Zanzibar: reviews from our travellers

"Had the best time ever... thank you Clare Scott @ expert Africa!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"As honeymoons go, this was the ultimate. We had the seculsion in Selous, the game in Ruaha and the relaxation in Zanzibar. Everything went like clockwork and each part complimented the trip wonderfully well - thank you Ellie & Expert Africa!

First of all Beho Beho and the Selous. Beho Beho is as good as its reputation. Brilliant guiding, brilliant hospitality and in a part of the Selous where you will feel like you have Africa to yourselves. The seclusion is an invaluable feeling and it really hit home just how amazing Africa is. The Selous itself was very different to Ruaha as it was much more vegetated and incredibly beautiful, with rivers, dry gorges, forests and plains. There is plenty of game but it is not the case that you can sit at the top of a hill and scan for your next pride of lion. If you are going to be able to tick game off the list then Selous is not the right choice. You generally have to work for your sightings, which for us, made it all the more special. As Selous is a reserve and not a national park, you can go off-road and track the animals which we found exciting. As a result sightings were so worthwhile and we gained far more insight from BB's excellent guides.

Ruaha was the next stop and was the perfect complement. It seemed much more like a traditional safari area, with game spread across the horizon. The area was much busier than Selous but it was still possible to lose the crowds and go big game hunting. Although we didn't see any leopard, we were incredibly lucky to spot Wild Dog twice and the second time we followed them as they were hunting, which was an unforgettable experience. Mwagusi Camp was brilliant with an amazing location.

We must mention the time of year...perfect! August was start of dry season so there was enough vegetation to keep the dust down, but virtually no mosquitos and the game was starting to congregate around the water holes. Couldn't have been better for both the Selous and Ruaha.

The follow-up in Zanzibar was just what was needed. Relaxation. The Palms was fantastic with great service and food and a very picturesque beach. We would probably not go to Zanzibar in isolation as there isn't too much to do but it definitely complements an East Africa safari!

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We really like the website as it is very simple to navigate with clear links and lots of detail when required.

Based on our experience, we would 100% recommend Expert Africa.

P.s. Thank you for facilitating such a fabulous honeymoon :-)" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a fantastic experience with Expert Africa and our trip. In terms of logistics, everything worked out perfectly well, before as well as during the trip. All the recommendations and suggestions we received turned out to be to the point.

We loved the two lodges were we stayed as well as the two national parks Selous and Ruaha - very complementary and different, both very special and not too touristy at all, despite high season. Closing a week of safari with a few days in Zanzibar turned also out to be the right decision. Thanks also a lot for the complimentary travel guide on Zanzibar - excellent reading, I would recommend it to every traveler. All in all a great holiday!

We would recommend Expert Africa to any friends planning the same thing." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Our honeymoon was many months in the planning but boy, was it worth it.

We had an absolutely epic adventure in Kenya and Zanzibar - we saw and experienced so much. We are truly fortunate to have been able to visit such extraordinary places and wouldn't hesitate to recommend to others any of the places we visited. The trip of a lifetime!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"By ignoring the Zanzibar 5 nights I can leave the trip at Very Satisfactory. While agreeing we needed a rest after all the early starts, 3 days here would have been more than enough, though in truth it was completely the wrong call." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 15 on a Tanzania safari

"My trip was incredible. If I had to do it all over again, I would not change a thing. If I ever get a chance to go to Africa again ( I really hope to!) I will absolutely use Expert Africa and Elizabeth Chapman to help me with my planning and booking again!

I am 110% satisfied and will recommend you in Canada!

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Keep up the good work!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"I have not had an opportunity to comment on our guide and this was a real downer.

He was called Hilary and was really dreadful. He was H&S crazy. He would never allow us off the vehicle even in areas where other people were out of theirs, oh except when the vehicle would not start and we had to get out and push it. This happened twice. We know the risks and would never expect to be off vehicle in areas where there is an element of danger, after all this is our 10th safari.
He drove at a snails pace so that he would not actually get very far from camp. Every vehicle in the Serengeti overtook us. Every vehicle we met he stopped to talk to the guide. He spent half an hour one evening trying to extract another vehicle from a ditch, again people in the other vehicles were out of theirs, we were not allowed to do so. Later when my daughter wanted to take photos of a troop of baboons he told her our time was up. Even though he was knowledgagle mainly with regard to animals he rarely imparted information on wildlife unless asked and he was always either on his phone or radio talking to others. The last 3 days he made no attempt to spot game. He would drive past them without stopping as he did not see them.

We only had one sundowner for the whole week. We eat off dirty tables at picnic lunch as he could not be bothered to produce a tablecloth. Outside of this we had a lovely time." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a great trip. Everything went smoothly. The driver/guide, Sam, from Primate Safaris was excellent. He was a really nice person with a good sense of humour and was able to tell us lots about Rwanda and answer any questions we had. He was a big help in buying books in Kigali for donating to two schools in Musanze. A visit to the Deaf School and to the pre-school at the Faith Foundation were highlights of our visit in that area (as well as the gorillas of course) He was also able to work with the Park Rangers to have us assigned to a gorilla family that didn't require too much trekking, due to my husband's bad knee.

I would like to suggest that Expert Africa promote the School for the Deaf and also the pre-school run by the Faith Foundation, both in Musanze, if any guests want to take school supplies, children's clothing or sports & games equipment for the local village. A visit to one or both of these places is very rewarding.

Pack for a Purpose is a website that also provides information on what type of things to bring. I find it much more useful than Stuff your Rucksack." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 15 on a Rwanda safari

"Another great trip to two re-visited destinations. Still like the long stay at a single camp.

Looking back would not change anything - even the driving back to camp peeking though a tiny gap in a rain poncho against driving torrential rain!

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Get me big discounts so that I can go again!!!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Great Trip as stated above.
The interesting one is the comparison between Saruni and Elephant.
We gather most people spend 3 days in Samburu and then move on to the Mara.
Somewhere we find a little busy while Samburu remains relatively quiet.
Most game drives centre around the river on your doorstep at Elephant a good hours drive from Saruni
but for us Saruni had the best location but only just!
These two camps compliment each other perfectly, the big bonus because Saruni is in a concession area it affords night drives something you cannot do at Elephant.
This opens up a whole new amazing nocturnal experience and for me filming a pair of stunning Aardwolf for the second year running was special.
So there you go the choice is yours! Some say the wildlife is better in the Mara and of course there is an element of luck
But we saw Lion everyday inc a mating,Leopards every day,Cheetah and the 5 unique animals that live there (google it!)
Sadly missed the Wild Dogs but only by a few days! And we love this park!

Cheers" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday