Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"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

"We had two absolutely brilliant weeks in Etosha (and at Erongo Wilderness Lodge on our way there). We have come home with memories of some incredible wildlife sightings with photos that will take a while to sort. We weren't after luxury accommodation - we wanted to be inside the park and maximise our wildlife-viewing time. Staying at Okaukuejo, Halali and Dolomite delivered in spades! Thank you Expert Africa for understanding what we wanted and for securing our bookings for us (as it's virtually impossible for individuals to do this using the online booking facility provided by NWR even though we tried almost a year in advance). Thank you too for the Erongo recommendation as it was nice to start there." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Excellent trip overall, special places and the recommendations were very appropriate in terms of availability and what we were looking for." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was fantastic. It was well organised by Expert Africa and Sabina, our agent was accurate and helpful at all times. The book and advance information was invaluable, from packing lists to maps, money advice and maps, everything was just brilliant.

We traveled with three children, aged 10, 13 and 15 and our route, accommodation and destinations worked for us all. It is not easy finding places to accommodate a family of five and we appreciate that every lodge was ready with the extra beds and big rooms.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The main roads were easy to drive on and although parking in towns can be a little confusing with some people claiming to be there to 'watch' the car while you leave it there, and then expect you to pay them, we never had any problems and if in doubt we found residential streets to park on.

Take a cool bag/blocks in your luggage! We used these every day and the lodges were happy to freeze the blocks for us for our picnics each day.

Two weeks is just enough time to see a great deal of Namibia and if we could have extended by a week then maybe we could have made it to the Caprivi Strip; but like all things in life you have to cut your cloth accordingly and we managed to fit so much into our two weeks." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is a fantastic country and one that is relatively easy to allow children to experience a range of what Africa has to offer. There is a difficult balance between time available, distance travelled, quality of roads, type of accommodation, variety of experience etc but we got it about right for our three, but what works best will vary for everyone. We met some who travelled far more than we did and survived!

Even in early spring, our kids found the temperaturte difficult in the middle of the day, but the mornings and evenings were fine - so think carefully about when to go and when to travel. Five is a difficult number to travel with - but everywhere we stayed, the accommodation worked well. We could have travelled less, avoided Damaraland, or stuck more to the tar - but that would have detracted from the overall experience.

Overall, excellent.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Couldn't really fault it.

Thank you." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We have traveled as a family a reasonable amount and have all agreed that our trip to Namibia was an absolute highlight.

It is a stunning, dramatic, beautiful and haunting country. Mountains, canyons, deserts, seascape and fantastic wildlife, all coupled with welcoming friendly, warm and engaging people.
We'd encourage anyone to go - and probably go now before development changes Namibia irrevocably.

A major part in our trip being such a success was the guidance, planning, support and recommendations provide by Expert Africa and especially Josh Flatman. To put is in some context Josh arranged a fantastic agenda for two of us, which was then changed to be the whole family - he approached this difficult task with relish and was able to find fabulous accommodation for us all with the minimal of fuss. I cannot praise him highly enough.

It is clearly the collective experience at Expert Africa, research trips undertaken by the staff to Namibia and the connections that they have in country which enable them to provide a first class tailored service. Thank you all, and Josh especially, so much.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only two suggestions; one minor, one more important:

- Minor. Please mark exactly where Bullsport is on the map. We had a in impression is was north of the junction of the D1206/C14, coming from Reheboth, and took the wrong turn. It's some 300 m south of that junction!

- More material. The B1 road south between Okahandja and Windhoek is currently undergoing major works to turn it into a highway rather than a regular road. This causes long delays for blasting etc. and the works do mean that there is some dangerous driving from locals when overtaking. Do leave plenty of time when returning to Windhoek for the airport etc.
We were warned to expect this by the staff at Erongo Wilderness Lodge so left plenty of time but don't be tempted to think it will be quick based on the road being tarmac." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip to Namibia exceeded our expectations. The only hardship was the bumpy roads which made up about 2/3 of the roads we travelled on. Apart from that all the accommodation was really really good, the food was always great and amazing considering how remote some of these places are and the service was always very good. We can definitely recommend an Expert Africa trip to Namibia. 2 weeks is a good length of time - you may want to consider staying somewhere for 3 nights so you have a little breather - maybe in Swakopmund." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful time in a beautiful country. We have previously visited Kenya, Zambia and Malawi and this trip was quite different. There was less game to view in the areas we visited but we came away with a greater understanding of what we did see and a huge respect for the desert adaptions necessary to survive. Namibia felt safe and vibrant, the camps were lovely ( Hoanib stood out for me) and the staff were great.
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

"The trip met our very high expectations and did so, impressively, for every member of the family. EA provided excellent guidance on trip planning and the lodge recommendations were all terrific. Car selection was just right for the family, though we were lucky to get and would recommend the 4x4 version of the XTrail.

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

"Thank you , Maruska, and Expert Africa. We have just returned from one of our best holidays ever!

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