Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"A fabulous trip with no problems. As stated we particularly enjoyed the diversity the Selous offers. An expensive area to visit but a very satisfying safari.

Suggestions for improvements:

No, very satisfied with the service. Thank you" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Having never been to Africa, we were apprehensive about taking off on our own into a huge country, with gravel roads, wild animals and potential problems. We need never have worried.

It was an amazing experience - wonderful landscapes, animals everywhere, lovely helpful people and the space, peace and freedom to do what we wanted, backed up by a superbly organised trip courtesy of Sabina. She had gently taken my initial plans - totally unrealistic! - and guided us to something manageable and fitting the sort of holiday we wanted. The walking, horseriding, lodges that benefitted the community directly, Africat, Etosha's waterhole - everything on the wish list was there, and more. Her suggestion of Erongo has ended up as my favourite place on the trip - wish I was back there now!

The issues with the car hire were something everyone was having to deal with - it was not an Expert Africa issue, just down to a lack of roadworthy vehicles in Namibia, and having seen at least 2 crashes where hire cars were written off, we can understand they have problems keeping cars on the road. People we met who had an accident couldn't speak highly enough of Sabina's helpfulness about getting them a replacement and their holiday back on track.

Namibia was a very special place - we learnt so much about a very different way of life and our 2 week trip felt as if we had been there for months - time seemed to stand still and itwas dfficult to know even what day it was! Three words to sum up Namibia for us - Space, Silence, Smiles.O

Oh, and animals of course - everywhere." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Susannah assisted us in planning our trip and helped point us in the direction of camps that fit our needs. Chris was also very helpful in answering our questions about appropriate photography equipment. We also appreciated Lucy's help with our last-minute questions.

This resulted in an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Suggestions for improvement:

We were originally booked on a morning flight from Maun to Johannesburg on our last day in Botswana, but we were on the stand-by list for the mid-afternoon flight that day. Shortly after we booked our trip, seats opened up on the afternoon flight and our booking was changed accordingly. Because we were scheduled on an 8am flight from Mapula to Maun, we think our changed booking was not updated with either Mack Air or Mapula Lodge. However, the connecting flight was pushed back and we were able to enjoy our morning game drive. That minor hiccup is our only suggestion for improvement, but it did not detract from our wonderful experience overall.

We would definitely recommend Expert Africa to our friends and family.

For the photographers amongst our travellers, these travellers also observed, by email after their trip:

We just returned from our trip to Botswana yesterday. What an amazing experience! We were only there for 8 days, but I can't count the number of impressions we collected on the way.

I just wanted to follow up with you regarding the discussion we had regarding lens selection. Per your advice, the 100-400 lens was definitely the right way to go. The extra zoom came in very handy -- the majority of my pictures were taken in the >200 mm range -- and bumping the ISO was usually enough to deal with the low light situations. Tellingly, one of the guests we rode with at Kwando had both the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 and the 70-200 f/2.8 lenses, and he didn't use the latter at all during the 3 days we spent together on game drives.

Your advice on the flash was also good. Too bad I pulled my clip-on flash at the last moment due to weight concerns and the mistaken belief that I wouldn't be able to use it on animals at night. I later learned that it would not have bothered animals with night vision, and it would have come in handy on two occasions (you were also right about this). But we'll still have the memories.

Thanks again for your help. My girlfriend and I absolutely loved it in Africa and are already thinking of doing a trip to Uganda in two years. We'll keep in touch.

- - - - - - -

Oh, by the way, I highly recommend online lens rentals for people who only want such expensive lenses to use every once in a while. It cost me about $160 for a three week rental, and the lens was insured in case anything happened to is (easing my mind very much). Based on a friend's recommendation, I used www.lensrentals.com [Ed: this is a US-based company], and I think they have similar services in the UK.

I think a lot of amateur photographers would love the opportunity to go on safari with such an incredible lens without having to invest over $1500 in something they will not be able to use very often. You can really tell the difference between my pictures and my girlfriend's pictures (she used my entry-level zoom)." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"We will both remember this holiday as our best so far (don't want to rule out topping it with another in the future!)

Thank you so much to Ellie and the rest of Expert Africa for putting together such a fantastic itinerary. I will (and have already) recommended you to friends. You listened to what we wanted and made thoughtful suggestions. I really appreciated the personal knowledge of the team with regards to places and activities." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"I have been on 5 other Safaris and thought I knew what to expect, I was wrong. Though each of the previous visits to Africa were thoroughly enjoyable I find it hard to express in words my experince with Remote Africa. I arrived a little late on the 21st but waiting for me at the entrance to Tafika camp was Heather. She made me feel completely at home from the first minute. As a single person one can often feel alone but this didn't happen here, or in any of the camps - Chicoko or Crocodile. I really felt I was among friends that I had known for years.

From the moment I contacted your Office and spoke to Anna and then was attend to by Lucy Copson I was hugely impressed. Actually it was because of Lucy's care and attention that I went to Tafika etc

Thank you to all involved with Remote Africa

Suggestions for improvements:

I can't think of anything required." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Beho Beho and Oyster Bay have spoiled us for life. We are saving our pocket money again so that we can return!!
Especial thanks to Claire Scott for drawing up at least 8 different itineraries for us. thank you for being so patient.

It was the perfect honeymoon.

Suggestions for improvement:

Keep doing what you are doing!

Any location after BehoBeho was going to be a slight anticlimax. Thank you for warning us.

Apparently July/August is the windy season in Mafia?? - perhaps it is worth warning people in advance as certainly at the start of our stay alot of the excursions could not run. That was fine for us as we just wanted to relax but other guests there were very disappointed." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Many thanks to Claire for her expert advice and service. Our trip was excellent and executed seemlessly.

I would not hesitate to recommend expert africa to friends and family and will use the company again in the future.

Thanks" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Wonderful and glad we booked at short notice on the basis of the short S Times note.

Tanzania comes across with great credit - a very friendly country with helpful people.A water/land safari was a real plus and exceeded expectations.

Suggestions for improvements:

You compare well with other companies that we have used elsewhere in the world and we will use you as the reference base for any future trips to Africa. Mateo (manager at Selous) spoke highly of EA and mentioned that you visited the region to check on the details rather than took stuff off web sites." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic holiday, and very well organised. Everywhere we went we were met by people who were expecting us and knew where we should be! This obviously meant we could relax and enjoy the experience. Everyone was very friendly and helpful

I think we were well advised and the combination of lodges worked very well. The animals we saw at both exceeded my expectations, and we weren't surrounded by lots of humans! Often we could have been the only people for miles (and probably were).

Suggestions for improvements:

can't think of anything." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari