Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"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

"It's a very long way to go, and although enjoyable, Botswana didn't live up to our expectations or justify why it is so expensive.

We didn't see nearly as many animals as we thought we would." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful trip.

We are regular safari goers so have a very good idea of what we want and what to expect. We like clear sincere honest communication and like camps that are simple, warm with great guiding and wonderful locations. For most of the trip we got that from all the camps" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"All the arrangements worked, as we expected them to.

I asked Tracy to upgrade our car from a group C to a group K shortly before we traveled, based on my own research, and friends' comments. I'm very glad I did, because we drove over 3000km, and a standard saloon would have been too small, our luggage would not all have fitted in the boot, and it would have required extremely careful driving on some of the gravel roads. I think it should have been suggested to us in the first place, given the amount of time we spent in the car. (In fact we were supplied with a Nissan X-trail 2/4WD, which I think is a group O car).

We were a little concerned that staying for one night in 3 lodges in a row (around the Etosha area) would be difficult, with no time to rest, but in fact it suited us. We were able to cross Etosha in a leisurely fashion, knowing we wouldn't have to retrace our steps at the end of the day." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Excellent" Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 4 on a Malawi trip

"over all one of the best holidays I've been on!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Excellent trip. Very well organised safari holiday with some of the best sighting of cats we have ever had.

The parks are quiet and the guides excellent. We particularly enjoyed the adventure camp experience and will definitely do this again. It was also the first time we have flown between parks, it made the trip more expensive but with our limited time it made sense and was a great experience. All our connections worked like clockwork and the overnight international flight helps to maximise time on holiday. What was great was that the day travelling between parks was set up to include two game drives so it didn't feel like a transit day and in fact included two of our most exciting sightings of leopard and lions.

We chose the parks from the excellent reviews we had read on the website. The brochure pictures of wild dogs are perhaps misleading as the local guides said their range is so huge you are unlikely to see them and we are realistic enough to know that these are very difficult to see.

As with our previous holiday with Expert Africa to Namibia we were impressed by how much effort James put into listening to what we wanted and matching us with accommodation and an itinerary that suited us perfectly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The information booklet that comes with the tickets is very useful.

We discovered that Tsetse flies are attracted to all dark colours, not just black and blue but also green and brown so save your beige and stone coloured clothing for Ruaha!

Having had two excellent trips of very different types with Expert Africa we trust your website so a travellers tips section written by you guys would be very welcome." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"Excellent.

Interesting variety of activities and (nearly) all logistics worked to plan." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"We had a wonderful holiday which we enjoyed tremendously - other than the visa concern mentioned at the start the only other thing which It would have been good to know is that tipping is standard and the daily rate per day guide in dollars would have been useful for us to know - also that a general tip to staff is normally given as well - this would give you a chance to have the right amount of cash in hand - as there is nowhere in most of the camps to get any cash - we fortunately had just about enough in various currencies to do this but it was a concern as we had not anticipated this ( probably it being our first time doing this type of trip)" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Overall it was an excellent trip. Namibia is one of the safest and friendliest countries in Africa and better value than most Safari destinations.

Some long distances to drive but easy traffic free roads and interesting scenery. A variety of scenery with coast, canyons, massive sand dunes and game parks. Lots of animals to be seen in Etosha which while not a beautiful African Safari Park it is excellent for game viewing round the waterholes where everything gathers. Some interesting Lodges in excellent locations to stay at who make you very welcome.

Expert Africa were very helpful in our planning for the trip with no pressure to book anything - just good patient advice. All the logistics they arranged worked perfectly. So thank you Sabina Hekandjo and Expert Africa who I would thoroughly recommend.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The service was excellent and I can think of little that Expert Africa could have done to improve anything so please keep up the good work and I hope your company continues to be successful." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip