Namibia: reviews from our travellers
Unedited reviews written by our most recent Namibia travellers
"5-Jul-2016 to 4-Aug-2016"
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only suggestion would be to have people drive out the east gate of Etosha (which we did) and south through Otavi on the way to Mundulea Reserve, rather than you suggested departure through the south date of Etosha. Although more gravel road, you see more game." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
"Excellent itinerary by Maruska"
Maruska did an excellent job of putting together the perfect itinerary for our family. I had started with only two places in mind: Victoria Falls and Etosha National Park. I would say Chobe River experience was a highlight and I didn't even know about it until Maruska brought it up. Thank you for everything.
My friends have already started to ask me about our experience and I'm definitely going to recommend that they use Expert Africa in planning their trips to this wonderful continent." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2016 trip"
We were very impressed with Wilderness Safaris. As I mentioned they came with us to the car hire place and out to the vehicle and helped us sort both the paperwork and the vehicle checks.
At the end they then took us through the express check in desk thus avoiding a lengthy queue. Excellent service.
All in all a very good trip, even if a little tiring and stressful at times with the driving (but we didn't get a puncture). Frankly I am amazed that you even recommend a standard two wheel drive car over those roads. We saw virtually no other cars like that.
Its an interesting point but you don't actually need the 4WD facility but you do need the ground clearance and chunky wheels/tyres.
Finally thank you for organising the trip, everything worked fine." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip
"Another lovely Namibian holiday"
Very well organised, all meetings, border crossings etc worked.
Manageable driving distances each day (more tarmac than the West part of Namibia).
We mostly did our own drives in the reserves and did not see leopard and cheetah this time. Etosha is fantastic but it is so vast it is difficult to do it justice: you may need a lot of time to go from one waterhole to another if you arrive at a deserted one.
Some slightly odd details: e.g. suggesting laundry possible at Mundulea (it isn't), note Ndhovu runs on Botswana time." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip
"Northern Namibia 2nd - 12th July 2016"
Our one issue was in booking the accommodation in that we would ideally have liked to have stayed in Etosha for more nights including Okaukuejo (maybe 1 Namutoni, 2 Halai and 3 Okaukuejo. Our initial queries directly to the camps came back saying there was no availability. The initial itinerary from Expert Africa had 1 night at Halali and on asking again we got two nights. Was the difficulty in us not trying to secure accommodation early enough in advance of our planned trip? If so how much notice is needed to book accommodation and expect to get into the Etosha Camps that we would like?
My experience of Expert Africa was very good. I felt that we were very well supported and that if there had been any difficulties we would had a lot of help. We are all experienced travelers in our group (even my 11yr old) so I think we know what to expect and are pretty independent and prepared but the assistance for Expert Africa has been very good indeed and I would readily recommend you to friends and colleagues
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Just going back to my earlier query about the booking of certain camps in Etosha, some clarity on why places that had not had availability then did have and some guidance on how long in advance to plan if your main aim is to stay within the park as much as possible." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip
"Our trip was eveything we hoped for"
Her advice was invaluable, particularly for journey lengths and camp/lodge choices. This is the second trip she has arranged for us and was as enjoyable as the first.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We cannot think of anything that could have been done better - all arrangements worked perfectly" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip
"Outstanding in every respect!!"
Expert Africa personnel (first Martha Young and Chris McIntyre; and later Tracy Lederer) did a superb job organising our three-lodge itinerary . . . Little Kulala; Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp; and Serra Cafema. Namibian lodges do not offer over-the-top luxuries (unlike high-end camps in Botswana, South Africa, et al), but we were totally pleased with our accommodations at all three lodges.
Hospitality was uniformly top-notch, and all 18 meals we consumed at the lodges were imaginatively prepared and delicious. Wilderness Safaris, the local operator responsible for our travel arrangements in Namibia, offered seamless service, from the moment our plane landed in Windhoek to our departure to Johannesburg ten days later.
Likewise, we thoroughly enjoyed the Rwandan segment of our holiday. Our only complaint (a minor one) is Virunga Lodge's kitchen, whose offerings were mediocre at best. Every other aspect of our Virunga Lodge stay was entirely satisfactory.
Our local guide/driver did an excellent job "negotiating" gorilla treks that matched our physical limitations. With his help, we were assigned easier families to visit and, thus, completed both our treks around three hours. We were not displeased with our, but we did notice slightly newer and seemingly more comfortable vehicles offered by other companies.
Don't know the differential between their rates and the other companies' but, given the long drive from Kigali to the Volcanoes area and, in particular, the bone-jarring ride to Virunga Lodge, we might have been tempted with a more comfortable option." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip
"My Jun 2016 trip"
our only comment is that our original idea of starting at little kwara and finishing at savuti before the river boat would have been better. after nine days of jeep safaris any down time would have been better at savuti as you could watch wildlife at the waterhole. we think this would have worked better for us but may not suit other people." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
"Epic Namibia"
Namibia has been on our "to do" list for a couple of years. We've travelled in Africa quite extensively - this trip to Namibia has DEFINITELY been the best! It is magical, majestic, dramatic and unspoilt - there aren't enough adjectives to describe it and photo's can't capture it - it is truly "Epic"..." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip