Reviews of holidays to South-west Zanzibar

"For a long time we thought we wouldn't be able to have our holiday because of the Coronavirus and as it happens, we had to cancel our visit to Botswana. But with the help of Maruska at Expert Africa we were still able to visit Tanzania and Zanzibar. Everything was very fluid with plans changing almost daily right up until the date of departure (and beyond)! due to airline cancellations because of Covid. However, Maruska was incredibly patient and helpful in identifying solutions and alternatives and she also proactively (and mostly successfully) sought refunds for the parts of the holiday that we couldn't undertake (a couple of lodges in Botswana offered to postpone our bookings but were reluctant to give refunds but they succumbed to Maruska's charms eventually). And although I didn't book our international flights through Expert Africa, Maruska kept an eye on all of our travel arrangements, even whilst we were away, and alerted us when our return flight was cancelled.
The holiday itself was way beyond our expectations partly, I suspect, because there were so few other tourists about. In some of the lodges we visited we were the only guests which meant that we were treated like VIPs. And what lodges! The Lemala camps were excellent and Maruska negotiated a very good deal for us by using only Lemala for our safari accommodation and the deal included our own vehicle and guide throughout, which meant that we could go where we wanted to go, when we wanted to go, instead of being tied to a strict timetable for game viewing. As far as the game viewing was concerned, having been told by a couple of friends that their experiences included having to vie for a view of the animals with 100s of other vehicles, we instead found ourselves to be in splendid isolation with almost every animal we saw. The only downside was having to come home." Read full review: 41 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Amazing family holiday. A first trip to Africa for 3/4 of us - We felt very well looked after and all arrangements worked well. So pleased with Richard's recommendations for us. Many many thanks." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"An excellent, truly memorable trip. Amanda stepped in later in the planning process after another team member left and her advice and organisation were invaluable." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"this holiday had the perfect combination of a variety of very different contrasting destinations, time to chill out in exquisite lodges, the bustle of a culturally and historically fascinating city, the thrill of travelling to a tiny island group at Mafia - the fun of snorkelling and diving - monkeys, butterflies, coral reef and fish - perfect

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no I think you were absolutely excellent and you made our holiday very enjoyable and relaxing" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"Brilliant!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"A wonderful trip which is going to be difficult to follow.

The logistics worked out exactly right, and thank you Claire for the little extras that appeared at several of the stops to recognise our anniversary." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had a wonderful holiday in Zanzibar and owe a big thank you to Jessica at Expert Africa for making sure that the accommodation was top notch and that everything went super-smoothly for us." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Overall a fantastic trip.

Too short in retrospect.

Albert Lucas the guide was fantastic." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Great with the disappointment of no diving in Zanzibar" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Lodge, staff, pool & food were all excellent.

It was not really easy to walk too far - about half a mile to local village
When the tide is in the beach is completely covered - the plus is that the sea comes right up to the Lodge; the minus is that it limits the possibility of swimming" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zanzibar holiday