Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We are hard core independent travellers but booking this trip with Expert Africa has made us re-evaluate the possibility of using this sort of service again. Right from the very beginning, our contact Ellie was superb. Knowledgeable, friendly and patient (I asked and she answered a lot of questions!), she made us feel comfortable and reassured about leaving the responsibility of our holiday in someone else's hands.

It was clear from the start that Expert Africa had spent a lot of time researching the quality and service levels of the guides and hotels they recommended. When Ellie recommended a hotel, she was able to talk about it with confidence and in depth knowledge, which saved me hours researching on various websites. She was also scrupulously honest, making sure I understood the pros and cons of each itinerary or proposition.

I liked the fact that she had done the Rwanda trip herself last year as it gave more credence to what she was saying and cost permitting, I think it is a brilliant idea to have your consultants do as many of the trips as possible so they can speak with authority.

We also felt supported throughout the whole experience (and not just dumped after having paid the cash). When we had a small concern about our transfers in Tanzania, we emailed the info@expertafrica.com email address as we could not remember Ellie's address. This was relayed to her immediately and she responded incredibly quickly, allaying our concerns. This really impressed us and will go a long way to ensuring repeat business for Expert Africa as well as recommendations to our friends.

We are well travelled enough to know that no trip is ever without a hassle or two but one of the reasons we stopped travelling with tour operators is that we felt they relinquished responsibility once we had given them a credit card number. It is the complete opposite with Expert Africa and I loved the fact that you care enough about your customers to give out the mobile details of your staff in case of a real emergency or problem. That speaks volumes about the quality of your operation and your values. Well done Expert Africa, you rock.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I understand why you levy a credit card surcharge in this economic climate - but it is a pain in the posterior to be honest. We had cash in the bank and were able to fund the trip from a standing start so to speak, but if we hadn't been able to do so, paying the surcharge might have been enough to make us consider an alternative travel company. I appreciate that their service might not have been as good but that might have been the trade off......" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 5 on a Rwanda safari

"Great short trip at a very different time of the year to the main tourist season. The stark contrast between the brown of the dry season, and the lush greens of this time of year was most striking. It was alike a completely different place. The light was clear - little dust in the air - great for photographs. The weather was a little variable - first few days were overcast with occasional light rain and one very rainy day. The second part of the trip brought bright sunshine every day.

Watching an already high Luangwa River rise by around 2 metres in a day and a half was quite memorable. Plenty to see - lots of the larger animals and birds around, all looking very healthy. The big cats were inevitably more elusive although we had a great leopard sighting on our way in, and a couple of lion sightings while we were there. Best of all, though, it was like having our own private safari - we were the only guests in each camp, and the staff were all very welcoming and accommodating of our requests and interests. It also meant we could spend as little or as much time as we wanted on each sighting without worrying about the needs and interests of other guests.

If you've been on safari a few times in the dry season, we'd most definitely recommend visiting at this time of year.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None we can think of. We keep recommending you to others, so that's certainly an endorsement!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"This trip was a very good experience indeed. Having been relatively undecided about where to go etc we were helped to choose very rewarding destinations and despite the fact that we were in the middle of Africa and could have been quite confused everywhere, and I mean everywhere, we went there was a representative of the Expert Africa team on hand to let us know that they knew where we were going even if we didn't!

We were assisted through visa points, on and off planes of all sizes, met at airports, ferried to our camps and hotels and always by charming, well-informed guides very patient with elderly people!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"Amazing! Our boys declared it the best holiday ever.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"Generally speaking a fantastic holiday with Selous being the high spot.

Advice from your agent was helpful and informative.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Don't go to Stone Town!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"It was outstanding.

Very well organized - thank you Sabina for all your hard work, care and suggestions. We will be back in the near future and hope that Sabina will look after us for a third time.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Get another car-hire firm or make it clear that they must deliver what is promised and payed for - we got only one spare wheel though payed for two.

But that is a minor complaint compared to our overall appreciation and enjoyment. Thank you" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Detailed summary sent separately." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"We had an amazing time - wonderful wildlife, fantastic scenery, superb service, great accommodation and food in camp in the bush and by the beach. The planning and organisation could not have been more thorough and helpful.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The whole holiday was brilliantly put together and we had a fantastic time - but having used Expert Africa before we expected nothing less!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"Our trip to Africa far exceeded my expectations. I am not an intrepid but felt very confident before we embarked that all aspects of the trip had been covered so that there were no questions as to where we would be or how we might get to the next stage. This alleviated all anxiety.

It was most encouraging from the start of my planning with Eleanor, that she had been to Tanzania and understood that this was a once in a lifetime trip for us. Now having been there I realize it is not so far out of the ordinary, just in my world.

From our very first discussions I was unsure if our budget would allow us to fully enjoy this trip in the comfort level we would like and Eleanor worked within that budget and custom fit our needs to create what I'm sure will be our best holiday ever.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Honestly, very difficult.

I suppose I would have liked a breakdown of the costs of each leg of our trip so as to be able to compare to other places I have been. For example, 4 nights at Mdonya, 4 nights at Selous, 6 nights Matemwe and then one night Kholle. Coastal did give some information but I wasn't sure if the the dollars quoted were for one or two passengers.

Many thanks, it's been a wonderful experience." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip was exactly what we were looking for.

We wanted to go to Tanzania where we had never been before because of the rainy seasons. It was difficult to find a good destination in january/february.
Claire was a good help and after some phonecalls, with the brochure on both sides of the telephone (Holland-England) we made a wonderful itinerary together.

Maybe next time we could combine the Southern part of the Serengeti with Selous at this time of the year.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Filling in the feedbackform is very time-consuming because we are invited to give "real" feedback, which goes back to the camps and on the internet. (and English is not my home-language)

On the other hand the reviews of other guests helped us to make up our mind. So, after all, don´t change it" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari