Reviews of trips to Stone Town

"Thank you to Tam for arranging our booking!

We had the most amazing time and would not hesitate to use Expert Africa for our planning again. The (many) flight and taxi transfers all worked perfectly. It is great peace of mind having the transfers arranged by a professional team who know the respectable companies to use and means of booking...especially after meeting people who had booked their own flights from Zan - Dar es Salam but at the desk, they were told their tickets were not recognised and they had to charter their own flight to make their International flight!

It was our first safari and we had no idea what to expect in the quieter south Selous park but we saw more wildlife than we ever imagined (even on the day we arrived) and so few cars. It was perfect! The camp and every member of the Selous Impala team were just amazing." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"A few thoughts I had: I think it would be better to have a minimum of 3 nights at each camp or lodge as I found 2 nights was not enough especially as I lost a day due to a flight cancellation/postponement. If I'd had 3 nights at Plantation Lodge I could have still done the Ngorongoro crater safari. I know there are cost implications but in hindsight it is worth it for a better experience. And Plantation Lodge was my favourite accommodation and I only got one night there!

I would also prefer to stay in camps that are not too long a drive from the airstrips. I found more than one hour quite difficult as you just want to get there and it can also be a long drive back to camp after a safari. I would consider this if I was doing another trip.

Needless to say I preferred the luxury camps in Botswana which had a pool and included drinks and laundry, although I realise they cost more, and I did enjoy the other camps which felt closer to the wildlife etc. as a contrast. Paying for drinks and laundry was not expensive so that did not put me off.

The support and help from my Expert Africa agents with the few challenges I encountered was wonderful and
I can't speak highly enough of the quality of your company. Of course I don't know how you compare with others but having met agents from other companies and having feedback from other guests at the camps I felt very glad that I had chosen EA.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Perhaps to warn travellers about the potential for things to go wrong such as flight cancellations and injuries and talk through what to do in these situations. i know this in included in your written material but it is a lot to take in especially when having to get visas and vaccinations in preparation for the trip. I had read the information but still felt stressed when things happened. However your responses were so helpful and reassuring which helped me to calm down. Big thank you to Chris in this regard - I could only nominate one agent above but it is the sign of a good manager/owner to be prepared to step in out of hours to help a client." Read full review: 36 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"The whole experience was great. We had a brilliant time. Everything worked just as Expert Africa had planned so we didn't have to worry about a thing.

Safaris were great - the camps recommended above excellent. Everyone in both camps were determined to provide us with the best experience possible. Having discussed with Lyndsey the various areas in Tanzania we could have chosen for our safaris, we were pleased we chose the Selous and Ruaha - two very different areas though the wildlife was much the same on the whole. But we appreciated the different landscapes, the views, the lush vegetation and the amazing accommodation.

Stone Town - was good for two nights, not sure we'd have wanted any longer in retrospect, so again good advice from Expert Africa. And we couldn't fault White Sands!

All in all - an amazing holiday. Thank you!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Everything went according to plan which was an achievement in itself!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We did most of the planning for our trip to Tanzania ourselves. Lyndsey was our agent from Expert Africa. This is our second trip with Expert Africa and we are left disappointed by the service received.

Lyndsey's main role was to assist in stitching our itinerary together, liasing with both Nomad Tanzania on the ground, with accommodation providers and with safari charter companies. On a positive note, all our transfers, accommodation and transport were seamless. We appreciate the work Lyndsey did to make this happen as we are aware logistics in Tanzania can be complex.

However we dont feel Lyndsey or Expert Africa proactively discount or negotiate on behalf of clients. We were offered discounts with various accommodation providers for booking direct but we had to push for these to be made available for booking through Expert Africa. They were never proactively offered. In addition, we had to push to stay at Hatari Lodge. Lyndsey wrongly commented that Arusha National park is closed after 6pm and we would be unable to arrive into Hatari later. We had to contact the lodge ourselves directly and paste information on email from Hatari's website to challenge this as Hatari have an agreement with the park management to allow guests arrive post 6pm.

We were disappointed we never received a paper copy of our documentation from Expert Africa. We didnt purchase a travel guide as we were expecting to receive one from our agent. With only 2-3 days before our departure date, we were finally told no paper documents, luggage tags or guide book would be sent. It left us no time to purchase one online ourselves. Its a small thing but it left a poor impression. In addition, & despite agreeing accommodation choices, it took a long time to receive confirmation of reservations, some times up to 14 days.

Finally, we are currently disputing a fee we were told we must pay in order for a safari charter to operate. We paid 4 seats and were reassured by our agent that this would be refunded if other pax were subsequently onboard. When we sent an email from Tanzania that 4 pax were in fact on board and requesting a refund, we received an email from Lyndsey offering to refund only 1 seat and would we be happy with this? There was no offer to escalate this on our behalf. We werent happy.

We have responded with copies from two emails quoting Lyndsey reassuring us of a refund if we were not the sole pax on board. We have been told twice in the last week on email that the matter has been escalated and the agent is awaiting a response. We would have preferred if this had been done promptly and efficiently. Having paid almost £20000 for this trip, it leaves a poor impression of both the agent and Expert Africa. After almost two weeks, we still are none the wiser.

We have every intention of returning to both Tanzania and exploring other parts of Africa. Based on our latest experience, we're not so sure however we'll continue use Expert Africa to facilitate these trips in the future." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Our whole trip went like clockwork.

We enjoyed all of the recommended accommodation and wouldn’t have made any changes to the itinerary.

Both Selous and Ruaha are remote and quiet parks to visit and point camps were small and exclusive. The short flights and transfers were all seamless.

We recommended Expert Africa to other guests that we met at Kichaka who had been unhappy with their own agent.

Good idea to give us business cards to hand out!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"It was the best. All the different things we saw and did, my absolute favourite type of holiday.

Thank you for making it so easy for us.

Just wish we could do it every year!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just continue as you are, letting clients talk to you !" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"I planned my trip two years ago, then COVID struck and I needed to defer.

I was returning to one camp, Namiri, now a lodge - all other destinations were new. The standard of guiding was excellent and I was thrilled by the number and quality of animal sightings. Spending time on Mnemba Island was a perfect and relaxing interlude before ending in Stone Town. Overall, the experience was remarkable, wonderful.

Some of the airstrip transfers were a tad chaotic, but my luggage and I arrived as planned on each occasion. The meet and greet at Kilimanjaro was great and made for a totally stress free experience.

Thank you Expert Africa, and Lyndsey, in particular." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Great trip.

But we should have just stayed in one Northern Serengeti camp as the two were so close. Ideally Sayara for 4-5 night, but with different staff. All guides were great." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"We had the most amazing time, definitely the holiday of a lifetime. We feel incredibly lucky that we were able to go on this trip, and would love to plan another adventure in the future with Expert Africa.

We felt that we got the best of everything, from hotels, food and service to individual guides and practically private planes, we were treated like royalty and will have treasured memories for a long time to come. We haven’t been able to stop telling people about our experience.

We are so pleased that we went with the Red Colobus Monkey suggested itinerary as it was just the most wonderful holiday. Thank you.

We thought it was the most amazing holiday." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday