Reviews of trips to Swakopmund & Walvis Bay

"Our holiday was fabulous! It all went very smoothly, and exceeded all our expectations.

It was all tremendous fun - we saw amazing things and met lovely people.

We have lots of wonderful memories and enough stories to last us years!

Suggestions for improvement:

No - you did a fantastic job for us!" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This was a fantastic holiday.The adjectives that come to mind are not sufficient. The variety of landscapes, sights, activities and experiences were wonderful. It was a really good family holiday also. There was something for all our children to do and they got something out of every place we went to. However, the highlight of the trip for our 6 year and 3 year old was the car being pulled out of sand in road works on a minor gravel road in the Caprivi Strip by a huge six-wheeled grader - and particularly the bit where the driver forgot to put the grader's handbrake on and had to chase it down the hill and jump into the cab! Our 10 year old cannot say what the best part of the holiday was. It was all great. We agree.

Namibia is a great country and should be on everyone's list of places to see. The people are friendly. It feels safe and there is none of the lurking tension that you feel at times in South Africa. We'd say it was like South Africa, but better. There is such a variety of things to do and places to see. The desert is stunning. The dunes at Sossusvlei should be on your list of 50 things to do before you die. Swakopmund was so relaxing and it was just nice to potter about there. The food was delicious - seafood near the coast, game inland - and cheap. The smell and sound of the seals at Cape Cross will stay with us forever! Etosha is (insert your own superlative here - words escape us)! The numbers and variety of animals is mind-blowing - and all from your own car window. You do safari at your pace and go where you want to go without 20 other camera toting tourists in the vehicle with you. While there are lots of other people in the park with you, it never seems busy. The roads are largely empty and you could be the only vehicle at a waterhole on many occasions. We had the fortunate experience of a leopard cub ambling about in the road in front of us without a care in the world and eventually leading us to its mother, with no other cars in sight. Try doing that in Kenya! The Caprivi Strip is an undiscovered gem. The river camps and lodges are all perfectly sited and the opportunities to see riverine wildlife are fantastic. Again, there are few other tourists around (for the present), but once word gets out this is sure to change. There is none of the mass safari tourism of East Africa in Namibia. See it while it stays like this.

We also enjoyed finishing the holiday off at Victoria Falls while relaxing at the Zambezi Sun. Victoria Falls is another 'must see' and again adjectives do not sufficiently describe the experience. Our only regret was not seeing more of Botswana, but time did not allow. People we met who had been to the Kalahari and Okavango Delta were impressed.

It was very helpful and consderate of Sabina to contact us in Swakopmund to inform us that the garage in Kongola had closed and so fuel was not available there.

This was probably our best holiday ever with memories to last a lifetime." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful trip. We have excellent advice and service from Sabina at Expert Africa - thoroughly recommended. Namibia is a perfect place for an active holiday - dramatic landscapes, friendly people and a huge range of wildlife.

Thank you." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was wonderful, everything worked like clockwork and all the arrangements were perfect.

Namibia was a beautiful country and the weather was perfect, much warmer than we expected, though cold at night, and no clouds at all for the entire trip, fog at Swakopmund on one day. The driving on tarmac was easy and on gravel we felt that 4x4 made the driving much more pleasant, others suffered with ordinary hire cars.

We ventured into towns, shops and garages and felt quite comfortable, only at Windhoek was there more of an edge with quite a lot of youths hanging about in the evening. The standard of accommodation and food was higher than we had expected, the scenery outstanding and the game in Etosha more widespread than we had expected." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa were the Experts for us. We had a vague idea it would be good to go to Namibia - had read the guidebooks but needed Gwynneth to really sort us out and she provided us with a tour of Namibia which encompassed many fantastic experiences of a wonderful country with great people.

When we tell people about the holiday they are surprised, intrigued, interested. It was one of the safest and most relaxing holidays of our experience and we have been a few places.

If you are interested in going to Africa - Namibia has it all - go!" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"The trip exceeded our expectations in every way. The tourist infrastructure in Namibia is outstanding, with the quality of the hotels, courtesy of the people and maintenance of the roads putting much of the UK and Europe to shame.

This was not a cheap holiday, but we felt that it was money well spent and would love to return. We saw and photographed far more than we had expected and this will provide us with many wonderful memories for the future.

We found that we used much more cash on the trip than expected. Fuel is now N$8 to N$9 per litre meaning that refilling tank was around N$400 at each petrol station (6 fills for 3000km). No petrol station we visited accepted cards. Needed more cash for tips, park entry fees etc than anticipated. Had informed our UK bank that we were travelling to Namibia, but they still blocked debit card as soon as it was used in ATM. They left message on UK phone to ring them back -not a lot of help in Namibia!

Fortunately credit card remained functional (had phoned their security dept before leaving rather than relying on website link). Initially took GDP£400 in SA rand, but took out further N$6000 to cover expenses en route. Had to draw this over three days in Swakopmund as ATMs seemed reluctant to give too much in one go. Banks close at 3.30 in afternoon, so not easy to access them if out on trips." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We can only laud praise on Expert Africa for the superb service which you have provided. Sabina was most patient and helpful in assisting us plan, and then in meeting our changing demands and requests. The advice she gave us, and the itinerary and accommodation she recommended were all absolutely faultless. We were particularly impressed that she continued to monitor waiting lists and was willing to change our accommodation long after our final confirmation and payment of the holiday.

We met many people along the way, and we think we had, withot doubt, the best operator!! We will unreservedly recommend Expert Africa to others and doubtless use you again when we next want to visit Africa. Our whole holiday has been a wonderful experience, and as well travelled people, we have found Expert Africa, second to none.

Thank you very very much!!! When our car broke down we were impressed with the way in which you telephoned us at the earliest opportunity, at Fish River Canyon to check we were OK and then sorted out an appropriate compensation from Europcar, which was waiting for us on our return.

Suggestions for improvement:

You are doing an axcellent job - I can add nothing as there was nothing in which you did not impress us!!" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful country of huge interest and contrasts we had the holiday of a lifetime and a lifetime of a holiday! Thank you Expert Africa." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"As a whole,this trip was a holiday of a lifetime. With the help of Expert Africa, we enjoyed our exploration of this beautiful country. Our total journey was 3400 km, but we did not unduly feel we were tied to the vehicle. We were happy that our planned route was in a clockwise direction, as it left the high points towards the end of the holiday (including hotter temperatures!). Unfortunately, we missed a key activity (ballooning over the dunes) due to high winds and we also hit an extremely cold winter snap. We enjoyed seeing the towns/villages and spending some time in them.

One point I would like to stress is that these lodges are mostly built to provide cool accommodation in summer, and therefore can be bitterly cold and draughty in winter. Visitors could perhaps be given more warning to pack winter clothing. Restaurant staff are wearing anoraks - ours were at home!

We did not appreciate open plan toilets or sharing a dinner table with people we had little in common with.

We found the guide book by Chris extremely helpful and appreciated all other documents." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"For the oldest member at least the trip of a lifetime! Long anticipated we probably did it just in time - in another 2 years it will probably be too demanding for the oldies, whereas the "youngsters" may well be off on the Fish River trail.

While the wild life was incredibly exciting, it was what we had expected - only even bigger and better.

I don't think we could have anticipated the fantastic beauty and variety of the landscapes and the speed with which they change - the drive from Solitaire to Walvis Bay is just one example. Nor is it possible easily to convey the space, the distances, the emptiness,and the enormous skies - particularly on a moonless night.

We followed your suggested itinerary with one variation - we kept to the coast road from Cape Cross to Torra Bay and then cut across to Dora !Nawas. We were glad to experience that much of Skeleton Coast and thought the rest of the run more than rewarding , would in fact RECOMMEND it.- we'll have to fit in the Brandberg next time.

Now our one beef. We followed all of your advice re clothing - Kate, thank goodness even packed her long johns! - but simply were not prepared for the intense cold we ran into at Bullsport. Nor, according to the locals, was this particularly unusual. This being the case we think more thought should be given to heating the rooms and beds, and more blankets carried on drives at Bullsport. The temperatures at Kulala were not so different, but both these matters had been more effectively addressed.

Finally on this point we think that your advice should be beefed up to read - "and just to be on the safe side tuck in a pair of gloves, a scarf and a woolly hat" !

PS - Sabina, I have submitted our "report" on the trip but have, inevitably, thought of 2 comments I have forgotten to include! Firstly, how impressed we were by all aspects of the Wiiderness Safari operation with which we came into contact - not just the high standard of training, friendliness and professionalism of all the staff, or the imaginative design and comfort of the Lodges, but also their policies of community development and, perhaps in particular, their approach to HIV - AIDS.

Secondly we were very aware of the the positive approach generally to the AIDS problem - young people in "leadership" and "meet the challenge" T-shirts etc. However, nowhere could we find any means of making any direct contribution in support - and we mean specifically support which would be directed to Namibia, rather than to one of the umbrella Africa charities. We discussed this situation with Beula at Erongo and she was going to take it up thro' her management but I wonder whether you can give us any guidance and, more generally, if it is something to which Expert Africa might like to give some thought as I am sure there must be many of your clients who would also like to give more focussed help.

Again many thanks for your personal contribution to a wonderful holiday, Kind regards, Michael" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip