Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"This was my third African safari adventure and – aside from the fact that I still have not crossed the Aardvark, Pangolin or Pel's Fishing Owl off my "must see" list – the trip exceeded my expectations in many ways. I liked the wide range and variety of camps and the mixture of air and road transfers, even if two of the latter were, to put it mildly, arduous. I don't regret having experienced the long drive from Amalinda to Somalisa or the one from Mkulumadzi to Pumulani, but I wouldn't want to do either of them again.

I'm happy I returned to Zimbabwe and Zambia – two outstanding wildlife countries with exceptionally skilled guides – and I very much enjoyed my introduction to Malawi. The Majete Wildlife Reserve is still in its infancy but holds great promise, and I found Lake Malawi breathtaking to look at and fascinating to explore.

Working with the Expert Africa team – and particularly with Freddie Sutton – to plan my month-long itinerary was great fun and very rewarding. Freddie is experienced, knowledgeable, patient and, above all, flexible. He responded quickly to all of my requests for changes and updates, and he always found an attractive alternative where one was needed. Even when a slight glitch arose during my time away, he immediately resolved it and all went well." Read full review: 38 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"As mentioned elsewhere, the highlight of this trip was the Karoo National Park.

Its a pity that Expert Africa do not extend their horizon to this area. It is really worth taking a 3-4 day detour north of R62 and the Garden Route. Karoo National Park was truly exceptional, Graaff-Reinet worth a visit, Prince Albert simply delightful, the Swartberg Pass unmissable.

This was my fourth holiday with Expert Africa - they continue to be my first choice" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"This was a most enjoyable holiday and far exceeded our expectations.

Namibia is absolutely beautiful and unspoilt and you don't appreciate its beauty unless you drive between lodges. The holiday was short - 9 nights - very well planned as driving distances, although quite long, were not excessive and we had two night stays in most of the camps allowing early morning game drives on the full day. One does spend a lot of time in cars as the drive between camps is about 6 hours and on arrival you are then taken out on a 4 hour game drive. The camps do not have an abundance of game which is why game drives are long but are pleasantly interrupted with snacks or sundowners depending on the time of day.

The guides were, without exception, excellent, and the standard of the camps was universally very good. Travellers coming from England will find fuel and drinks prices cheap compared with England (diesel is about £0.60 per litre) but it is essential to pay for petrol with cash as fraudulent use of credit cards is reportedly rife, so buy plenty of S Africa rands before leaving England.

Expert Africa warned us of this and it was confirmed several times by locals. It is wise to have some cash in small denominations as everyone, including those at petrol stations, will expect a tip We found this a most enjoyable and well organised holiday and we were given much useful advice by Expert Africa before our departure but despite all warnings the only problem we experienced was a single puncture.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This was a very well constructed holiday by people who clearly know what they are doing.

We were very well warned about all the potential problems almost to the point of wondering whether we should continue with our plans or not and while this is very important it is probably worth saying to clients that if they are sensible they are no more likely to experience anything untoward than they are on any other motoring holiday, apart from the poor quality of the roads. Unless we were just very lucky!

Many thanks to Claire and Expert Africa for organising a wonderful holiday in Namibia." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"A three week trip including 9 separate flights and 3 countries worked well.

It is reassuring to have the expertise of Expert Africa to arrange all the local contacts, meet & greet personnel and transfers that ensures all the elements fit together." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Val and I live 70 miles apart and do not see each other regularly. She does not regularly use the computer and does not have the ability to print material, which I made clear on at least two occasions during the booking process, asking that everything sent to me should be duplicated to her and assumed that this had happened. However it did not happen until emails and phone calls from both of us tried to rectify the situation, which was frustrating and worrying, as it undermined our trust in the whole booking procedure. It angered Val considerably and you will have on record her various phone calls, We discovered on the journey that she still did not have the full itinerary as we had both requested. This is a shame, as it was an amazing experience meeting most of our wishes let down by inadequate administration and a lack of comprehension of our situation as travelling friends, rather than friends travelling!

We have both had experience of safaris and Botswana is a wonderful place with absolutely delightful people well trained staff, but I would not recommend it as a first safari due to long distances and well distributed animals, that is just my view." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"We travelled with EA before and had high expectations. These were all met, no shortcomings. They selected the right places for us and arranged the required transportation adequately. Preperation for the trip was very pleasant with always a travel agent available for questions or a sudden change of plans. Professionals at every level and very pleasant in communication. We've already started preperations for our next trip with EA." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Overall we had a wonderful trip and Josh/Expert Africa were excellent.

Josh strongly suggested Desert Homestead Outpost and it was a real highlight for us - the position and relaxing nature of the lodge were wonderful.

Overall the only negative was Hobatere lodge which was recommended and which was definitely below the standards of any other private lodge we've stayed at on two trips to Namibia." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"As a first time visit to Tanzania I quickly fell in love with Ruaha's stark beauty. The majestic baobab forests, the picturesque riverbeds snaking through the dry vegetation, the elegant palms rustling in the wind, puncturing the sky with their impossibly thin trunks.

The time of year (October) was perfect and a significant consideration for us as in the dry season the two rivers here provide the only water in this arid area, becoming an exciting hot spot for prey and predators alike. Sightings got better as the days passed and I wished we could have stayed much longer to enjoy every opportunity that would have undoubtedly presented itself before the rains. However, I was more that satisfied with our sightings and wildlife encounters.

Selous was exiting in different ways. We were spoiled with animal sightings around Lake Manze and also around the camp which was set amongst beautiful lush clumps of palms along the lake shores. However there were far fewer sightings away from the main body of water. Surprisingly we found that the zebras and eland that we came across were extremely skittish, but the lake itself was the biggest and best delight of all. As the water in the lake diminished and became very shallow it attracted thousands of waterbirds congregating for a fishing bonanza. The bird life was diverse and spectacular, from pelicans to yellow billed storks, spoonbills, marabous, numerous egret species, kingfishers, skimmers and lots of crocodiles, each using their own technique to catch the unbelievable amount of fish, which at times jumped out of the shrinking muddy water. I've never seen so many fish eagles in one place and watching them dive in succession gave me plenty of photo opportunities to try and get the perfect shot.

The walking safaris in both locations felt like a bit of an afterthought and certainly not consistent with the high standard of bush-walks in places like Zambia and Botswana. The walks were very short with few route options if you wanted to do more than one walk." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Very impressed by the beauty of Zambia and the amount of wildlife especialy leopards.

All lodges, safari drives, transfers excellent. This was by far the best safari trip ever for scenery and wildlife.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None, the service from Claire to the people who looked after us on the holiday could not have been better." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"3 camps with the same activities got ‘samey’

The Botswana people are aim to please & were lovely to deal with." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari