Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Timing: November is on the cusp of rain, pretty hot, but still just about dry. I believe it is a relatively quiet month. Some parts of Etosha had seen rain and game viewing was good. Southern Namibia remained bone dry. It is a lovely time to escape the European drear, if you can.

Itinerary: For the wildlife, we wanted Etosha (1 week) and we wanted the Transfrontier Kgalagadi Park (5 days). Previous experience has shown Sabina to be a star at knocking together a sensible itinerary, and she managed it again. There was some difficulty finding accommodation (even in a quiet month) which meant one or two compromises had to be made. It all worked out well. If you haven't been before, it is worth saying that distances are huge and the dirt roads make them feel huger ....but then that all helps to emphasise the emptiness of Africa. It made sense to link our two parks with a visit to Soussevlei. I'm a bit ambivalent about the place. It was worth seeing the endless dunes, but the whole idea of a desert is to have a wilderness, and with only one road, you are not alone. We actually preferred the getting there and away again, 100s of kilometres with vast landscapes, and little sign of humanity (except for fences). The Transfrontier is off the beaten track and just in South Africa. It was very worthwhile (although I'd choose Etosha ahead of it (for its variety)), but there's no obvious attraction to break up the journey returning to Windhoek. Sabina did well to find a couple of comfortable lodges that had game activities on offer.

Practicalities: The journey had no glitches at all. It was so well organised. Even the 'misplaced' car hire voucher was sorted in a few minutes by Expert Africa (via Wilderness Travel). Instructions had all been clearly expressed (for example, what needed to be done to take a hire car into South Africa). We had no issues with petrol, reported in some reviews" Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Thanks to Josh for all his advice and support - especially for persisting in persuading us to hire a vehicle with higher ground clearance. This decision made the travelling more enjoyable. We probably could have managed in a standard car, as on previous trips, but life was a lot easier not having to think about the underside of the car! This was particularly important on some of the tracks leading to the lodges. Thanks also for all the emails keeping us up to date and for all the paperwork.

In previous trips to Namibia we had booked everything ourselves: flights, car hire and accommodation. It was great to be relieved of these tasks and to know that Expert Africa staff had visited and reviewed all the accommodation. The voucher system worked well and there were no unpleasant surprises apart from Bagatelle.

Eningu and Erongo remain our favourite lodges. Bullsport is the best place for varied walking and the Cornerstone Guesthouse gets "the attention to detail" prize. The staff at Cape Cross Lodge deserve special commendation for being so helpful and friendly. Thanks again to Expert Africa for yet another great holiday in Africa.

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Keep up the good work!" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia lived up to our expectations.

Very impressed with Wilderness Safaris. They appear to provide excellent training and career development for their staff." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Well, I'm booking for next year...." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We had a lovely time and hope to visit Tanzania, South Africa again and the 2 remaining Ker and Downey lodges.

That’s Shindi and the 1 in the Kalahari.

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Got there in the end with feedback....no suggestions- top class.

Lucy was excellent and gave us great options and in the end delivered with her choices and interpreted our expectations well." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We always come back from Africa wanting to head straight back!
We have travelled twice so far with Expert Africa and we would use them again and highly recommend them to our friends." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"This was an excellent trip - a great way to celebrate Peter's 75th birthday. We were away for almost 5 weeks, visiting Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. We enjoyed every bit of the trip - The Hide and Hwange Bush Camp in Hwange; the mobile safari with David Carson in Botswana and our self-drive through Etosha in Namibia.

As usual the organisation from Expert Africa was perfect - with seamless transfers and bookings etc., all the arrangements spot on throughout the trip. And there were some unexpected and pleasant surprises - like finding that Andrew Dalzell was our guide again in Hwange and the unexpected upgrade to a luxury tent on the Botswana mobile safari.

Our thanks to Claire and all the team at Expert Africa for making this such a fantastic trip.

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It is hard to think of anything." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Despite Bidvest problems, v well organised." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 4 on a Namibia trip

"It was great. We had a fabulous time.

Loads of super memories and missing the blue skies and heat." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"The combination of PGC and Lodge put together by Tracy at very short notice exceeded our expectations - we enjoyed a superb trip - our second to the Okavango Delta with EA" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari