Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We had a great trip to Selous and Ruaha which was well reccommended and organised by Liz.

Ruaha has made it into our top 5 parks now and is definately my favorite within Tanzaina. Selous unfortunately was a bit of a dissapointment as there is a so much more potential there, both in the management of the game reserve and the lake manze camp set-up.

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just one little thing... a reminder for when we have to pay off the final balance would be great... this is the second time i have forgotten!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Many thanks to Maruska who organized such a great trip for us" Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"The trip was well planned, and delivered what we expected. We had a lovely time.

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One comment. Your warning about forged 200 rand notes came too late as we had already changed our money and we did have some trouble in getting them accepted.

In addition one petrol station would not take 100 rand notes." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"A stunning and memorable holiday. We had high expectations from friends who had visited Namibia and we were not disappointed. We have every intention of returning to the country to see new places and revisit others we enjoyed on this trip - notably Mundulea.

A real bonus was the pleasure of Sabina's company during our stay in Mundulea. Great fun and a good ambassador for Namibia and Expert Africa.

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There were a couple of occasions where we would have felt safer in 4wd - for example, we experienced pretty unseasonal rain at Little Kulala and on the journey back to Windhoek.

Most other travellers seemed to be in large, clumsy looking Toyotas, which seemed like overkill. There must be something in between - in fact, we saw a 4wd version of our Nissan X-trail. Could you track down a smallish 4wd?" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Very good. practically everything worked well, lodges, transport and activities were satisfactory." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We were a little apprehensive about the trip not knowing quite what to expect but overall it was very enjoyable. My wife was wondering why we had only booked 8 nights but realised once we had been there a few days that getting up at 5.30 every day, being jolted about on the trucks for several hours and the heat meant that it was quite tiring, so 8 nights was just about right.

The wildlife experience was really fantastic and we loved every minute of the game drives dispite being bounced about. The sundowners were magical.

We met lots of friendly people from many different countries during the trip and made a number of friends.



We were surprised at the working conditions for the staff at the camps. From what we discovered the camp catering staff stayed there for 3 months at a time and then had two weeks off we think. The driver seemed to work 3 months on with one month off. Not sure about the spotter. This may be normal by Botswana standards but some of the women we spoke to had young children so being away from them for 3 months at a time seemed hard.

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The only aspect of the trip that caused any concern, apart from the few comments on the camps, was the matter of tips. Most people we spoke to (from different tour compamies) were uncertain about what was normal or expected.

In these situations a lot depends on how much people depend on tips to make a decent wage and this was not clear. Nearly all the staff were friendly and helpful so if they needed the tips we would be happy to give them. While we would want to reward exceptional service in many counties (South Africa as we found which we went on to after Botswana) tell you in most restaurants that a 10% tip is expected at least.

A bit more definite guidance would have been appreciated. The British find tipping a difficult subject at the best of times!

The only aspect of the trip that caused any concern, apart from the few comments on the camps, was the matter of tips. Most people we spoke to (from different tour compamies) were uncertain about what was normal or expected. In these situations a lot depends on how much people depend on tips to make a decent wage and this was not clear.

Nearly all the staff were friendly and helpful so if they needed the tips we would be happy to give them. While we would want to reward exceptional service in many counties (South Africa as we found which we went on to after Botswana) tell you in most restaurants that a 10% tip is expected at least. A bit more definite guidance would have been appreciated. The British find tipping a difficult subject at the best of times!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We had fantastic safaris and a great trip to Victoria Falls where we would recommend the helicopter ride.

All the arrangements went like clockwork and the transfers were all on time and the staff excellent.

Thank you Expert Africa for making it so enjoyable and trouble free we will certainly recommend you to our friends.

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We were happy with your service and have no specific comments." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"The whole trip went like clockwork - thanks for your superb organisation. Combining the flights in the south with driving in the north was just the right combination for us (we would always recommend the flight over the Skeleton Coast to people in particular - since it gives such a good perspective of the vastness of the dunes).

This has been such a memorable trip.

Thank you!

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None that come to mind." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful trip - we loved Namibia.

Some anxieties about the car hire - our delayed flight to Windhoek put us under pressure and the clerk on the Budget desk when we collected the car was not particularly helpful. The second spare tyre which we had ordered was not in the car and had to be sent for, delaying us further, and at that stage we were worried about getting to our first hotel before nightfall. The various instructions you had given us about car hire were slightly confusing.

However, when we had to purchase a new tyre after a puncture, Budget were helpful on the phone, the staff when we returned the car were excellent and our credit card has now been refunded with the cost of the tyre.

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I would very much have preferred to have had a printed feedback form which we could have filled in during our flight home.

I know that this web version is helpful to you in that it is quicker for you to process, but you would have had more immediate (and possibly therefore more accurate) feedback had you enclosed a printed form with our tickets. On the flight we would have discussed our responses together under circumstances in which there was nothing else of particular importance for us to do." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"One of the best, if not THE best holiday we've ever had. (Only thing missing was exercise, but not much chance of that.)
Game viewing bit disappointing at Lebala with hindsight but as virgins we still enjoyed it. Rooms and camp very good.
Little Kwara very enjoyable.

Nxabega stood out though, as a superbly-run camp, with a truly wonderful atmosphere. Grant and Dimari really set the benchmark.
Game best at Sandibe but what a miserable dump by comparison to Nx.

The transfer processes worked very well and once we knew the score, we relaxed totally about moving from camp to camp, and this really helped make the whole thing more enjoyable compared to hacking around India or wondering if the planes would fly in South America.

Zimbabwe day trip was worth it although we got stitched up by Zambia immigration, they hadn't given us a multiple-entry, only a double entry visa but this was not clear.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Take note of any unusual situations (eg airstrip down) and set expectations accordingly.
Check game viewing status / concession conditions closer to the off, maybe it would be better to switch (eg Lebala was only worth 2 nights due to so much empty burnt scrub).

Transfer from Livingstone to Lebala took a while; no food on the Proflight transfer, no food opportunities at Livingstone airport (only coffee) or en route (Kasane airport not selling food) so we were starving by the time we got to Lebala; it would have been good to arrange some opportunity to eat or buy food at some point. Maybe include a visit a cafe / restaurant in Kasane town, as there is plenty of time ?" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari