I was very happy with my experience with Rhino Africa. We booked the international flights, they took care of everything else. 5 days in Cape Town, 2 in the wine region outside of Cape Town, and 4 days at a safari camp was something like $5k for 2 of us. That got us this:
https://www.kensingtonplace.co.za
The place we stayed at in the wine region went kaput during Covid, but it was upscale.
This is the safari lodge we stayed at:
https://www.kambakulodge.com
Their website needs an update, but their hospitality and food certainly don’t. You can spend as much as you want to on the safari, I’m just giving you an example of what $5k (flights not included) got us. We saw every animal we wanted to see, multiple times, and we sipped cocktails while watching elephants drink out of the swimming pool. They are in a private reserve that borders Krueger, no fences, and we never felt crowded at all.
East Africa is more expensive than South Africa, and if all you want is the safari, it is probably the best choice if you can afford it. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cape Town, and there is not a comparable city in Eastern Africa, which is why we chose South Africa. Penguins and great white sharks also tilted things in SA’s favor.
Hands down the best trip we’ve ever done.