Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We had a fantastic trip. All the logistics worked out perfectly, our flights from camp to camp were all in the middle of the day so we didn't miss any activities and all the flights except the last one were without any stops and we were the only passengers. The only incident came on the trip back home, when our BA flight from joburg to heathrow had a 4 hour delay, so we missed our connection to Madrid and had to take a later flight. At least they didn't lose our bags!

We really liked the lodges & camps, most of them met or exceeded our expectations, and we will recommend them to friends, except perhaps Jack's Camp, which we didn't like that much: it's too stuffy and snobbish for our taste, the people there need to loosen up a bit. Also, we didn't like that they plan all the activities for you and don't tell you what the plan is when you arrive, it's like they want everything to be a big secret surprise, a bit childish and condescending.

All the rest were fine, our favorite was Duma Tau. I also loved Mapula because of its very relaxed and laid-back atmosphere and its focus on game viewing; my wife also liked it though she found it too rustic and less tidy than the others.

Expert Africa did an excellent job in organizing this trip, keeping us informed of changes (e.g., when NationWide Air went bankrupt and the flight was changed to BA), submitting all the info, etc. I especially liked the "camp availability chart" they sent us so we could figure out how to fit our preferred camps in the itinerary, that was a most useful tool for urs." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Expert Africa really live up to their name as the holiday was expertly organised by Gwynneth. We has a fantastic time, went to some beautiful places, stopped in luxurious lodges and met some friendly and interesting people. Considering that our itinary was quite complex it ran like a dream. We will definetly use Expert Africa again and we will definetly visit Namibia again, probably next year when we hope to explore the Caprivi strip and maybe Botswana." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Lucy and Chris did a fine job working with us to plan the trip. All the arrangements went smooth as silk.

Thanks to all of you at Expert Africa!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari

"it more than met our expectations; it exceeded it and we are not necessarily easily pleased. we would highly recommend this trip to anyone.

maruska has listened well, understood what we wanted and delivered the goods. this is why we will go back to her like we have done in the past." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is a wonderful country to visit and we had an excellent holiday. Heartily recommend it!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"An action packed , superb holiday with plenty of opportunities to see landscapes, plants birds and animals and take loads of photos. Perhaps we should have built in a little more relaxation!

I enjoyed working out availiability with Susannah via email as we didn't book holiday until March and some camps were unavailable.

Our experience was that the vast majority of birds and animals were seen on the game drives and very little seen on the water. We realised how vital good guiding is to the whole experience.

Nambia and Botswana guideline booklets were very useful" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Superb.

We felt very well prepared for our trip and will recommend Expert Africa to our friends and family." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"Greatly appreciated the help of Sabina (and her colleagues if she was ever out of the office).

Our holiday was absolutely brilliant with many magical memories to treasure. We loved Namibia - the friendly people we met everywhere and the scenery which was stunningly beautiful. We felt safe and secure at all times.

Having never been to Namibia before we read what we could and planned an outline of a trip but needed "expert" help to pull the holiday together and get the most out of it whilst ensuring that we never had drives that were too long or demanding to be safe. Thanks to your help our holday was the success it was." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"There is a considerable upsurge in tourism in Namibia which appears to be be very good for the country . One comment we heard from a Namibian working in the industry was their concern about all the emphasis being put on conservation, which they supported , but less attention being paid to wages and conditions of staff. Hopefully welfatre of staff in this rapidly expanding industry is something of concern to Expert AFrica.

We thought the country was stunning and easy to to get around in . Clearly there is a 'tourist trail' as we met other guests on more than one occasion. Having 'hosts' avaliable gave us an opportuntiy to have a wider picture of the country through discussion with them. We found people helpful and friendly . Because of its size, small population and recent history it is a very unthreatening place.

I would like Lodges/ camps to offer visits to local projects in order to gain more information about the local conditions and give opportunties to to have more experience of local people . I appreciate this would very superficial because of the constraints of time , but interesting. I understand this is something Waterberg offer.but which we could not experience.

Suggestions for improvement:

I have mentioned one in overall comments. If some Lodges/camps could offer more activities it would be worth staying for a longer period . Two weeks we appreciate is very llittle time to see so much, and the organisation of our a trip proved very efficient." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"We were delighted by the trouble and care Anna took from our first contact until our return - wonderful.

Everything Anna told us was true and we had an amazing holiday. my husband (it was for his 60th) said he will never forget this trip. He did question why we had never thought of going to Africa before now. all the camps and people involved wre of a very high standard and everyone was so caring and thoughtful.

A big thank you to Anna and we look forward to going back sometime in the not too distant future." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari