Meerkat Adventures image

Meerkat Adventures

Tourist attraction

🫀 We booked via their website and had to contact the guide the day before to find the location (even though you start in the same place everyday?) I think they also mentioned if it is bad weather they cancel, but why do we have to make contact, we supplied our phone number on booking. Can't you not ma... People often mention meerkats, experience, guide, minutes, wild, tour, guides,


Address

R62, Oudtshoorn, 6625, South Africa

Website

www.fiveshymeerkats.co.za

Contact

+27 84 772 9678

Rating on Google Maps

4.40 (89 reviews)

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Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: meerkats (22) experience (12) guide (8) minutes (7) wild (7) tour (6) guides (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 2/5 Patrick A. 2 years ago on Google
    We booked via their website and had to contact the guide the day before to find the location (even though you start in the same place everyday?) I think they also mentioned if it is bad weather they cancel, but why do we have to make contact, we supplied our phone number on booking. Can't you not make contact with us? All seemed a bit unnecessary. We arrived at 6.30 to find roughly 20 people who were on the tour that day. Very basic drink facilities were provided and the 'african rusks' they provide are just a large bag bought from the local supermarket. At about 6.50 we walked about 150 meters from the car park into the bush to where the meerkats were last spotted. This could be up to a kilometer some days, depending where they were the night before. We sat there till about 7.15 when suddenly the meerkats popped out of their burrows. They were about 15 meters away. They stood in the classic meerkat pose whilst they warmed up, and it was nice to see the family waking up. After 10 minutes they started to move away from us, we were told we could stand up at this point to get a better view. They kept running off into the distance until we could no longer see them. We then were told that was it, and it was time to head back to the car park. We were back on the main road by 7.40. We thought although it was lovely to see the meerkats in their natural habitat and the sunrise over the bush was pleasant the price charged for the experience was overly excessive! We paid 660 Rand per person. The guide also made sexist jokes, which did not offend us but is worth noting. One about beating your wife with a stick if a lion is chasing you to save yourself, was a particular highlight. Would I recommend this trip? Only if you love meerkats and are desperate to see them in the wild. Otherwise I'd give it a miss.
    8 people found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 5/5 Coralie P. 1 year ago on Google
    This was a truly amazing experience and a must do if you are visiting this area in South Africa. The guide was very knowledgeable and gave us all tea/coffee/hot chocolate to start our day. It was great to have blankets and chairs to keep us warm and comfortable. The walk was not difficult as it was flat and reasonably even. However, it is not suitable for wheelchairs. We were lucky, in that we didn't have to wait very long to see the meerkats waking up, only 30 minutes or so. When they woke up they were really close to us and were so impressive and adorable to watch. One of my favourite animal experiences in South Africa.
    3 people found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 5/5 Raphael A. 4 years ago on Google
    Fantastic opportunity to see the cute and shy meerkats in their natural habitat with very knowledgeable and very helpful guides. You have to get up very early but it is definitely worth it. Not really cheap but I can recommended nonetheless! Please notice that you have to book in advance!
    2 people found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 5/5 Alisa J. 3 years ago on Google
    This was such a great experience! JD has so much knowledge about these guys, birds, snakes, you name it! Was totally worth the time to get to know them better. Would recommend it to locals and tourists!
    2 people found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 2/5 Fabien P. 1 year ago on Google
    Unlike the previous comments, we absolutely did not live an experience but rather attended a tourist attraction. Indeed, announced for 2/3 hours in the bush, we did not spend an hour on site. Just enough time to introduce yourself, drink a coffee, 5 minutes walk, installed in a row in front of a hole and wait for the exit of the meerkats Okay it's cute to see them warm up in the morning sun, make pictures and videos, Listen to the incessant jokes of one of the guides but once they leave for their day of hunting, the safari is over! The guides are nice, do not leave enough room for silence when the meerkats come out of the burrow in our opinion. We had more the impression of meeting a family of meerkats trained for years to tolerate the close presence of human, still not a wild experience. Finally let's talk about the price, a madness, 660 Rands asked. In comparison, go to the Khalahari Trail Meerkats Sanctuary Γ  40km from Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and it will cost you 150 Rands to really spend 3/4 hours in the bush observing fauna and flora before tracking the outing and movements of our friends the Meerkats, wild those. In short, real bad experience in Oudtshoorn I really can't recommend Karine and Fabien, French traveler.
    2 people found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 5/5 Joseph F. 1 year ago on Google
    Could not recommend this tour enough. Our guide led us to one of the 15 burrow systems that the colony of meerkats he observes reside in, and we waited until the shy creatures emerged for their morning sun warming ritual which involves them standing up to heat their bellies in the dawn dayshine. While this was happening, our guide spoke at length about this particular colony and meerkats in general, divulging a plethora of interesting facts and painting a vivid picture of the lives of these meerkats. This tour is a must for anyone who loves meerkats and would like the opportunity to observe them in the wild.
    2 people found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 5/5 Bert P. 6 years ago on Google
    An early rise but well worth it. The creatures can be viewed from really close, they are quite used to people as long as they don't make sudden movements. Seeing them sunbathing and playing in their natural habitat from this distance is really special. The guides are excellent and have quite some knowledge, not only of the meerkats but of African wildlife in general. Not very cheap but recommended nonetheless!
    1 person found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 3/5 Jan G. 1 year ago on Google
    Pro: very nice scenery, really close to the meerkats (~10m) without any harm to them Conβ€˜s: quite pricey (~35€p.p.) considering the small input of resources, guide was non-stop talking with some non-informative/β€žfunnyβ€œ comments (could be less in my opinion)
    1 person found this review helpful πŸ‘

