Reviews of safaris to Damaraland
1066 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Damaraland.
"My Aug 2022 trip"
We went through many ups and downs over the course of these two years, never sure if indeed the trip would materialize. Initially we postponed the September, 2020 trip to 2021, but it still did not seem wise to go then, so we postponed it to August/September, 2022. If we could have gotten most of our deposit returned, we would have cancelled the entire trip, with all of the continued worries and anxiety that Covid was inflicting on the world.
As Expert Africa has a firm policy of not returning deposits, we postponed the trip again to 2022. We are so glad we did! It all turned out fabulous, and thankfully, we remained healthy.
Throughout this long postponement, with the changes involved, Maruska was always exceedingly polite, understanding, and respectful of our worries and concerns. She did an extraordinary job arranging our trip, which involved four different countries, multiple flights, and many different camps.
The organization was outstanding and everything was seamless.
Truly incredible attention to detail. Thank you.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can’t think of any." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip
"My Aug 2022 trip"
The gravel roads aren’t for the faint hearted but the country as a whole makes up for it!
Stunning scenery, a great variety of experiences and many very happy memories.
The tok tokkie trail and Ongava were our highlights" Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip
"Our Aug 2022 trip to Namibia"
Although driving distances were long, the fabulous scenery with everlasting landscape (and animals) you see along the way certainly make up for this.
Our only regret was we should have stayed longer!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Certainly can't think of anything at this time. Our 2nd trip with Expert Africa and we are sure there will be many more in the near future!" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip
"My Aug 2022 trip"
The amount of time spent at each camp was perfect and ensured not only did we see everything we wanted to, but it also didn’t feel rushed or stressed." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2022 trip"
The driving was great fun – especially through the vast empty landscapes of southern Namibia. The stunning scenery of the Namib, Namibrand and the Sperrgebiet will stay in our memories forever. This wasn’t so much about wildlife, but we had a few nice add-ons in that department too. Plus the highly atmospheric ghost towns of the Sperrgebiet and the lonely barren Skeleton Coast. And on top of all that we stayed at some outstanding lodges, characterful hotels and guest farms and enjoyed lots of good food (too much so – we both put on a few kilos over the course of this trip!).
Everything worked fine, no major hiccups, and we really found we were leaving our stresses and worries far behind and thoroughly recharged our batteries. Thanks for putting this together for us!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't really think of anything. It was all fine. .... maybe add Angola to your portfolio. We'd love to go to that northern neighbour of Namibia too ..." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2022 trip"
Flying made it a lot faster to get around, which made it easier to see more things (worth the cost)." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2022 trip"
The scenery was spectacular, the people were very friendly and welcoming and the accomodation and food was great.
We thoroughly enjoyed seeing a great variety of wild life particularly in Etosha.
Everywhere was well organised and our whole trip ran smoothly." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2022 trip to Northwestern Namibia"
By our request this safari concentrated on the area around the Skeleton Coast. The constantly changing rocky, sand-duned and desert environment is fascinating to us. The tempest tossed coastline is so rich in marine life, with shoreline covered in hundreds of cormorants and seals in some areas. Flamingos, giraffe, elephants and ostrich all were spotted from our little Cessna on our Schoeman's Safari which was certainly a life changing highlight. We flew in the late afternoon during "golden hour" making the reds, pinks, ochres, greys of the desert shine. Surprisingly often there were areas of green. We were lucky as there had been abundant rain in March after 6 years of drought and so the normally bare desert was covered in soft golden grass. Also flowers blooming! so many varieties! It crossed my mind that at times it was like flying with Grand Canyons all around.
This is only our second visit to Namibia but we have found the staff members we have met particularly friendly and interesting. They come from a variety of tribes who until very recently would not have been interacting so closely. Many speak 3 or 4 languages or more which is humbling. The "click" language is especially magical to listen to. And remarkably hard to imitate!
The animal life is not so abundant as other parts of Africa but the adaption to the desert environment is special for the ones we did see. (Keep in mind we did not go to Etosha where animal life is more) As to flora the Welwitschia Mirablis , a plant which can grow for 2000 years was a wonder to see. It only has 2 leaves. There are male and female plants. We are told there are botanists who come to this area just to see this plant and now can see why..
We felt this visit to this area of Namibia to be one of our best of our dozen trips to Africa. Well planned, and very very special....
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: Our third trip planned by Maruska. She is an absolute gem. We feel in good hands with Expert Africa." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2022 trip to Namibia and Botswana"
Expert Africa / Megan, as efficient and helpful as ever in ensuring it all went smoothly and that we had a great time.
Our special requests, eg, for vehicles with canopies wherever possible, were passed on and acted on.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
How can you improve on perfection!
Perhaps the 'sighting list' could be a bit more broadly based to cover the ever present animals (for those new to Africa) and some of the rarer sightings for those with more experience." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari
"My Jul 2022 trip"
Our trip had been postponed several times, re-organised and altered. However, everything went 100% according to plan. Tracy at Expert Africa proved to be a knowledgeable and informative guide and travel planner. All the lodges were expecting us as predicted and all lived up to their descriptions. Highlights were Hoodia Desert Lodge and the excursion from there, Doro Nawas and Okonjima (where we were upgraded to the Villa). The driving was straightforward and we did not encounter any problems, all roads were well-signposted and fuel stops were plentiful (all took VISA cards in our experience).
This was truly the trip of a lifetime, expertly coordinated by Expert Africa. Thank you so much for your patience throughout the pandemic, reorganising everything so well and your excellent recommendations. Next time it will be Botswana..... we will be back!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service
A minor issue but initially payment glitched through the website, but that was 2 years ago and we didn't have problems with the final payment.
The service and information we have received has been fantastic. We have recommended you to multiple friends already, as we have been boring them with our photographs! If and when we come back to Africa, we will definitely be contacting you again.
Thank you so much." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip
Where to stay in Damaraland
Our suggestions for safari camps in Damaraland