Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"This is a trip I want to forget. I had inappropriate expectations from other travellers comments, or from advice from Expert Africa. The unsealed roads that are considered "good" turned out to be on average, alot worst than the unsealed roads in Australia. The "best" sections in Namibia were eqivalent to our unsealed roads in National Parks with corrugations. The rest were atrocious, with no warning sign if something major comes up that requires significant slowing down.

I was told that there was cell phone reception almost everywhere, and I wouldn't need a satellite phone. It turned out half of the unsealed roads had no reception. There were some stretches of roads that I did not see another car for an hour at a time. I was driving alone and couldn't deal with any breakdowns myself. I wouldn't have made this trip if I had known the reality.

I was also told that I would see a good amount of game as it is baby season, and there would be an increase in predator activities to feed the babies. When I asked the guides they just laughed. Virtually all the animals gave birth anytime if the year. Also because there was alot of late rain, I really didn't see much game except for elephants.

I really wasn't prepared for how backward Africans were. The lodges in Namibia were nicely built, but you couldn't get even the most basic requests through the staff. They are genuinely nice people, but almost all the lodges never considered purchasing the few items that I requested due to dietery restrictions, eventhough they were common supermarket items. I asked if I should bring some of these items myself and was told the lodges confirmed they would supply them. Should I have been warned they may not mean what they say?

Zimbabwe apart from Victoria Falls was unbearably backward. I am not sure if its to do with their econmic meltdown 20 years ago. Even at departure, I thought I had to spend the night at the airport as they couldn't refuel the plane.

I did manage to get some good photos. I do think Namibia has the best rockscapes in the world and massive potential to develop their tourist industry further, but I wouldn't consider going back.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I received a very good service from Maruska in planning this trip. But I feel she may need to be updated about a few facts. When I travelled to Egypt several years ago with a tour, we were given in writing tips on cultural expectations I call it. EA could certainly do with something like that, so travellers are better prepared as they interact with Africans.

I have travelled extensively around the world but have never been to Southern Africa. I have found this trip very taxing." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Four years age we went to similar camps (also at the end of March) and the wildlife was extraodinary. This year the wildlife was more touch-and-go. At all camps we could drive for several hours and see few animals, and then we would encounter many animals, similar to our 2014 experience. What we were did not realize was that the 2014 trip coincided with exceptional early water, and our 2018 trip was the normal dry period. Kanana was so dry that we could not use the boat, and were able to mokoro only in a single channel. Our 'satisfactory' ranking simply reflects picking the wrong time to visit. If this was our first visit we would have ranked the trip much higher.

Thank you for ensuring that all camps were aware of our food preferences. All camps worked to accomodate them. With the exception of Little Tubu, all camps served vegetarian rather than vegan meals. The meals at Little Tubu were incredibly delicious, and the chef is fantastic.

With the exception of Savute Safari Lodge, we enjoyed the diversity of lodges and experiences. Savute was a poor choice for us for five reasons: disregard for acceptable viewing of wildlife; excessive crowding of vehicles (we knew this was a national park, and anticipated seeing other cars, but not so many and so constantly); so-so guide (our guide sometimes made comments that indicated he was a knowledgeable guide, but he generally said little and rarely shared this knowledge); rodents in our rooms (which were otherwise very nice, and had wonderful porches); and overall a lower quality in food, service, and facilities, compared to our other camps." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"A life changing experience." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 5 on a Namibia trip

"Amazing holiday and everything ran smoothly from beginning to end.

We saw magnificent wildlife, stayed in some fabulous places but the memory that will stay with us for a lifetime will be the wonderful people we met along the way.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really.

Everything was amazing and would have no hesitation in recommending your agency - in fact we already have!

Rich was great, the fact that he had worked in Southern Africa gave us information we couldn't have accessed easily anywhere else.

Extremely happy with our choice of Expert Africa x" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Another fantastic trip with Expert Africa. Claire provides knowledge and reassurance during the planning. The logistics were incredibly smooth whilst in South Africa. Can’t wait for our next trip!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip

"Our safari adventure was part of a longer trip to Africa and was the highlight.

Having been fortunate enough to go on safari before staying in lodges I wanted an experience to bring me closer to the whole environment and maybe harking back to the original type of safari! The comfortable camping option was perfect! Real beds, a shower, a comfortable toilet ,good food and wine plus lions and hyenas in the camp!

Great!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 2 on a Botswana safari

"We had an excellent time on our first trip to Kenya. We were impressed with all of the hotels and lodges we visited. Our drivers and guides were all helpful and friendly. Our travel connections and tours went smoothly. We appreciate the work that Expert Africa did on our behalf!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"The biggest issue with comfort for the trip was that we were given an older vehicle which is quite uncomfortable from the beginning of the trip until we reached Kivu lake. At Kivu Lake, three days into the Rwanda part, I let Expert Africa know about my concerns regarding the possible safety issues of the vehicle as well as the comfort issues. I had an almost immediate reply from Expert Africa who contacted the tour organizer, Primate Safaris in Rwanda. They met us the next day with a new vehicle for the rest of the trip.

The entire planning of the trip took multiple conversations and emails with the Expert Africa team. They were extremely helpful and worked with us until we found a trip that we thought would meet our desired experience. I believe we had seven iterations before finally choosing the last one.

I would have mixed feelings about going during rainy season again. It was less crowded, which was quite nice. A few plans did get rained out or had to be changed.

The few hotels we stayed at in between various parts of the trip were used only for several hours and simpler, less expensive accommodations would probably have sufficed quite well.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We did not seek other quotes for the trip.

Our previous trip to Zambia with Expert Africa impressed us so much, that we only used them to arrange this tour for us. It was a good decision." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Rwanda safari

"An eight night visit to one camp, enabled me to explore Mara North Conservancy in more depth." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"The whole trip was simply wonderful .The experience we had on safari and our beach stay at Diani was extremely good value .

Richards knowledge of where to stay and what we could expect was entirely accurate but it exceeded what we were expecting .

We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Expert Africa to anyone going to Kenya." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari