Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"- we had an amazing time

- saw lots of animals and wild life - safari, whales, penguins

- we had a lot of weather too - fire in Cape Town, snow just outside Cape Town, fog and rain in Kwandwe & Plett, stromy winds in Hermanus, but we also had some sunny days

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

- we like to book with specialist companies, travel agents that are specialist in a region or country

- we very much enjoyed our face to face meeting with Tracy and she put a very nice trip together

- we missed a bit the option of having a day planned out at Plettenberg or Cape Town for example, but we got all the information so that we can plan our days" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"We much enjoyed the trip and would recommend a self drive holiday in Namibia

One small point: we did not realise Wilderness Safaris at Windhoek Airport would have helped us with check in and security on our way home. If we had, we would have avoided horrendous queues" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"4.5 points overall" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"We booked this holiday very late and Olivia came up with the perfect itinerary. This was an unforgettable holiday." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"This was an extremely successful trip to Botswana! We were all so thrilled with the camps and game we saw.

The service and attention to detail in planning was such a breeze with the help of Richard Ball.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

You are doing a great job! Thank you!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"A. Apart from Latitude 15, everything was excellent.

The guiding was first class and very productive, this makes all the difference to the enjoyment of a safari to Africa.

We experienced some very special moments that will be treasured." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Our trip to Rwanda unexpectedly turned out to be rather dramatic following the first and only gorilla trek which left us total exhausted and me seeking medical help resulting in leaving the Volcanoes National Park earlier than planned and a 2 night stay at the King Faisal Hospital in Kigali following a diagnosis of pneumonia from which I'm still recovering and will probably do so for possibly another 2 weeks or more. We would not have got through this unfortunate episode without the help of our Primate Safaris driver/guide Sura who assisted in so many ways from paying a hospital bill with his own money to procuring cups of coffee from a cafeteria for me while I was in hospital. Well beyond what was expected for which we are truly grateful.

Having spoken with several people who were trekking it seems to us that better briefing beforehand is required. With trekking up to 3000 metres you have to be physically fit and acclimatised which were not although of course I did not know at the time I was suffering with pneumonia. Comment was made that it's always best to do one trek before committing to another. Appreciate that could be a problem as permits often should be booked in advance. It's not unusual for people to abandon the trek part way and in my case the guide did mention (at the end) there was a thought that I might need to be stretchered off the mountain. Among the people I spoke with was an American lady doctor who said she had to give up on her trek but then again she should not really have been on it as she's asthmatic but no one told her how difficult it might be. Nurses at the hospital in Kigali said they often had patient referrals from the gorilla treks as many underestimate the difficult terrain involved.

It would seem there is a perception among a lot of people that seeing the gorillas in the wild is a trip for everyone. Don't believe it is and can be a lottery. At least we have experienced a meeting with gorillas but at some cost and now plenty of paperwork associated with the insurance claim for reimbursement of hospital fees and the non-refundable trek permit. Would advise would be visitors to seriously think about the risks involved." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Rwanda safari

"We had a fantastic trip. We had a fairly good idea of what we wanted to do from the outset, having travelled reasonably widely in the region before.

Expert Africa listened well, came up with a good itinerary first up and put us in the type of camps that we really like. You can't ask for more than that." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"This had been intended to be a once in a lifetime trip, and we were happy to spend the money we felt would ensure a great time with a reputable company. Expert Africas advice and planning, coupled with the sheer professionalism and expertise of Asilia exceeded our expectations by a country mile. To be also paired with a guide for the whole trip who was experienced, vastly knowlegable and also an all round great guy was icing on the cake.

Apart from not seeing an Aardvark !, we saw everything we could have hoped to plus a whole lot more. All accommodation and staff was excellent and food and drink throughout was superb. Even afternoon downpours on our last two days could not dampen our spirits. Result..it wont be a once in a lifetime trip. Kevin informs us we need to return in March at some time and promises a completely different experience. We think we need to book him in advance !

Shirley has also decided she needs to stay at every camp Asilia manage. Simply amazing.

We've been about and done some great things but this was the best thing we've ever done.

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If theres anything I certainly cant think of it. Faultless. The whole trip fely blessed

Even the planes (QATAR by the way.. another Olivia brainwave) ran bang on time, and three of the four weren't full (I know even you guys couldn't influence that)" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"My expectations for Africa have been great and there are great impressions" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari