Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Excellent. This was a lot of money for me so I was very pleased that it was every bit as memorable as we had hoped." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"With the exception of the glitches mentioned above our Namibia trip was wonderful. [Ed: this is a reference to the car and flight reservations, mentioned briefly below.]

The lodges we stayed at (especially Mountain Homestead) were beautiful; we felt welcome, comfortable, and well taken care of at each; the hosts and hostesses at Mountain Homestead and Andersson's were charming and very knowledgeable about the areas where their lodges were located and about Namibia in general; the staff members were warm, friendly, and always helpful (Ben at Mountain Homestead, Koolus (sp?) at Erongo Wilderness Lodge and Ramon at Anderssen's Camp deserve special commendation).

The activities planned for us each day gave us a chance to see just what we thought we should see, were neither too many nor too few in number, and allowed us to get some exercise without being overly strenuous or exhausting.

Sabina was a pleasure to work with in planning the trip; she is clearly very knowledgeable about Namibia, had creative ideas throughout, and was extremely responsive to all my queries and requests.

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The problems we had with the car rental and charter flight were not serious, all things considered, but Expert Africa may need to consider making further efforts to confirm and reconfirm arrangements on the ground." Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 1 on a Namibia trip

"The three of us really enjoyed this trip and we would all like to go back.

The accommodation was so much more than I had expected. We stayed in some great places and seemed to have the best of the rooms everywhere we stayed!

The distances were manageable to drive and I was very glad we did a self-drive holiday as it gave us the opportunity to do things in our own time. It was great to also have the opportunity to go on guided walks and drives at Okinjima and Waterberg so that we could learn about the wildlife from people who lived there.

Everyone we met was very friendly.

The highlights of our holiday were Kayaking in Walvis Bay (except for Luke, who at 6'4" found the kayak a bit uncomfortable) our whole stay at Okinjima, seeing Lions and elephants at Etosha and the climb up to Waterburg plateau.

Thank you so much Angela and Tracy!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

no. it was all good!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"When we started looking into going to Africa we were planning to organise it ourselves. We couldn't do the same trip as Expert Africa quoted for any less if we did book it ourselves. Having the expert advice, the piece of mind and the contact whilst in Africa was great.

Our trip on the whole couldn't have gone better, all our border crossings were easy and everywhere we thought could have had issues went very smoothly.

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Just keep it going." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"As nervous first time safari virgins we were really pleased with the organisation and service we received. The whole experience, apart from Breezes, was great. The transfers on Zanzibar, guides from Nomad and advice we had were first rate.

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Nothing to add... great service" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We loved it, with very few exceptions. It was a joy to discover that we could drive ourselves around this huge African Country and feel safe, and welcome everywhere.

The scenary is just vast, diverse, unspoilt and stunning. Wildlife abounds and offers exceptional viewing. We saw many animals that we hoped to see as well as an amazing variety of birds.

The accomodation was generally of an excellent standard which considering the remoteness of some lodges was a credit to all concerned.

The staff on the whole were friendly and helpful .

The locals were friendly and didn't hassle us - do wave at them as you go by! We did give some people lifts but there is conflicting advice about this. The Bradt guide suggests that it is normal and very much appreciated but written advice from the car hire company suggests that this is a dangerous practice and should not happen.

Don't underestimate distances nor the quality of some of the roads which both can make journeys very tiring.

Internet and mobile phone access was patchy to say the least so don't expect to be able to communicate home etc. We also posted letters etc most of which have yet to arrive home after well over a month!

Our actual itinerary seemed to work well with 2/3 nights at each place, as you need to have some "down" time from driving and to enjoy relaxing at the lodges etc. If we had to do the same again we would have three nights at Canyon Lodge, only two nights in Swakopmund and three nights at Okonjima. We may also have decided to drive from Okonjima to the airport for an afternoon flight - thus missing out Windhoek altogether.

We hope to return.....the Caprivi Strip beckons plus a return visit to Okonjima!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have found Expert Africa very professional and very helpful. The website is simply excellent and even this feedback form impressive.
We strongly recommend that Tracey or someone visits Camp Kipwe and Mushara Bush Camp (we don't believe you have been to these places) to see for yourselves how lovely these places are.

Keep up the excellent work and we will highly recommend you to anyone we know wishing to visit Africa. We know who to turn to for our next African trip!

Thanks." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"It was fabulous to return to Okonjima and Etosha - in new camps - and the Caprivi Strip and Botswana were excellent and everything we had hoped for in terms of a different safari experience.

The driving is enjoyable, the people all very friendly and generally helpful and all the lodges did not disappoint. Can't wait to return to Botswana and who knows where else in a couple of years time." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Many thanks for another great trip, but please can you just confirm about the diving." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Both South Lauangwa and Lower Zambezi are stunningly beautiful. The camps we visited gave us a nice mix of locations and options for game viewing. We especially loved the after dark activity and got some of our best sightings in the eveining including Aardvark and African wild cat.

I have more mixed feelings about the bush walks. For photographic reasons and the video I take, I do like to get as close as possible to the animals. Bush walking is about a different experience and is very enjoyable but will not get you close to the animals. When time is limited it takes careful planning to get a comfortable balance and that is not always available. For example In small bush camps they may not have the resources to meet all expectations so you can find yourself doing a bush walk even when you may have wanted to go on a drive. Whilst the quantity of wildlife may not be as prolific as that say in Kenya the big advantage that Zambia has over the Masi Mara for example is that you are unlikely to have to fight for a sighting with lots of other trucks. There is plenty of space.

Personally it was not so much the quality of guiding that stood out, though it is excellent, but the warmth of the Zambian people. All the staff we met loved what they do and will always go the extra mile to make it special for you. Treat them with respect and they will respect you.

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This was our third trip with Expert Africa. Given the turbulence in the travel arrangements due to the BA strikes I cannot speak highly enough of the way in which Claire picked up ( when Anna left) our holiday booking and very efficiently finalised the arraangements.

The whole holiday worked smoothly and was a real pleasure from start to finish." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"Great trip with all the logistics working perfeclty.

Claire and Ellie workied hard to pull the trip together and patiently looked at various options before we finalised the arrangements. I had also challanged a number suggestions which were explained to me while the trip was being prepared and which. with hindsight, were the right ones to make.

Thank you - I'm sure we will come back to you for another trip at some point in the near future.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It would be worth getting clarity on bank credit card charges to advise customers - we got inconsistent charges quoted - form no charge (Ras Katani) to 10% charge for credit cards at Impala camp. Fortunately we had bought enough cash not to have to pay but it could be expensive if you were not prepared and it's puzzleing that the the fees quoted were inconsistnet." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari