Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We are seasoned safari goers, and each time we embark upon a new trip, there is always the question of whether it will be as good as our previous trips. Unfailingly, it is and this time was no exception. Every aspect of the trip was great and once again we had sightings of animals we'd not seen before, memorable new experiences and met some amazing people.

We would highly recommend this trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We cannot think of anything. We've been very happy with Expert Africa for a number of years now and this year was no exception." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"All aspects met, or exceeded our expectations. The ground handler provided us with excellent local support throughout our stay and guided us through the various transits.

The game viewing was superb throughout with Kaingo being outstanding." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"Thank you Expert Africa for making this trip (to celebrate my 60th) so memorable.

We have had the most wonderful time. Too many highlights to mention.
Fishermans tours are also very reliable, always on time.
It has been worth every penny." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Great trip to Zimbabwe. Everyone raves about safari guides in Zimbabwe and they really are excellent." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 15 on a Zimbabwe safari

"We are seasoned travellers and have been on many safaris previously.

However, we had never seen the migrational activity. We were pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed Kenya (maybe not Nairobi though). The quality of the game viewing, big cats, river crossings and some rare encounters - serval cat, bat eared fox den etc made it a very special trip. The highlights would be the wildebeest crossing the river, the big cat population and Mara Plains camp, which is exceptional." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari

"Our transfer from Olakari to Rekaro was very tedious with 2 flights and 2 35km road journeys quite apart from delay at Kenya immigration. The new EVisa was not fully understood by border control. The transfer from Wilson Airport to Jomo Kenyatta Airport was long and dusty but might have been even longer if routing through Nairobi itself. Kicheche camp location was a bit disappointing.

Our trip was amazing but even after planning nearly a year prior we were not able to experience our first choice camp in Naboisho especially as we only saw one vehicle with 2 people from Naboisho Assilia camp over 3 days when we were told that that camp was full." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari

"This was our first safari so we were a bit apprehensive as we really did not know what to expect. But Expert Africa came up trumps and our trip was brilliant, just brilliant.

We were concerned about all the bits (flights, transfers and accommodation) fitting together, but it went like clockwork.

Impala Camp in Selous and Kwihala in Ruaha were perfect, just what we wanted; and the laid-back Pole Pole was the icing on the cake.

Many thanks to Liz for putting our trip together.

Our only problem now is matching it next year!!!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"It was great,we had a fantastic trip, although I think spending 6 nights in the same reserve was too much.

It would have probably wiser to choose another camp than Selinda (Chitabe?,Savuti? Mombo?) even if this one was great." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"The trip of a lifetime.

Credit to Claire for organising a fairly complicated trip with multiple border crossings, airport to lodge, lodge to hotel, hotel to airport transfers, which had perfect timing throughout our trip." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 2 on a Zambia safari

"Richard delivered again! After looking to book with various companies I am so glad we came back to Expert Africa. Richard's in-depth knowledge and enthusiasm for Kenya is a refreshing change from those companies whose 'expert' did a flying trip of a few camps but actually know nothing about the actual country. Keep up the research and the actual trips to Kenya Richard as your knowledge is invaluable.

My husband and I lived in Kenya previously and have visited regularly but this time I took my Canadian 24 year old nephew on a safari that he had been promised since he was a child. It could not have been a more successful nor enjoyable trip!

We stayed for 2 nights at Macushla House (Nairobi), 1 night Aero-Club (Nairobi), 2 nights Elephant Bedroom (Samburu), 3 nights Governors (Masai Mara), 2 nights Encounter Mara (Naibosho Conservancy - Mara).

Nairobi traffic jams are crazy and are only going to get worse. Choosing your hotel and what you want to do needs to take this into account. We wanted to visit the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (please go there), the Giraffe Sanctuary (good fun) and Nairobi Game Park (much underrated) and a few shopping areas. Staying at Macushla House meant this was possible without having to deal with much traffic which suited us. We decided to use taxis for one day and then a driver for the second. In hindsight having a driver means you can really please yourselves and change your plans if you want to and I would do this in the future rather than taxis. If you want to go into the city and experience the restaurants and city life then possibly a more central hotel would suit you better.

We had a very early flight out the next morning so rather than chance the traffic and have a ridiculously early start we stayed at the Aero Club which is on Wilson Airport. This is a Nairobi institution and the bar (where we also ate our dinner) was welcoming and interesting and, best of all, was a 5 minute trip from the terminal. The accommodation is very basic but it worked for us. I do not think it would not suit most people.

Elephant Bedroom in Samburu was fantastic in every way. My only complaint is that we did not have time to spend 3 nights here as we usually do. It is one of my favorite Reserves and very different from other locations. This was my second stay at Elephant Bedroom and all of the tiny problems have been dealt with now and the welcoming and efficient staff were fantastic. The animals have the right of way through camp and that makes for wonderful experiences especially with elephants. My nephew's many questions were answered with accurate information delivered with enthusiasm from the guards through to James our guide. Because it is usually so dry you do not get the quantity of game here you get in the Mara but you get varieties of animals you can not see elsewhere and the elephant sightings are incredible. The scenery is also fantastic.

We mixed our time in the Mara between Governors (in the Reserve and a large camp) and Encounter Mara (in Naibosho Conservancy and a small camp). This was the best mixture and each offered us something different and special. If you want to see animals you can not beat the Mara and boy, did we see animals in both places. It should have been the end of the migration but there were still lots of wildebeast and we actually saw a crossing. Where there is food there are predators and we saw lots of them as well. The Mara was still busy so going to Encounter Mara meant we saw wonderful cat sightings with very few vehicles. Encounter Mara also allowed us walking safaris, night drives and a (non-commercial!) boma visit. With their lovely guides and staff we will go back there and I hope others do too as it deserves to do well.

I think the balance of Nairobi Game Park, Samburu Reserve and the two locations in the Masai Mara gave my nephew a varied glimpse of Kenyan wildlife and countryside. He has not stopped talking about it. He absolutely loved the trip but confessed that he did not realise that sitting in a vehicle and looking for animals could be so exhausting! As for me, Kenya has so much to offer that I will return again (and again and again)!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari