About Us

Plan your sustainable safari holiday to Southern Africa with our expert advice and travel tips

Find unique and authentic eco-experiences and let us help you design your holiday of a lifetime

When designing a Tailormade Package, we listen carefully to your wishes to make sure we create your dream holiday

Choose your sustainable luxury lodges with our Safari Planner and contact us to put it all together for you OR book a consultation webinar for a personal, tailor-made itinerary

Simply by booking any lodge on our site, you are contributing to a greener planet, and a positive impact on the destination you visit

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Hi there!

I’m Esther and I am the owner and founder of The Eco-Travel Boutique. Ever since I went on my first solo trip, right after high school, travelling has been in my blood and I always love to discover new and exciting travel destinations. Just over 10 years ago, I re-located to South Africa where I have lived and worked in the tourism industry since. During this time, I have had the privilege of visiting some of the most amazing places on the African continent. With more than 15 years experience in the tourism industry - one of my favorite things is to share my personal experiences in order to help others find or design their own dream holiday. My speciality is in luxury safari lodges in Southern Africa and if you are considering a holiday to a country in this region I would love to help you put it together.

My other passion is contributing to a more sustainable planet.This is often a 'heavy' subject when it comes to travelling, but when you book the right type of holiday, your trip can actually contribute positively to the destination you visit (more on this under the Sustainability page), even if you travel to a long-haul destination. I would like to take a positive approach to this and believe that when we choose the right options, the benefits of our visit to a destination and its environment can outweigh the negative impacts.

In a post-covid world some of the most important aspects of travelling are safety and security. For this reason, we only work with reputable local partners. No matter which destination you book, there will be a 24-hour emergency number you can phone and while a comprehensive travel insurance is compulsory, all our suppliers take the necessary precautions to guarantee your safety at all times.

We have pre-selected a portfolio of what we feel are the very best and most sustainable accommodations in Southern Africa. Once you have selected your favourites, we offer guidance to put your itinerary together and tailor-make your travel plans. As there are certain things you won't find on the internet this is where we can add value.

In summary, ourfocus is on making sure that you find your ultimate dream holiday and at the same time ensuring that your trip has a positive impact on the destination you visit. We do this by working with travel partners who have a similar view and make a genuine effort to limit their negative impacts, support nature conservation and local communities in their area. Together, we hope to design the African Safari holiday of a lifetime for you!

What We Offer

We have two main ways to put together your holiday

DIY Safari Planner

Bespoke travel plans – for you, by you.

Sustainable Safari Planner

The DIY Sustainable Safari planner can be used free of charge. You can find your own Sustainable Accommodation and book directly with the hotels of your choice.

The advantage of using the Safari Planner, is that ALL options within the portfolio are sustainable AND that you can filter based on different criteria. If you are looking for special adventures, such as a ‘Sleep-out under the stars’, you can filter out all the lodges that have this option.

Because you book with the Hotel or lodge directly, there is no commission added to the rates and you can make use of any special offers they have available.

If you are looking to book 1 or 2 places (for example a bush & beach combination), and you know more or less where you want to go, the sustainable safari planner is a great option to help you find the right place for your holiday.

Use our ‘booking link’ to receive a special value add during your trip!

SAFARI PLANNER

Tailor-made

Sustainable travel, with expert guidance

Custom Safari Itineraries

For a more complicated itinerary we offer a consultancy service; DIY Tailormade. You can of course find sustainable holiday packages online. But often you can’t tailor make them and you don’t always know for sure you are booking responsible travel options.

With DIY Tailormade, an exclusive 30 minutes to 1 hour webinar will be set up so you can tell us exactly what you are looking for. We will discuss all the wishes, requirements and bucket list experiences for you and your travel partner(s).

Afterwards you will receive a suggested digital itinerary, with images, video’s, and detailed
information on accommodations, activities, travel tips, etc. Also included is ‘how to’ guide to book your holiday, and what to look out for when making your bookings directly with the hotels and other service providers.

With this option you can still use our ‘booking link’ to receive a special value add during your trip!

DIY TAILOR-MADE

Find your ultimate safari Experience

The Sustainable Safari planner is a search engine you can use to find your favorite holiday destination in Southern Africa. 

ALL the accommodations you find within the portfolio are sustainable and you can filter based on different criteria. If you are looking for special adventures, such as a ‘Sleep-out under the stars’, you can filter out all the lodges that have this option.

Pick your favorite lodges and then contact us to give some suggestions on how to combine them, how to get from A to B and to put together the itinerary for you.

Safari Planner

Sustainable custom made itineraries

We also offer a  30-60 minute consultation webinar during which you can tell us exactly what you are looking for and what’s important to you during your holiday. We will then do all the required research and design your itinerary. 

You will also receive a personalised digital itinerary, with images, video’s, and detailed information on accommodations, activities, travel tips, etc.

This package is offered at USD 200  however this cost will be deducted from your total cost if you decide to book with us

Tailor-made

Client Testimonials

What Our Clients Have To Say

DIY Eco Travel is amazing!!!

Nelson Mandela

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John Doe

Codetic

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John Doe

Codetic


What is Eco-Travel?

We talk about Eco tourism, sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, regenerative tourism. So many different names and definitions. We can talk until we’re green in the face, but when it comes down to it, all these concepts have the same goal: Travelling in a way that benefits and improves the destination and the environment and keeps any negative impacts from travel to an absolute minimum. Sustainable tourism is not just about the environment, it also takes into account socio-economic and cultural impacts. It is just as important that local communities take part and benefit from tourism as they are part of the destination and in turn can help preserve it.

 In 1987, the United Nation’s World Commission on Environment & Development defined sustainable development as “meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

At The Eco-Travel Boutique, we aim to do this by choosing accommodations and excursion options that support these goals and by helping travellers to put together sustainable itineraries. By using the accommodations on this website, you can support them as a traveller.

We'd love to hear from you if you have any questions or would like to receive more information

We would be happy to assist you with your trip to Southern Africa or with any questions you may have.

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