Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"The trip overall was fabulous. Where we've written negative reviews of accommodation (e.g. Twyfelfontein) we were warned in advance that this was more basic accommodation. Only one we weren't aware of was the building work and poor food at Okaukuejo. Josh did a great job of creating our trip for us at short notice. The welcome team in Namibia airport were lovely and the trip went very smoothly." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa certainly raised the bar for others to follow. Our experience from start to finish has been completely excellent.

The personal knowledge in discussing schedules, planning where to go and where to stay were absolutely exceptional. Every last detail was considered and given our interests and budget,suggestions of what might work well were greatly appreciated. Everything felt as though it was personal attention to detail ( even down to the road map with our route clearly marked on it). Loved that we got a guide book written by one of the expert africa team!

Really exceptional - will recommend you to everyone i know who is considering Africa. Thanks so much.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

You were EXCEPTIONAL. Thanks so much for putting together a great trip for us." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"I want to thank Expert Africa and especially Lucy Copson for organizing our (me, my wife, and two teenage children) trip to Zambia, Africa. This was our first trip to Africa and we knew little about the continent.

I must say that the website for Expert Africa really helped our understanding of what each country has to offer in the way of safaris and you can start to narrow down your options according to your wants and needs. But it wasn't until chatting with Lucy that everything really came into focus. After one phone conversation she really grasped what the family and I were looking for and organized our unforgettable trip to Zambia.

With first hand knowledge of the bush camps in South Luangwa National Park, Lucy choose two that were an absolute fit for us. We went on drive safaris, walking safaris, night drives, and even an overnight camp out and learned about all the animals, birds, and plants of the park.

Lucy also chose for us our excursion to Livingstone which was an excellent way to end our stay in Zambia.

Once again, thank you Expert Africa and Lucy for putting together an unforgettable bucket list trip for the family and I." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"This was the trip of a lifetime. With our children, aged 20 & 19, we were looking for a holiday the whole family could enjoy and we certainly got it. Everything went off perfectly. The planning of the trip with Sabina and her advice was of the highest standard. Everything was exactly as described.

There were representatives to welcome us on arrival at Windhoek, there were no booking misunderstandings at any lodges, the transfer from Kasane in Botswana to Livingstone in Zambia went smoothly and lastly the transfer to Livingstone airport, all on time and according to plan. We dropped our car off in Kasane, were collected by safari vehicle and transferred to the river where we were taken across by boat into Zambia and collected on the other side with the driver helping us get through the 'interesting' Zambian border checkpoint (the Zambian officials were rude and unhelpful well below the standard in Botswana or Namibia).

The border official, despite having a water dispenser in her office, sent our driver back to the car to get her a bottle of water! Bearing in mind that we had driven about 4 hours from our last lodge in the Caprivi and arrived early, the logistics of this transfer was impressive. (Just for info there are trucks queuing at this crossing as they move between Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana for as far as the eye can see with it taking them on average 2 to 3 weeks to get across - per the local taxi driver - so I could imagine the transfer potentially going horribly wrong!).

Just a tip, when arriving in Botswana we needed to dip ALL our shoes (foot and mouth prevention) so make sure you have all shoes handy so you don't have to unpack suitcases at the border.

The design of the three week trip, balancing the length of drives, stop-overs and rest days while still trying to see as much as possible was brilliant and could not have been done without the expert advice of Sabina and her patience in the early days while she tried to understand what we wanted to get out of the holiday.

We travelled during June and July and the weather was fabulous. Warm sunny days and mostly cool nights. We certainly needed warm jackets for the evenings whereas during the day we needed shorts and t-shirts.

Tips that worked for us:
(1) in the U.K. we purchased a tracks4africa map of Namibia (£10) online and transferred it onto our Garmin SatNav which we took with us and this made navigating stress free.
(2) Covering our suitcases in bin bags to keep them dust free was essential as the canopy definitely was not dust proof.
(3) We purchased a cooler box locally and this allowed us to keep our picnic food fresh and drinks cool for the long drives. You can buy ice for the cooler box at any service station;
(4) an upgrade to a 4x4 gave us extra flexibility and comfort on long drives.

We were surprised at how expensive most of the lodges were so this was, for us, a particularly expensive holiday but in the end worth every penny.

I would not hesitate to recommend Expert Africa and would use them again." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"As previously stated" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"An excellent trip." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Second time to Namibia, but managed to surpass previous visit with animals seen, and got some memorable images. Good to self drive providing so much flexibility as to how long you spend at a waterhole, we had well over 1 hour at one observing in the main bull elephants, only two other cars there.

First time in Botswana great time on the Chobe river viewing elephants crossing , and the birds. Spoilt with the number of lions with kills, and the first cubs I had seen albeit bit hidden in the trees.

Zambia provided a fitting finale something completely different, namely Victoria Falls, seen from the air and on foot, fantastic noise of the the water roaring.

The challenge is how to beat this trip?" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"Totally loved the whole experience and can't wait to go back. For my taste I would say that there was a huge amount of time spent in the vehicle, and even with two drivers I would have ideally liked larger gaps between days of driving (though of course the whole country is magical to look at). Having suggested the itinerary myself its not really a comment on Expert Africa's advice, but maybe that could have been stressed even more than it was?" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fabulous holiday full of fun and adventures. The trip was made so perfect by the people looking after us.

When we lost documents Expert Africa and the staff at Lianshula showed amazingly professionalism.

A true test of a good business is how they deal with their clients in a crisis. From our experience any one travelling with Expert Africa can be assured of a great holiday and if any incident / accident occurs they have the knowledge and contacts to turn a crisis into a great story. The perfect company with which to have " safe adventures " 🤗" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was excellent and blessed by the best game viewing I've experienced.

The mood in Zimbabwe was understandably rather sombre, that in Zambia much more upbeat.

All the locations were uniformly helpful and happy to accommodate individual requests, be it food intolerances or special preferences concerning game drives.

A memorable experience." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari