Tanzania: reviews from our travellers

"Marvellous experience. The trip exceeded our expectations. We would like to thank Ellie very much for the advice and suggestions she made when putting together the itinery for our safari. She listened to our needs - we are keen bird watchers but we also wished to experience all the diverse aspects of an African safari. She suggested lodges whcih would give us a range of safari experiences and would fit our budget - a tented camp, upmarket lodge and a more basic lodge. We really appreciated this; it worked very well in giving us a broad safari experience for our first time in Africa. We had also specified a guide with a specialist knowledge of birds. Note had been taken of this. Ayoub, our guide, was excellent.

The itinery arrangements (meetings, transfers, accommodation, transport and filights) worked well - without exception.
We would definitely recommend Expert Africa, and Ellie - who always responded very promptly, patiently and knwlegeably to all our queries. We would also recommend our guide, Ayoub. He was very friendly, efficient and looked after us very well in addition to being an excellent wildllife guide.

Suggestions for improvements:

Not really! - outstanding overall trip thanks to Expert Africa and Sokwe/Asilia." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Ellie was fantastic from beginning to end. I knew from my first conversation with her (having spoken to a number of different agents at other companies) that she had summed up exactly what we wanted from our trip and the type of people we were. There was no other choice than to go with Expert Africa. She hit the nail on the head with both the camps and the beach and it was this expert understanding of our characters, and knowledge of the camps etc themselves that made the trip so perfect for my whole family.

Without Ellie, the trip would not have been the resounding success it was for everyone involved - first time safari goers, previous safari and Africa travellers and a Kenya ex-pat. Fundamentally, this was a trip to celebrate my father's 70th birthday so we did everything with him in mind. Having grown up in Africa himself, it was so important that we get the trip right which we did so perfectly with Ellie's assistance.

Ellie had to deal with my indecision (!) and a variety of questions from a number of my family members. She did so with patience and professionalism at all times which was very much appreciated - a service not replicated by your competitors.

Suggestions for improvements:

I don't think so. We were so lucky to have someone understand what we wanted, deliver it and then it being followed by a very lucky trip seeing everything we could have wanted and more. Truely awesome. Asanti sana." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"As we said before, perfect!!

All the transports were perfectly organized. The 3 places we stayed at were as we expected them (or better) and the choice was made with the help of Ellie, who spent a long time talking to us, explaining every detail and giving her gentle suggestions. She was always ready to answer anything at any time of the day. Thanks a lot Ellie!!

The best part of our trip was the waling safari at Impala. The days on the beach were really relaxing. We were a bit disappointed by Stone Town, but this is due to our expectations rather than any problem. We were expecting something different. Maybe the problem was that nothing could compare with the safari for us.

We will keep this part short in order to avoid repeating what we said for the prvious parts.

Best holiday we ever had!! The problem is we already want to go back..." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"We had an absolutely brilliant safari - we saw loads of animals, more than I had expected. Our guide Halifa was fantastic - he was an amazing spotter, I don't know how he found all the animals but he did it somehow. He was also really helpful and would help out with any problem or enquiry. We also really liked him - very easy to get along with. I would recommend him to anyone going to Tanzania. All the camps we stayed in were excellent, again I'd have no problem recommending any of them. Staff were always helpful and friendly. All the people we met in the camps were very happy and very pleased with the guides and the camps.

The Shooting Star in Zanzibar was very nice, and again the staff very helpful. I think we enjoyed the safari part of the trip more, though - Zanzibar was more a place to relax and do nothing and we're not very good at that! Four nights was enough.

Ellie helped us with the booking and she has been great - she didn't mind any of us ringing up with lots of questions, and could always give you a sensible answer. She really knew her stuff!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"the activities were as we expected or even better and the logistics worked smoothly throughout the whole trip" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Mozambique holiday

"Claire and her colleagues at Expert Africa were extremely knowledgeable and helpful in putting together our package of safaris and beach holiday. In both camps our excellent guides had to use all their skills to find the game in such dense bush and over such large areas, but find it they did.

The sightings were excellent, the animals and birds less skittish than we expected, particularly in Ruaha, and the weather much drier and more settled than might have been at this time of the year. The Safari Camps and their staff were excellent in every respect, and we had the comfortable and relaxing time at Breezes that we hoped for – a great holiday, and we can't wait to return." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"As a whole it was a fantastic first trip to Africa.

Thank you, Eleanor, for your patience, flexibility and advice, and expecially for recommending Beho Beho!

Suggestions for improvement:

The service is great, we felt very well informed and we will definitely use and recommend Expert Africa's services in the future." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"I was drawn to Expert Africa by the quality of the website and this was supported by Eleanor understanding our brief straight away and sorting the itinerary. However we felt really let down when we had paid (I was given a 24 hour deadline to pay) and then told we couldn't do it because availability had not been checked fully and neither the suggested internal flights or suggested hotel rooms were available! It was then a scramble to try to find something that worked, which was more stressful than it should have been, involving compromise and additional cost on our part.

The trip itself was a wonderful experience and our expectations managed well. Expert Africa clearly know the accomodation in Tanzania and despite the early hiccup did deliver a great family holiday" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 3 on a Tanzania safari

"thank you expert africa for a job very well done

Suggestions for improvement:

how can i it was perfect" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"Claire was so good, especially when we changed our itinerary.

Suggestions for improvement:

Apart from making Tanzania a bit less humid in February we can't think of anything we have had the most wonderful time." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 21 on a Tanzania safari