  • 5/5 Lauren C. 1 year ago on Google
    The experience was great! We were provided detailed instructions on when to arrive and where the meeting location was. The meeting location happened to be exactly where Google pinned it which was useful. The coffee and tea was nice on arrival and they gave us chairs and blankets. A short walk led to the den the family of meerkats were sleeping and it only took about 10 minutes before the first one popped out. The guide said one meerkat fact after the other and very knowledgeable. His delivery of the facts were also funny and engaging which was welcomed for an early morning activity. We were there from coffee to the last meerkat running off for 1 hour. Apparently the meerkats could be near the den for 5 minutes or a couple hours and you never know. We had 30-35 minutes which I think was the perfect amount of time.

  • 5/5 Paco D. 2 years ago on Google
    Wonderful experience! We were welcome with a coffee β˜• and after a short walk of about 200m we could sit on some camping chairs and wait for the meerkats to show up. We had to wait about 20 minutes to see the first meerkat! I will reccomand this tour to everyone

  • 5/5 Beverley B. 2 years ago on Google
    Pricey, but we had a wonderful experience. Oudthoorn has had a lot of rain so the desert is full of succulents and wild flowers - that itself is a highlight to see. We were lucky enough to spend an hour and a half with the meerkats before they moved off. It was a special experience that we won't forget. Devey (the guide) is very friendly and talkative!

  • 5/5 Giovanni G. 1 year ago on Google
    Just had the tour this morning and it was fantastic. The scenery is beautiful, the guides are very passionate, knowlegeable and funny. Those meerkats are wild, truly an experience for a lifetime.

  • 5/5 Megan M. 1 year ago on Google
    Fantastic tour, both guides were super knowledgeable and fun to listen to. Instructions to get there were clear. The meerkats are amazing to watch, we had more than an hour of enjoying watching them warming up before heading out for the day. Such a treat to see animals in their natural setting.

  • 5/5 Amsnda H. 1 year ago on Google
    Amazing experience! We went for my daughter's 30th birthday and the Meerkats were so fabulous! A little bit late getting up as they had apparently been feasting since the rains and had full bellies! The Meerkat man had a cracking sense of humour and was obviously in tune with horses and humans as well as Meerkats! We stayed until the group of 12 went off hunting for the day!

  • 5/5 Kevin L. B. 9 months ago on Google
    We loved it! The only place in the world to sit with wild meerkats like this. Thanks to the team for accepting our younger children. They had a blast.

  • 5/5 Andreas V. 5 months ago on Google
    Seeing Meerkats in nature was the mission of our daughter for our south African trip but all the family enjoyed this encounter a lot. They are truly adorable animals. The explanations of the two giudes on the animals character and behaviour made it even more enjoyable. It must have been tremendous work requiring lots of time and patience to get them habituated to human presence.


Call +27 84 772 9678 Open on Google Maps

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