Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"A trip of a lifetime. Namibia and Botswana were different but spectacular in their own ways.

I saw much more wildlife than I expected and so much of it close to. The scenery, sunrises and sunsets were glorious and I feel that I have experienced a proper African safari.

The lodges were excellent with all the facilities I could have wanted. What made the trip so special was the quality of the staff everywhere I went. They were friendly, professional and keen to show their countries at their best. They were fabulous ambassadors for Africa as a whole.

Thank you for arranging such a wonderful experience." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Very provisional and with good knowledge about the country and it´s way of travel" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"A great trip, both for the scenery and the wildlife.

Accommodation everywhere was excellent. Food for a carnivore was outstanding.

Be aware that many of the gravel roads are very poor and challenging to drive on, especially in an SUV." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Just an amazing holiday! We can begin to say. The combination of people, experiences and scenery and wildlife. The locations were incredible.

Highly recommended!

And THANK YOU Tracy for all your help!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fabulous trip to Namibia. We enjoyed the whole experience. We loved the scenery and seeing all the wildlife, particularly in the northern part of the country including Etosha. It was everything we imagined and beyond. We wanted to go back before we had even left the country.

Everything was well-organised and the accommodation we stayed in was of a very good standard but with a pleasing variety of styles/overall feel. The people we met were also overwhelming kind and helpful.

Maruska made a fantastic job of arranging our trip - she listened carefully to what we were hoping for and put together an excellent itinerary for us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We cannot think of anything in particular. We definitely plan to be back for more trips." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"A difficult start to the trip due to flight diversion, cancellation and three days stuck in Johannesburg. Airline (travel not booked through Expert Africa) were very poor with little communication and terrible customer service

In contrast, the standard of service from Expert Africa, one-to-one contact, liaison with lodges, and sourcing of alternative tickets to make sure we had a back-up plan to get to Namibia and could commence our holiday as soon as possible was well beyond what is expected. This is found in very few companies, was excellent and should be highly commended. Many thanks to Sabina, Chris and others who got involved over their weekend.

Once we arrived, the trip was excellent.

For travellers going via Frankfurt, it is worth highlighting that it is not an easy airport for short connection times. We had three hours on the way out which was ok but not generous. On the return, flights were changed several times and we were rebooked with 1 hour 40 minutes. Security was a total shambles and despite running or queuing all the way with no stops for anything we were very lucky to make the connection as bags were just about to be taken off. We would think very hard about a connection in Frankfurt in future with less than maybe 3 hours outbound and less than 2 1/2 hours inbound.

We have travelled in southern Africa several times with children since the requirement to carry birth certificates and never had to show them. On this visit, they were required on entry into Namibia. This seemed to be a requirement across all desks as we arrived and several families appeared to be having difficulties. What was actually sought was a document with the parents' name - not shown on a UK birth certificate. This was not a problem for us as the birth certificate was taken by our immigration officer as being what it is, although she clearly was not familiar with it. However, carrying a copy of the certified copy of entry into the register as well might be a good idea for parents.

We were pulled up at a traffic stop and required to show a driving licence. A UK licence in English was not accepted (despite being legal). The officer was determined to issue a ticket. He eventually relented and allowed us to phone his Chief Superintendent - who told us and him that he was wrong. Despite having to let us pass, he remained convinced that he was right and assured us that he would check, stop us again on the return, make us read the Road Traffic Act and issue a ticket then. He happened to be otherwise engaged further down the road later. It might be worth carrying an international licence for such situations and is definitely worth pursuing a resolution with a superior." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"It was and we were extremely happy with the itinerary and everywhere we stayed.

We had a terrible beginning due to flight cancellations and Chris McIntyre was very proactive and set up a WhatsApp group with the team (thanks Tracy too) over a weekend to advise us. They came up with another plan, liaised with our hotels, booked us new accommodation where needed and rearranged a day trip. It was the best service we've ever had from a travel agent.

It was our third trip with `Expert Africa and we are already thinking about the next one!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We had a lovely and memorable trip with two teenage boys. The itinerary was realistic for the time we had available and we had a great range of experiences tailored to our requests.

We have given individual feedback on lodges and experiences but overall they were of a very high standard.

Estimated timings of road transfers were reasonable although we appeared to be slow on dirt roads. Overall B and C roads were good and we never felt we needed to rush.

We went “off piste” from Mundulea to Ongava - going north to the east gate to Etosha and driving through the park rather than the suggested route on tarmac. This meant we got to Ongava around 4pm and declined a sun down drive but meant we saw the east of the park.

We visited Namibia 25 years ago with no children, the first edition of Chris’ book and no device that needed to be plugged in to USB. Despite the changes in the world since we had an equally amazing time in 2023.

This was (for us) an expensive holiday but the service we were provided was good and we had confidence we would have a great holiday. That confidence was well founded.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Wilderness Safaris did not meet us at Windhoek - another guide showed us their lounge where we invited ourselves in.

But the lounge was a godsend as Europcar tested our goodwill with unprepared hire cars on a very cold morning and when check in IT failed as we tried to depart - leading to very long queues and our Frankfurt London flight “waiting” for us.

I was a little put off by Maruska living on the other side of the world. If we went again I’d have a 30 minute call before we left the UK to check my thoughts on gas stations (much easier than 1990s) and to get some insider tips - the one disappointing experience for us was a poor sundowner drive at our last stop at Red Dunes which we should have skipped." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"It was a fantastic trip and we have made many great memories.

We hope to do many such trips in the future." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We both had a wonderful time.
And a very special thanks to all the big cats
But in the end it's people who make it and we would like
To give a big thank you to the many hardworking men and women who made out trip spot on !!!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip