Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Our trip to Botswana was an amazing holiday and unfortunately a 'one off'.

Despite a short delay in Maun which was dealt with quickly and efficiently by Beverly of Mac Air, everything went according to plan thanks to Megan's help and advice. The game drives, lodges and even the wildlife far exceeded our expectations." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"We really loved every minute of our holiday in Botswana!! From the places we saw, the quality of the camps and the services they offered, the food, all the incredible experiences ...

Not only the safaris were awesome but we met fantastic people and fell in love with the country. It was very sad when the holiday came to an end but we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to go. It has been one of our best holidays and we will never forget it!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thank you Megan for having organised an amazing holiday for us! We went in occasion of our 10th wedding anniversary and in all the years to come we will always remember what a fantastic time we have had and how special our celebration has been." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"There is no doubt that Botswana is truly an amazing experience. The wildlife is outstanding, the locations wild and remote, the camps are fantastic and it is a humbling experience to see the daily life and death struggles of animals trying to survive.

We travelled with Wilderness safaris - our second time - but I feel their objectives and ours were not entirely matched. I would take great care to ensure you get what you want.

A couple of minor gripes first. I know Expert Africa passed on our dietary (veggie) requirements but when we reached our first (not Wilderness) camp these were not quite correct. On passing back through Maun the next day we spoke to Wilderness direct and while these requirements reached the first camp they did not reach camps 2, 3 and 4. Camp 5 had them but I think only through the feedback given at camp 4. The camps mostly got it once told but on one transfer between camps we were given a meat sandwich on leaving and a meat salad on arriving.

As per my Khalahari Plains feedback there were flight problems and once delayed, because they have pre allocated your guide, activities did get very slightly compromised. This leads onto my major concern.

In the 2 years since our last visit the emphasis of Wilderness seems to have changed. They seem more focused on providing luxury rooms and slick appearances than on providing a true wilderness experience. Out of the 100 or so guests we met probably less than 10% were repeat visitors. They seem all out on attracting rich 1st time bucket list guests. The type of guests who are often more into the quality of the rooms and service rather than on the quality of the activities.

During our 15 days we spend 8 days in the company of very nice people who were on their first ever safari and at their first ever camp. This included the 3 days each at Little Vumbura and Chitabe.

The allocation of guests to guides is sorted before you get to camp. It needs to be more flexible. When we checked into Chitabe we had been 10 days on this trip (and 14 days on a previous). The camp management knew this. Yet they still put us with a couple of elderly sisters on their first ever camp. As much as they were very nice people our objectives and requirements were different. This should have been patently obvious (it was to the guide).

We knew, after 3 weeks in total on safari the differences between a Kudo and an Impala and a lapwing and a roller, While the guide did an admirable job of trying to manage the disparate needs of the guests it never quite worked. On our first morning at Chitabe we were half an hour late setting off because the ladies had not brushed their teeth or brought their kit for the morning drive.

After 6 days at LV and Chitabe we were bristling with frustration at the basic mismatching of guests' experiences.

(The day after we left Chitabe we understand their was an incident in our "old" truck where 2 people wanted to leave lions in the process of killing a buffalo whereas 2 wanted to watch the whole process. That should be sorted in the allocation process rather than leave some guests unfulfilled and some gusts traumatised.)

Would I travel with Wilderness again. Possibly but I would look at other companies too. If I were to go again I would be much more demanding and want:

1) A sensible allocation of guests - a sensible matching of experience. I recognise that it might not be possible to avoid first timers but experienced visitors should not be matched with people at their first ever camp.
2) If you want to occasionally go out all day (and not just morning and evening) say so before you go so that this is built in. Repeat what you want when you get to each camp.
3) Clarify whether you want to watch a kill in all its detail - its not likely to happen but if it does its a bit late to sort out conflict.

It just seems to me that Wilderness are becoming more focused on providing a 5 star "hotel" service rather than their core activities." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Botswana safari

"Outstanding." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"We spent 2+ months in Africa visiting 4 countries [South Africa, Ethiopia and Zambia in addition to Botswana] and we enjoyed amazing experiences in every country. But our Botswana safari was truly our peak experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Your website gave us the best safari planning information available anywhere ... until we began speaking directly with your staff [Megan, Claire and Nick] who are clearly "expert" on Africa." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"I had a private driver called Ayoub for 9 days.
He was exceptional, I have done about 15 safari holidays and he was the best
The game viewing was outstanding.
I chose middle range lodges as I was out in the 4x4 from dawn to dusk.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The book on Tanzania and the travel guide that Expert Africa sent to me was not expected and was a nice touch" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Maruska Adye was a joy, very knowledgeable. She listened our interests and was very flexible in designing an excellent trip to fit.

We will be going back to Africa and it will be Maruska we will calling to design our trip." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"The help we received from Saskia from the Expert Africa team was invaluable in providing advice based on local knowledge and personal experience. Saskia was very accomodating in answering our multitude of questions and suggesting places to stay based on our desires and capabilities.

Once on the ground everything ran like clockwork, except for the air travel which wasn't organised by Expert Africa. Even then after a few phonecalls Chris and Gwynmeth from the UK office were extra helpful in helping us get on our way and keeping us updated on the supposed whereabouts of our luggage." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"an excellent and very diverse trip across nearly the entire country - a true adventure to remember!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Our holiday, as has been the case in previous years, was much more than just a safari. Of course the animals are wonderful to see in their own environment and we were lucky enough to see most animals including the wild dogs! However, it was the scenery, the locations, the flights and, most of all, the people made this holiday very very special." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari