The Livingstone Trails philosophy

Our clients are the most important aspect of our tours.

Therefore we will always do our best to keep the prices as low as possible, but not sacrifice the quality or standard of our tours.
We offer the best we can in guides, equipment and service.

Our guides are trained not to treat our clients like children. We believe that good organisation and experienced guides allows our clients to have more "own time". Of course there will be some times that we have to leave at a certain time, in order to get to the next destination at a reasonable time.

Support of local communities
Livingstone Trails supports a number of communities and community projects. The majority of our Kruger national park guides, grew up and lived most of their lives in the local communities surrounding Kruger park. Our bedded accommodation clients (Kruger park tour) will stay at a private lodge where the kids of the local community come to do some dancing. The use the income to pay their school fees and education with.

In Botswana we use mokoros (dug out canoes), polers and local guides from a community living on the edge of the Okavango Delta.

We support various wildlife organisations
Livingstone Trails acknowledges the fact that most of our tours are to national parks. Obviously the fees we pay to the national parks assist with the running of the park, but we feel that the animals get little gain from this. Therefore we joined the Endangered Wildlife Trust as a corporate member.

Registered, licensed, & legal tour operator
SATSA - Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
BTSA - Backpacking Tourism of South Africa

Liability insurance
We have liability insurance of R 5 000 000 as required by South African law.

Guides
All the guides at Livingstone Trails have a minimum of 2 years experience, and are hand picked by our management. Every guide is FGASA and/or THETA registered as required by the laws of South Africa. Our guides are all well educated in wildlife, animal behaviour, and the bush in general. They will identify all the animals, including birds and reptiles, and tell you more about each animal.
All guides and drivers has a PDP (Professional drivers permit) as required by South African law.

Participation tours
All our tours are participation tours. This means that the clients will put up their own tents, and wash the dishes after meals. The guides might ask the group to assist with the washing, peeling and chopping of vegetables, from time to time. We do not expect clients to wash the vehicles, but each client must throw his or her own garbage in a dustbin after each drive.

Local payments
Tours & safaris & flight packages = No local payments
Overland truck tours = Local payment (see itinerary) that must be paid on day of tour departure in US$ cash.

Vehicles
We have been working in the budget student backpacking and overland tour industry since April 1994.
We can proudly say that we offer similar and / or better vehicles & equipment, to that used by other budget tour operators.
We have a variety of vehicles in our fleet, to suit the needs of each tour.
We are one of the first budget tour operators to do all game drives in open game viewing vehicles & to camp inside Kruger Park.
All vehicles & trailers are well maintained and serviced every 10 000 kilometres.

Where do the tours depart from
"LT" tour codes: We will pick you up from any backpackers hostel lodge or hotel.
Flight packages: Johannesburg International Airport.

Accommodation on tour
Kruger national park tours - clients can choose between:
(1) Camping at a 3 star private lodge on the first night + camping in our camp inside Kruger park for the rest of the nights
(2) Bedded accommodation in a private 3 star lodge all the nights

On all the other tours - camping is the included accommodation. However, there are chalets and rooms in all the campsites where we stay. Clients have the option of upgrading to bedded accommodation. The guide pays the camping rate and clients pay the difference.