Reviews of safaris to Skeleton Coast & Kaokoland

"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

"Excellent throughout, well organised and lovely lodges/hotels - except overnight at Joburg airport hotel

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Excellent brochure - Nice to have a brochure with good quality maps rather than simplistic illustrations." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"An amazing trip, certainly unforgettable. We thought it would be the trip of a lifetime, but now we are not sure. We may need to go back!

Next time I'd like to see some options so I get to choose what I am payng for. (type of vehicle, accommodation options, activities etc.) On this occasion we booked quite late so the options would have been limited, but having visited we know there are different camps

We were impressed with the itinerary that Sabina sorted for us, particularly booking the accommodations she did at such short notice. It was a pleasure to meet Chris at Ongava.

Thank you Sabina" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was absolutely fantastic and we loved it! Our experience with Expert Africa, and in particular Gwynneth, was brillant.

Suggestions for improvements:

Your service was so good, we cannot think of any way you could improve!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and carry very good memories of Namibia." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was a really great experience and we enjoyed everything we did. A good mix of a holiday. Well planned and it worked well.

All the arrangements worked perfectly some turning out better than expected.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

NO!!!!!!!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful trip. Namibia is a great place for a holiday. It has amazing scenery and wildlife, excellent accomodation and a good road network. We found traveling around by car easy and safe.

There is very little traffic, even on the major roads. Any problems we did have, mainly punctures, were quickly solved. Even though we were there in the main tourist season none of the places we visited seemed crowded.

Suggestions for improvements:

No. Tracey gave us excellent advice when we were planning our trip and very helpfully answered our numerous questions." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"Another fabulous trip to Africa, we can't wait to go back

One thing we did notice however, was that, while the standard of guiding remains generally very good, there seem now to be some guides who are doing the job just to make enough money to be able to fund other business/life plans. As a result we encountered one or two without the old passion/feel for the job. While their knowledge was probably very good, it was in a bit of a textbook style and seemed to lack an empathy with the animals/environment.

Possibly because the good rains had meant animals were more dispersed and therefore a bit more difficult to find, there seemed to be a lot of racing around trying to find things without stopping to evaluate the surroundings and potential. I also felt that there was a bit more harrassing animals by changing position to let people get a different shot rather than just sitting quietly to observe, again perhaps because of the perceived need to move on to try to find something else. Also because there were possibly fewer 'opportunities to view' there tended to be several vehicles at each sighting.

Suggestions for improvements:

Difficult to think of anything Expert Africa could do better. We are always delighted with the service and have recommended you to lots of friends.

It would have been helpful to have seen the questionnaire before we went so that we could make notes on relevant points as we went along. After three weeks and lots of locations it is a bit difficult to remember precise details for" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"We'd been to southern Africa a few times before (SA and Botswana), so we wondered how Namibia would compare with those countries. In some ways, for us, it combines the best aspects of those two countries - relatively straightforward self-drive, great wildlife, dramatic and varied scenery, great accommodation and good food.

One thing we'd do differently next time (fingers crossed that there is a next time!) is to hire a 4x4 - our little Toyota Yaris coped with everything we threw at it but we'd have been more comfortable in a vehicle with greater ground clearance and a softer ride.
Big thanks to Gwynneth for all her help and advice - our trip ran really smoothly.

Suggestions for improvement:

Not really, we would use you again for the countries where we feel we want the peace of mind of booking through a tour operator." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"We had an absolutely fantastic visit to Namibia. We loved the accomodation, particularly Mushara Outpost and Erongo Wilderness Lodge - both recommended by Expert Africa. The Brandt Guide was very good and we appreciated the map supplied (now a little out of date re tar roads etc) when we booked our holiday.

Our main reason for visiting Namibia was to visit our daughter who is working in Opuwo setting up lodges and camping trails for local communities so this, along with the time we had available, determined where we went. We will definately return to Namibia (next year) and would use Expert Africa again as the advice was so helpful and the suggestions for accommodation excellent.

The only comment I would make (and it was never a problem) is that when we arrived at each lodge, they never seemed to have a note of our booking, although one did have something under "Anne". So at the beginning of our trip, we were wondering if our booking was confirmed as we arrived at each place but there was never a problem in the end.

Local water supply was great everywhere except Opuwo which was not drinkable but the lodge suppied 2 small bottles of water in the room.

For interest, we also used "Tracks for Africa" and a Garmin GPS system and this was great for finding petrol stations and ATMs etc. Supermarkets were fairly abundant and the supermarket in Opuwo was an amazing experience. It looks like a European supermarket but you find yourself in a checkout queue with a Himba woman in front out you and a Herero and Themba woman behind whilst being served by someone from Damaraland. It was stunning.

Suggestions for improvement:

None really - for us, the service and advice was perfect." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip