South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"Excellent trip. Good blend of exploring / sightseeing / safari.

Was specifically designed to sync with our son's cricket tour and that worked well." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip

"This was our first trip to Botswana and we hope it won't be our last. The quantity and variety of animals and birds was simply amazing.

The camps we visited and their staff were all first class. Having both a guide and a tracker (a feature of Kwando safaris) worked very well - and they were more than happy to educate us when tracking the big cats. They were able to spot and identify animals and birds from a long way away (how do they do that!).

Our thanks to Amanda for recommending the camps we stayed in. They were excellent choices - all a little different from each other but all at the consistently high standard of guiding, accommodation, and food and drink.

We would be very happy to return to Lagoon, Splash and Rra Dinare and would recommend all three most highly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This is only the second time we've used Expert Africa, and on both occasions have found the company to be excellent.

We identified only one area for improvement - more for the safari company than Expert Africa - and that is to try to allocate people to safari jeeps based on their interests rather than just their arrival date. We realise this might prove difficult, but it is an area we feel merits a review." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We were expecting great things and I had built the vision of “holiday of a lifetime”. We were not disappointed! We both agreed that this was the best holiday either of us had ever had and almost every day exceeded expectations. The itinerary was spot-on, the accommodation excellent, and occasionally mind-blowing, the scenery spectacular and ever-changing and our few excursions thoroughly enjoyable. To then add the value for money when eating and drinking and fuel prices a third lower than here in UK, our additional spend was well under budget! I hope we remain healthy enough to experience another trip such as this." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"This was an amazing holiday, we enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to Sabina for all her expertise, organisation and suggestions.

Disappointing not to see apex predators, should have gone on more guided drives." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"This was an epic trip. We both agree it was the best we have ever taken. Maruska was so helpful with first designing it and then with questions we had along the way. She even helped with getting us tickets to Robbens Island when it was sold out!
At times it felt like too much driving but I wouldn't have wanted to cut out anything. Probably just added more time. I really liked that we were in Swakopmund in the middle of the trip to have some city time between lodges. Also having stays at two different ends of Etosha with a drive through the middle. The lodges were all so wonderful and fun. Also being met at the airport before and at the end by Wilderness Safaris was so helpful. They waited in line for sim cards while we did rental car. Got us on our way quicker.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Not really. You did say somewhere that the shortest route is not always the fastest. We wish we had listened as we followed our cars GPS on first day and ended up hours behind schedule and at the start of darkness. Warned not to drive after dark so that was stressful on our first day.
We felt we had lots of info." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Another fantastic trip to Zambia! All of the connections went smoothly. I had been to all of the camps except Shoebill Island before, many times, so I knew I would be happy there. This was my fist visit to Bangweulu Wetlands, and quite surprised as to the uniqueness of the area's landscape and land use. I was happy to have been able to see a shoebill in the wild and to visit the African Parks Shoebill Program." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 19 on a Zambia safari

"This was the most amazing trip. We saw so much wildlife the highlights being the cheetah the sable and the baby elephant giraffe hippo and lion cubs. We experienced being very close to lions and a little too close to elephants. My only disappointment was not seeing the wild dogs but they had moved out of the area and also not seeing a leopard. Our guides did everything they could to find the leopard and we did spend time tracking but if they don’t want to be found then no amount of searching will get that sighting." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"We had the most amazing family holiday - so many unforgettable moments. Maruska was efficient and helpful from the planning stages through to the completion of our journey. She stepped up to help immensely when our bags had been lost between Kilimanjaro and Joburg Airports. She stepped in and got the Wilderness Safari folks to help follow up with the airport and airlines which was a huge relief for us as we were "off grid" for several days following their loss and felt very stressed about what to do next. Overall - we were thrilled with our time in Africa and thank Expert Africa team for helping to plan such a great trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Converting NZD to USD to pay for the trip was daunting - felt hugely expensive. Yes, we requested and planned a high end experience and were aware of the costs, but we definitely felt a big hit to the wallet. When you factor in that we were also giving healthy tips (as suggested, and we felt like with the great service we should do at least the "minimum") on top of the high room rate at each camp ... we felt it even more. Next time we might consider a mix of high vs medium range camps to save some money. Again, not to take away from an incredible trip planned together with Maruska ... thanks" Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our safari in Botswana was incredible from start to finish. Maruska really listened to my initial inquiries, helped us figure out if Botswana was the right destination for us, and then worked to find three different camps that would give us a variety of experiences and locales. I felt like Maruska understood what we were looking for in the trip & personalized her recommendations. That made all the difference!

From the moment we landed at the Maun airport until the moment we returned there, someone was always watching out for us. When one member of our party became ill, the camp contacted Maruska. With Expert Africa on our side, we knew we were in good hands. Fortunately, he recovered quickly, but it was worth every penny to know Expert Africa would have taken care of us if things had gone differently.

Meanwhile, the Botswana safari was everything we hoped for and more. Despite everything going on in the wilderness, because there are not many people, there is a serenity to the experience -- a pace of taking what comes next, of being immersed in the balance of nature's day-to-day existence. We awoke to lions roaring, watched a mother leopard supervise her cub, followed wild dogs on a hunt, shared a watering hole with herd after herd of elephants, and so much more. But it's the overall experience that has stayed with me the most -- just the being there, a visitor is another world.

Thank you to Expert Africa and Maruska for an incredible trip!

I've already recommended Expert Africa and Maruska to two friends! Thank you so much for everything." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Our overall experience was exceptional. Every single part of it!

Maruska took the time to understand what we were looking for and did an unbelievable job putting it all together. From the lodges, to the itinerary, to the little things it was all amazing.

On the flight home our whole family declared they wouldn't have changed a thing. I don't think there is any higher praise." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari