Reviews of safaris to Skeleton Coast & Kaokoland

"Most enjoyable and well organised. We have been on 7 safaris in most southern Africa countries and this was one of the best.

We would thoroughly recommend Expert Africa." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Please see comments on Schoemans safaris. Tracy was extremely helpful in the planning of this trip." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 5 on a Namibia trip

"The whole experience was very enjoyable.

On reflection we wouldn't have done as much driving, some of it was tedious and although there isn't much traffic driving on the gravel roads was quite tiring. Having said this it was our choice and we wouldn't have seen as much as we did without the driving" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"What with Chris McIntyre's Bradt Guide, the Expert Africa website and traveller reviews, and Tracy Lederer's first hand knowledge and advice, we thought we knew what to expect on our first visit to Namibia. Certainly there were no unpleasant surprises, but nothing could prepare us for the direct experience of the wide clear blue skies, the open empty roads, the variety of spectacular scenery and wildlife, the consistently high standard of accommodation and cuisine, and the friendly welcome of the people.

Even the guys who hassled you at petrol stops to buy carved makalani palm nut key rings, or lumps of mineral, or a two-euro coin in exchange for Namibian dollars, did so with a smile. Incidentally, the cheapest makalani nuts we found on offer were 19N$ at Peter's Antiques in Swakopmund.

All the arrangements worked without a hitch, including the car hire. We have commented separately about how pleased we were with the choice of the Nissan X-Trail 2WD vehicle.

What to add ?

Namibia is in the same time zone as British Summer Time, but in June the sun rises at about 6:30 and sets at 5:30, so we certainly had to adjust our waking and sleeping times to make the most of the daylight.

We bought some souvenirs in Swakopmund and obtained a VAT receipt with the intention of reclaiming a modest amount in Windhoek, only to find that it would be paid by bank transfer and to make out the claim we needed our bank sort code and account number, which of course we didn't have with us.

We'll know about that next time, and we are determined there will be a next time. In fact, as we watched the sun sink below the horizon at Cape Cross we mused if we could ask Expert Africa for season tickets.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, just keep doing what you do so well." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"an excellent and very diverse trip across nearly the entire country - a true adventure to remember!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"A great experience.

A wonderful country from every perspective. All the arrangements worked well. We would happily do it all again tomorrow!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"This was one of our best holidays as a result of a tremendous effort by Sabina who made sure it was tailored for us in every way.

She is a valuable asset to the company.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Your name says it all, you are experts so how can I suggest improvement" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Perfect advice an organisation by expert africa for us as independent travellers, thank you Sabina for this very last minute organisation !!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"We are very happy with most of the services and suggestions provided by Expert Africa. The lodge choices were excellent overall. We were also very happy that we decided to follow the recommendation of renting a 4x4. It made the driving much more comfortable and worry-free. Gwynn was a pleasure to work with. She is obviously very knowledgeable and passionate about her home country. The map provided was perfect! We had no problems at all driving ourselves.

I do have to mention two small bumps throughout the process. The first was a problem with the bank transfer from the US. Even though it is clearly explained in the instructions, I wish someone would have made it stand out. There are pages and pages of instructions to read and things are easily overlooked. It would be great if you could have a small list of highlights, including payment instructions. We ended spending over USD$300 to correct the bank transaction problem.

I was also disappointed about our lodging arrangements in the Kalahari. When we first discussed the lodging we were told that we were going to have to stay each one of the three nights at different places because everything was booked. To our surprise, when we arrived in Mata Mata and called !Xaus we were told that they had plenty of rooms available. They told us that they had availability when Expert Africa made our reservations. We ended up losing our entire payment for our night at Mata Mata Rest Camp which was not pleasant." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"We enjoyed it very much - very diverse. It was good to be self-drive.

The highlight was the flying safari.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

A very comprehensive feedback website ! Hope my comments were useful." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip