ABOUT US

Expertly planning dream holidays in Southern / Eastern Africa since 2013

Image credit: Bjorn Dettre

Your African Journey, Expertly Planned

We organise your dream holidays in Southern / Eastern Africa

Based on your budget, time and interests we plan and book the best possible trip for and together with you.

No extra costs or reservation fees, you pay the same as if you would book directly with hotels, safari-lodges and our other partners.

We are Swiss / Finnish and speak Swiss/German, French, Swedish, Finnish and English. We live in Cape Town / Spain and have known Africa for more than 20 years.

Our company was founded in 2013 and is owned and managed by the two of us, Annika Haslecker and Beat Jaggi.

> Edelweiss Airline interview with Beat, April 2026

Annika’s story:

I was born in Switzerland but grew up in Finland, attending Swedish speaking schools, and as an adult have lived in Spain, Switzerland and South Africa.

After having worked for 13 years at Swissair as a software engineer, I decided to move to South Africa in 2002 and opened up my own guesthouse in Hout Bay, just outside of Cape Town.

In 2007 I sold it and became a freelance travel organiser for a Swedish travel agency. This allowed me to travel extensively in Southern Africa and to gain invaluable knowledge about the region.

Beat’s story:

I am Swiss and have had the good fortune to travel a lot while growing up. After finishing my law degree in Switzerland I realised one of my dreams and spent time in South Africa and Victoria Falls.

Since 2002 I have been living in Cape Town permanently, initially working for Cape Town Opera and later for Lufthansa German Airlines before deciding to share my passion for travelling and setting up Exciting Africa together with my friend Annika!

PLAN YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY

Drop us an email – and we will put together your African trip-of-a-lifetime!

GET IN TOUCH

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Marco, Switzerland, November 2023

We‘re currently sitting at Skukuza airport, waiting for our flight and I figured I quickly take the time to thank you for organizing our trip.

The safari was unreal and the lodge went out of their way to make us feel special!!! I can wholeheartedly recommend Lion Sands to anyone. Definitely not the last time we were on a safari here. And you were right, 3 days would have been the right amount of time, we were so sad to leave now after 2 days.

So, to wrap up, THANK YOU for being patient with me and putting together such a wonderful trip! I will definitely recommend you to anyone who is looking to travel here, in case that’s ok.

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Nicole T, Sydney, Australia, April 2024

We can’t thank you enough for the amazing places you introduced to us. We had a memorable and fantastic fortnight and would not have changed a thing. We will be back to Africa at some point!

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Jennifer S, Switzerland, January 2021

Nous voici à la fin de nos vacances. Notre séjour en Namibie était merveilleux à tout point de vue. Encore une fois, vous avez su nous guider vers de bons choix et vos conseils étaient précieux.

Je tenais à vous remercier pour cela et aussi pour votre réactivité. Le guide qui nous a accompagnés durant notre séjour était vraiment très sympa. Nous avons eu un excellent feeling avec lui et il nous a appris tellement de choses.

Bref comme vous le voyez nous repartons tous avec des étoiles dans les yeux en espérant pouvoir revenir en Afrique prochainement!

MERCI!

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Alessia And Nadia, Italy, 2025

We wanted to thank you for everything!!!! The whole trip was beyond amazing!! We loved every second of it!!! Thanks for helping us craft such a special trip which we will forever remember!!!

We are already thinking about next year – having done this trip what would you recommend next?

Thank you so much again for everything!

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David and Carmen, Switzerland, September 2023

Wir sind nun wieder zurück in der Schweiz und wieder bei der Arbeit, hat also alles wunderbar geklappt!

Ich wollte dir noch einmal ganz herzlich Danke sagen! Da hast du für uns also wirklich eine unvergessliche und wunderschöne Hochzeitsreise zusammengestellt. Wir waren unglaublich happy mit ALLEN Lodges!

Also noch einmal, vielen vielen Dank für deine Arbeit! Wir sind super glücklich!

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Dave, Finland, November 2023

It has been an amazing trip. It has all gone very smoothly so far- we are still in Cape Town another day or two. We loved the Cape and wine areas, the driving went fine and the accommodation was excellent. The highlight was of course Garonga which was fantastic, great place, staff and service. The sleep out was great and we saw all the animals and more than we ever expected to see, and so close!

Thank you so much for arranging this and if you need references or anything let us know. I’ll eventually put some pictures on FB /Instagram and tag you.

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Anna, Stockholm, January 2025

Hej Annika, hoppas allt väl! Har tänkt så många gånger att vi ska maila och tacka dig för all hjälp vid bokning av vår julresa till Sydafrika, men det har inte blivit av. Nu fick jag dock en fråga om vem som hade gjort våra bokningar, och ville rekommendera dig. Så då blir det av!

Stort TACK! Vi hade aldrig kunnat få till en så fin resa utan din hjälp! Så väl avvägt med tid på varje ställe, bra boenden, tips om bästa vägen att köra mellan orter och snabba svar på frågor under vår resa. Och som kronan på verket, Little Garonga! Vilket ställe! Jag hade aldrig unnat oss detta boende på eget bevåg tror jag, men det var såå värt vartenda öre! Helt fantastiskt! Alla i familjen hade verkligen en toppenresa, och det var mycket tack vare dig. Hoppas det är ok att jag rekommenderar dig till en vän och hennes familj?

Allt gott! // Anna (Jesper, Vilma o Victor hälsar)

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Oskari, Helsinki, April 2024

Thanks so much everything, your arrangements and service made our honeymoon perfect and so easy for us! 😍 and we will definitely keep recommending you, for example I would love to have my parents do this same trip maybe as soon as next year, so we might be in touch soon! 😊

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Faize, Kapstaden, January 2024

Hejsan Annika,

Tusen tack för all arrangeman, vi hade en fantastisk resa. Zanzibar var intressant med mycket att se.

Manta resort var jättefint, vänliga människor och god mat.

Hoppas vi ser dig när du kommer till ZA

Kram Faize

Image credit: Bjorn Dettre

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Philip, Switzerland, January 2016

Vielen Dank für Deine wundervolle Reise die Du uns zusammen gestellt hast. Es war für uns beide die eindrücklichste Reise ever!
Unglaublich!

Herzlichst
M & P

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Kerstin, Stockholm, January 2024

Hej Annika! Tack för en otroligt bra planerad resa för vår familj💕
En resa som vi alltid kommer att minnas, otroliga boenden, safariupplevelser och vinprovningar mm. Vi är alla så nöjda och glada och ska nu åter till vardagen och det känns bra efter alla upplevelser 😃

Återkommer till dig om något ska planeras i Afrika i framtiden.

Vänliga hälsningar Kerstin

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Val and Colin, UK, January 2017

This has been the most wonderful holiday & has far exceeded our expectations in every way! We’ve loved the variety, the people in South Africa, the standards of service and all the many and varied landscapes this beautiful & vibrant country has to offer.

Val & Colin

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Sergio K, Switzerland, October 2017

Es war absolut Spitze. Wir haben unglaublich schöne 2 Wochen verbracht und Sie haben die Reise für uns wirklich top organisiert.
Alles hat funktioniert, alle Stationen waren super, die Menschen extrem freundlich. Wir werden wieder nach Südafrika reisen und die Verantwortung wieder gerne in Ihre Hände geben.
Vielen, vielen Dank!!!

Herzliche Grüsse
Sergio K

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Kerstin, Stockholm, Februari 2026

Hej Annika!

Jag måste skriva och berätta att vi är helnöjda över den resa i Tanzania du hade planerat för oss.
Safarin med vår guide/chaufför Gileard var fantastiskt. Han hittade alla djur vi drömde om att se, helt enkelt outstanding som guide. Boendena under safarin var också helt otroliga och vilka människor, så hjälpsamma och service minded så det var sjukt.
Zanzibar var också en dröm, de som jobbade, boendet ja allt.
Tanzania ett land med otroligt fina människor.
Kanske en till safariresa men då med ordentlig kamera men det får vi ta i framtiden.
Hör av mig om/när det blir aktuellt

Ha det bra !
Kerstin med medresenärer 😃😃

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Sharon P, Dublin, Ireland, November 2016

We arrived back in Ireland late last night tired and very sad to leave South Africa. We had the most amazing time; everything was fantastic. Thank you so much Beat for organising all of that for us and also for all your recommendations. I would highly recommend your company to all my friends and clients.

Sharon

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Danika & Steve, Australia, June 2024

Hello Annika,

By way of feedback, we agree this was the best holiday we have ever taken. Overall, the food was superb, the people a joy to engage with, the accommodation wonderful and the program was stunning. We would definitely repeat the trip (and likely will).

Thank you for all the work you did in arranging the itinerary – it was a far more professional experience than provided by the agency we used for the air-travel to and from Africa.

Take care,
Danika and Steve

Image credit: Bjorn Dettre