Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"The trip was fantastic. I was very pleased to encounter no problems or issues.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Really appreciated Sabina's quick response time and help while booking rather last minute." Read full review: 2 nights in Africa; 2 on a Namibia trip

"We had the most wonderful holiday and we could not get over how helpful and charming everybody was, from when we first started to plan our holiday to our return home. The accommodation and food was excellent where ever we went, including the village lunch and we were made to feel that all the guides really cared about us having a good time and getting to see everything. All our transfers were well organised and well driven!

I would highly recommend going to see the Victoria Falls, taking the longer helicopter ride (30 minutes) over it as you then fly down the gorges which is very exciting and helps you understand the formation of the landscape. The buffet breakfast at the Royal Livingston Hotel is also an experience not to be missed.

All the Zambians we met were so genuinely friendly we can not wait to return." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"This was the first trip to Tanzania, or indeed Africa, for me and my husband. My daughters, who were with us, have been before though. We had the most brilliant time. My daughters and husband climbed Kilimanjaro then flew down to Ras Kutani to meet me and have a day or so to recover. It was a perfect place for that! Loved the monkeys there! Expert Africa did brilliantly in recommending Ruaha and Selous for our safari time. Neither had hordes of other vehicles rushing round and the former gave some wonderful close encounters with the wildlife whilst The Selous was such a beautiful landscape. Both Mdonya and Beho Beho were wonderful experiences and I would happily return there in a trice. Expert Africa also kindly arranged a road transfer for me to Ras Kutani so I was able to see some of 'normal' life on the way.

All of us felt it was a very special and exciting holiday and I cannot thank Expert Africa enough for their help in creating such a good experience. Hopefully that will be the first of many African adventures we have with you!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Brilliant experience - need to invent some new adjectives
Holiday of a lifetime

Very well organised, with camp sites and hotels taking real care to ensure you were getting the most out of the experience
The guides in Kwihala were world class going way beyond the call of duty - not that they saw it as a duty
It shows how important it is to do your research because the camps were very different and complimentary." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Very happy with a trip that ran very smoothly and without any drama.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just keep on doing what you do best. I'm a very happy customer and couldn't ask for more from Expert Africa." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Fantastic.

Malawi and Zimbabwe proved to be two great countries to combine on this trip. There were many similarities. We found the staff in the camps and the people we met along the way to be very friendly, helpful and interested in us. The high standards of our guides impressed us, from Chris the manager at Mkulumadzi who personally took us on a walk and on a boat up the Shire River, to Richard Chamwala at Mvuu who delighted in sharing all things big and small with us. In our book you can always tell the best guides when they like finding the little birds and bugs to point out, not just the hippos fighting 30 feet away from the boat, both of which Richard did.

Our guide Nduduzi Ndlovu at Camp Amalinda in Matobo Hills was great at listening to us and discovering our interests, as evidenced by the wonderful day we spent with him driving through the park and the local communal lands, visiting a school, and hiking up to a cave with ancient paintings. He not only knows 7 languages but also knows where to find a zonkey!

Even our drivers that took us from one camp to another (or to an airport) were excellent, like Mike from Wilderness Safaris who stopped the car several times so we could see and talk to people and who also helped me buy a tchenge (those colorful traditional fabrics that woman wear as a wrap) in a roadside market.

We went to both countries in the hope that our visit would encourage and support the conservation of wildlife and wild areas. We also came to really appreciate the people of these two countries, where life has not been easy but there is a great determination to carry on and do better.

Claire at Expert Africa, with assistance from Chris, shared many insightful comments from personal experience so that we came up with this list of places to visit that really suited us. As usual, all details were handled and executed perfectly on the ground. This is really saying something because we gave quite short notice of our desire to travel.

And next time I will really believe you when you say that it gets cold in July at night!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"This was a truly memorable trip.

It was our third trip to Africa, and the best in terms of wildlife viewing. The whole safari experience was wonderful from start to end." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Maruska has set the standard for all future travel agents. I cannot recommend her highly enough!

I talked to several travel agents in the US before deciding to work with Maruska. I had called Expert Africa to inquire about the small group trips on the Wild About Africa site. When I started questioning Maruska about the trips, it was immediately clear to me that she was the most knowledgeable agent I had talked to so far.

She efficiently helped me put together my dream trip to Africa, and also helped me to prepare for the trip. Many thanks to her for being unfailingly responsive to my many emails about the practical details of traveling in Africa (money, vaccinations, clothing, etc.).

I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Africa!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions, as I felt that the service was outstanding." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari

"Our trip was a fantastic experience which all of the family really enjoyed. We did have some long driving days but these were to be expected.

All the accomodation that Expert Africa chose for us was extremely good and I would definately book with Expert Africa again. Maybe I would have liked to include a trek on my next trip but on the whole there was something for all the family to do. Namibia was definately a very diverse country to visit with lots to see and do and of course Etosha Game Park to visit.

Feedback on Pelican Point kayaking:

We were taken out with Craig and Bill, his father -in-law, to kayak with the seals off Pelican Point. It was quite a long drive from Walvis Bay but very interesting to see all the salt works and some flamingoes en route.

Kayaking was quite easy to pick up though very tiring and we paddled out past Pelican Point first to try and see some whales. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful but we did catch glimpses of dolphins. We then paddled back along the shore line to see the seals in their hundreds. They were leaping and diving all around us and we ended up soaking wet from their splashing!

This was a great experience finished off with tea/soup/sandwiches to warm us up which was very welcome." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We were/are very pleased at your succesful efforts to change our dates etc.

Nairobi airport was not a good experience, both changing to fly to Tanzania and coming back from Rwanda. Talking to others, flying to Amsterdam and then with KLM to Kilimanjaro sounded much easier." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari