Travel Expert
Principal Consultant at
Lion Around Africa
Stanmore, New South Wales, 2048
Our Sydney based team has years of experience navigating the African continent and visit several times yearly, ensuring we have the latest tips, tricks and travel hacks to help you create a unique journey that is totally customised to your desires.
Africa can be a difficult place to navigate, so let us do the hard work for you and put together an unrivalled itinerary. We have extensive connections across South and East Africa and can select the best lodges, hotels and transport options at local rates to ensure your adventure is as affordable as it is exciting. Our experience has taken us from the most exclusive of safari lodges to far-flung rural B&Bs, so we can cater for any client's desires. We pride ourselves on our personal service and attention to detail. Our team can offer a level of service and product knowledge that simply cannot be rivalled by retail travel agents. We treat each client as a member of our extended African family, and our aim is to ensure you fall in love with the continent we call our second home.
We carry full licenses and insurance so your safety is assured. With access to the Amadeus system, we can provide worldwide flight options. Our Principal Consultant has been certified a “South African Specialist” by the SA National Tourism Board.
Our Principal Consultant is a travel industry “lifer” with 15 years of experience in the sector. He has years of training and management experience, including in federal government-appointed roles. He also managed the operations of a Queensland-based travel company offering leisure travel across the Great Barrier Reef and has great experience planning private aircraft charter flights for clients.
We travel to Africa several times a year and have a passionate, intimate knowledge of the continent. As genuine Cape Town Specialists, we have experienced “living like a local” and can offer clients a unique perspective on the world’s most beautiful city. Having a strong interest in African politics and regional development, we are well suited to planning obscure itineraries into challenging destinations that would be beyond the capability of many travel agents.
Submitted by Jayne Carvelho on Friday, Feb 10, 2023
I took my first trip to Africa in 2022 and it was absolutely amazing. I initially wasn’t sure where to go or where to even start, however as soon as I spoke to Dan, I was supremely confident of an amazing trip. He has a wealth of African knowledge that no shop front agent could have. He knows where to go, what to do, where NOT to go and has been there so often that he’s grasped all the nuances. I had an amazing safari, visited incredible restaurants in Cape Town, stayed in great accommodation, visited cool wineries and it all ran perfectly. I even had a flight cancellation due to weather and, rather than waiting in line with the masses, a quick text back home had me rebooked on another flight with another airline in minutes. I could never have organised such a trip by myself, and it was so much more affordable than expected. I’ve since used Lion for trips to Fiji and Bali and managed to get great accommodation at amazing prices. They’re my definite go to for all travel needs!
Submitted by Karen Haylings on Wednesday, Sep 14, 2022
I have just returned from 4 weeks travelling around USA. It was very overwhelming as this was the very first "BIG" trip for me.Dan, from Lion Around Africa arranged absolutely everything for us with the utmost professialism, patience and knowledge.It was a very involved itinerary taking in many cities, cross country flights , accomodations for 6 adults.He secured us some amazing prices for accomodation and suggested geat ideras on the areas we wanted to stay in. Explained the pro's and con's of our choices of areas in big cities and when needed suggested we consider other optionsTo top it off we received a travel folder with unique bag tags , acces to a travel app and a step by step itinerary which made our day to day planning a breeze. Well done Dan, our trip would not have been as wonderful if we hadnt utilised your services. To top it off his services are free!!!I have no hesitation in recommending your services and look forward to engaging you againKaren
Submitted by Jennifer R on Friday, Sep 02, 2022
I use Lion for our corporate travel bookings in Australia (and my holidays at the end of the year!). I have made about 50 bookings in the last year and the professionalism and level of service received has well and truly exceeded my expectations. Having previously self-managed travel, I didn’t realise how valuable a true executive travel agent is. I love being able to send a quick email and be confident that I’ll have everything organised for me with minimal effort. I’ve been caught out by border closures and other COVID dramas and each time these were managed quickly, easily and without stress. When others were spending hours on the phone waiting for airlines to answer, I just contacted one of the Lion staff and everything was fixed immediately. Amazing service, amazing prices and amazing experiences.
Submitted by Ben D on Wednesday, Aug 31, 2022
The principal at Lion Around Africa, Dan has arranged 4 pretty incredible trips for my family and I so far! As a price savvy traveller with restricted travel schedule he’s always delivered for me within budget and the best result! I have gotten to see Hobart on a 5* yet budget package for less than $750 including airfare for a three day weekend and it was amazing.Adelaide on a weekend last minute with hotel and airfare for less than $500 and the Holiday Inn Express Adelaide is astonishingly good. Launceston is another destination package I got to see thanks to Dan for two days, I honestly can’t remember the price but it was really good! And he’s been able to send my family to Canada while we have very very very limited international travel!
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