Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We were in Namibia for two weeks, and only the one night at Doro Nawas and three nights at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp were booked through Expert Africa.

The trip overall was terrific, but Doro Nawas and Hoanib were particularly so. In addition, we travelled south to Fish River Canyon, Aus and Luderitz. We stayed at the Fish River Lodge, on the rim of the Canyon, and at the Eagle's Nest Chalets in Aus. Both properties were unique and nice, even if not to Doro Nawas and Hoanib standards. That being said, however, I can't imagine better places to stay in those areas, and I would recommend them to people traveling to those areas.

This was our second trip to Namibia. We loved the country so much the first time--its diverse natural beauty, climate, people and pace--that we wanted to return to see the main parts we didn't get to see on our first visit. We are constantly recommending it to people.

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We had outstanding service the entire time, so thank you. And we will definitely be in touch when we plan our next trip to Africa. On a minor note, I wish we had known flying Wilderness Air from Windhoek to Doro Nawas/Hoanib was an option, but it never came up." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fantastic time and felt very well looked after from booking through to follow up on our return.

This is our second Namibian trip booked with Sabina and we were not disappointed. The advice provided on both occasions was not only helpful but also very accurate.

We will certainly book with Expert Africa again.

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Could include prices with brochure to give a rough idea, it is more difficult now they are separate to have any idea whether the trips may be affordable without any information." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip as a whole was splendid, but Expert Africa was responsible for the planning of only half of it, and of that half, one crucial element was a debacle. As a result, we have to mark the overall level of satisfaction down.

The part of our trip that went awry was our experience with Southern Cross and our driver in Nairobi. Our driver had no idea where The African Heritage House was and he wasted a full hour being completely lost. In our discussions previous to our departure, Richard Trillo had told us that he would inform Southern Cross of the places in Nairobi we wanted to visit. We would like to assume that he did indeed do that. If so, then the blame falls on Southern Cross for not doing their homework and finding out where the AHH is.

We were taken to a place where Alan Donavan once had a gallery, TEN YEARS AGO. Now it is a supermarket. Our driver, John, drove in circles as he muttered to himself and desperately asked people in the street if they knew where the AHH was. The low point was when John turned to us to ask us if WE DIDN"T KNOW WHERE IT WAS! It was embarrassing and inexcusable. It was akin to getting in a New York city cab, telling the driver where you want to go, and after haplessly driving around, he turns to you and asks you where that is! We repeatedly urged John to call someone for directions. He finally called his boss, but he was told that it should be there where we were. Apparently they both remembered something by that name being there when they were kids!

Eventually, at our insistence, John's boss got a phone number for the AHH. John was able to call them directly and get clear directions that the location was near Kenyatta Airport - which was the one thing we had known all along and had told him from the very beginning. We arrived an hour late to our appointment at the African Heritage House. That was a valuable lost hour. Not only was the hour itself valuable, based the amount we were paying for the driver (an amount unknown to us because Expert Africa refuses to divulge costs to its clients, a topic we will revisit later), but also because we had to rush our visit. We had to pay for a full tour when it was essentially cut in half, but more importantly our ability to enjoy our visit was extremely compromised. Our (doubtlessly expensive) day with a hired driver fell far short of our expectations.

We would suggest, and we're sure you would agree, that your clients should never be assigned drivers who don't have thorough knowledge of their city, especially when they are told a specific destination in advance! We don't blame John alone for this debacle, but also the management of Southern Cross, and Expert Africa for putting us in the hands of an incompetent organization." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari

"Simply, the experience of a lifetime. Completely exceeded all,expectations.

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We are so delighted with the trip overall, I really cannot think of anything!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"Amazing. A trip of a life time" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Again, a very well organised safari by Expert Africa" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 5 on a Kenya safari

"Great trip and definatly worth to visit during the Green Season!

Wonderfull Hwange NP and Zimbabwe!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"I had a really great time.

The highlight was Laikipia Wilderness Camp which was absolutely amazing but the return trip down the Rift valley was very enjoyable too. As always the arrangements made by Expert Africa were smooth and efficient throughout.

Altogether yet another brilliant safari experience - the best yet!

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I just wish I could afford to travel more often!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"This holiday or should I say trip was a very memorable one. I have been to both locations before but my friend had not but I must say that this time was so much better. We both enjoyed the tented camps - bumping along game drives, especially the off track ones. Seeing all the game - landing in Samburu and within 15 minutes seeing a young leopard!!!!!

We are very well travelled but this trip will stick in our memory bank for ever.

Thank you for a very well planned trip.

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No not really - Richard planned the most excellent trip. He all ways replied to my call and emails very quickly.

I have spoken to him since returning to say what a fab time we had." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"The combination of the friendly staffs and spirit of Africa and just being in the safari mode was wonderful and trumps all the small quibbles.

Seeing a leopard mother and her cub playing a small distance away and seeing a cheetah close up in the wild are hard experiences to match. Thus, we had a fabulous experience overall.

If the ceiling fans can be added at Little Kwara and the flights can be adjusted to take vacationers directly to their spots (instead of flying them more than 90 minutes out of the way), the review could have been even more positive." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari