Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"Everything went smoothly and according to plan. The only glitch was having to leave Nduvo a day early in order to get to Maun on time." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 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

"Let's start with the positives. Our guide (Lawrence) is a wonderful guy and skilled guide. Can't speak highly enough for him. The sites we visited were excellent, and the accommodations varied from "satisfactory" to "outstanding" with an average I'd say B+. The meals they provided were upscale and very good - whether at restaurants or in the tented camps. Game viewing was excellent. It was obviously a finely tuned itinerary - we saw an amazing variety in the time we had. Everything went like clockwork.

The overall experience was brilliant, but with two major caveats. First, they PACKED the vehicle (Land Cruiser) with EIGHT passengers (there are nine seats, including the driver and passenger seats). There was no storage space available, so water bottles/daypacks/cameras had to be underfoot the whole time. The leg room was minimal in some of the seats, especially for tall people.. The passenger seat has no access to the roof for photos or viewing while on safari. Some seats are more comfortable than others, so we were jockeying on a daily basis for who got the crappy seats. We joked about "business class" seats and coach. It sucked. Safari viewing with the top up was difficult, with seven of us trying to cram ourselves into the small viewing area. The saving grace was that our fellow passengers were all good natured and willing to take their turn in the bad seats.

To add insult to injury, after the first day or so, we noticed the air conditioning in the vehicle was failing. Coolant leak. Lawrence got a recharge the evening of the day we discovered the problem, but whatever caused the leak in the first place wasn't diagnosed - nor fixed. So we didn't have A/C for most of the trip, and some of the days were 40 degrees C. So we had to drive with the windows open. Most of the roads were gravel. It got pretty uncomfortable. It's hot (it's the desert...). Dusty. Every time we encountered a dust trail from another vehicle, we had to quickly close all the windows, opening them after the "smoke" had cleared. In the heat.

There were other problems with the vehicle as well - the doors wouldn't unlock much of the time. The roof leaked when it rained, turning the front row of seats into a pool. There was often a gas smell in the passenger compartment.

This was billed (and priced) as a luxury tour. For most aspects, it delivered that. But the transportation was more what you'd expect from a bare-bones budget travel agency. We'd go back to Namibia in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't book with Karibu unless we had assurances that their transportation wouldn't be packed like sardines, and the equipment was properly serviced." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"BEST NATURE EXPERIENCES

The first antelope by side of road - day1

Sitting on veranda at first lodge - afternoon of day 1 - watching antelopes , warthog family , lots of birds .

Close enough ( 6 ft) to cheetahs to hear them purr - Day 2

Mongoose pack being harried by 2/3 hawks - herding? - day 3.

Warthog Male trying to kill youngsters - because Female then goes into heat!?

All alone at waterhole in empty west Etosha watching 25 giraffes of all sexes and ages and then enthralled by the herd galloping away - because I spooked them by getting out of car!!

Bird with corn cricket in beak - bashing it on branch like on an anvil

Chasing 'flocks' of hornbills along Hornbill Highway in far north east Etosha !

The noise of seals at Cape Cross - especially deep bellow of males!

Flamingos sieving the water as the tide came in ( went out?) leaving puddles behind

The garden at Mushara Lodge - mongoose hunting snakes in long grass - dik dik grazing - wart hogs grazing and fighting - lots of birds - very cold swimming pool

Elephants coming to Hobaterre lodge waterhole - could reach out and touch but must not!

Lizards everywhere - especially at Erongo - all colours - all sizes!

Huge flocks of cormorants at Cape Cross !

Thousands of pelicans , flamingos , shore birds in Walvis Bay. Watching the pelicans fishing by diving from 10 metres up!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"This was our 3rd trip to Namibia with Expert Africa doing variants of the caracal self drive safari. All 3 trips have been fantastic which is why we keep going back.

Sabina did a fantastic job in planning our trip and making suggestions and booking restaurants and activities. She put together an excellent itinerary which was perfect for our group of 7 which ranged from 8 to 61!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 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

"Tom from Expert Africa did a really good job of guiding us through the process of planning our holiday, where to go and where to stay in Namibia. He was certainly very knowledgable and helpful. Although he made a few carless mistakes these were all easily corrected (before anything was finalized) and we had a flawless trip and are very grateful for his knowledge and assistance." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 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

"Expert Africa was amazing. From our first telephone call, they really understood what we wanted, and arranged everything perfectly.

Even the timing of the stay at each place and the set up of the order of the itinerary showed great sensitivity to our wishes for the trip.

We have never used a service such as this, and were so pleased.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Our only comment is that the suggested travel times between places were almost always to short, we always needed more time to travel than estimated." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip

"It was truly a trip of a lifetime for us (though hopefully one of many). From the moment I called Expert Africa to the moment we departed Windhoek to go back to the US, the trip was seamless, enjoyable, and extremely memorable. Tom at Expert Africa did a tremendous job of interpreting who we are as travelers, what we were looking for in the trip, and then finding the right accommodations for each stage of the trip. It was expertly crafted.

Namibia is a magical place with wonderful scenery, friendly people, and surprisingly delicious food (Oryx!). We hope to return soon to continue exploring this incredible country." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip