Reviews of trips to Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

"Seeing that this was something of an instant arrangement, Claire worked miracles and came up with the perfect hotels and a perfect route. We started with the splendour of Grootbos and the whales and finished with the spectacular views of Long Beach and more whales!

Because of South Africa's bad press, we were a little concerned, but at no point did we feel unsafe. Everyone we met was very proud of their country and deservedly so. At times we had to remind ourselves we were not in the Home Counties; it was so well-kempt, smooth running and friendly. The quality of hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and shops is very high. Everyone strives to give the best service possible. The political issues that we hear about are evident, but not defining of a country which is looking forwards not back.

It was a great trip, wonderful hotels, beautiful scenery and welcoming people. We would happily recommend a visit to anyone else.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our second excellent trip with Expert Africa and I really do not see how your service could be improved (Just a minor point - a better map would have helped our travels!)" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a South Africa trip

"Our safari to eastern and southern Africa was absolutely stunning.

My family has an active, adventurous spirit, which Claire Scott (Expert Africa) picked up on right away as we discussed options nearly nine months prior. Accordingly, Claire recommended camps that met our desires and expectations. I cannot say enough about how easy it was to work with Expert Africa and how efficiently our holiday played out. Complex logistics were well planned and execution was seamless. Well done!" Read full review: 39 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"The trip was even better than our last one - and we are already hoping to go again next year.

South Africa is perfect for families - the people are so friendly, the food and accommodation outstanding and the activities amazing. Driving around is easy and its great value for money. It just gets better on every visit." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip

"fantastic" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Where do I start? As usual Botswana was amazing. The scenery, the wildlife, the excellent Wilderness Safaris camps all as good as ever.


As usual Expert Africa ensured that everything ran like clockwork. All just as we have come to expect on our repeated visits to this area.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I cannot think of any way it could be improved.

Expert Africa staff could not be more responsive, helpful and generally good to deal with." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Outstanding in all respects. We have been to most of the world and certainly rank this trip among our favorites.

The assistance and guidance we received from Saskia Adye was fantastic, accurate and honest!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
If I were to go on safari and was assigned to a vehicle with nine people crowded together, not even mentioning the roads - I would end my trip then and there! This did not happen to us and usually it was either my wife and self on one other couple with two couples only once for a short period. Obviously, I prefer the two bench vehicles with a top (although I fully realize this is not always possible for a number of reasons. We are 77 and in good shape, I seriously doubt if anyone our age or approaching our age not in a reasonalbly good physical and mental condition would enjoy the trip we took. However, there are certainly many alternatives for any situation whereby almost anyone could be accomodated as long as they realize it is not a trip to New York City." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We had a brilliant time - none of us wanted to come home!

It was really easy to travel around, all the hotels were good or brilliant and easy to find and we managed to do everything but Table Mountain (long queue on Easter Monday that the children couldn't have handled).

We found everyone we met really helpful and friendly and can't wait to go back. 12 out of 10 for a holiday (and we have had some pretty great ones in the past).

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No - its all be great. Thanks for all your help!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa trip

"Overall we had a wonderful time and felt thoroughly spoilt.

All the places we stayed were excellent and we would certainly consider returning in the future." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip

"A most enjoyable holiday. The highlights were Rovos, Vic Falls in full flow and the Chobe National Park." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa 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