andbeyond Reviews 18

Our recent experience with AndBeyond was unacceptable. The money and time our entire family wasted to travel from the US to be booked at a lodge with NO game (having a history of booking game park experiences with AndBeyond) was outrageous. The agents there either don’t know the properties they are booking or don’t care to understand the clients they work with.

The whole experience with AndBeyond was really and beyond. Everything started with the booking more than a year prior the trip and already there the experience was great thanks to Seranne. She was very responsive, helping us plan, giving us advices and answering every tiny question we had and she even made a last minute adjustment for us without issues.
Then finally the South Africa trip started and from the moment we landed we were taken care of from the great team of AndBeyond. Every step we were accompanied and they made sure to help and bring us to the right place and time, always with a smile.

In our trip we stayed at Kirkman Kamp at Sabi Sands and Vlei Lodge at Phinda (they were both superb).
Kirkman has a colonial vibe and we really liked the big room (cottage) that had a view on the river below. The room was nicely decorated, with minibar and snacks all included and they offered daily laundry service. The food was exceptional, especially the slow cooked braised ham that was served for breakfast. The ambience of the common spaces was great, from the bar to the veranda were we had all our meals in the company of Nyalas and Warthogs.
We had 2 safaris everyday and the reserve was beautiful! There were different ecosystem and the season we went (dry season, August) was just perfect for animal sightings. We saw all the big 5 and much much more also thanks to our amazing Tracker/ Ranger combo. At Sabi Sands only 3 vehicles per sightings are allowed and that makes it exclusive and great for the animals.
What really made it special though was the staff: Friday and his wife (butler and cook), Tamy and Patience (managers), Robert (tracker) and Richard (ranger).

Similar experience at Phinda Vlei. Vlei Lodge has a jungle vibe and we really liked the big room (cottage) that had private plunge pool. The room was nicely decorated with a beautiful bathtub, with minibar and snacks all included and they offered daily laundry service. The food was good and the ambience of the common spaces was nice, from the fire pit to the veranda were we had all our meals.
We had 2 safaris everyday and the reserve was beautiful! There were different ecosystem (forest, pond, savana, mountains) and the season we went (dry season, August) was just perfect for animal sightings. We saw all the big 5 and much much more. At Phinda only 3 vehicles per sightings are allowed and that makes it exclusive and great for the animals.
What really made it special though was the staff: Julia (manger), Jess (ranger), Muzi (tracker), Lindo (butler) and the cook at Phinda were absolutely wonderful. Always with a smile, kind and funny and they made the experience really and beyond.

I absolutely recommend this experience in South Africa and I absolutely recommend booking with AndBeyond as they will organize the perfect trip for you and their company also supports the animal conservation and the South African community. 11/10 :)

I’m very satisfied with this company, is a very convenient way to get married, without all the hassle, in a legal way, and saving money, and time by personalizing my wedding according with my budget!!!

I celebrated my birthday at phinda mountain and forest. What an absolutely incredible experience. From the beautiful rooms and phenomenal menu’s, incredible sightings and personal touch.

A big thank you to the teams for the birthday treats in my room, birthday bush breakfast and TLC received by myself, my 5 year old and my guests.

Spent one day and night at phinda mountain lodge. 27th 28th janBCFT864229. Well what can we say. The most amazing place I have ever stayed at. Hospitality excellent accommodation excellent the detail was excellent made you feel so special. Food excellent housekeeping excellent getting back after our drive having the bubble bath run for you candles lit. Just amazing.
Our guide Brandon was excellent with his tracker. The only too 5 we never saw was a leopard. After alot of patience we saw the female leopard so close to us. And bonus hyenas black ryno whole family. Thoroughly enjoyed our drive very informative and fun. Will definitely come back. Best experience we have ever had. Thank you &beyond experience from Theresa and Ian uk

We stay 2nights in andBeyond under canvas and another 2nights in andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Crater lodge offers stunning accommodations with breathtaking views and luxurious amenities. However, both of the dining experiences fell short, particularly at lunch, where the food quality was way too disappointing given the high price point of the stay.

Our trip to Rwanda, Africa was absolutely amazing thanks to Seranne Slaviero, our Travel Specialist at &Beyond, the Akagera Aviation representatives, Bachu - our OUTSTANDING &Beyond tour quide, the staff at The Retreat by Heaven, the staff at The Bishop’s House, and our Trekking Guides! But mostly we want to thank Seranne Slaviero for putting together a trip of a lifetime for us!

We booked through Ongeri Expeditions online.

- The camp & cabins were beautiful, and very clean. Hot water bottles in our beds on an evening was a treat!
- Very attentive and friendly staff - nothing was too much trouble.
- Good variety of food/drinks at meal times.
- Traditional maasai entertainment and sundowners on evenings.
- Our guide Lorna was exceptional, we saw the big five and much, much more. Lorna was very knowledgeable with all of the animals and there was good binoculars for use in the safari cars.

If you're considering &Beyond Kichwa Tembo, then I can't recommend enough :)

After my complaint there is a resolution, but unfortunately a negative one. As mentioned in a previous post of mine, due to the irresponsible attitude of the two employees of the Argentina branch - Catalina and Nicolás our luggage was lost. It was approximately $100 worth of merchandise. After the alert, the items were sent to Bulgaria but with a declared value of $1100. This happened without our knowledge, nobody consulted us to find out what the real value of the goods was, but simply the staff in the Argentinian office determined the amount themselves. Can you imagine? We had to pay fees for their release that were many times the value of the goods. This is unacceptable to say the least! We do not wish this kind of treatment during and after the trip on anyone. It undermines the prestige of the company in the region and drives customers away.

I came to this website to read reviews on various other companies and decided to compare to andbeyond reviews, the only company I have experience with (4 trips in Africa and India). I am surprised to read the negative reviews here but it's a reminder that most folks don't write about their positive experiences. I certainly didn't. So I will just say that andbeyond has always met and exceeded my expectations. They have never missed a meeting (airport, pick up and drop offs). They own or lease most (?) of the properties I"ve stayed at--all beautifully maintained, very clean and there are always some extras that make the experiences even better. The guides are top notch, so very knowledgeable and go out of their way to accommodate to requests. andbeyond takes good care of their employees and works with local communities on the needs of the communities, not the needs of stockholders.
My small group has always worked with them directly so I have no experience with working through a consolidator and after reading reviews of many consolidator companies I will probably keep it that way.
Here is one example of why we rate them so highly: We traveled with andbeyond during Covid and actually had a major conflict come up (thank goodness we ALWAYS buy travel insurance though we didn't need to use it) where we might have had to return to the states right after arriving overseas. Instead, over a period of about 8 tense hours, andbeyond was able to re-arrange multiple internal flights and lodges, all connections, pick ups, drop offs, EVERYTHING so that we were able to actually continue on our trip, slightly different than envisioned but as it turned out--even better. And we didn't have to research, make calls, do anything at all--andbeyond went all out to help us. That's why they get as many stars as allowed. note--travel date is approximate

Beware, I share a similar experience to a previous comment by "Colm", where a sudden mayor medical occurrence prevented my traveling on my booked safari occurring a week later. Unfortunately, I did not have travel loss insurance, but hoped for a partial concession to rebook another safari with andbeyond in the future. However, ABSOLUTELY NO concession or accommodation was made, even though I was a third time repeating customer with a small group. Adding salt to injury, after being told that Directorship was "reviewing my case", I never received a response whatsoever and simply became invisible to the representative and the company. This is truly a very poor company response and its representative, and thereby I strongly caution any person considering engaging this company's services.

I just came from a wonderful Tanzania safari with andbeyond,booking directly with Jayne Smith.Everything was seamless with superb lodgings,delicious food,wonderful guides and staff in Lake Manyara tree lodge,Ngorongoro crater lodge,Serengeti under Canvas.

Kichwa Tembo camp.
Booked through a UK agent who does not normally use and beyond we found them outstanding. Staff "assigned" to us were excellent and our guide Maitai was simply outstanding - can't recommend him highly enough.
The camp was clean and well maintained, food excellent and staff polite and attentive.
Their ethos was what attracted us: home grown vegetables as far as possible and not one person laid off during COVID, how many can boast that.
Can't fault this camp and would recommend them in a heartbeat.

I made the mistake of booking 2 trips with andBeyond. On the first my wife got very ill with Weil's disease which comes from exposure to rat's urine. For the second they refused to return any of my deposit despite me giving 4 months notice

AndBeyond cannot seem to deal with problems well. The experience in Africa was wonderful and would definitely do again, but not with andBeyond.
We deferred from 2020 to 2022 because of Covid and we felt that our agent and andBeyond were our adversaries. They made it very difficult to deviate from the 2020 itinerary and requested multiple additional payments from us allegedly due to forfeited plane tickets, hotels, etc. Once in Africa, we had only one "hiccup". We realized the day before our scheduled departure from a camp that our scheduled departure time was 30 minutes before our flight and the drive was 90 minutes. We contacted our agent who denied responsibility and andBeyond's contact line was not reachable. We were "on our own" and made our own appropriate arrangements for our departure. After requesting reimbursement for the additional cost, andBeyond justified and rationalized that it wasn't their problem. Later, our agent "conveniently" found and provided us an itinerary (which none of us received) which showed an appropriate departure time. AndBeyond did a great job with the planning and arrangements and as long as everything goes as planned, they should get 5 stars. But it's the problems they cannot handle.

andbeyond experience for my wife and ourselves was totally disappointing and we didn't even set foot in Africa. Booked a one in a lifetime trip with them and due to covid 19 had to cancel and everyone from hotels/flights/transfers/travel agents commissions was all credit backed to our account except andbeyond they for some reason decided to hold onto $3500 of our hard earned money to suppliment their cash flow and are now hiding behind the fact that we didnt book direct with them but still ok to steal our money.
We will go to Africa once this issue with Covid 19 is sorted and will spend the $25,000 with another company.
So anyone out there thinking of booking or taking a credit from andbeyond dont they cant be trusted

A travel to Kenya for the safari (including the annual migration of the wildebeest) was at the top of my bucket list and we wanted it to be the trip of a lifetime. After scouring the web for options, I got in touch with AndBeyond. Seranne was quick to respond and after assessing our needs (we decided to include Victoria Falls into the itinerary), she provided the options available.
Her planning and recommendations (including timing of the vacation) were simply superb. From the time that we got out of the airport in Nairobi to the time that we were dropped back for our departure from the same airport, everything went like clockwork. The camps that we stayed in (at Seranne's recommendation) were top class and provided superb service. It was truly a vacation to remember for a lifetime.

Will definitely recommend AndBeyond if you are looking for a memorable experience.