Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"It was an amazing trip. I found Expert Africa through an article on Chimzombo in Conde Nast Traveller. Ellie was superb. Very flexible and accommodating. She had lots of suggestions; she obviously had very detailed knowledge and was able to give very good advice.

One thing that would have been better; when you arrive in Lusaka, you are tired and disorientated and you have to find your way to Proflight (next door terminal). We did find it and it was straightforward but I think advice about this would have been good so you knew exactly what to do. This was our first experience of the arrangements made by ExpertAfrica and we felt a bit lost. If it is not possible for someone to welcome you and then guide you to Proflight, then really detailed information would be good. Eg come out of international arrivals, go right through doors next to etc.etc." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"We thought it was very good value for money.
Staff at airports, hotels, restaurant, everywhere were excellent. Very friendly, very helpful.
Food quality exceeded our expectations.
Good variety of foods available.
Very varied landscape and activities with the choices we made, so no time to get bored.
Packing not so easy with temps from 34degC to 2degC
Very pleased we took our GPS, less stressful, no music in the car is the biggest negative. Radio stations are boring or not in English.
Main reason to travel at this time of year was to see Namaqualand in flower, it was spectacular.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No. In my case I knew what I wanted so Tracy made it work." Read full review: 34 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip

"Perhaps we should have put Little Kwara fourth and had Chitabe as the last camp. Apart from the 'hotel' side of things at Little Kwara, the trip was absolutely wonderful, and would like to thank Tracy for advising us to take a few nights on the houseboat, and for changing the routing of the camp to suit our final destination. Might have been less hassle leaving from Kasane!!" Read full review: 47 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We would definitely recommend this agency." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"Better than the last trip to Namibia ( and that was spectacular). Much better that we didn't have to cover such vast distances, and that we had 2 nights in many places. Highlight was kayaking with the seals in Pelican Point, the Skeleton Coast at Terrace Bay and Etendeka. Really well organised and literature excellent." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Overall, we had a wonderful time in Namibia and we would like to thank Sabina for arranging such an interesting and varied trip for us at very short notice. Expert Africa's careful planning allowed us to take home some great memories from our first trip to Africa and we are grateful that the itinerary included such a variety of landscapes and attractions.

Below we outline a few little issues solely for the purpose of providing assistance to future travelers (We are thoroughly satisfied with the service by the Expert Africa team and would not hesitate to rely on them again in the future).

We felt that the last full day of gravel road travel between Swakopmund and Doro Nawas was the least enjoyable day of the holiday, partly due to the fact that by that stage we had done a lot of gravel road driving and partly due to the fact that the itinerary between Uis and Doro Nawas was over a really bumpy stretch of road (both C35 and D2612) and our main concern was that the rented car would be damaged. We could neither admire the fantastic scenery outside the car nor fully focus on the - atrocious at times - road. We also did not expect that people would stand by the roadside and wave empty water bottles trying to get water from tourists, which obviously posed a dilemma for us.

The area around Uis and Khorixas seemed to us very deprived and we felt somewhat voyeuristic merely driving through as tourists. The area also felt quite unsafe - at one point we stopped at a roadside picnic table just to be surprised by a small truck full of men, one of whom got out and started hassling us for money. Similarly, on the way to Etosha and after visiting the Petrified Forest, we were asked by the official guide there to give a lift to one of his colleagues to Khorixas. As we obliged, we were instantly asked by the guest passenger if we could take on board two others. Our refusal to do so was ill-received. It appears that it is a common practice at that attraction to pressure tourists into giving lifts to staff members.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We think it would be useful to highlight the following points to future travelers:

1) additional spare tyre (second one) takes up a lot of space in the boot and it may make it awkward to pack and transport the luggage;
2) certain stretches of gravel roads are very rough and it would be good to clarify, who would be responsible for damaged suspension, should it happen;
3) the last stop gave us little time to enjoy the location, therefore it may be useful to consider accommodation in closer proximity to the airport;
4) it would be useful to clarify, how clean the rented car should be on the return;
5) it would be useful to warn tourists (especially those who have spare space in their cars) that at certain locations they may be asked for a lift by the guides;
6) we found that at some locations the full range of activities presented on Expert Africa leaflets were not on offer (e.g. guided walks at Buellsport Farm, night walks at Sossus Dune Lodge);
7) we would advise not to attend night drive safaris at Okaukuejo - the price is high and one normally sees much more during the day while driving around the park;
8) on tarmac roads one usually is not able to drive safely beyond 100 km/h due to warthogs roaming by the roadside - we almost had an accident because of them;
9) Perhaps advise guests to bring a travel kettle and hair dryer with them as they are not provided as a matter of course." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"I knew from my first conversation with Megan over a year ago that this would be an excellent trip. We're been to Africa a few times so had a good idea of what we wanted and Megan certainly delivered. She listened, asked the right questions and helped steer us to a short list of camps that suited our wish for small camps and camps run by different companies for variety. It all worked perfectly, including the travel arrangements.

On one transfer from a houseboat to our first camp we were looked after by six different people, and had a very pleasant two hour break at a river side lodge whilst waiting for our plane. It all happened seamlessly and with great good humour. That takes some organising!

Megan and Expert Africa are a class act!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"It is always good to return to my old home and despite certain failings, we can' wait to return, spending more time at Tafika.

I must comment also on Zambia in General where we found the locals happy, helpful and a joy to talk to. We hope they will do even more to protect their valuable assets, the wildlife." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"This was a wonderful trip and experience. From start to finish everything was very easy.

All the information and maps were excellent. We were very impressed with the accomodation selected, all the journey times were well planned and manageable and the whole holiday was well structured. We had great help and service by Sabina and everything worked flawlessly.

We have been very impressed with Expert Africa and Sabina and would recommend them to anyone visiting Namibia. Thank you for arranging such an outstanding and memorable trip." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Another great 3 weeks wandering around Namibia!. This was our 5th trip which, we think, pretty much says it all. Some new places and some old friends to see.

Can we go back please?" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip