Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"the trip was wonderful as always" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Overall a very enjoyable trip. Generally, the accommodation was good to excellent, with the possible exception of Mushara. The car performed well, no punctures! The directions given were easily followed, no need for a Satnav. Driving on gravel roads was not a problem, we generally drove at 60/80 kph.
We found the people of Namibia extremely friendly, we never felt threatened.
In conclusion, we felt the trip was well planned, two-night stays were just right and we would recommend the use of Expert Africa for future trips to that great country.

Thank you, Tom." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Thank you Tracy for helping us choose such lovely places to stay and for organising it for us. We definitely want to revisit, this time starting out from Port Elizabeth as we didn't have time for Plettenberg and beyond." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"Another fabulous holiday organised by Expert Africa! Everything was well organised and just right- a great mix of places and accommodation. We are already planning the next trip, and will spend longer on the Port Elizabeth end of the garden route where the scenery is truly spectacular." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"We had an absolutely amazing trip: it was a truly unforgettable experience that we loved every minute of.

We saw and did so much within just two weeks: the desert, dunes and mountains of Namibia; the San; the Vic Falls; the Delta; Cape Town and Table Mountain; the flights over the desert and delta; brilliant game sightings including all the Big 5.

Namibia is an incredible country with amazing scenery, fascinating culture, superb wildlife and huge open spaces - the shortest drive we had from the gate to the main building in five lodges was about half an hour! It was a pleasure to drive in, with the straight, empty roads, and even better to fly over. Botswana complemented it perfectly: it was wonderful to go from the desert and mountains of Namibia to the Chobe river and Okavango Delta and see animals and go on game drives in a completely different environment.

Flying from Sossuvlei to Damaraland made this all possible: as well as being one of the highlights of the trip, it saved us 10 hours on the road and having to stop in Swakopmund. This meant we could fit more in within the time we had and massively reduced the total amount of time we spent driving. Our driver in Namibia, Shorty, drove very safely and was an integral part of our trip - our best sightings of giraffes were with him, driving out of Gocheganas and Okonjima!

What stood out most, though, was all the people we met and the wonderful welcome we received at all the lodges, which really made everything that much more special. We especially appreciated how great everyone was with our kids.

The service from both Expert Africa and Wilderness Safaris was outstanding and could not be faulted in any way. All the arrangements ran like clockwork. Given we had a total of 10 flights (from leaving Sri Lanka to returning), 9 lodges and 18 activities, this was quite an achievement and testament to exceptional efficiency and attention to detail. There was always someone waiting to collect us at the appointed time; all the lodges were expecting us and had our room ready; all the activities were booked.

I am so grateful to Maruska for her advice, assistance and organisation. I first contacted her about two years in advance and must have sent over a hundred emails in total. She always replied immediately with helpful and detailed answers that displayed her detailed knowledge of the area and determination to make sure we would be happy with every aspect of the trip. She simply could not have done any more.

If we are lucky enough to be able to go back to Africa , we should certainly use Expert Africa again and will recommend them to all our friends.

Thank you for organsing a simply brilliant adventure: we have brought back memories that will last a lifetime.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: This was the first time I had ever booked a trip / holiday through an agent - which I imagine may be true for many of your clients. Although Maruska was ever-willing to give quotes for as many different options as I wanted and to suggest ways to cut costs if required, I would have appreciated at least a rough idea of what was costing what in the overall quote.

I wonder whether it might be possible to give an indication of the cost of different lodges on your website (even if this is just a code such as $$ or $$$ etc) so clients can see how expensive different lodges are and how costs in different countries compare. Some indication of how the costs of different modes of transport compare would also be useful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Brilliant - we will definitely be going back to Namibia at some time in the future!

We are really glad that Chris suggested that we do this as a self drive holiday......we would have hated being on a tour bus!!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"I bought this trip for my wife's 60th birthday and it was an inspired choice. We usually back-pack so this was exceptionally easy - especially the transfer at the Botswana - Zambia border. Note that the driver told me that I couldn't get a KAZA visa at this border crossing, mentioned in the very good Bradt guide you provided. This was not correct and we were issued one when I enquired. Great choice of lodgings and really loved Okajima, River Dance and Garden Lodge.

Josh clearly explained to me the type of trip we were booked on, particularly that we were not including some of the major game parks, so we were very clear on what we would be experiencing and he sent me a new map free of charge when we found a minor mistake on the first one.

I'm impressed with the service by both Expert Africa and your local agents. Your instructions/information are excellent.

Minor points are raised where applicable in the accommodation reviews, but they in no way spoilt our trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Other than the points raised above, no." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"Well planned and good preliminaries by Lucy Copson..
We have already recommended you!!!!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We were very pleased with the structure of the trip: 6 very busy days on safari followed by 3 days R+R at a superb location.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was fantastic. We spent 10 days in all in Zambia, with a day visit to Botswana. In that time we stayed at 3 lodges, visited the falls, did a helicopter ride, the zipline, the train museum, a rhino walk, Mosi-oa-Tunya park, Chobe park, boat trips and nature walks. Although we did a lot, we also had a lot of time to relax so felt recharged by the end of the trip.

The selection of lodges we stayed at were excellent with outstanding service and hospitality. Nothing was too much trouble.

When we did have a hiccup with a trip to Chobe (the transfer vehicle car broke down so was late and we didn't know we needed children's birth certificates to enter Botswana), Amanda at Expert Africa worked tirelessly to resolve the problems to the best of her ability outside of office hours. She responded instantly to my emails and called me to talk through our options.

We enjoyed every minute of our trip and really recommend Zambia as a great holiday destination for adventurers and families.



Our Response:

We were very sorry to hear of the issue with this traveller’s day trip to Chobe National Park – and were grateful to Waterberry for their assistance in rearranging the trip to Chobe after an initial problem when the driver broke down.

When we offer trips to Botswana we advise of the situation with minors entering the country, but as this trip entered from Zambia this was missed, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused to these travellers. We have now updated our Zambia literature to advise any travellers crossing over the border into Botswana to be aware of the current visa requirements when travelling with children. We were happy to offer recompense to the family for the inconvenience by way of covering the costs for some extra activities whilst they were in Livingstone.

Issues like this happen rarely, but when they do, it’s important to us to make sure that the impact to travellers’ trips is as minimal as possible, whether this is within or outside of office hours. We do appreciate the feedback from this family, and are glad that the rest of their trip was such an enjoyable experience." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari