Reviews of trips to Swakopmund & Walvis Bay

"We were expecting great scenery and lots of wildlife and we weren't disappointed.

Private lodges perform far better than NWR lodges but this is no doubt reflected in the price. NWR lodges do have the best locations however in relation to National Parks (particularly Sossus / Deadvlei).

Late for dinner one day as we didn't know the clocks had changed!

The one disappointment was the kayaking trip. Booked with Jeanne Meintjies who was much recommended but was dumped at the last moment with another provider (still awaiting explanation from Expert Africa). I believe it was because I was the only person booked that day.

Bradt guide states that 200 rand notes are not accepted in Namibia. We only read this after we had obtained our currency (largely in 200 rand notes) and a couple of days before we travelled. Managed to exchange some notes at Heathrow thanks to Covent Garden FX but found in practice this was not necessary and out of date information.

Feedback response:
We have looked in to issue regarding the kayaking and can confirm that both of Jeanne's vehicles had to be taken in for repairs unexpectedly, hence this traveller was switched to another operator who offers the same excursion." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Overall, we had a wonderful time in Namibia and we would like to thank Sabina for arranging such an interesting and varied trip for us at very short notice. Expert Africa's careful planning allowed us to take home some great memories from our first trip to Africa and we are grateful that the itinerary included such a variety of landscapes and attractions.

Below we outline a few little issues solely for the purpose of providing assistance to future travelers (We are thoroughly satisfied with the service by the Expert Africa team and would not hesitate to rely on them again in the future).

We felt that the last full day of gravel road travel between Swakopmund and Doro Nawas was the least enjoyable day of the holiday, partly due to the fact that by that stage we had done a lot of gravel road driving and partly due to the fact that the itinerary between Uis and Doro Nawas was over a really bumpy stretch of road (both C35 and D2612) and our main concern was that the rented car would be damaged. We could neither admire the fantastic scenery outside the car nor fully focus on the - atrocious at times - road. We also did not expect that people would stand by the roadside and wave empty water bottles trying to get water from tourists, which obviously posed a dilemma for us.

The area around Uis and Khorixas seemed to us very deprived and we felt somewhat voyeuristic merely driving through as tourists. The area also felt quite unsafe - at one point we stopped at a roadside picnic table just to be surprised by a small truck full of men, one of whom got out and started hassling us for money. Similarly, on the way to Etosha and after visiting the Petrified Forest, we were asked by the official guide there to give a lift to one of his colleagues to Khorixas. As we obliged, we were instantly asked by the guest passenger if we could take on board two others. Our refusal to do so was ill-received. It appears that it is a common practice at that attraction to pressure tourists into giving lifts to staff members.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We think it would be useful to highlight the following points to future travelers:

1) additional spare tyre (second one) takes up a lot of space in the boot and it may make it awkward to pack and transport the luggage;
2) certain stretches of gravel roads are very rough and it would be good to clarify, who would be responsible for damaged suspension, should it happen;
3) the last stop gave us little time to enjoy the location, therefore it may be useful to consider accommodation in closer proximity to the airport;
4) it would be useful to clarify, how clean the rented car should be on the return;
5) it would be useful to warn tourists (especially those who have spare space in their cars) that at certain locations they may be asked for a lift by the guides;
6) we found that at some locations the full range of activities presented on Expert Africa leaflets were not on offer (e.g. guided walks at Buellsport Farm, night walks at Sossus Dune Lodge);
7) we would advise not to attend night drive safaris at Okaukuejo - the price is high and one normally sees much more during the day while driving around the park;
8) on tarmac roads one usually is not able to drive safely beyond 100 km/h due to warthogs roaming by the roadside - we almost had an accident because of them;
9) Perhaps advise guests to bring a travel kettle and hair dryer with them as they are not provided as a matter of course." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Better than the last trip to Namibia ( and that was spectacular). Much better that we didn't have to cover such vast distances, and that we had 2 nights in many places. Highlight was kayaking with the seals in Pelican Point, the Skeleton Coast at Terrace Bay and Etendeka. Really well organised and literature excellent." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fabulous time! Unfortunately, this once-in-a-lifetime trip makes us want to go again, and again, and again!

I do hope the concessionaire's are careful not to over build. They are able to charge top dollar because of their high concentration of animals to a low density of visitors. But when vehicles are stacking up, waiting for a 10 to 15-minute turn to see the animals, the concentration is already too high for my tastes. There is something to be said for having more eyes in the field, because you then have more opportunity to make a good sighting. But there needs to be a balance, and we saw many new camps being added, and many camps are increasing the number of guests they can accommodate. As someone going to visit, note not only the number of tents in your camp, but of all the camps within the concession.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
With your booking, Expert Africa has a general interest, basic requests, etc box; it would be nice to be able to customize that for each activity and/or camp to accommodate interests and expectations for different locations.

You guys and gals at Expert Africa are great! Everyone I've dealt with, though primarily Maruska and her sister Saskia when she was still with you, has been most helpful, honest, and pretty-darn-accurate, which I appreciate more than I can express!

Filling out this review has been a nightmare for me. Next time I will type things out elsewhere, and then cut and paste them in, which should work. When I tried to go back to previous page, whatever I'd typed was swallowed. If I hit save, it kicked me out, and I had to start again at the very beginning. I hated having to scroll forward through every page from the beginning, so I tried cheating and leaving the form open, but it would time out, again swallowing whatever I'd typed. It would be nice to be able to open on any page, so I could complete as time and mood allowed. Oh, well.

Sorry it's taken me so long to complete. I know I really appreciated other people's reviews and used the reviews heavily in making my choices--I would also like to see a scale of 1 - 10, because I would've liked to differentiate between good and excellent with a very good. The overall quality of all these camps is at least good, but some were far more excellent than others." Read full review: 34 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We were very happy with the help and guidance Angela at Expert Africa provided.

Going on a trip to any African country, even a country with a reputation for being very safe such as Namibia means that you need to rely on the expertise of others, especially if it is your first visit to the continent and you are responsible for the safety of two young teenagers.

After an initial conversation we received a detailed suggested schedule, the pricing was very clear to understand and we received a huge amount of practical advice.

All the potential pitfalls were mentioned and the itinerary was exactly what we wanted. We received a guide book on the booking and a very clear and detailed advice booklet.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

As the itinerary is bespoke for each customer the only suggestion that I can think of is a guide to the time for each drive, perhaps with the map.

We left Windhoek later than we should and arrived at the Namib Lodge just as the sun was setting. 5 minutes after arriving the sun had gone behind the mountain range and we never saw the facilities until the next morning.

If we had received some guidance on the length of time we would have set out earlier as it took longer than the 5 hours we had allowed.

We are very happy with the service provided and thank you for making the trip so enjoyable." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"We set to see a lot in a considerably short time.
For some places we wished to have more.
No regret as it was interesting and lots of memories of very special places and people we met along the way.
Accommodations were sometimes off as we couldn't imagine they fill up so quickly
The hardest part are the distances...but it is very rewarding.
We loved the sunrises and sunsets and all in between.
It was an adventure of a lifetime but hope to come again as there is more to see." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"From out first contact with Tracy to the end the help, advice and service was superb.
Tracy gave us plenty of tips on the various camps, pros and cons of some of our choices which helped our final decisions on places to stay and kept us informed throughout of flights, costs etc.

The holiday was better than we had imagined and any slight reservations that we may have had about drivng oursleves about were soon put aside with the empty roads and clearly marked map that Tracy supplied.

We enjoyed the mix of camps that we stayed in and meeting the many staff members that made our stays so enjoyable. It is a shame that the NWR have not invested in Okaukuejo because the location is so good. It was like staying at Butlins after a night at Claridges.

Our previous African trip was to Botswana, only staying in the reserves so this time having the mix of wildlife and real life made for an overall better experience and a small taste of Namibian life.

Thank you for organising a great trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No.
All the literature was superb and service 100%" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Best holiday we've ever had. Almost perfect from start to finish.

Only negative was Johannesburg airport on the return journey. Their concept of customer service is negative as far as getting people through Passport Control and Security as quickly as possible. We made our flight with about 5 minutes to spare.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Cannot fault Expert Africa - Sabina in particular. You guys have been superb.

We'll be re-booking in 2 years time - finances permitting! We have to return to Okonjima and see how our Leopard is getting on!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. We planned the trip specifically to see as much wildlife as possible and expected Etosha to be the highlight but the rest of the trip more than matched this. We particularly enjoyed staying at the smaller camps of Kulala, Erongo and Okanjima.

You mentioned that previous customers had reported back that they would have preferred a 4-wheel drive car. We found our 2-wheel drive car fine. In fact the major irritation of the holiday was 4-wheel drive cars speeding past us, particularly in Etosha, causing dust clouds." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We enjoyed every moment of this holiday and would love to do it again, spending more time in some of the places we visited and seeing other parts that we had to miss out on this time. If we had booked it ourselves we wouldn't have stayed in all the places we did and we would have missed out on some unforgettable experiences. So thanks to Sabina for all her hard work.

Most of the time we followed the route suggested by Sabina but occassionally we went a different way, following routes suggested in Chris McIntyre's book. We only misjudged how long it would take us once - a result of too many stops for photographs.

The people are very friendly. The scenery is stunning and often seems devoid of life, until you stop. The roads are the best that I have driven in Africa (excluding the Republic of South Africa). All in all, Namibia is an unbeatable destination and a photographer's paradise.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No! We were more than happy." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip