte Coggin

1751923564

We have recently booked our family safari holiday to South Africa with Coral Tree, following my friend’s recommendation to book with them. Rosanna at Coral has been so helpful and is incredibly knowledgeable about the safari options. We needed somewhere that would be suitable for our 9 and 11 year-old children and Rosanna fully understood the brief, providing some great options for us to consider.We’ve opted for a twin-centre trip, and the second spot is in the winelands, which looks amazing but isn’t somewhere we’d have looked at if it hadn’t been for Rosanna’s suggestion. I feel confident we’ll have a fantastic time there, as Rosanna has been there numerous times with her own family and it looks stunning whilst offering activities we’ll enjoy. Throughout the time we were considering our options I felt Rosanna was on-hand to support without feeling pressured, striking the balance perfectly. We can’t wait for our South African adventure! Thank you!

1750251950

I have just booked a safari holiday to Botswana through Coral Tree Travel. Mike and Tess Kelly, cofounders of Coral Tree Travel are both very experienced in the safari business and life in Africa and now have their own company specializing in African adventures particularly for families. My husband and I are NOT a family but a retired couple looking for a quality safari trip and I believe we have found it with a lot of inspiration and helpful guidance and efficient organising offered by Mike Kelly and his team at Coral Tree Travel. I thoroughly recommend them - even if you are not travelling with young children!

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1748695768

It has been an absolute pleasure booking my husbands 60th birthday surprise getaway with Coral Tree Travel.The total commitment from the beginning through to the end - there has been professionalism, courteousness, knowledge and honesty. Nothing is too much trouble for Mike and his team.100% recommendation from me.

Rebecca Sutherns

1742570798

Although we have not yet taken our trip - a safari to Zimbabwe for a family group of 10 set for June 2026 - I wanted to hop on here already to say that the service we've received from Rosanna at Coral Tree Travel has been stellar. She's been responsive and understanding, listened carefully to our parameters, provided options and overall been terrific -- highly recommend.

1740342536

Cameron Raffan of Coral Tree Travel has been fantastic in helping our family plan our first trip to Africa for a safari. I realized from my initial research, the scope of such a trip exceeded my expertise as a seasoned traveler. From Cameron’s initial contact, the planning experience has been personal—it immediately felt different from my contacts with some of the larger travel agencies. Cameron has been very engaged with great communication, in spite of a 6 hour time difference. I feel the itinerary created for our family included all of our requests for a Zambian safari, as well as recommendations we did not consider. I highly recommend Cameron, and Coral Tree Travel!Amy MillerLogansport, Indiana, USA

Jennifer Edwards

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Fabulous service , very attentive and thorough . We are experienced travellers , including several safaris across Africa , and have used a variety of companies to help us plan our trips . This is the first time we have used Coral Tree and whilst we are a couple , not a family , the service we have had has been first rate . Catherine listened to our ideas and put a terrific plan together … when we wanted to tweak the details she reacted immediately and implemented our requests very quickly . The result of her expertise is a very exciting holiday and I know that she will ensure all goes smoothly when we go to Kenya in June this year . All credit to her for her efforts but also to Tess and Mike who have touched base with me too . I would definitely recommend Coral Tree for their professionalism and attention to detail . The combined experience of Catherine , Tess and Mike is very reassuring … I can’t wait to visit Kenya again after many years … and feel sure that everyone at Coral Tree is as excited as we are .

1736872441

We used Coral Tree travel to organise a special once-in-a-lifetime family holiday and have been extremely impressed with the full service provided. Mike took the time to listen to our interests and wants from the holiday, including a safari and trip to Zanzibar. Understanding the special nature of it his team went above and beyond to pull together an itinerary beyond our wildest dreams! The presentation of the itinerary allowed us to understand each leg of the journey, and Mike truly did the thinking for us! We look forward to our holiday and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Coral Tree Travel to all our family and friends.

1736193651

We’ve just booked our last minute trip to Cape Town with Tess and she couldn’t have been more helpful. We were quite vague in our ‘wish list’ of things we’d like to do and Tess has pulled together the most amazing itinerary, maximising our time there. The accommodation recommendations were exactly what we were looking for too. We can’t wait to travel in a few weeks - thank you Coral Tree!

1734774289

Wir sind sehr froh, wurden wir durch Coral Tree Travel umfangreich und sehr kompetent für unsere Safari durch mehrere Ländern beraten. Cameron ging immer auf unsere Bedürfnisse ein und der individuelle Parcours wurde auf saisonale Bedingungen, mögliche Aktivitäten und sinnvolle Dauer an einem Ort erwogen. Wir können dieses Unternehmen allen Familien für ihre Reiseplanung wärmstens empfehlen. Christine + Familie

Charlotte Logie

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We had the most wonderful holiday with Coral Tree. We were in Kenya to run a multi-day race and wanted a post run holiday to relax and unwind and explore the beautiful wildlife and Coral Tree put together the perfect package. We had time relaxing at Diani Beach which was lovely, and then back into the Masai to stay at the amazing Secluded Africa lodge and see all the incredible animals. Great accommodation and really friendly to deal with.

1730483043

Mike's expertise and knowledge meant we had a truly wonderful experience on safari. The arrangements were carefully planned and organised around our requirements and everything went so smoothly. A perfect way to celebrate a successful ascent of Mount Kenya. Highly recommended!

1730467987

We used Coral Tree for a trip to Uganda 2 years ago and we are back seeking Mike's expertise in Tanzania. For me this speaks volumes about how highly we value their knowledge and professionalism. Mike and Tess have lived and worked out there and so they can offer a personal take on lodges, parks, weather you name it!! Once again Mike put together an fantastic itinerary which we played around with a little but by version 2 we had everything we needed within our budget. We really couldn't fault them and would whole heartedly recommend to anyone looking to organise a trip to Africa. Counting the days now :)

Marianne Fjortoft

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Vanessa Osborne

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I couldn't of asked for more from Cameron at Coral Tree. We are so thankful for his expert knowledge and personal contacts which has helped to plan our once if a lifetime safari trip. From our first contact Cameron has been very efficient, taking into consideration our complicated time scale and has managed to pull off a very impressive trip! We are very excited to say the least, thank you so much.

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Vivien Dacie-Ward

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We are about to embark on a what's going to be a fabulous adventure - Safari trip to Kenya combine with beach holiday in Zanzibar.So far, all I have are praises for Coral Tree Travel, especially Charlie Potter, who was right from the first contact, very professional, friendly and knowledgeable. Above all, Charlie LISTEN and deliver exactly what we asked for.We have travelled with other companies in the past, but Coral Tree is going to be are GoTo company. I hope that they have more Charlie's for other countries.Leaving in a few days, so watch this space.BACK FROM THE MOST AMAZING SAFARI HOLIDAY. Unfortunately, I don't have enough words and space to sing my PRAISES. Everything was perfect, the care, the places, the stuff, food, drinks, animals...ALL BRILLIANT.We shall go again next year. Thank you Coral Tree Travels.Vivien

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Tailored advice

Rutika Dodeja Hathiramani

1727715125

Mike has been very helpful in planning our special holiday. He took the time to listen to our requirements and tweak the itinerary to suit our needs perfectly. He has been very prompt and has worked with us to make us an itinerary that we are looking forward to.Having never experienced an African safari, the planning seems very daunting, but Mike has reassured us and walked us through the steps beautifully.