Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"With the exception of ProFlight all ran to schedule. Ground handling good, no delays.

At Xakanaxa airstrip (which incidentally is a new runway positioned a little further from the camps than the 'old' strip) we were very pleasantly surprised to see Banda, our requested guide for Camp Xakanaxa where has been based since last January, albeit we were due at Camp Moremi first. Apparently in agreement with the D&DS marketing manager (regret don't know his name and was not aware he was the South African chap who wished us well as he leaving for the plane we arrived on) we were allocated Banda for the whole of our 5 night stay on an exclusive basis. This is an amazing example of D&DS customer service for which we are truly grateful. If you are aware of the chap's name please let me know and I will send a thank-you e-mail. Thanks should also be extended to all the D&DS staff including Setch and staff at Suvute and Albert (who was 'care-taking' between Moremi and Xakanaxa) and all the staff.

We will undoubtedly return to Nkwali, Savute and delta camps again - don't know when. However in future we will try to avoid Jo'burg airport if only due to the totally inefficient and unfriendly staff at passport control. It takes ages to be processed. Never enough staff on duty. As you maybe aware, there are 2 sections, one deals with SA residents, the other all non-SA passengers.

There are some 25 (maybe more) passport control booths on the non-SA section. Less than half were being manned on our first arrival and only 7 when we arrived form Maun. Coupled with the delays occurring to some families, presumably associated with the recently introduced regulations and paperwork required for people travelling with children, the delays are totally unacceptable. We were directed to stand in a queue behind a family which we were already aware had processing problems and had to wait 20 minutes while they continued to try and resolve without any apparent success so we asked to move and were eventually directed to stand in another queue. There is no efficient management system in place, it's a shambles.

It is not surprising that Lusaka airport is building a new terminal (by the Chinese!) and Maun wants to expand so that passengers can fly direct rather than via Jo'burg which attracts so much criticism. BA used to fly direct to Lusaka but apparently no more. We met people who flew with Emirates via Dubai so for the future it's worth considering another carrier. There may be others." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"From the time we landed in Kilimanjaro, the service from beginning to end was first class. We were well taken care of." Read full review: 3 nights in Africa; 3 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a great time overall, but as always in Africa, plans do not always go directly as you intended, so it is important to remain travel wise.

The safari section of our trip was quite tiring, with early morning game drives and moving camp every couple of days, although this is exactly what we had expected, so were prepared. This was the first time that we had visited Africa during a rainy season, so expected a different experience to our previous trips. It was lovely to save the best safari camp to last and then to relax in Zanzibar for a 3 nights - even though the heat and humidity hit us hard.

It was very helpful to have the experience and suggestions from Expert Africa to help us plan the trip as their knowledge of the individual camps and hotels is extensive.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This was our seventh trip to Africa booked through Expert Africa, which precisely sums up our view of their expertise.

Looking forward to number eight!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Overall, everything worked well and we saw a lot of wildlife, including cheetahs, leopard and rhinos which were on our 'must see' list, so apart from the couple of 'niggles' already mentioned, we were quite happy and really enjoyed our time in Namibia.

Perhaps, the only other observation is that it might have been better to do the trip the other way round and finish at Okonjima, as seeing cheetahs close up and on foot and a leopard close up were the great highlight of the trip. It would also have meant a shorter drive back to Windhoek." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Although we have traveled in South Africa numerous times before, this was our first ever trip to Namibia, and we are extremely happy that we have chosen to go there for our honeymoon.

The entire trip was absolutely wonderful and memorable, with some of the camps that we stayed at being absolutely wonderful in terms of their location, activities, quality of service, friendliness and welcoming of the staff - these were Little Kulala, Desert Rhino Camp and Okonjima Plains Camp.

Everything was so finely organised by Expert Africa, we found the instructions, information so helpful and we really couldn't fault the preparation that we received from Sabina.

We will certainly be going back to Namibia, as we feel we only got to see such a small part of this wonderful, friendly and beautiful country.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nothing really, as the service we received from Sabina was excellent." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"This is the second time we use Expert Africa for bookings etc. As last time, everything went perfect.

We got qualifyed and kind help from the staff. At arrival in Africa, everything went according to plans. You can get full help from Expert Africa. However, as experienced in travelling in Africa, we prepared the route on our own. Afterwards, we got good input from Expert Africa and make changes accordingly. This worked fine.

We will use Expert Africa again in the future." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a South Africa trip

"Great trip." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Kenya safari

"We found Namibia to be really fascinating and we believe, how the trip was balanced, fully enhanced our experience of the country.

The format of guided tour, flights to the remotest parts of our trip and then the self drive enabled us to visit and appreciate a wide range of areas.

The guided part helped us to relax on some of the longest drives of the trip and also to gain understanding of all aspects of Namibia. Vernon our guide was very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. In addition to explaining some of the historical and cultural aspects of the areas we were visiting also provided tips and information which helped our self drive element. this was appreciated especially given that the handover for the vehicle was very basic.

The flights, both from the balloon and the light aircraft provided a different perspective of the landscape that we could not appreciate from the ground. The plane flights also avoided the long drive up to Damaraland, which would of been tiring and maybe where the landscape is less changeable.

The self drive gave us an experience that we have always wanted to do within Africa but never really felt able to do so. Driving around Namibia eliminated some of the dangers found in other parts of Africa but still provided the adventure that we were looking for.

The trip was varied both in terms of the activities, landscapes and camps and more than exceeded our expectations..

Overall a very enjoyable experience." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We save up for a few years to go on this trip and and with all the hype on the internet I was concerned the real thing could be a bit of an anticlimax. Suffice to say it was
anything but. It was truly outstanding in all aspects from the arrangements to Victoria Falls hotel and on to the lodges in Botswana.

A holiday that will live with us forever.
And I have 2'600 photographs to prove it!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Cannot fault anything." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We had the best time, totally exceeded our expectations and continued to amaze us throughout. W

e wouldn't hesitate to recommend Botswana to anyone looking for a really special trip and all the camps we stayed at were excellent." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari