HOW DOES NAMAKWA TOURS TOUR?
What makes Namakwa Tours different?
- We’ve been in the tour industry since 1985 and in the hotel industry since 1987. We moved from Pretoria and came to establish ourselves in Namaqualand.
- We are now “Namakwalanders” and know our region. We only provide tours in our region.
- We are a family business and are tour guides ourselves. Our tour guides have a passion for their work and ensure you of the best, friendliest, competent and helpful tour guides!
- After many years of experience we have come to realise the different needs of every tour member and it is for this reason that we handle each booking personally.
- We are registered tour guides. If you ever go on a tour in South Africa always ask your tour guide to show their tour guide-ID-card. On the back of the card it will indicate whether the guide is registered for the area in which they operate. It is unfortunate that it is not efficiently enforced in South Africa. (Yearly, we see tour operators in Namaqualand and our region that do not make use of registered guides in our area. There are even cases where guides are not registered at all. This is against the law. Please be on the lookout). Report these incidences with the Tour Guide Registration Office, Cape Town tel. 021 483 2960.
Where is the accommodation when I tour with Namakwa Tours?
- On the 8 day Pretoria Namaqualand flower tours, we sleep in Upington on the first day of the tour, and in Kimberley on the route back to Pretoria.
- We sleep in our own hotel, Namaqualand Country Lodge, in Vanrhynsdorp – the heart of Namaqualand.
- Although our hotel rooms are all on ground level with private bathrooms and we travel with luxurious busses, we are unfortunately not completely wheelchair friendly. Because we stay over in one place, we don’t have to rush through our tour programme. Our bus driver is not under any pressure and when you tour with us, you are truly on holiday.
- Our dinners and breakfast at the Namaqualand Country Lodge are buffet meals. We ensure you of a wide variety of meat, vegetables, salads and dessert. Namaqualand Country Lodge is known for its sumptuous and hearty meals.
What form of transport does Namakwa Tours use?
- We tour with the best luxurious busses available on the South African market, with which mainly international tourists are transported. Once again the busses are luxurious, but unfortunately not wheelchair friendly.
- Make certain you are aware of the necessary aspects that define a “luxurious” bus.
- Comfortable chairs that can lean back – it is important because tour members spend most of their time in the bus and for this reason comfortable seating is of the highest importance to Namakwa Tours. If you get tired, you can lean back and enjoy a short nap. Of course, because of our interesting and insightful tours, this doesn’t happen very often!
- Toilet – Inquire with your prospective tour organisation about this feature. The towns in our regions are very far apart and it is always necessary to have a toilet onboard the bus for your comfort and emergency situations.
- TV - DVD/Radio CD - There are specific times during our tour that we will offer DVDs of our region to present the tour in a more interesting way.
- Air-conditioning – Make sure that the luxurious bus has this feature because it is needed in our region.
- Bus driver - This is the most important aspect of a successful tour. Because Innes (Senior) was a bus driver for his tour company for 10 years, he knows that a driver should never be placed under pressure. Thus, it doesn’t matter how late a tour group arrives at their destination. This gives the bus driver peace of mind that he doesn’t have to rush from one part of the region to another to arrive at a specific time at the hotel. We enjoy the day to its fullest in the region. If the tour guides see that the tour group is going to arrive late at the hotel due to the many stops for flowers, sights and information, all arrangements are adjusted. This is the advantage Namakwa Tours has because they stay in their own hotel.
Who controls Namakwa Tours’ daily programme?
- Our own tour guides are in control of the tour programme. We are registered tour guides for the regions we visit.
- Because our tour guides travel with the busses, we can change the programme depending on the weather. It is our rainy season during August and September.
- We do everything indicated on our tour programme. Be weary of tour operators that indicate they will visit certain places “if there are flowers” or “if the weather allows”.
Is Namakwa Tours the only tour operator providing tours in Namaqualand?
- No, we don’t want to imply that you can only tour to Namaqualand with Namakwa Tours. There are unfortunately only a few other trustworthy tour operators that have been established for many years. We are the leaders in Namaqualand flower tours and our West Coast Cederberg tours.
- Inquire with other tour operators. Visit their websites and ask for references of other tour members and make sure you know how long they’ve been touring in our region.
- Compare our tour programme and tour price with other operators.
- If you have any doubt about Namakwa Tours, please contact us. We’ve taken a few thousand people to Namaqualand and toured many West Coast Cederberg tours. We can provide references of tour members that have toured with us. Visit our website for information. Our tours are also fully booked long in advance.
What makes Namakwa Tours so successful?
- Other than the family business, the best travel programme, the most luxurious bus transport, hotel accommodation and sumptuous meals, we are positive about our region and our tourism.
- It isn’t difficult to fill a bus with people, but our aim is to welcome the same travellers back to enjoy the journey with us once more. Namakwa Tours achieves this every year where previous tour members tour with us again because we change our tour programme on a yearly basis.
- Lastly, and definitely the most important: Everyone that works at Namakwa Tours and Namaqualand Country Lodge, and this includes all personnel, admit that we are Christians and that we owe the wonder that is the Namqualand to our Holy Father the Creator.
We start every morning with a short prayer and trust in God for a safe and soul enriching journey. |
