Zicasso, Inc.

Reviews 3

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Steve Michetti

While planning an African Safari for my family of 4, I was overwhelmed with the options for this type of adventure on a continent which I have never been, and knew little about. During my research, I came across the Zicasso website, read the endorsements from highly recognized sources, and decided to give it a try. So I filled out an online form and provided my interests, goals and desires for the safari. Zicasso got back to me immediately and asked a few follow up questions to better understand my needs. The very next day, I was contacted by an agent specializing in Safaris that was referred by Zicasso. The agent was knowledgeable, quickly responded to all my questions, provided me with insight that I would not have considered on my own, and i booked my Safari a short time later. We just returned from the Safari and it was amazing! I was looking at a specific location in Kruger National Park in South Africa. The agent explained the differences between private game reserves and public game reserves, and also recommended that we split our visit into two different luxury camps. About three months before our trip, I received an email from my agent advising that the one lodge we booked (Lion Sands) had a fire at 0400 that morning and would likely be closed. She took the liberty of booking another lodge close by because rooms would be scarce this close to our travel date. Turns out, other guests could not get reservations anywhere and had to cancel their trip with full refunds. Had I booked this trip on my own, I would not have been among the first to find out about the fire and probably would be among the stranded. A little info about our trip: The goal of most on a first Safari is to see the Big Five, which is the five deadliest land animals in Africa (Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, and Rhino). At the Kapama Private Game reserve, we saw all big five within the first 4 hours of our game drives - amazing. While our guide and tracker were tracking a leopard, we came across two buffalo that were nervous because the leopard was close by. One buffalo mock charged our safari vehicle which was exciting and intimidating. Shortly after that, we turned a bend in the road and came across a hyena that was hanging around a leopard that had an impala kill up in the tree! On the evening drive, we found a lioness that had a recent Kudu kill. We were literally 5 feet from the face of the lioness as she ate. It was pitch black at night so the tracker shined a spotlight on her and she was not phased by our presence. We had many more amazing animal encounters at Kapama. After three nights, we took a two hour land transfer to Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge in Sabi Sands. As we were greeted at reception at this amazing lodge, we can see a herd of elephant arrive at the waterhole visible from the lobby. The host walked us to the observation deck so we can get a better view of this quintessential image of Africa. On our game drive we had a rare encounter with a cheetah which we watched for 30 minutes from about 10 feet away from the rock he was perched on. Then our guide and tracker got out of our open 9 passenger land cruiser to track a pride of lion. They spotted them on the other side of a gorge. we drove around, went off road and parked our vehicle between the pride of 15 lions, including 5 lioness and 10 cubs. We watched in amazement as the cubs and their moms interacted. We could not get enough of the cubs so our tracker and guide would find this pride again for the next two days. We had many other amazing experiences and wildlife encounters. The lodges were perfect and the staff was terrific and could not do enough for us. Bottom line is that I could not have planned this perfect trip without the help of Zicasso.

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Amy Sadoff

We have travelled extensively to almost every continent and the trip planned by our Zicasso agent was one of the best, if not the best, organized and wonderful trip we have ever taken. We luckily stumbled upon Zicasso through the internet and we were extremely pleased with the vetting service Zicasso provided. They gave us several agencies to choose from and encouraged us to explore each of them before making a decision. We discovered that these agencies had very different policies and attitudes. While all of the agents were very responsive, some simply matched better with our needs and objectives than others, and that was a great thing to know from the start. We selected one of the agencies that Zicasso recommended due to the responsiveness, flexibility and honesty of the owner with whom we had a number of phone calls and email communications. Several months before our trip was to begin, we were notified that this agency was sold to another individual, who would be working with us from that point forward. We were initially a little nervous about this change because we had chosen this agency based on our communications and comfort level with the previous owner. However, the new owner was, from the beginning, very responsive to and understanding of our concerns. She addressed every one of our questions almost as soon as we emailed her. Further, when we contacted Zicasso to express our concern, Zicasso also responded immediately and helped give us confidence that we ought not to be concerned as the new owner was rated as highly and would continue the same service this particular travel company is known for. By the time we started our trip, we had total confidence in the new owner, and with good reason. This was the most wonderful trip. Our drivers and guides all arrived promptly and were all wonderful to work with. They were the most knowledegable and fun guides we have had. The hotels arranged for us were perfect. The hotel in Dubrovnik was one of the most beautiful hotels we have ever stayed in. We always felt like the agency had communicated ahead with the hotels and restaurants to make sure we had the best room or table available. We felt like rock stars! Every request we made during the trip was accommodated happily and immediately. We could not have asked for more from a travel company. The trip and travel company exceeded all of our expectations. The highlights, of a trip filled with many, were (1) our private sailing trip to Hvar, (2) our private boat tour with our guide of the Elaphite Islands, (3) the stunning Villa Dubrovnik where one can shower and brush your teeth while staring out to sea, (4) the private lunch at the Antonin Mill, (5) lunch at the Restaurant Panorama on hill Srdj with the absolute best table for the view and (6) finally, the magic provided by all of our guides knowledge of history and Game of Thrones lore that was communicated to us in such interesting and entertaining ways while at the actual historical sites where the filming of Game of Thrones took place.

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linda uffenheimer

After a truly incredible, very personalized trip to East Africa through Zicasso, I was so pleased that I have decided to utilize Zicassos services again in planning another trip. Next up is IndoChina! My niece introduced me to Zicasso, as she had arranged her honeymoon to Tanzania with Zicasso. It was so simple to do, and the agencies that responded to my request were excellent. After submitting my request through Zicasso, two travel agents responded. Having spent my childhood in Kenya and returning to East Africa after 25 years, I had in mind very specific places I wanted to go to share my experiences with my husband and children. The itineraries developed for me were extraordinary. I opted for the travel agent that found a very special place for our group, right on the beach where my grandparents had lived for 40 years. In addition to taking care of all the special arrangements required for our traveling party (the group grew over the course of the design of the itinerary), including special accommodations for varied diets, we were kept apprised of specific requirements for travel, were met on arrival at the airport and never had a moment when we were left without support. Each destination was chosen by the travel agency with our desires in mind. The adventures we participated in will be memories for a lifetime. My experience with Zicasso has been excellent. I encourage everyone to consider this method for designing a truly unique, individualized trip.

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