South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"It was special from the moment we crossed the border from South Africa, where we saw a total of seven people at the border crossing each with a form or a clip board, but they were all lovely.

With hindsight we are very pleased that we started in the south and not in Windhoek because we think it gave us a better perspective of the country. Once we had crossed the border and were driving north the traffic was almost non existent and the scenery beautiful. You need to blank out worrying about being nowhere near a doctor and how long it would take to get to hospital if you had to.

The variety in Namibia is staggering. Fish River Canyon - the second largest in the world, and we had it pretty much to ourselves. The bizarre Helmeringhausen Hotel. Sossusvlei and its 3-400 metre sand dunes. Mile after mile of desert. The Germanic Swakopmund and Walvis Bay in the middle of nowhere. The spooky skeleton coast, and a long drive through the desert up to mountainous Damaraland and the lovey camps. Then on to Etosha where we saw everything except leopard, and after that driving south to Windhoek through the much more heavily populated and industrialised side of the country.

We would love to go back before it becomes too popular." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Perfect. Has taken away the pain of growing old!!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a South Africa trip

"We had a great time. It was expensive but that is obviously what we paid for!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a South Africa trip

"We had a wonderful trip and were very satisfied with the selections made by our representative." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a South Africa trip

"This is the second time we have travelled with Expert Africa after our honeymoon in 2013, and on both occasions they have been superb (we never got round to doing the feedback on that first trip - sorry....).

Claire was very efficient and super-helpful with advice in response to our requests in terms of dates and locations, and her advice in terms of re-balancing the number of days we spent in different parts of the country proved to be spot-on.

Remote support for when things went slightly wrong - when our flight to Cape Town was very delayed - was great: on contacting Expert Africa, they were immediately able to re-schedule our transfer from the airport to our hotel.

South Africa - the second time we have visited, although the first was very briefly in a very wet August - was fantastic. At no point did we have any security concerns; the roads, admittedly generally between major population centres, were excellent; and the holiday experience itself was straightforward and relaxing, whilst encompassing some wonderfully special moments that will always live with us.

We now find ourselves as an informal local branch of the SA Tourist Board, so much do we rave about the country to friends and family!

Overall experience; trip as a whole:

You were superb - I can't really think of anything.

Thank you so much, and especially to Claire for making it all possible.

Happy New Year!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"It was amazing, easily one of the best trips we've ever been on.

The fact that we could do it with our small kids made it all the more special, and it was certainly a lot easier than we expected/feared.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This trip has really made us interested other parts of South Africa as well.

It would be great if you could expand your coverage of the country. Perhaps in 2019 we can help you 'test' some lodges :)" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a South Africa trip

"Timing: November is on the cusp of rain, pretty hot, but still just about dry. I believe it is a relatively quiet month. Some parts of Etosha had seen rain and game viewing was good. Southern Namibia remained bone dry. It is a lovely time to escape the European drear, if you can.

Itinerary: For the wildlife, we wanted Etosha (1 week) and we wanted the Transfrontier Kgalagadi Park (5 days). Previous experience has shown Sabina to be a star at knocking together a sensible itinerary, and she managed it again. There was some difficulty finding accommodation (even in a quiet month) which meant one or two compromises had to be made. It all worked out well. If you haven't been before, it is worth saying that distances are huge and the dirt roads make them feel huger ....but then that all helps to emphasise the emptiness of Africa. It made sense to link our two parks with a visit to Soussevlei. I'm a bit ambivalent about the place. It was worth seeing the endless dunes, but the whole idea of a desert is to have a wilderness, and with only one road, you are not alone. We actually preferred the getting there and away again, 100s of kilometres with vast landscapes, and little sign of humanity (except for fences). The Transfrontier is off the beaten track and just in South Africa. It was very worthwhile (although I'd choose Etosha ahead of it (for its variety)), but there's no obvious attraction to break up the journey returning to Windhoek. Sabina did well to find a couple of comfortable lodges that had game activities on offer.

Practicalities: The journey had no glitches at all. It was so well organised. Even the 'misplaced' car hire voucher was sorted in a few minutes by Expert Africa (via Wilderness Travel). Instructions had all been clearly expressed (for example, what needed to be done to take a hire car into South Africa). We had no issues with petrol, reported in some reviews" Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"We had a lovely time and hope to visit Tanzania, South Africa again and the 2 remaining Ker and Downey lodges.

That’s Shindi and the 1 in the Kalahari.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Got there in the end with feedback....no suggestions- top class.

Lucy was excellent and gave us great options and in the end delivered with her choices and interpreted our expectations well." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was excellent. Better than imagined! The itinerary went very smoothly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We are very happy with Expert Africa and Richard Ball. Would definitely recommend." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"A new area for us but well worth the trip." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari