Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Brilliant trip - thanks for organising it.

Great country - just the right mix of driving (1500 miles in two weeks) and walking. Sights, sounds and smells all fantastic, deserts, mountains, animals.

Fabulously warm and welcoming a real joy in lots of the people we met (thinking locals rather than tourists - though the tourists all looked pretty happy too).

Long may it continue." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Overall we had an amazing trip, such a shame that the Larids lodge didnt live up to the standard of the rest of the trip.

Our agent Claire who we booked the trip through was SO helpful and couldn’t have done more. Her advice was invaluable and very worthwhile." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"Despite a few glitches, we absolutely loved our trip as a whole.

Sabina from Expert Africa designed a customized African adventure for us and went out of her way to help us during one difficult episode. She was an incredible resource for us as this is the type of trip one cannot embark on successfully without a travel agent.

Prior to our trip, there were many many exchanges both by phone and email in which she was always ready, willing and able to answer any and all questions. Thank you Sabina and Expert Africa!

We will be sure to turn to you again for our next Africa trip!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"I think in retrospect 5 days in South Luangwa in two river camps 45mins apart was 2 days too many and I should probably have tried Kafue/Malawi for half the trip so we had a change of habitat." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"We would not have changed anything that we did in Namibia. We found the people to be both friendly and engaging. The scenery and wildlife was just stunning. The places we stayed were superb and of the highest quality with very helpful staff.

We had some trepidation about driving in Namibia but this proved unfounded and was a joy. We are glad however that we decided on a 4 x 4 rather than a standard car.

Our subsequent visit to South Africa for a family wedding also went off without a hitch.

We would heartily recommend Namibia as a destination and were surprised how few people from the UK were visiting it.

Thank you Expert Africa and Elizabeth, in particular, for organising such a wonderful memorable trip." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We had a great time. Everything "worked" like it was supposed to, and we were generally very happy with our activities and accommodations. We'd been to Botswana previously and so had some safari experience. The things we really liked about Namibia are:
- the ability to travel unescorted
- the diversity of activities (desert, seashore, animals, etc)
- the ability to get some exercise.

The only negative we have to say is that the Corolla wasn't really up to the southern desert roads. We were down to 40 kph frequently, which made for some long drives. I dont think we needed 4 wheel drive or a big truck, but we did need better clearance. We were constantly scraping the undercarriage on the "middle hump" of the road and fighting the steering wheel. Sesriem to Solitaire (C19) and Solitaire to the Kuiseb Pass (C14) were simply bad, especially the latter.

We met some outbound travellers on our first night in Windhoek who'd been advised that the C14 was often in bad shape and been recommended a detour using the D1998 etc to C26. We took their advice, and, while we can't say what condition the C14 was like after that, the detour was certainly better than what we'd experienced to that point." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"All as planned. Transfers etc like clockwork

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not one of your more-challenging itineraries, but it all worked. Thanks Nick." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zambia safari

"Of course it is dificult to predict the exact conditions at a camp be (for ex. when the flood arrives). It would be helpful to at least indicate the range of various conditions.

We expected Tubu to be partly flooded ("mixed"). In fact it was even drier than Chitabe (we saw more hippos in Chitabe than in Tubu). Perhaps you can add a history of previous years when the flood has arrived at the various camps, so that every traveller gets has a reliable Information about the past years.

It also was not so clear that there was absolutely no wifi at the camps. This should be indicated more clearly." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We had such a super trip! Having just spent a week at Kruger Park, I was worried the kids would be 'safari-ed" out, but it turns out that each location had a special charm and offered us something new and exciting.

Though we 'saw' a sleeping lion in Kruger, we saw a whole pride of lions walk by our car in Chobe. Thought we 'saw' a leopard in Kruger, we saw a leopard in a tree trying to protect a kill from hyenas underneath. We loved the sounds of the Delta - the natural heartbeat of birds and frogs and so on that greeted us every morning and night. We loved the service of our lodges -- we felt very taken care of.

Mostly, I really appreciated that all the logistics were so smooth -- the pick-ups (and, in particular, border transfers) were on time and professional. The shuttle services (Wilderness safaris, African Odyssey, etc) were excellent. Having meals and inclusive private safaris added to the trip cost, of course, but were essential for traveling with a family and making it care-free.

Our favorite part of the trip was assuredly Machaba Camp -- my youngest son (age 3) hit it off with our guide (Moreri) and we are still missing him! Mostly, they were so accommodating with times and meals, that we relaxed into our vacation in a very real way. Thanks for making all these logistics so smooth!!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Honestly, it was excellent and I would recommend your services again -- worth the pennies to have all those logistics sorted out. We had a great time!

I might just add two small things - I might have missed the part about Ilala being in USD, and USD prices. Since we were coming from South Africa, this obviously seemed more pricey to us than we were expecting (and the only part of our trip that was not all-inclusive) and we could only get USD from the ATMs. Not a huge problem, but might be good to have included that in the trip info (perhaps I missed it - if so, sorry).

Also, we were essentially bribed at the VFAirport...the guys asked us if we wanted to upgrade to business class for $200 and when I agreed, he said it had to be in cash. Ugh -- by this point, he had already booked the tickets so we had no real choice, but it was clear I was not going to be getting a receipt for that one. I am sure he saw our American passports. I felt very duped, but since everyone else had been so honest and helpful our entire trip (and since the VFA airport is so beautifully new and professional!), this took me by surprise. Folks should be on the lookout for scams like this (especially as Americans).

Otherwise, super duper trip!!! Happy to answer any other questions." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip to Namibia was amazing!

We fell in love more deeply with the country with every place we went to. The guidance from Expert Africa was invaluable! I gave them a task of helping me to plan my trip to Namibia on relatively short notice and they made it happen for me. All the lodges were unique, fun experiences and truly wonderful.

Even though we moved around a lot on our trip, we felt we were lucky to have visited so many places and got to experience each of them for their uniqueness.

Definitely one of the best African vacations we've taken! Thank you for everything." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip