Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Fantastic trip

Suggestions for improvement:

We could not dream of a better travel agent.
Thank you Susannah" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This was planned as the family`s special holiday of a lifetime. We are a family of 5 - our `children` are now 20, and twins of 18 yrs.

Without exception, everyday was enjoyable and exciting. We saw and experienced something new everyday and learned a lot from the trip. We would have stayed on if we could.

The highlights - elephants in the tented camp; sunsets over the lake; swimming with dolphins off Zanzibar. Fantastic.

Suggestions for improvement:

It would have been useful to know how much cash we would need for the trip - given that we were far from banks most of the time.. However, it was easier to use credit cards than we were led to believe. Would also advise clients to arrive in Tanzania with small denominations of cash for tipping porters etc. - whether dollars,pounds or euros, or shillings on arrival." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"As a complete trip it was brilliant with many wonderful highlights. Until we got to Kulala the arrangements worked flawlessly. Only then did things begin to go wrong and these all happened on Wilderness Safaris' "watch". From then on the trip had an element of stress it did not have before since we constantly had to keep on checking things like whether they had packed fruit on the game drives for my wife instead of cake (on 2 days they forgot!). I know you have already been in contact with them and I await the outcome.

Thank you Expert Africa!" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"From start to finish, the whole trip went very smoothly, with all movements linking seamlessly, especially in the bush where the logistics of moving people and supplies around between camps must be a nightmare. Congratulations to the unseen logistics team.

As far as the safari experience went, the whole holiday was a marvellous experience. I consider it to be a privilege to be lucky enough to visit places as wild as Luangwa with such a high level of comfort, and with such friendly people, whose sole aim seemed to be my enjoyment. Poor Theresa was distraught when previous guests ran her out of Mosi, but we made do with red wine OK, until the truck arrived next morning with fresh supplies.

I know Anna was in the bushcamps at the same time as me, but unfortunately our paths never crossed. I hope her experience was on a par with mine. I returned home a happy bunny with lovely memories of a great part of Africa, apart from the Tetse bites which still itch a little!

Thankyou all.

Suggestions for improvement:

It is always helpful to have an up to date indication of tipping levels, and the fact that dollars are acceptable virtually everywhere.
Similarly with extra expenses eg airport/flight taxes. Then one can ensure one has the correct amounts available in the necesary denominations, with no nasty surprises at barriers.

There was a lot of uncertainty as to the obligation to tip or not, the armed scout ,as he is not employed by NCS. The requirement to tip the guide separately is covered in Chris's book, but perhaps all the above could be swept up into the 'Notes for travellers' booklet" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"This was a truly fantastic trip from the first day to the last. The advice we got from Gwynneth was spot on in every way." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"This. for all was a tremendous trip, loved by all. We could not have wished for anything better. The locations, accomodation, Staff, Guides were outstanding

Most of the trips success must be attributed to Anna Devereux-Baker, who has the patience of Job when dealing with clients like us, her suggestions on camps to visit, duration of stay and travel arrangements were from the Top Draw. She is to be congratulated!

We even saw the animal that all wanted to see - The Leopard not once , but four times, how about that!! Did Anna arrange this we ask?

Suggestions for improvement:

How can one improve on the perfect holiday? If only you were in charge of the catering on BA. (You probably would not want this tankless task)." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Very enjoyable" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"We are very pleased that we chose to travel with Expert Africa .....

From the outset Maruska Adye was very positive, helpful and patient in responding to our thoughts and needs. In the course of our pre-trip planning we changed our ideas from making a longish trip round Namibia, possibly taking in Botswana and/or the Cape Region of South Africa, to making a focussed trip to the Okavango Delta.

We appreciated very much the comments and suggestions made by Maruska which enabled us to rationalise our ideas. Her listening to our inclinations, particularly that we didnʼt wish to do a fly-in safari but to go overland, was as much as anything the reason why we chose to travel with Expert Africa. Face-to-face meetings at her office also gave us confidence in our decisions.

The cost of our trip was relatively high but taking into account that there was only two of us, supported by a safari crew of 4 plus the skill and experience of Grant, and that we really had a very good memorable experience, we think it was good value.

We would like to revisit Botswana and, if this is possible, we would certainly consider travelling with Expert Africa and Okavango Voyagers again." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 2 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful experience and an inspiring country!

Thanks for the advice and arranging to fill our gap between flights in Nairobi by going to the Palacina Hotel - we had a fantastic meal, were very well looked after and returned to airport relaxed and happy!!

Suggestions for improvement:

Apart from comments above, no - your help, advice and organisation skills were, once again, excellent" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Rwanda safari

"The trip as a whole was excellent. We had a fantastic time. The driving was easier than we had expected. The standard of accommodation and hospitality was better than we had expected. And management (except at Waterberg) and staff (even at Waterberg) were friendly and helpful throughout. Food was generally good, and better than we had feared. And the landscape and animals were just as splendid as we had hoped they would be.

There were of course small snags, but no major problems. Among the snags:
- Waterberg seemed simply to ignore our presence; combined with the very Germanic tone of the place (and most of not all the other guests were German speaking), this made it the least friendly of the places we visited, and the only one we would not be willing to visit again.
- a pity we could not have the car we had booked (Nissan X-Trail) but th eventual substitute (Hyundai Tucson) was a goo, albeit slightly smaller, car.
- a pity that Europcar had n cool box for us - but we bought one without any difficulty
- we felt we could have been given more, and clearer, detail about exactly what was on offer at, particularly, Doro Nawas and Okonjima; the cost of staying at each of these is considerable, and that makes it more, not less, important to know what exactly are your options, and what you are (or are not) getting." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip