Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"Overall it was a marvellous trip. We had so many wondeful experiences that we are still absorbing them.

We cannot thank Elizabeth Chapman of Expert Arica enough. Her professionalism and kindness were key elements in making our holiday so special." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"It was a truly wonderful transformative experience and I cannot thank you enough.

Tourism in Namibia will boom." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was truly a most rewarding experience, we both were enthralled by the journey and the sights we were able to see.

The trip was very well planned and organised, and offered a really in-depth insight into Namibia and its wildlife and stunning scenery.

We covered a lot of ground in our in Namibia, and whilst distance itself is not a problem, the state of the roads can make road travel very demanding. If we are able to return again I would seriously consider flying in and out to the lodges.

Our thanks go to Elizabeth for producing a very detailed travel plan and itinerary" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"This was an incredible trip giving us treasured memories and a desire to visit this fascinating continent again.

The trip was a long time in the planning. I love to research and plan our trips but felt I needed help on this one. Taking into account our budget limit, numerous discussions and e-mail exchanges with Tracy Lederer took place before settling on our final itinerary. Tracy was always enthusiastic, patient and above all knowledgeable. We certainly would not have had the great trip we had without her. All arrangements for the trip went without a hitch but it was reassuring to know that help was just at the end of a phone should the need arise.

Crucial to our enjoyment was the variety which was included in our trip;
We were self driving in Namibia and had our transport organised in Botswana.
We stayed in very different camps/lodges, some humble some much more luxurious and one stay on a boat.
We experienced land based and water based activities.
We had a day trip to Victoria Falls.

The Bradt Guides and all of the detailed information which was sent to us prior to departure was very much appreciated.

Expert Africa will be our choice for our next trip." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"First of all, we feel so lucky to have Megan as our contact in Expert Africa. She always responded very efficiently and tried her best to arrange our self-driving Namibian trip to meet our expectation. She also assisted us in visa issue very much.

It's really an issue for Taiwanese to get Namibian visa. She also gave us the helpful advice, arranged the accommodation well to avoid too long hours driving which make the trip more flexible. The whole team of Expert Africa is very knowledgeable and professional.

The wilderness safari greeted us from the airport on our first day which impressed us very much. All staff in their accommodation are wonderful but we also enjoyed the different types of accommodation like Etosha Safari Camp, Erongo, and Okonjima.

The only thing we regretted was not to book accommodation earlier. I think the best accommodation options are to stay in the NWR when you are in National Park like Etosha and Namib desert national parks even the rooms are all basic but for us, locations matter most because we can see more animals and enjoy sunrise or sunset in or on the sand dunes." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"This was our third trip arranged by Maruska, and like the other trips, the arrangements were excellent. Maruska gave us some great advice on our route and places to stay. We were provided with a map showing our route with driving times were were spot on. We did have a GPS with us but probably did not need it as the directions provided were very clear. The trip went very smoothly, all arrangements went as planned.

If you've noticed a 2 week gap in our accommodations it's because we spent that time after Upington in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which we booked ourselves.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Spell check on the feedback form does not work.

When proof reading reviews I discovered that if I made changes then clicked ""Back to previous page"" to proof another review, the changes were not saved. Could this be fixed?

Everything else is great! We love getting the brochure and the information on the website is very good." Read full review: 43 nights in Africa; 27 on a Namibia trip

"Although I have tried to provide some constructive criticism, we loved our trip to Namibia and would repeat it in a heartbeat.

It was one of our finest international trips ever.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maruska did a terrific job & we thought our trip was fairly priced. We appreciated getting a copy of Chris's guidebook as well." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We were very glad we decided to fly between most of the camps. The trip would have taken several weeks by road but each and every flight was "scenic" and you only get a real appreciation of the topography from the air. Landscapes in particular are unlike anywhere else we have visited. We enjoyed the whole trip hugely: so different from other safari holidays taken. We saw everything we had hoped for - from desert adapted lions and elephants to walking with black rhino and cheetah. We thought the level of knowledge of the guides in general was not as extensive as other African countries we have visited. Bruno at Mundulea stood head and shoulders above the rest in this regard. Advice for other vegetarians is that this is a very meat-based society but the overall quality of the offerings - with one or two notable exceptions - was uniformly poor and way below our experience in Botswana and Tanzania. It didn't detract from our enjoyment but would have enhanced it! Thanks to Sabina for picking up the organising reins mid-way, in particular flagging up an earlier bush flight on our arrival day." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This trip is one we have wanted to do for a while. We were invited to a wedding in Franschhoek which gave us the excuse to do it.

We had a good idea where we wanted to go, and Tracy very skilfully interpreted this and put the trip together for us - nowhere did it disappoint.

We would do it again at a different time of year - spring being the ideal time to see the Western and Northern Cape. We'd stay longer at Klein Aus.

If we hadn't been booked to come home, we could quite easily have spent a couple of days in Windhoek and readied ourselves to go in another direction...........hopefully there will be a next time." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"We are happier and richer with our Namibia experience.

Although it was not an easy task for Megan and later Tom because we booked fairly late and many of the camps were fully booked but they managed excellently and we got just the type of camps we wished for, the distance between the camps for self-drive was ideal.

Everything worked just like clockwork, only pleasant surprises. Many thanks to both Megan and Tom for outstanding job!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just a feed back about using Tracks4Africa Namibia map on our Ipad. We downloaded the map at home to be used off-line (no roaming) in Namibia than used it together with the traditional map provided and found the two to be very good and cheap combination. (Our Garmin had broke on a previous trip and we didn't want to buy a new one) The GPS of the Ipad (or Iphone) was accurate for us to be able to see where we are, plan and see if we are heading the right direction. We can safely recommend to use it together with a map.

Route to Damaraland Camp: the pick up point was NOT marked out on the map and had to call the camp for advice (and we later found that we could have driven all the way up to the camp as the road was almost better than the main gravel road).

The route from Anderson's Camp to Mundulea was NOT marked out at all on the map provided by Wilderness Safaris. We asked the staff at Anderson's Camp and they pointed out the tarred road (Otjiwarongo and up to Otavi). In retrospect, may be, starting early enough, we could have driven through Etosha and then turned South to Tsumeb and Otavi instead and still made it to Mundulea by 14:30. IF driving through Etosha to the East then turn South is an possible alternative to get to Mundulea I wish Expert Africa had pointed out for us and we could have planned that day differently.

About guides on nature or game drives; Most of them drive and stay too closely to the animals, less than five meters to lions or ten meters to elephants for example. We experienced this both on our Botswana and in Namibia trips ( Wilderness Safari's camps). Probable reasons; previous guests asked them to get closer or they do it in the hope of more tips, or just show off. But most of visitors have binoculars and good cameras they should not insist. In fact it is far more exciting to watch game from some distance and the animals tend to stay longer, too. Guests and guides alike need to be informed and/or reminded about a recommended (regulated?!) distances to be kept ." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip