Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Other than the flights it was absolutely wonderful - a real joy. Sabina was friendly, knowledgeable, patient and helpful and the organisation was impressive.

A couple of general points:

You are right: one doesn’t need a 4WD. Nor a second spare tyre (though we did come across a 4WD with its third puncture of their trip). The only disadvantage of not having a 4WD is that we had to go VERY slowly over some of the gravel roads, whereas I suspect we could have gone faster (though no less uncomfortably) in a 4WD. For example, it might be worth noting that it took nearly an hour from the tarmac road to the Elegant Farmstead.

The (more tourist-orientated?) petrol stations at Okakeujo, Naumatoni, Solitaire and Sesriem did take credit cards (the guide book says that none does).

Accommodation was generally a delight - largely gorgeous, well-appointed and well looked-after places in perfect surroundings.

Warm clothing - I took a very light cardigan, a light jumper and a fleece. This was ample (the guidebook mentions people who wished they’d brought pashminas, blankets etc… not sure why!). Fleeces were worn only at night (game viewing) or in the early morning (at Dune 45), other than at Swakopmund where they were worn all the time!

Route was fine and just right for the duration, especially as some of the distances were long. Etosha, Damaraland, Sossusvlei were all must-see destinations. The only driving we didn’t like was the section between Khorixas and Doro Nawas where the gravel road was very uncomfortable. It was a pity we had to do Okakeujo before Halali but it wasn’t a big problem. The only possible change we might have made would have been to spend one day less in the Sossusvlei area – there isn’t really two days’ worth of activity here unless one is a hiker (which we weren’t) - and travelled back a day earlier." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Our whole trip in Africa was a 'once in a lifetime' one for us.

We have been considering this for some time and were very fortunate to do it with 6 great friends.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not any that would help to improve it really." Read full review: 2 nights in Africa; 2 on a Botswana safari

"We enjoyed the trip tremendously and have taken home an unforgettable experience. The walking safari is the true experience to discover nature and the sophistication of the animals' behaviour.

Can only recommend to anyone who loves nature and wants to discover the bush far away from crowds and noise." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari

"Wonderful Safari all round, but we felt a bit let down by the Porini Mara Camp - although they give one of our party a good birthday dinner. we don't think we have any major concerns - all camps will be different, and we had a very good time.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"We had a terrific time - thank you!" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"It was just such a wonderful and memorable experience made all the better by the really friendly and efficient staff at all the camps. The Masai are such lovely people and they helped to make our game drives unforgettable.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really. We have travelled with Sunvil in the past on trips to Greece and have always enjoyed our holidays." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"This trip was a surprise 70th Birthday present for my husband, and also a planned 70th birthday trip for another family member.

Everything could not have gone more smoothly from start to finish. Clear instructions at all times, personal contact with Richard Trillo when necessary. Prompt action taken to solve just one small glitch with checking in our flight on the day before we left, but otherwise no problems at all.

I would not have wanted to organise this trip independently, Expert Africa team did a great job" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"There is no feedback form for the day room at Onsea House. We felt this place was superior to Rivertrees Country Inn and the food is pretty good. We would rather have stayed here for our initial day and rest night as the precursor lodge at the beginning of the holiday.

An excellent trip overall with good quality guiding and a high standard of food and service. The walking availability at Chada could have been limited due to shortage of qualified staff when other clients were involved in fly camping, however, the camp manager made the effort to bring in a ranger to enable us to take part in the walking activities, which we very much appreciated. Similarly, it appeared that the Camp manager at Little Oliver's was the only qualified walking guide. We were fortunated to enjoy his expert guiding on two consecutive days, but if he had been otherwise occupied we would not have been so lucky and the enjoyment of our time there would have been affected. I feel it is important to make sure that if walking is advertised as an option at a particular lodge/camp then it is vital that qualified staff are available at all times so that guests are able to enjoy this. We did enjoy the walking option at 3 out of 4 camps, but our impression was that the camps rather expect that most clients wish to be in the vehicle most/all of the time. Perhaps the walking safari idea is less well developed in Tanzania compared to other countries such as Zambia.

Tanzania does seem an American destination so it is sometimes a lttle pertinent for the staff at the camp, or the guides, to ensure they manage the groups of guests accordingly (particularly when children are involved).

Also we were encouraged to confirm our holiday registration as parts of it were getting booked up (particularly Greystoke Mahale) only for us to find out when we got there that this was because a group of 9 (Americans) has a block booking which made the ambience of this lodge as little imbalanced for us and the other couple staying there as the maximum it could take is only 12 or so persons.

Also, given the amount of flying and some of the distances between destinations we were finding this did eat into our time on safari. Between Serengeti and Little Oliver's camp we flew Serengeti - Arusha - Little Oliver's for some reason. Thus with this itinerary the travel distance & thus time does add up compared to other safaris we have been on and slightly ditracted from the safari.

With ref to the above comment about a large block booking at a small lodge we'd have liked a little bit more checking on these issues as we booked our trip, as this did distract a little bit from the select nature of the trip. Especially considering the amount we had paid for the holiday each." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 15 on a Tanzania safari

"The good parts of the trip were the lodges (with the exception of Lemala) and the logistics which all worked extremely well.

We found the game viewing rather disappointing compared with Zambia and Botswana, with which we are more familiar, in that the wildlife was often very distant from the roads and made photography and observing behaviours less satisfactory.

Although we had to actually book the flights ourselves, the suggested routing of Manchester/Amsterdam/Kilimanjaro worked very well." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"A great trip starting in the south, working up the Skeleton coast to Angola and back south to Etosha. The highlight is the scenery which is breath taking. Also though for us, seasoned safari travellers, we wanted to see rhino and we had some close contact and saw black and white rhino and at Little Ongava, we saw the two together.
If you are a keen photographer there are some stunning opportunities.
If you are keen on game and predators there are better countries to visit but I would recommend the broader view; literally, and I am sure we will end up back there.
Best camps: Little Kulala and Serra Cafema
Standout moments; scenery especially Sossusvlei and Skelton coast, Himba people, rhino, quad bikes" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip