Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Whole trip started in Namibia and was very enjoyable after rocky start due to initial car hire problem. Without Expert Africa s intervention and backing an inadequate car could have proved very problematic if not disastrous.

Also EA information about the newly opened West Etosha through Galton gate proved the key to the Namibian tour. All EA recommended accommodation was excellent as was the Sandwich Harbour tour

Zimbabwe trip a full on safari, Fabulous game .Very dry this year which meant waterholes were great but not a lot in between. Thank you to James for suggesting Camp Hwange. It was just right for us although we probably won't do Zimbabwe again as we prefer the type of walking in Zambia." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Expert Africa has helped us plan all four of our trips to Africa and we couldn't be happier.

The staff there has such intimate knowledge of the camps that they are able to offer us wonderful advice. They know what we value most and have the background to know how to guide us to places that we will enjoy.

This was a trip that took us to some new regions of Kenya and we enjoyed the variety of environments that we experienced. Thank you, Ellie, for helping us plan another amazing adventure!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari

"There was no-one to meet us at the airport when we arrived at Lusaka. We scoured the airport and found someone from Tours Africa but he said that they had not been asked to pick us up. After speaking to what seemed to be everyone in the Airport the Tours Africa rep came back and apologised and said it was entirely their fault and then took us to the hotel but we wasted over half an hour.

Tsetses were an issue, as we can both react badly to them. Much worse in South Luangwa than last time and we had one particularly bad Tsetse walk in North Luangwa. We were expecting them in Kafue - Musekese was better than expected, Busanga Plains much worse. All the camps were free of tsetses.

Disappointing that information on the Expert Africa website is inaccurate. Overall service from Expert Africa was very good, as usual. However......although the wallet is better than the old one, I still think it is daft to give people a wallet every time they travel - I won't use it again and it will join the other 2 wallets in my desk drawer. A shirt would give Expert Africa free advertising as well as being useful for the recipient (I've mentioned this before but it fell on deaf ears!).

I also think you should ask if people want a copy of Zambia before you sent it. When I got mine I thought it was a new edition but found it was identical, so it went straight to recycling." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Zambia safari

"Our whole trip was amazing and went perfectly.

Thank you so much to Nick (and later Tracy) at Expert Africa for helping me with my itinerary and as usual you arranged everything with the lodges and agents to perfection. We could not fault anything, we felt really well looked after and didn't have to think of anything except enjoying ourselves.The recommendations and discussions over lodges were spot on and we saw everything we wanted to in very comfortable surroundings.

We have used you many times in the past and will not hesitate to again." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This was our first visit to Southern Africa and it exceeded our expectations.

Sabina had given us a great itinerary and set of accommodation, with sound advice about distances and what to see. In retrospect we would not have spent two nights at Camp Kwando, but more in the panhandle. However, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would love to do it again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

A list of where the ATMs are located would be useful.
Note that bird/animal guide books are not readily available at the lodges. Suggest that customers buy them before travelling.

Clarify the cross border permit instructions for vehicles from Namibia to Botswana.

Note that Zimbabwe now charges US$55 for UK residents visitor permit whereas EU members generally are charged US$30." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Each time we return we can't believe it can get any better but it does.

Whilst we did not see so many of some of the big cats we saw things which we have never seen before, such as a lion climbing a tree as well as a cheetah climbing a tree. We have never seen so many large herds of elephants. The numbers were exceptionally large.

We also had excellent sightings of various wild dog packs, some with pups as well as some of the smaller mammals, such as a bushbaby and a honey badger trying to dig out a mouse. What makes Kwando camps special is that they use a tracker as well as a guide and seeing them work together is fascinating, adding an extra dimension to the experience.

For many reasons it was a holiday to remember.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, your brochure and website have a lot of helpful information and your staff are very helpful and knowledgeable. They are able to fill in any information gaps and knowing the various camps are able to advise on the best options.

We are very happy with the service we have received and would certainly recommend Expert Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Expert Africa is truly expert and the organisation was exemplary. Everything ran like clockwork with no glitches and the attention to detail was astounding - at no time were we left unsupported throughout the entire booking process and the trip itself.

We were also very impressed with Robin Pope Safaris - each of their lodges was very different tin feel but shared the same ethos and attention to detail. The guiding was particularly good in all the camps." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari

"Great trip, everything we had hoped for an more. Visiting four seperate lodges helped us gain perspective and insight. Having one road transfer from Sambura to Borana was an added benefit both in terms of our enjoyment and saving some money while avoiding the cost of air transfer for that leg of the trip.

Regarding our transfer from Sambura to Borana, I think the transfer driver was named Nicholas. We hadn't left Sambura for more that two minutes when he started pointing out details about every plant and animal in sight. Our three hour transfer turned into a four hour safari that was filled with details and infomation beyond what anyone else was providing. This guy was the best and most informative guide we met on our entire trip." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"Our holiday was absolutely fantastic and totally exceeded our expectations in every way. Thank you!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"I am speechless how good this trip was. One of the best trips I have ever done, if not the best.

The 3 camps (Footsteps, Lagoon and Lebala) were all excellent in every way. The quality of guides, friendliness and attentiveness of management/staff and the interaction with them, the quality (and sheer volume!) of food, the quality of game drives and the variety of animals successfully spotted/tracked, the layout of the tents and camps, etc. all exceeded expectations.

Thanks to Sarah (and also to Nick who also helped me with the trip last year, before I had to cancel due to a medical problem) for your expert advice and responsiveness. Everything went so smoothly on the ground, in large part I'm sure to your and the camps' expert organization. And to the amazing people of Botswana, your beautiful country is such a pleasure to travel around. I can totally understand why I met so many people on their 4th and 5th trip!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari