Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Megan Ingoldby organised this trip so well -- thank you! -- and she and Chris made three excellent suggestions for places to stay in the Seychelles.


We loved having a car on Praslin -- and explored different beaches and the interior every day. And yet we loved not having a car on Mahe at the tail end of our trip -- so we could just flop. That said, it means we'll have to go back and explore Mahe some time!!

Thank you team Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Try as I might, I struggle to think of anything!

Perhaps a 'don't miss' note for each hotel? Perhaps that's too much work?… e.g. When in Coco de Mer, don't miss doing some paddle boarding, visiting Anse Georgette (the hotel has a relationship with the Hotel Constance Lemuria which means you can access their beach), visiting the Vallee de Mai, etc.

That's me digging deep… it was so well organised with some excellent accommodation choices on your part, and v good logistics linking it all together. THANK YOU! Chris, Megan and the team." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 4 on a Seychelles holiday

"we have, we guess, become bitten by the Africa bug. We had a great time though we know that our measures of enjoyment are not necessarily those that others might use. This was our first trip to Namibia and it lived up to expectations. Stunning landscapes, extraordinarily nice people, a history that you should learn about to understand the place.... and for those that live in great cities, just amazingly empty. What will we remember? Sabina said to us that we shouldn't waste money on hiring a 4x4 but suggested we got a vehicle that had good ground clearance. We went with this.

On our drive back from Wolwedans to Windhoek, having still not seen any major rain, we had to drive over a small range of mountains, and on the way to the main pass I realised that it had rained here and the road was largely washed away. But we got over the pass and I said it should be easy from here.My partner took over as we drove down to the plains, and the we remembered that if it rains in the mountains, the water has to go somewhere. When we drove into the second bit of flooded road which seemed to run as far as we could see in front of us, we swapped driving again, and after a couple of hiccups, we got through. Thanks for your suggestion Sabina, in a VW Golf, we'd still be sitting in the middle of a fllor, and as you know, not many cars come along in Namibia ....... We will of course go back; the deep south around the Snake River is there to visit and then we'd like to go along the Caprivi into Botswana and Zambia....

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our experience of Expert Africa is that you are content to let people work out their own routes for particular sections of a trip and then help with areas where they are less confident. It probably reduces your income but it means that we feel that you are helping us work out what we want to do, rather than just selling us a package. This is more like the old time 'outfitters' who helped you buy your kit and suggested the best routes, than a travel agent. It suits us well and makes us feel confident in following your advice.

Thanks Sabina and you helped us enjoy your country." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"Our family trip was an amazing experience, really memorable, thank you.

We all had a wonderful time regardless of our age.

I just want to mention Mason's who handled all our connections in the Seychelles. They were incredibly efficient and reliable.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not at all, everything was great, thank you." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa;

"Expert Africa provided a faultless service. All transfers in a complicated travel plan ran on rails allowing for a stressless and seamless holiday." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa;

"The trip was put together perfectly and at each juncture, the part awaiting us was exactly what we needed/ wanted to compliment the last and maintain variety. We were so impressed with the quality of the &Beyond destinations in particular- they really are a cut above- so slick. But saying that, Beho Beho was such an incredible experience, the whole Selous felt manicured it was all so perfect. Ellie has just been amazing throughout and the guidance in putting together such a trip of a lifetime was invaluable. We're not sure that we will ever top this trip. But then again, that's the sign of the most perfect honeymoon..." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"We were looking for an economic hiking holiday to see primates. We were disappointed that we could not go hiking through farmland without a guide after our primate hike was short. We were disappointed that 2 of our 5 primate visits were very short hikes although we are aware that it depends on where the animals are in the forests. We loved the friendly contacts with the locals when we did escape our guide. Rwandan tourism is very tightly managed with little freedom for the traveler. It obviously works as it is very expensive and the country looks affluent.

We asked for a long hike for our second gorilla trek and were persuaded we should have a medium one. It turned out to be short and slow due to one visitor being disabled. We sympathized with the family but it did not meet our objective which was to incorporate hiking with an experience. We were very impressed at how readily the Rwandans make it possible to carry people up in a litter and enable them to enjoy the gorilla experience. A lesson to me on humanity and how selfish I and the Western world can be.

It was not clear beforehand that we would be expected to tip absolutely everyone and the numbers involved. For one Gorilla trek - dancers, 2x guides, 3x trackers, 4x guards plus porters if engaged. We had to try to change dollars into small denominations and avoid any drinks not included in the price due to this tipping as we did not have the money. They say it is voluntary BUT it is made VERY clear that everyone expects a tip as '' otherwise they will go back to poaching''. After the huge cost of the holiday and permits we did not expect this. Whilst Rwanda is lovely and we have no regrets we cannot recommend it to friends. it cost me a years salary after tax for the two of us! We are not in the targeted wealth bracket but it was fun to experience that sort of life for a short period. Primate safaris were excellent.

There must be a cheaper option for hikers and backpackers.
Visiting the north east of the country would have been better instead of Serena Kivu
I loved the Nile Congo route and am glad to have done it before the new road.
Expected to ask and tip people if one takes a photo of them.

Thanks for a memorable and great very special holiday. No complaints - just feedback as requested." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Rwanda safari

"Parts of our trip were really amazing but other aspects were so disappointing, so it's difficult to give an overall level of satisfaction really. In our view this was partly down to advice from Expert Africa and partly down to failings of Sunshine Marine Lodge (i.e. the food).

The connections etc. were all very smooth - the drivers were always waiting for us and there was never a need to follow anything up, so the trip had clearly been very well planned out and was very easy for us, which was great.

The upgrade for the last few nights at Sunshine Marine Lodge made a lot of difference, as it afforded some privacy, so we're pleased that it could be put in place." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had a great time even though we both had flu!!!

We enjoyed the different character of the lodges, this was our second time with Expert Africa in South Africa and you have taken us to Namibia as well
For us the treats were Bushmans Kloof and Kwandwe and we love Cape Town. We were happier in town than out at Camps Bay.

We'd lile a CapeTown/Kwandwe/somewhere else holiday next time - I was looking at your brochure in secret today!

so Thank You Tracy and all the staff in South Africa (apart from the misery at De Hoop) We had a fantastic time
x x x xx

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Please include the rest of S Africa one of these days" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a South Africa trip

"This was our "trip of a lifetime." All of the arrangements and advice from Tracy Lederer were excellent. Tracy worked with me by email and phone to plan a unique arrangement to bring our five family members from the USA, Namibia and Mozambique together for this trip. She was extremely patient, and answered my questions even when asked several times.

The voucher system for the lodgings worked well, and I was happy not to have to rely on using a credit card at each location.

I wish I had known the time it would take to travel between each location ahead of time, and possibly have spent three nights at some locations such as Etosha. There were several long driving days.

There was the unfortunate DHL incident, where my vouchers and maps did not arrive before our trip. Tracy scanned and sent our vouchers and some maps by email. The partner organization in Windhoek met us and gave us the Namibian maps and were a great help. This was the only problem we had - which was easily overcome.

Thank you very much for everything. It was an amazing trip that we will be talking about for a long time." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"I loved the green, having guides that actually enjoy and love nature rather than just chase after cats.

It felt remote and special enough in the South, hardly saw other vehicles. Got on with the guides very well and feel very lucky that they were so knowledgable. I saw some beautiful scenery, we took little breaks to enjoy the beauty around us.

James Denny at Expert Africa guessed very well what would appeal to me - within my budget too! I really appreciate that." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari