South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"My adult daughter and I agree that Somalisa was the best camp with Waterberry a very close second. Her favorite experience was the meerkat climbing on her. I found so much of it awesome it's hard to describe.

In trying to explain the experience to people the closest I can get to accurate is "something amazing happens and then something else amazing happens, etc." I can't compare the rush of seeing lion doing their thing against seeing the rush of Victoria Falls. I can't compare how it feels to be in the vast desolate Makgadikgadi Pans to seeing the vastness of the southern sky's blanket of universe. Being comedically entertained by the meerkat, mud wallowing warthogs, running ostrich, and hippo grunting are experiences like no other. It's completely absurd that neither my daughter nor I were afraid of the 7 white rhino we walked to and stood amongst. It was pretty clear to me when the 1st bush flight landed scaring away zebra and an ostrich from the airstrip that Africa suits me. I guess that's why I didn't blow the air horn when the elephant tried to join my shower.

To close this out - I've lived and worked on 3 continents and know a 4th extensively but there is nothing like Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The process was long for both me and everyone that had to interact with me. Now that I've done it I hope to not be so high maintenance in the future.

One of the reasons I chose EA was because when my plan went from Zambia only I was handed to another person with more expertise in the new regions. I appreciated that. No one at EA tried to "upsell" me either. That is why I dropped the other company I had begun inquiry with.

I'll be emailing the wildlife sightings. We wrote in a lot." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"A great trip." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"It met and exceeded our expectations.

All the accommodation was larger in real life than the photos suggest. It was all well maintained and presented.

All staff were focused on wanting to make our stays as enjoyable as possible." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a South Africa trip

"Many people see Namibia by fly-driving. We didn't want to spend long hours on the road (Namibia is a big country!) and since we had enjoyed travelling previously on Rovos Rail a rail safari seemed to tick all the boxes. We think our trip as a whole was a balance of luxury travel with well organised excursions and we came home with some lovely memories.

The wildlife, and especially birdlife, is magnificent. Our days before and after the train were also well organised and enjoyable and we can thank suggestions from Expert Africa for that." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 2 on a Namibia trip

"Just what we had hoped for.

Although there were only two other guests in the camps on two out of our 10 nights, we still received dedicated and outstanding service at all three camps; making us feel quite special. Experiencing two National Parks and three camps was just the right mix of variety for us. Staying 3 or 4 nights in a camp seemed optimal.

Having been on other safaris later in the year it is clear more wildlife sights are likely in the dry season, but the greeness and the dust-free air of April made the challenge of finding the animals a worthwhile counterbalance." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Everything about the trip was fantastic." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"Great trip with some memorable experiences" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Our Expert Africa trip could not have been bettered. Our contact Megan was brilliant, very knowledgeable and helpful.
it really did feel tailor made for us and Chris McIntyre - the MD - clearly took into account our personal preferences when he initially suggested an outline for our trip before handing us over into Megan's very capable hands to fine tune the details and book us in.

We will definitely be returning to South Africa for another holiday, what an awesome country - needless to say we will not hesitate to ask Expert Africa to plan it all for us, safe in the knowledge that another awesome holiday awaits us!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a South Africa trip

"A great trip, well organised by Expert Africa. We would use them again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 17 on a South Africa trip

"We both absolutely loved our trip, and have recommended Namibia to our friends, family and work colleagues.

Personally for us, once we had left Cape Town we were very eager to cross into Namibia. As such we would have been prepared to have driven longer distances to gain an extra day or two in Namibia (e.g. a one night stop half way between Cape Town and Canyon Lodge).

Overall, it was a brilliant itinerary. Tracy was in continuous contact and accommodated our request to be able to explore Kolmanskop. The Expert Africa team are clearly very knowledgeable and well connected, and went out of their way to ensure we could have an incredible honeymoon within the confines of our budget. The pack they sent to us was also very comprehensive (including a detailed road map), and we would recommend them to anyone wishing to explore Namibia (safe in the knowledge their team would be on hand if there were any issues).

Thank you to Tracy and all at Expert Africa - we had the trip of a lifetime and hope to return in the future!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip