Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"This was a much anticipated and long-awaited trip, and undoubtedly our most expensive holiday to date, but it probably exceeded our expectations. We appreciated the Botswanan approach to tourism (high income, low volume) which we believe preserves the "goose that lays the golden eggs" - the richness of its wildlife and the distinctive personal nature of its camps. We loved the variety of terrain, accommodation and wildlife that we experienced, which was what I had requested when we first started discussing the itinerary.

We chose Expert Africa because of its intimate knowledge of the area, and I appreciated the personal information and advice I received from Lucy, who obviously travels regularly to Botswana and could talk to me about the camps from her personal experience. All the arrangements worked like clockwork and so we could just relax and enjoy the experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

One aspect that we found a little difficult was tipping. Some camps had trackers as well as guides, and others had additional offerings that could be rewarded, e.g. the Bushmen at Camp Kalahari while others did not, and it was difficult to budget as we went along. I did not realise that in most cases the staff managed their gratuity box themselves, without reference to the management, so I think this could be explained more clearly in your information before travelling." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"First of all, we feel so lucky to have Megan as our contact in Expert Africa. She always responded very efficiently and tried her best to arrange our self-driving Namibian trip to meet our expectation. She also assisted us in visa issue very much.

It's really an issue for Taiwanese to get Namibian visa. She also gave us the helpful advice, arranged the accommodation well to avoid too long hours driving which make the trip more flexible. The whole team of Expert Africa is very knowledgeable and professional.

The wilderness safari greeted us from the airport on our first day which impressed us very much. All staff in their accommodation are wonderful but we also enjoyed the different types of accommodation like Etosha Safari Camp, Erongo, and Okonjima.

The only thing we regretted was not to book accommodation earlier. I think the best accommodation options are to stay in the NWR when you are in National Park like Etosha and Namib desert national parks even the rooms are all basic but for us, locations matter most because we can see more animals and enjoy sunrise or sunset in or on the sand dunes." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Excellent" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"All of expert Africa's arrangements went to plan very smoothly. Really enjoyed the trip but think we underestimated the amount of travelling we'd undertaken. Maybe 3 countries was one too many!

Zambia and Botswana in particular were great countries and loved getting to know some of the people we met. Had picked camps with a good chance of lion activity but were not lucky in that regard. Did feel at Vumbura that other jeeps seemed to be having a better experience and that our driver - who was lovely - was low down in the pecking order and perhaps being directed to the quieter areas of the reserve.

Didn't help that for the last 3 or 4 drives we had a community overseer on our trips who didn't speak to us really and it cast a bit of an atmosphere. We actually preferred Machaba which was not what I was expecting! Have passed your brochure to my boss as I can't fault your end of things." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Everything was beyond our expectations." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"This was our third trip arranged by Maruska, and like the other trips, the arrangements were excellent. Maruska gave us some great advice on our route and places to stay. We were provided with a map showing our route with driving times were were spot on. We did have a GPS with us but probably did not need it as the directions provided were very clear. The trip went very smoothly, all arrangements went as planned.

If you've noticed a 2 week gap in our accommodations it's because we spent that time after Upington in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which we booked ourselves.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Spell check on the feedback form does not work.

When proof reading reviews I discovered that if I made changes then clicked ""Back to previous page"" to proof another review, the changes were not saved. Could this be fixed?

Everything else is great! We love getting the brochure and the information on the website is very good." Read full review: 43 nights in Africa; 27 on a Namibia trip

"Our trips with Expert Africa are now well into double figures and like all previous holidays this one was planned with care and great expertise.

There was not a single moment of doubt or worry in a busy itinerary and credit must be placed firmly with Megan. We have now reached the stage where we probably need to change our style and perhaps destination but if it is at all possible we will be asking Expert Africa to do the planning as they are simply the best in class. Very may thanks once again." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Fabulous safari all round. Visited Nkwali and Kapamba in South Luangwa (3 nights in each) and finished with 4 nights in Lower Zambezi at Old Mondoro. Both parks are still amazing, but South Luangwa edges it for us.

We chose to go at the end of the rainy season in the hope of seeing the bush green rather than dry and brown. We were not disappointed - it was beautiful. The animals all looked healthy and relaxed and we loved it.

Once again, Expert Africa were as normal - efficient, friendly and knowledgeable - thanks again Ellie." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"This was without doubt the very best of our safari,s" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"An amazing safari experience. Surpassed all expectations.

The expanse of the Botswana wilderness and the African sky is impressive as were the number and variety of wildlife.

An experience of a lifetime and would go back for more!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari