Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"This was our first trip to Africa. We chose Namibia on the basis of its reputation for wildlife, fantastic terrain and 'emptiness' but also because it gave us the 'self drive experience' in a safe environment. It met or exceeded all our expectations, particularly the wildlife in Etosha.

Truly the trip of a lifetime that we will never forget - it has definitely made us want to visit Afica again in the future. We never felt uncomfortable in any way whist we were travelling and luckily did not experience any problems with the car - I wasn't looking forward to having to change a wheel by the side of the road in those temperatures!

Expert Africa arranged a great itinerary for us which we wouldn't have changed at all in retrospect, Also many thanks for the detailed replies to all our questions and queries before we left." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Very good" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"This was an amazing vacation! The camps/food/game viewing were excellent.

Thanks again Maruska for all your help in putting this trip together.

You are always a pleasure to work with.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Passport check for Chris took three hours in Johannesburg. I'm not sure if Expert Africa arranged the representative for us in Lusaka, but it made our arrival/departure a breeze. Thank You! We checked our bags to our destination on the departure as to avoid the nightmare in Johannesburg.

I hoped to visit the shops at the main entrance to the park on the way to the airport. Unfortunately, due to our early flight they were not open. Had I known, we could have made arrangements at the start of the trip. Not a big deal --- there's always next time ... just mentioned it in case other guests had the same idea." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"As usual good service from Expert Africa

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Weight limit of 20kg on safari flights would be an improvement" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"Expert Africa and their team made this a hugely successful adventure. Their response when we had a significant problem with our car was timely and effective and they certainly saved our bacon.

Expert Africa pride themselves on knowing their territory and so it would be without hesitation that we would recommend them to anyone as the company to advise you on a similar trip.

Wilderness Safaris were excellent partners in Namibia and the reception team in Windhoek air worthy of special praise. IN this respect Nandula Malango was a star.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Driving in Namibia is not straightforward as we discovered.

Although the metaled roads are excellent, and similarly many of the dirt roads, a high wheel-base, 2WD is adequate,

But where it is known that the dirt roads are very difficult, varying from smooth to lengthy distances where the surfaces are dangerously rugged , a 4WD should be recommended.

This is especially so in some of the central areas (Sesfontein, Dora Nawas to Palmwag, to Swakpmond) where the roads have been graded directly onto the underlying rock and not built up with gravel or limestone.

In these domains a four wheel drive vehicle is really essential and an extra spare necessary too. Punctures are normal experiences here and the thin tyres for urban use are pathetically inadequate." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"The whole trip was a wonderful experience and we were so pleased to have chosen &Beyond lodges for all of our camps. The transfers between each accommodation linked together very smoothly except for one issue.

You have not provided a link for feedback on the taxi services between main airports and our hotels in Nairobi and Arusha i.e. Southern Cross and Asillia.

Southern Cross collected us on arrival at the airport at the start and end of the holiday. Collection and delivery to the hotel went smoothly on both occasions. However, pick up and return to the airport was a different matter.

After arriving in Nairobi at the start of the trip my first question to Benson of SC was what time we were to be collected for our flight to Lobo. His answer was what time is your flight and where are you going. I showed him the ticket for Precision and stressed the 7am flight time and the 6am meeting at terminal 2. Because it was an international flight he was suggesting arriving at the airport 3 hrs before departure. To cut a long storey short we were collected at 4.30am, taken first to terminal 1C then 1B then finally the driver took us to terminal 2. It was now 5.15 am and of course there was nobody there to meet us. Eventually someone from Tradewinds collected us and took us through to check-in and then the aircraft.

Similarly, on our final return to the airport for our return home we arranged with Benson to be collected at the hotel at 14.30pm. The driver arrived at 10.00am. He hadn't been in contact with Benson but had been given instructions from the main office. He came back at the requested time.

OK this wasn't life threatening and it is Africa but we could have missed a flight. SC don't appear to follow instructions, either from the client at the time or from whatever Expert Africa arranged with them." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"A brilliant holiday.

We wanted a mix of safari and relaxation which was exactly what we got. The choice of Kaingo and Mwawba was perfect given my interest in photography and really is a top quality location. On reflection we should have spent more time there - 4 days at each would have been good but that was our fault as we only wanted 6 days on safari we will know better next time.

Pumulani was lovely but 7 nights was a bit long, 4 would have been ideal.

All the connections and transfers worked well and the level of service in both locations was really good.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not that I can think of." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari

"Fabulous trip.

Great itinerary from Expert Africa - good variety of camps and length of stays were perfect.

Our main Expert Africa contact was actually Megan, not Tracy, but she is not in the pick list.

It would have been nice to have received a phone call on returning from the trip to ask us how it had been.

Our guide Theo was excellent and negotiated two fabulous groups for our gorilla treks." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We had a truly amazing trip.

Having done 2 safaris before, we had high expectations, but this trip really delivered.

Botswana is an amazing place and the Safari experience there is totally unspoiled and genuine, and gave us many memorable experiences.

Our choice of the 5 camps in Botswana plus the final two in Zambia worked really well, giving us a huge amount of variety. Originally we though that 17 days might be too long, but there were so many different things to see and do that we kept wanting to keep going!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Well done Sarah, your help in putting this trip together was both excellent and invaluable." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Great holiday in that Pam knew what to expect.

The last two Lodges might have disappointed others who expected more and had researched less.

Malawi was disturbingly poverty stricken and food aid was obvious everywhere.

Lake Malawi is dropping alarmingly and one good rainy season will not be enough to restore the lake. What happens to the tourist business if the lake drops another metre from the September 2016 level does not bear thinking about." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Malawi trip