Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Everything ran very smoothly – we were very well looked after and didn't have to worry about any of the transfers at all. However the transfer from Lusaka to Royal Airstrip was a bit confusing as you arrive in Lusaka after overnight flight to near chaos in Lusaka airport. But we had been in the area before.

Overall we expected a repeat of our last trip which had been amazing – we were not disappointed

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

SmaIl comment - I think pictures depicting the rooms at the lodges should include all standards to avoid disappointment on arrival – all brochures and lodge websites show the honeymoon suite! And all tents at Chiawa [except the honeymoon tent] were superior, superior to what?" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"We were very happy with most of our safari, Lake Manze camp excepted, and very happy with how Claire from Expert Africa helped us decide on places to go and the general organisation of the trip. Everything 'happened' as arranged and expected and that is not always the case in Africa so full marks to Expert Africa.
As seasoned African safari goers the Southern Tanzanian circuit was new to us but met our expectations with excellent game, wonderful bird life and beautiful locations in Ruaha and Selous.
If there was any blot it would be that being close to beach resorts means that you get a number of first time safari goers whose interest is superficial and where the safari is bolted on as some sort of exotic extra to a beach trip that is the tourist's main interest and some of the camps cater to this level of tourism. Selous tourism has evidently expanded in recent years and we fear that this will lead to safari tourism in the way some Northern Tanzanian (Ngorongoro) and Southern Kenyan (Mara) areas cater for" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"Everything worked as planned and all the pre-trip advice was excellent (except Ongava). Very patient staff answering numerous questions. It helps that our adviser was a Namibian.

Thank you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We missed out on comments about the Windhoek Country Club which was a great stopover.

Some lodges had poor entry roads (very badly rutted, far worse than the public roads).

The Skeleton coast no longer has any skeletons. We are glad we did it but there isn't much to see except the emptiness. We had difficult finding someone to open the gates to the NP as there were only 3/4 cars each way per day. We only had one shock with petrol in the whole trip. This was along the Skeleton coast where the petrol station at Mile 108 has closed. This meant, even with a full tank that we had to divert to Palmwag for petrol: a 50 km detour. This was exciting for us but not everyone's cup of tea.

We bought a cool box in Windhoek: this is probably a sensible move as ice is available everywhere." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Please see the comments already written, A Fantastic time and we can't wait to revisit!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Having only had this trip with you, the experience left nothing to be desired." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"Apart from the car hire, everything more than met our expectations.

The itinerary was a great success with no adverse reflections on any of the chosen lodges. Thanks to Tracy for her help and advice.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just keep up the good work!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"From the moment I chose Expert Africa to book my trip with and met Lucy Copson who arranged my itinerary it has been incredible. I would never book a trip to Africa with anyone else but the EXPERTS! I did a lot of research and contacted at least 6 other companies, none of them compared on any level.

Lucy organised my trip using her incredbile knowledge and customer service skills. It took a while to finalise the trip but not once did I feel under any pressure. Some of the other companies were very pushy and just seemed to want your booking. All my queries were responded to promptly and I could never have organised such a fantastic experience without her help. Expert Africa are the best travel company I have ever dealt with. If you are thinking of travelling to any of the destinations that EA provide then don't hesitate to put them at the top of your list.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The Northern Botswana Mobile Safari can be undertaken in the reverse order I did. My only suggestion is scrap that and keep it from Kasane to Maun only.

The only other very small point is that I asked Lucy about organising a bean bag for the safari. I was told that this was not an option but the Letaka site does offer this. Fortunately one of the couples on the trip had ordered two so they kindly let me use on of them. It would have been a real issue for me not having one." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Very good" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"It exceeded our expectations! Our trip was absolutely wonderful. The planning was flawless, and every detail was taken care of.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

A little more guidance on tipping would be helpful. While we asked for and received specific guidelines on amounts for the staff and the drivers, we were unaware until we arrived that separate (and fairly substantial) tips for butlers and trackers were also expected. We had calculated our expected total cash needs, and then doubled that figure when planning how much money to take, and we were glad to have the excess with us. Your notes to travellers could indicate that in some camps, these additional staff members may also be deserving of tips." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"Loved it, wouldn't have changed a thing - thank you so much for all your hard work organising everything :)

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Yes I think you should start thinking about where we can go next time when we've saved a few pennies lol" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Malawi trip

"As a whole we were delighted with our trip. It was well organised and Maruska gave us good advice.

Some of the accommodation was below par but mostly it was of excellent quality. We were so pleased that she advised on a larger car, the X-Trail, and that made the travelling pleasant. We felt that 3 nights at Khowarib was a mistake and you could do the half-day Himba visit on the day you leave so we paid for an extra night at Doro Nowas instead.

This was a special retirement trip and it did not disappoint.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only to take note of the points we raised regarding some of the lodges." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip