Reviews of trips to Fish River Canyon

"Wonderful trip

No hiccups with bookings thanks very much Maruska" Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 23 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia exceeded our expectations and that credit can be attributed to Expert Africa and the very attentive and super patient Sabina.

We had corresponded with Sabina for some months before finally and very late confirming an itinerary. This was due to our schedule and various decisions that we were waiting on before being able to commit, therefore our itinerary was amended multiple times due to availability of lodges and car hire.
We have no complaints at all with the service of Sabina and Expert Africa, and have no hesitation in recommending or in using Expert Africa again to book a trip.
We encountered no problems with our reservations, paperwork or logistics and felt the coordination with Wilderness Safari,s was exceptional.

The recommendation of the Sandwich Harbour trip with Turnstone Tours was superb and one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommended for other travellers.

We live in Nigeria so the ability to drive ourselves in an African Country was fantastic and we throughly enjoyed Namibia, the scenery, the accommodations and warmth of the people.

I have written fairly extensive reviews of our various experiences and sincerely hope that these are taken in the constructive manner that they are intended and not as direct criticisms.
We have lived in numerous Countries, some more challenging than others and are well aware of the often difficult balance of customer expectations, staff training and the logistics of the environment.

On a side note I became unwell towards the last two days of our trip, thankfully when back in Windhoek, and from our point of view when we were still in Namibia and not back in Lagos where we live as this would have necessitated medical evacuation.

On the day of our departure I was admitted to MediClinic in Windhoek and that afternoon underwent emergency surgery for acute appendicitis. After four days in hospital I joined my husband at The Hilton and after a further check the following Saturday with the surgeon (the thoroughly lovely Manoj Kamble) we flew later that day.

I can only add that my medical emergency did nothing to dampen our love of Namibia and its people, and I can assure other travellers who may have a concern about an unexpected medical emergency that I received superb first class care from the Hospital, surgeon, nurses and all the medical and administrative and ancillary personnel, and at no point did we feel that I was receiving anything but exceptional care.

As I was admitted on a Sunday there were some administrative issues with contacting our Insurance Company (International SOS) so we opted to pay and claim which was not a problem for us as we are very familiar with our insurance and know this option to be fine, however it is fair here to note that an unexpected hospital stay can be costly and so therefore some sort of insurance provision is mandatory.

At this point I would like to add that Bidvest car rental were very cooperative with our unexpected circumstances when my husband went to return our rental car on the appropriate day, and with finding us another suitable small vehicle for local use.

We had some issues with changing our flight with SAA but this was more to do with the SAA staff who were uncertain how to manage our changes. This was resolved eventually but had we needed to we would have contacted Expert Africa/Wilderness Safari for assistance.

Whilst you obviously did not request feedback for the Hilton Hotel I will add that my husband stayed there seven nights and me for two as a result of my hospital stay. It was well located with all the standard facilities and amenities that you would expect from The Hilton chain. Room service was good and they had a fantastic roof top bar which I managed to enjoy before we left.

My husband became very familiar with Windhoek during our unexpected extended stay to the point where his beer was poured for him without asking on arrival at the bar at Joe's Beerhouse.

We both sincerely look forward to another visit to Windhoek in the future and hopefully to explore the Caprivi Strip and the Falls,

Many thanks to Sabina and all who helped make our trip very special with wonderful memories.
You are a credit to your organization.

Sincerely,
Anna & Malcolm

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None at all - Superb service from our very first enquiry to booking and returning home." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful holiday in Southern Africa. There are so many memories- we tried to name our 'top 10 best moments' but it was impossible as each day offered something new and exciting. We will definitely be back to this lovely part of the world before too long.

Thank you to Tracy Lederer for her advice and organisation - everything ran very smoothly and exceeded our expectations." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"A dream holiday. Would like to do revisit most of the places." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We loved the people, landscapes and animal viewing, every Namibian we met were absolutely lovely, it is a wonderful country, although we wish it wasn't quite so cold at night!" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"We had such high expectations and they were all met ,even in extremely remote locations.
The standard of accommodation ,food and service is overall very high.
At no time did we feel nervous or threatened and the driving is a challenge but was fun and an unforgettable experience.
Sharing the driving and hiring a proper 4WD vehicle is strongly advised
Don't just dream about driving through Namibia, book it and do it for the most wonderful experiences and memories

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Most of the accommodation that Expert had booked was very good although we didn't find the staff, on the whole, as welcoming as we would have expected.

Once at the accommodation, in general, we found assistance with activities poor & some activities were just provision of a driver. We would have been happy to pay for such activities if they took us to places we couldnt get to on our own and offered more educational/informative elements.

However, we loved the country - the scenery was absolutely amazing - so varied and so devoid of people & we saw loads of birds and animals - BRILLIANT !!" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 23 on a Namibia trip

"This was our second trip to Southern Africa and was very different from our previous organized group (36) excursion as we were only 6 and planned the trip ourselves with huge help from Expert Africa.

[Ed: this 'previous organised group of 36 was not organised by Expert Africa.]

The desert scenery that covers about 2/3 of Namibia proved to be beautiful and diverse. We always felt comfortable wherever we went and we were constantly impressed by the friendly and helpful people.Getting around was no problem at all and communication was easy as English is spoken everywhere.

We highly recommend visiting this country as it is different from rest of Africa, very unique.

One word of caution regarding the roads which are asphalt on the main arteries but gravel elsewhere. The gravel roads are generally wide and well laid out but the washboard effect of the roads results in loud and somewhat rough ride, of course very dependent on the vehicle used. So if renting a vehicle, consider that it will spend a lot of its time on gravel if you want to see the best scenery on the "roads less travelled".

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We were very pleased with the arrangements suggested and made by Expert Africa and Sabina's knowledge of Namibia proved invaluable.

The pros and (if any) cons of the resorts, hotels, safaris and itinirary were clearly communicated to us to allow us to makeour decisions for our final itinerary.

We give full credit to Sabina's patience with our many "twists and turns" in our itinerary and we wound up wth a terrific self drive trip in a beautiful country." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"We have travelled all over this world but this holiday is up there with the best few. It was a real adventure from start to finish.

We saw so many amazing sights and stayed at some amazing places.The service we received for management and staff alike was wonderful. If it hadn't have been for two things - not being able to see the Fish River Canyon, and the stay at the Ongava Lodge, we would say it was a perfect holiday but unfortunately this spoilt it somewhat.

Thanks to expert Africa for all arrangement which were perfect." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Interesting and varied- the combination of flying and self-driving was the perfect choice for us. However, one does need to be prepared to drive long distances - often hours in endlessly flat, unchanging country.( A good, detailed map is essential - the Tracks Africa map is excellent)

Rather disappointing that Hoanib was the only camp that provided any educational/informative element- a very good film on the desert lions and a lecture by a visiting bat researcher!

More of that sort of thing would have much appreciated- especially where we stayed three nights in one place, (Most camps seem to be geared to two-night stays) Would have very much liked to know more about the different tribes etc- which we finally did on our last day at the National Museum in Windoek , which has seen better days, but is still very interesting.

We loved the ability to get away into some unspoilt and spectacular county -and avoid crowds of tourists. The exception to that was Sossusvlie, where there were far too many people and traffic .... a bit of a shock after the tranquility of Etendenka!

We worry that Namibia is about to OD on tourism and lose its unique appeal....." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip