Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Amazing! Loved every minute of it! The people of Zambia are incredibly welcoming and hospitable. They are truly very nice people. And it really enhances a trip tremendously!

We loved the landscapes of South Luangwa, absolutely gorgeous! Of course the wildlife was plentiful!

This trip was the stuff that dreams are made of! Absolutely wonderful!" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zambia safari

"The trip exceeded our expectations, not often you can say that..

All the places we stayed we would recommend. A great combination of safari and relaxing by the beach." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Expert Africa arranged a great experience for us. We did not really know what to expect of a holiday in Zambia. Too little is said about this wonderful country and its game parks. In South Luangwa Park we had spectacular drives and walks. We saw so many animals and some of the most spectacular birds in Africa. Our trip was so well organised with great attention to detail. There was never a moment of uncertainty. At airports we were met as promised and escorted to our next flight. All aspects of our journeys were well planned and glitch-free.

We had done our research and we had decided to build out trip round Robin Pope camps. We contacted several specialists in this type of holiday. Expert Africa offered good advice and came up with a good package. It was good to work with just one adviser - we felt comfortable with him and we had confidence in his advice. That confidence was not misplaced.

The Robin Pope service was truly excellent. Imagine a hotel where everyone knows your name, where everyone greets you as a friend, where you are welcomed back each day as one of the family. Staff are clearly trained to provide a great personal service with professionalism and style. Everyone, without exception-managers, guides, cooks, waiters, night watchmen added charm to the service they provided.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

As you will have read we really cannot fault the organisations involved in the trip. It would be nice to think that the Robin Pope organisation continues to keep this balance of professionalism and personality." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"Initially Megan and then Ellie when Megan took maternity leave.

Same review would apply to both.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This was one of the best planned and orchestrated trips we have taken. We were met and guided within all airports.

The guides for the safaris were the best we encountered on any of our trips and were uniformly friendly and helpful. We were so impressed, we would like our children to use your services.

The only thing I would consider doing differently if the trip had to be 2 days shorter (for our family or friends on a limited timetable) is one less day in Chongwe river camp and dropping the fly camp ." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"This was a fantastic trip- thanks to Meghan and Tom who put it together for us. We are really glad we stayed 2 nights in Okonjima and would recommend this to others. Okuakuejo didn't fit with the feel of the rest of the trip. The draft trip had 2 nights in Okuakuejo and we only stated in Hobatere as there weren't 2 nights available in Okaukuejo - Hobatere was much nicer. It also had the advantage which we didn't appreciate until we got there of allowing us to drive through Etosha from west to east- this was an amazing experience.

Chish McIntyre's book was really useful for advice on tips etc but his best advice was to just drive from waterhole to waterhole through Etosha. We did this and the experience was almost indescribable.

I was worried about the roads and getting petrol along the way. The roads were scary to begin with but once we drove at a reasonable speed and were sensible they were fine. I really got into driving on them and was almost disappointed when we hit tar around Etosha!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"It was delightful! Richard Trillo, who helped us organize the safari, did an excellent job. In the first place, he listened carefully to what we had in mind and very tactfully, made suggestions how to maximize our time within the constraints of our budget (no mean accomplishment).

He very wisely suggested three stops to give us reasonable exposure to what Kenya has to offer without wearing us down. Our experiences at El Karama, the Mara Camp and ending at Totilis were just what we had in mind.

Then, he coordinated the timing, the pickups, the flights so very well that we were never at a loss as to what comes next and will the taxi actually be there at (e.g.) 5:30 in the morning. Very well done!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Simply continue the personal contact!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari

"Thanks for organizing this for us. My only concern was double booking of the Stonetown Tour guides." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had been to Mikumi (the old Foxes Camp on the same site as Stanley's Kopje) about 12 - 15 years ago and hadn't seen very much. This time we saw a lot more, thanks largely to Clarence, our driver/guide.

We loved Lake Manze Camp, more than Stanley's Kopje or Sand Rivers, as, to us, it provided a more authentic safari experience." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Absolute high at Chitabe, very unhappy about Lagoon, we'll stick with Wilderness camps in the future and avoid Kwando like the plague." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Having looked forward to the trip for 18months expectations were high!

Although overall the trip was highly enjoyable, we can now say that we have been to Botswana but will not be returning as it seemed to miss the wow factor. This was mainly down to the game viewing.

We appreciate that it is nature and so cannot predict these things and are already looking forward to our next African adventure" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari