South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"Thank goodness and Tracy. She sorted out a problem with our bookings only a couple of weeks before we left for our holiday. It was not exactly as we anticipated but it was great, particularly the inclusion of extended stays at Polentswa and Rooiputs.

The success of a game spotting holiday can be down to luck in seeing the game. In this respect luck was not on our side, particularly, this time but having been on four holidays to Kgalagadi, we know that this is not the be all and end all. The landscapes, birdlife, and small animals are all wondrous. Most of all, however, we are always struck by the interesting people we meet and the stories they tell us - including Mercy, who recalled meeting Chris McIntyre.

Our one criticism is that the revised plan meant a lot more travelling between distant camps and too many changes in accommodation. 10 changes in a 12 days stay is too much especially when there were six hours and more of travelling to be done in a day. But, anyway, we had a holiday!

Kgalagadi is not for the packaged tourist and long may it stay that way despite the gradual increase in accommodation at the camps." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a South Africa trip

"I have tried hard to frame my comments from a specific point of view of an ex tour operator. The majority of our party was overwhelmingly satisfied. My dissatisfaction with Kwando comes from (perhaps unrealistic) previous expectations. The animals, the service, the camps, and the people were all 5 stars. I purposely put off giving this feedback to gain some perspective on the events of the trip, and I feel like what I have said is justified and fair.

I would like to offer some feedback to ExpertAfrica specifically - we were very frustrated with the lack of a final reconciliation 2 months before we left. We were trying to make our individual final payments and there seemed to be no way for us to get a list that said, PAX #1 owes THIS, PAX #2 owes THIS, etc. We ended up having to sit down with literally pages of payment records, separate out our own credit card surcharges, subtract our own payments made to come up with final payment amounts. It was EXCEEDINGLY frustrating. I can't believe that we are the first group travel you've ever dealt with - so it baffles me that a clear and final reconciliation was not provided. I went round and round via email, and requested this several times in several ways, but got the impression that I was asking the impossible.

In addition, I asked about tour arrangements in Cape Town, and was quoted USD75 per person to join a scheduled bus tour. When I asked about a private mini-van, the price doubled. I did a little research and booked privately with a well-known, well regarded tour company who gave us private tours for USD60 per person inclusive of wine tastings and park fees. My issue was that I had no means of contacting them once we were on holiday - although they were great and checked in with Acorn House, and it all went off just perfectly. it would have been much simpler to do this through Expert Africa and I cannot believe that with an office there you can't do better than what was quoted. The LEAST you could do is offer a recommendation of a company you like to save your clients the trouble of finding out. This booking was over USD40,000 and I had to do a lot of the legwork myself - don't get me started on international air because thats a different can of worms. I understand if you can't offer consolidator fares from the US, but arrangements need to be made if you're serving the American market." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"This was a trip I've dreamed of taking for 50 years, and it did not disappoint. Our team member, Maruska, was exceptional--as an example, when I first spoke with her, I rambled for about 15 minutes telling her all I wanted our trip to be. She listened patiently, then said she'd like to summarize what I've said to see if she understood correctly. In 3 minutes flat, she succinctly and accurately summarized all I had said AND attempted to say far more accurately than I did. That was the first indication of her insight, and every single dealing that followed reflected her keen professionalism and knowledge, plus she was always pleasant to deal with. Another example--my husband hadn't done any research on safaris, so was surprised and disappointed at first to learn what the trip should cost, even though the price was quite reasonable by safari standards. I suggested we schedule a conversation with Maruska so that he could discuss his concerns with her. After talking with her for 5-8 minutes, he relaxed, for he could tell from her comments and how she answered his questions and the options she presented that she was well versed in what she did and had truly put together an excellent package for us. When our daughter became ill at our first stop and the medic recommended we delay our trip by a day, so I sent an SOS to Maruska. Within an hour she telephoned me back, and within the second hour she made all of the necessary changes to our itinerary. She is a delight to work with, remarkably knowledgeable, efficient, helpful, and ever so pleasant!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't think of a thing, we are 4 very satisfied customers." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"Wow, it was just wonderful everything went seamlessly. All we wanted to see, we saw - painted dogs, leopards, lions, cheetahs; the whole lot and more. Venues were superb and staff and guides brilliant at all the camps. If we did the same trip again we might stay an extra night at Lagoon, and sacrifice one night at Little Kwara, just because it was so good. Thanks Tracy for all your advice and help, (also Chris for his offer to help with the BA problems - which thankfully did not affect our return.

The small plane flights were great and the hot air balloon trip outstanding." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We had a lot of things we knew we really wanted to do but the additions recommended by Expert Africa really added to the holiday.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service
Proper maps for Capetown area. Update restaurant info etc and make this more personal rather than general travel agent type reviews.
Wilderness safaris in Namibia were fantastic. So helpful at the airport including dealing with all the car hire for us. Really excellent ground agents.

We have been using Expert Africa since 2002 on and off and we keep on coming back even though we know pretty much what we want to do on our trips. We use you because you add to our holiday and make good suggestions and you are good value for money and give us the back up it's comforting to have whilst we are away." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Very good." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 2 on a South Africa trip

"We were looking for a change from bashing around in off road vehicles while laced with Malarone. In Galenia we found exactly what we wanted and will return. Samara will need a replacement but we are sure that can be done. If not, we would be happy to spend the whole holiday in Galenia.

As ever, Expert Africa and Lucy provided the friendly, slick, efficient and professional help we have come to expect. It all worked wonderfully well and a real bonus was to be able to meet Lucy for a drink in Cape Town. We probably have a few more African holidays in the bag and this one set a great pattern." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"Enjoyable" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a South Africa trip

"We really enjoyed our holiday and are very pleased we used your expertise to plan it. Already looking forward to our next trip to South Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip