Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We had a fantastic time in Namibia and would reccommend it to anyone.

One reason for visiting in May was that after the wet season there would be a greener landscape and less dust in the air ... well that was certainly true! The rains had delivered 2-3 times the average amount and everywhere was very lush, making the scenery spectacular.

With so much water around there were no concentrations of game at the waterholes but we still saw plenty of wildlife in most places.

The rains meant that some smaller roads were washed away or in poor condition so some journeys took longer than expected.
A SUV class vehicle was absolutely vital - a normal saloon car would not have made it on some of the gravel roads. Anyone going at this time of year should book a SUV or 4x4. Having said that, the main tarred roads were actually in much better condition than expected.

Thanks to Angela for all the work and advice on our itinerary, everything went very smoothly. The only hint of regret is that after all the rain we didn't see the "real" Namibia ... ah well, maybe next time!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"This was one of the best holidays we have ever had!

Although we arranged to meet our daughter at the end of our safari and she arranged the second part of our holiday, we would not hesitate to recommend Expert Africa to anyone wanting a real African experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just maintain the standards you have set - it is a joy to deal with such a professional and yet personal company. Congratulations!" Read full review: 44 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zambia safari

"We had a wonderful trip and even though there was the odd misfortune we counted them as part of the experince. We enjoyed sharing the trip with our friends and have a wealth of photos and memories which will remain with us.

Our thanks for your good advice when we started plannig the trip. Your knowledge was invaluable and made a huge difference.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

You may wish to advise travellers about problems at Maun with luggage tampering. We had nothing of value in our luggage so merely suffered the inconvenience." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Expert Africa have lived up to their name, providing us with an exceptional, personalised trip and some wonderful memories.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I would have thought that there was very little room for improvement!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"One of the best holidays we have ever had. What an adventure. The organisation was second to none. We could do it all over again. Indeed we didn't want to come home!!

Recommend you change the Mazambala though - unless there is a change of management!

You will undoubtedly be hearing from us again" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"For one person it was the best holiday ever, and the for other person the best few weeks of their life. The scenery as ever was stunningly beautiful. We were privilaged to see Namibia after unusually heavy rainfall and to see it so green with incredibly tall grass. But also to witness the Uniab River in full flood was quite something.

It was good to be with Vincent again and he was a very big part of making the trip such a sucess. We particularly enjoyed the camping, it was wonderful to be out away from everything and enjoy the peace and sounds of the bush. And it was wonderful to explore the more remote and wilder areas of Namibia. We would not have attempted this on our own, we also learnt so much more from Vincent and Simpson.

On the self drive part the distance between Lodges was not far so the driving was not tiring. So we always arrived in time to relax and go on an activity in the afternoon. We did a lot more walking on this trip which was great and it gave us more of an opportunity to talk to the guides and other lodge staff, and learn more about life in Namibia. We were very impressed with the high level of service from everyone, with the exception Of Budget car hire. It was also great to have been out with two of Namibia's top guides Vincent and Bruno.

The trip had been extremely well planned and a lot of effort went into it making it such a wonderful trip. However we discovered that there was no need to stay in Walvis Bay on the last night as Swakopmund is just as easy to get to the airport. We felt it would have been better to have spent the last night at Swakopmund and to have dropped the car off at the Budget Office there, with an airport transfer as we had on arrival.

We look forward to planning our next trip with Sabina's help and we are very grateful for everything she has done so far. Plus Vincent and Simpson should get a nomination for guide and camp assistant of the year.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have nothing to add as we can not think of any possibe improvements that are within your control. Other than to put pressure on Budget to improve their service." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"..." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"We were overall very happy with the service from start to finish by Expert Africa and all the arranged accommodations and transfers. We would have had a terrible time planning the transfers ourselves and are thankful we used such a competent, knowledgeable booking agent. Maruska, our handling agent, was professional and prompt and very detailed. The only suggestion again would be for a heads-up on the activities & possible multiple visas at Victoria Falls.

We really enjoyed our trip, and while we planned out the basic areas we wanted to visit, ExpertAfrica was able to help us connect the dots and help make our trip that much better. The areas we visited were truly wonderful.

FYI, since we had a large party, all three children (two aged 7 and one aged 2.5) were able to attend the game drives at Sandibe because we had our own party and own vehicle. Our kids had a wonderful time and loved the safaris (as did we) and with all the smooth transfers, we were happy that everything went according to plan. (Also, children under 3 were free for activities that allowed children at Victoria Falls, which made our helicopter ride over the Falls slightly less $ painful!)

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Tipping policies are still a bit of a mystery for us, as there is always a great variable involved as far as how the service was. I'm not sure if guidelines for each area of travel is feasible, but it would be helpful to find out what other visitors tipped." Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"Had a fantastic time! It was one of the best holidays we've been on.

This was made even better by how helpful everyone at Expert Africa was, from Chris answering our numerous questions at the Travel & Destinations Show in London to booking our trip with Maruska in evenings after we'd finished work. We'd just like to say a big Thank You to everyone at Expert Africa, and we'll remember you for the future should we decide to head back to Africa!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We really appreciated two key aspects of your setup:

- Your presence at the Earl's Court Travel & Destination show and Chris' kindness in sitting down with us for over an hour to talk with us about Botswana and the surrounding area

- Being able to speak to Maruska after UK work hours, whilst she was located out in New Zealand (thankfully all charged at UK rates)." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"I look forward to another trip to Africa and would definitly recommend Expert Africa and Maruska Adye to my friends.

She is knowlegeable about the countries we visited, patinet with questions, and fast in her responses." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari