Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We loved this family trip and it created long lasting memories." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"The overall experience was exceptionally good. Our other comments are on the care and attention provided by Claire Scott at all times during the booking process and run up to the trip. It was also very evident that Expert Africa is viewed in very high regard by both Remote Africa and Sheldon Safaris who run the camps we stayed at, with there even having been a visit to the camps by Expert Africa not long before we were there. This reinforced our already strongly held view that Expert Africa know so much more about the camps and the walking than many other tour operators who seem to need to refer even the most basic question to their in-country agents.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
One reason we contacted with Expert Africa is because of the detail of the information on the website and the transparency with which you operate. Keep up the good work." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"The trip was rolled over from 2020 so hopes and expectations were high.

It certainly didn't disappoint.

Returning to Kenya was always going to be a treat. The chosen lodges were excellent with just the right amount of time in each.
The whole trip worked well.

We were so pleased to be back!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
I cannot think of anything to suggest - it was a wonderful trip with great lodges and lovely people.
All beautifully managed (despite rolling it over from 2020)

I am already thinking about the next trip!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"We chose the camps we went to based on past experience because we adore the bushcamp type of lodges rather than the all out 'luxury' lodges with Jacuzzis and so on. Such camps get harder to find nowadays. Good camps to us have relatively few guests so that game drives become leisurely and relaxing experiences.

Game can be hard to find - it is not unheard of to be out for an hour or two and see little so we have fostered our interest in African birds. They are always there even if the animals are being secretive. We always tell camps we are interested in birds as well as animals and the good camps (like these three) note this and give us knowledgeable guides and try to avoid putting us with the 'red meat' type of client s who only want to see lion and other predators. Result - we see the same amount of game but fill in the time between sightings with lots of the colourful and abundant African birds.

We go by past experience of safaris and often select our own itineraries however Expert Africa staff are actively send on fact finding missions to many of there camps and speak and advise from personal knowledge. If you do not have personal knowledge then use their staff - they are all helpful and will design trips for you having listened carefully to your preferences. We would not dream of using anyone else now.

Please note that our neutral recommendation for Megan reflects that we have admiration for all of Expert Africa staff and would trust them all to be excellent rather than pick one as better than another.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, just keep doing what you do cos you do it well.

These travellers noted about their flights:

Emirates had a bad hair day on our flights out.

Our flight out of Heathrow was severely delayed although we were not warned until we were queuing in the check in. We managed to get on an earlier flight otherwise our Dubai connection would have been missed. Our Dubai to Lusaka flight was also several hours delayed so that we eventually missed our connection between Lusaka and Luangwa. Seems Dubai had had a severe sandstorm which severely affected all their flights. We were not kept informed about this and so became quite stressed at the prospect of missing flights.

What was very impressive about this episode is that we received texts from Chris McIntyre himself whilst this was evolving (boss of Expert Africa) telling us of the problems and what Expert Africa were doing for us. We were met in Lusaka by their agents who had booked us a hotel for the night, arranged transfer vehicles and arranged replacement flights for the next morning. Chris McIntyre continued to monitor the situation and ensured the camp we were going to were informed so we felt very well cared for by Expert Africa.

Things don't often go wrong in Africa nowadays and when they do a bit of patience and common sense usually get you through but this was seriously impressive service, sorting out the problem before we had even landed in Lusaka and keeping not only tabs on their clients in transit but being aware of the problems in the first place and having solutions to hand. Emirates had no problems on our return flights however their lack of information during this episode was disappointing." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"We would highly recommend Expert Africa for anyone seriously looking to book an African safari.

All of our in-country travel and accommodations were arranged by Expert Africa. Upon our arrival in Lusaka we were met by kind and very helpful representatives from Expert Africa to get us to our hotel and to get us to the airport the next day. They helped us with our luggage and the entire check-in process. All in-country flights on Proflight Zambia were arranged by Expert Africa and coordinated with the bush camps to ensure we were met at each airport/airstrip.

Our experience with Expert Africa started in 2019 when we originally booked an August 2020 safari. That trip, due to COVID-19, did not happen but Lucy, our Expert Africa Travel Specialist, was able to coordinate the move of our reservations to 2021. In 2021, travel to and from the US to Africa was problematic due to COVID test requirements and frequent airline cancellations. Lucy was able to coordinate yet another extension of our reservations to August of 2022.

Throughout this entire timeframe we found the service provided by Expert Africa to be outstanding. Before our August 2022 safari, we thought a safari would be a once in a lifetime experience. After the amazing experiences we enjoyed at Anabezi Camp and Lion Camp it is now not a question of if we will return, but when. And when we do return, we will use Expert Africa to book the trip." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"We loved our holiday and honestly wouldn’t change a thing.

The amount of time spent at each camp was perfect and ensured not only did we see everything we wanted to, but it also didn’t feel rushed or stressed." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"The holiday exceeded our expectations. It is a lot of money, but we felt we got good value and wonderful experiences. Everything worked very smoothly, staff could not have been more helpful and clearly post-Covid visitors returning is key. We were a little concerned about the election but it has all gone relatively smoothly. The day in Nairobi was very enjoyable - being a Sunday traffic was not a problem.

The only downer was before we went, we had to spend hours battling with the Covid and visa forms - a bit stressful, but Jessica was very helpful (and patient) with us about this and helped as much as possible.

This is our 3rd holiday with Expert Africa and we would book again, but would prefer to have flights included for future holidays, given possible Covid cancellations and hassles." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"This is our 3rd safari and feel that it was far superior to the previous two.

The Hemingways Ol Seki camp, Naboisho Conserivancy and our guide Amos made this trip almost impossible to beat for future travels." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"This was a fabulous trip. We stayed in Arusha (pleasant overnight), and visited the Ngorongoro Crater (lots of game), Ruaha (fabulous lodge, sparser game, but still very enjoyable) and the Serengeti for the migration - awe-inspiring and spectacular river crossings.

The lodges were of very high standards, and the trip was comfortable, well-run and hugely enjoyable.

A special word must be reserved for the friendliness of the Tanzanian people - gentle, helpful, kind, considerate and well-mannered, extremely eager to do their best for you. It’s wonderful for veteran travellers like us to see how far the country has developed in so many ways since we were last here, and in particular to see how the Tanzanians themselves now occupy all the senior positions in camp management, guiding, and flying, doing so with their customary charm, efficiency and commitment to customer service." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Everything went perfectly and we appreciated that Little Vundu especially knew what we wanted as photographers before we arrived so we got the best guiding experience ever.

We did ask the staff of Little Vundu to please stop using one way plastic bottles and use refillable bottles." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zimbabwe safari