Reviews of safaris to Damaraland
1067 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Damaraland.
"August 2017 trip to Namibia"
"Trip to Namibia August 2017"
We had chosen to fly throughout the trip as time was limited to 11 days, glad we did but Wilderness air did their best to turn easy trips into long slogs on occasions...4 hours to get from Desert Rhino to Hoanib? Some poor organisation from them but the pilots and planes were great.
Thanks!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip
"Great August 2017 family trip around Namibia"
The highlights were Etosha and Okonjima, along with the desert scenery in the south. Our reactions to Twyfelfontein were mixed: The rock carvings were great, but the hotel was so-so, and we all would have preferred an additional night at Erongo (vice one there and two in Twyfelfontein). One of us would have skipped it altogether in favor of a day in Swakop. Windhoek was a real disappointment -- not at all quaint and not an inviting place to walk around in -- though we all loved dinner at Joe's Beer House.
EA also gave excellent advice on dividing our Etosha stay between the central and eastern ends. Two nights in each was just right. Driving and navigating went fine. A couple of recommendations: the Main Street Cafe in Omaruru is a great place to stop for lunch. And the Neurias Winery served us a superb lunch (and gave a great tour) on our way from Bullsport to Kulala.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The map EA provided was the best of the 3 we had in terms of accuracy. But the route someone at EA highlighted for our drive was not always the best route. We suggest that EA encourage travelers to check with each lodge about the best route for their onward travel to take advantage of local knowledge about road conditions. That said, we were advised by the Kulala lodge to skip the shortcut indicated on our map (on a D road) and drive all the way to Swakop to pick up a paved road on our long drive to Omaruru, but the drive was brutal because the road conditions most of the way to Walvis Bay were the worst we encountered, and we barely made it to Erongo by sunset (even though we ate lunch in the car). It may be useful to tell travelers that whether a road is designated a C or a D isn't really material -- its all about how recently it was graded.
We also appreciated the steps EA took to address a booking mishap. The upgrade at Mushara was lovely and Kulala was almost certainly a better option than the govt. lodge we had initially favored. Many thanks Tom and we look forward to traveling with EA again on a future trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip
"10 out of 10"
All of Maruska's suggestions were brilliant.
Thanks, Maruska, for making our special requests regarding location of rooms close to reception a success. We got all the best rooms." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 24 on a Namibia trip
"Namibia Adventure"
The animals at Etosha would also overshadow the animals at the other lodges - eg tracking desert elephants at Doro Nawas was great - but if we had already seen the herd of 20 at the waterhole each night in Etosha - it would have lost some of the attraction and adventure. Each place was unique - so thank you - it was not like we were comparing one 5* place to another one...
Animals were sort of unque at each to a point eg loads of deer types at Bagatelle, Ostriches at Hoodia & the desert, desert elephants and Doro, all various things at Etendeka, everything at Etosha, chill out - dik diks, warhogs and snakes( !!) at Mushara and the cats at Okonjima.
Suggestions:
*Car - ours was not happy on the gravel roads and did not cope with the D road - better to have a larger, more suitable car. warn all re the dust - you could not see what colour the car was when we returned it.......or our clothes!!!
*Laundry : good to have every 5 days included in package. So dusty there - we collected loads and ended up hand washing through some things by day 11. But we were also in Jo'berg for 4 days before Namibia and cape Town 4 days after Namibia.
*If in one place for the night - maybe let us know their activity list so we can get to the place in time and not miss activities?
But - cannot fault you - truly brilliant holiday which we all loved!!
Marusha - hope you have a healthy baby girl now and many thanks for pulling this together for us,
thanks,
Lynne, Rob, Sam & Matt" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip
"Another wonderful trip"
As usual, we mainly used Wilderness Safaris camps and, as usual, were particularly impressed with the high quality of the guiding in all locations. Transfers between camps were organised seamlessly.We were also very impressed with their care and consideration with regard to Ken's problems with balance in the dark, and in all locations they went out of their way to ensure that he had good lighting to escort us back to our tent at night.
We were also impressed by the way information was passed from camp to camp, so that when we arrived in a new location they already knew, for example, what drinks we liked for sundowners and other details of things we liked, which made us feel at home.
The Wilderness lounge at Windhoek was a good addition as somewhere to escape while waiting for the next connection and to use a computer to check in for flights.
Our only regret is that some camps now have separate tables for meals, as one of the things we have always enjoyed about these holidays has been the opportunity to meet and talk to people from so many different countries." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari
"My Jul 2017 trip"
Breathtaking from beginning to end, especially in terms of nature and wildlife but also very nice places to stay (mostly). The only 'down' side I can think of is the cost, as this was indeed by far the most expensive holiday we've ever booked... but no regrets! Next time I would however do the trip in the opposite direction (as was the plan originally -I know-, but couldn't be achieved because of booking restraints) and leave the highlights (etosha and okonjima) 'til the end.
Thanks for the good planning and organization and the help throughout!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip
"Best Africa experience"
"My Jul 2017 trip"
The meet and greet Wilderness Safari team at Windhoek airport were very helpful, efficient and patient, and we appreciated their little lounge to use while waiting.
We did have a truly great memorable trip with too many highlights to single any out. Felt totally safe. The people are charming and the ethos about tourism is impressive.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Cant comment on the brochure as dont think I ever saw one. Found the feedback form a bit tedious to fill in so hope it is helpful.
But we did have a really great trip and have been recommending Expert Africa to anyone interested in travel to Africa from New Zealand" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip
"My Jul 2017 trip"
Where to stay in Damaraland
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