Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"It was the most wonderful holiday and a magical place. No place else like it on earth. As an Artist it has given me a lot to work from, our itinerary proved to be a good introduction to the various different aspects of Namibia and it's wildlife. Found people very friendly and always helpful, we were very sad to be leaving.

Apart from on arrival and our transfer from the airport to Olive Grove not being available as it had been booked in the wrong month. And the other issues already raised. Everything else went like clockwork and it was an excellent trip.

There is an Issue with the South African Rand which we had not been made aware of. It appears that older $200 Rand notes were no longer acceptable in Namibia after 31st May. However our cash reserve was in rands, there was some confusion over the whole issue. Some places did accept them with no quibble. Our main concern is we weren't made aware of the problem, otherwise we would have relied more on Namibian dollars.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Template letter with final documents needs more fine tuning. Might be helpful to include a checklist of documents needed,to save trawling through lengthy letters.

Otherwise will come back to Expert Africa for future trips and very many thanks to Sabina for all her help and patience, she was brilliant." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful holiday that reached all expectations. Our criticisms are picking on the points that were average amongst all the other good or excellent features of the holiday.

The Tok Tokkie Trail, the sand dunes and the game in Etosha were the highlights.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No
It all went well." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Fabulous, fantastic and fascinating!

Namibia is a wonderful country with very friendly and genuinely hospitable people. We saw everything we wanted to see (the desert, leopards and rhinos) and more - the landscapes are stunningly beautiful and varied.

It was our first visit to Namibia but definitely not the last one!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This was our second trip with EA and hopefully not the last :)

We cannot think of any improvements, really - just keep the great job you're doing :)
Thank you very much!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We achieved everything we set out to do. To get an understanding of the country and the people in the different regions. To see the varying landscapes. To experience the wildlife in the context of its own landscape, particularly the Desert Elephants and our new stars the Giraffes. Plus, we met nice, interesting people, both fellow tourists and locals alike.

We experienced many new and different situations, and sometimes felt outside of our comfort zone. Which is exactly what we wanted.

Everything seemed to be much ''more'' than we expected. A trip we'll never forget. Namibia rocks !

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thanks too to Angela who offered help and patience along the way." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was more than we expected - beautiful small lodges with such wonderful staff.

We saw the diferent landscapes of the country, loved the scenery and felt it was so easy to drive and explore the country.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I thought it was all very good!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is an amazing country, spectacuar sights from beginning to end. All the bookings were good, no confusions anywhere.

The plan was ours rather than Expert Africa's, we just requested the accommodation to be booked for us. Where our first choice was not available they were very helpful in suggesting alternatives.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"This truly was the trip of a lifetime and as it had been booked for 3 years; was so eagerly anticipated. It exceeded all our hopes.

The driving was [mostly] easy and at every turn the sheer diversity of the scenery was breath-taking. The lodge staff and guides were fantastic and we spent much time learning more about their actual ethnicity and home lives; which they were happy to share with us. That was such a special element of our trip. We were somewhat uncomfortable to realise there still seems to be much of a 'hierarchical system' with the ethnic tribal Namibians; but accept that this is part of the Culture. The trips Expert Africa organised for us prioir to going were amazing - especially the balloon trip which was a quite 'surreal' event.

The only problem with the whole trip was that a month went by so quickly and never seemed long enough! Thank you so much to Tracy for putting up with our constant questions and changing the dates of travel without complaint. Thanks too, for Chris's book which became our 'bible' both before during and even now- after this amazing experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None at all - this was excellent down to every detail. You have thought of everything and there was nothing to disappoint us.
Thank you all." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful trip apart from the scorpion. Tracy is a great asset! Please thank her again for all her help.......does she cover Botswana ( our next African trip)?" Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"Fabulous and unforgetable

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It would be hard to design a better trip. The only suggestion I could make to do differently would be to select automatic transmission. We spent a fair bit of time driving getting places and after I ground the gears a few times David decided he'd better do all the driving. On the other hand, maybe this might be a strategy for some." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"Overall our trip surpassed our expectations. We have both travelled extensively and this is the first time we have ever gone through an agent. All the accommodation and food was excellent. The two wilderness safari camps activities were overpriced and there was a lack of passion with the guides we had.

I did feel that the itinerary could have been planned a little better in the middle. Most people were surprised we had 6 nights in Damarland as were we when we realised how close the camps were to eachother. We could have missed out Damaraland Camp and had 3 nights at Etosha and 2 nights at Okonjima or even 4 nights at Etosha. Despite the guide books saying you don't see much wildlife at the time of year we were there for us it was still incredible.

We definitely needed another night further to the west and had to run around for a day and a half. Obviously I am not an expert and only went by what I read. I would recommend at least 3 nights at different camps across Etosha if you have the amount of time we had. We had a fantastic time in Damaraland but had to double back on ourselves from Grootberg to Etendeka.

Again I think people should be discouraged from visiting the Terrace Bay Camp for one night - if I had understood what it was like I would never have wanted to go. We had a very long drive to get there, arrived late and then had to leave early - it was exhausting and not worth the detour. Our only disappointment was we didn't have enough time in Etosha.

We had a fantastic holiday and I would recommend Expert Africa to my friends and family.

Thank you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We would have appreciated more information about the way certain camps were run in terms of activities and additional costs ie. Wilderness Safari's Camp. We felt pressured into doing all the activities and compared to every other camp the prices were very high and quality low.

I would have liked more information about certain places, especially the Skeleton Coast. I did say I wanted to go there but was going off what I'd read and I suppose lack of knowledge. Better guidance would have made me realise this side trip wasn't necessary. The same goes for Etosha - despite what the guide books say you really do need 3/4 nights to do it justice whatever time of year you are there. I was under the impression that we wouldn't see much so 2 nights was enough. This most definitely wasn't the case and most of the other travellers we met had seen elephants and rhino, lions and even cheetahs. Please make sure that people understand that they will see wildlife if they go at this time of year.

We were advised that there wasn't much to see in Luderitz. After visiting Klein Aus Vista I wouldn't agree with this. We would have preferred to stay one or even two nights in Luderitz. The Ghost mining town was fascinating and the drive around the peninsula fascinating. There was so much to see but we felt rushed as we had to get back up to Klein Aus Vista. Luderitz itself isn't the most beautiful place but everything to do is nearby where as Klein Aus Vista is perhaps good for hikers but for no other reason. It's only another 1hr 15mins to Luderitz and you seen the wild horses on the way there. It would have been nice to be able to choose a restaurant and go for a walk rather being limited to one choice.

Finally, we were on a half board basis at the Damaraland Camp and Kulala Lodge which we found very strange. There isn't anywhere else to go so this should really be included. Our final bill came to nearly 2,000 Namibian Dollars at Kulala Lodge and 3,000 at Damarland Camp when the activities and lunches plus drinks were added in which we thought was excessive having already paid for Half Board. At Grootberg lunch was included with the activities whereas at D Camp and Kulala we paid for the activity then had to come back and pay for lunch. We understood we had to pay for extras but with nowhere but the lodge to eat at lunch should be included." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip