Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"My trip only involved one safari camp, and I loved my stay at Nkwali. I don't want to repeat what I have written in my individual review of the camp, but in general I think South Luangwa in green season is much under rated and at low season rates, great value for money. The big cats are more elusive than in dry season but the wild dog sightings were a match for those I've had anywhere else (eg Botswana), both on this trip and my 2018 trip at the same time of year. Of course, there are not so many options available, so a longer stay in one camp makes sense. No one would think twice about staying in one place for a week on another type of holiday, so why not on safari?

The mix of guests is always very interesting too, with more local residents or people visiting residents or adding on safari days to a business trip.

Although I have managed some trips during covid, Nkwali was quite busy during my stay, and this is the first time I've really felt like some sort of normality is returning to the safari world. With testing now dropped for most destinations, there was a sense of relief and optimism from staff and other guests alike.

Pioneer was the only low point of the trip, and I think perhaps it's time Expert Africa looked at some new options for overnights in Lusaka for guests who don't need a luxury boutique hotel." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"After a traumatic year, this was an extremely welcome holiday.

The friendly and informative service from Tracy was fantastic. All aspects of the organisation from Expert Africa was as usual brilliant.

We were a family ageing from 70 to 9 and we all loved Andrew and his mobile Safari staff. We were sad to leave him.

Thank you Tracy for arranging such a super trip" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Great experience, everything went according to plan.
Thank you for a wonderful holiday." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We had a truly wonderful holiday, especially appreciated after the postponements.

It was so exciting to see the wildlife and we were cared for throughout with professionalism, enthusiasm and kindness. We'd like to thank everyone who made this trip so good.

We had excellent advice, service and understanding in tricky circumstances from everyone. Thanks.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

No. We had excellent advice, service and understanding in tricky circumstances from everyone. Thanks." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa trip

"Great advice from Lucy, responsive and efficient as we did book quite last minute but nothing was a problem

Up to date Covid and visa advice provided

Was a very easy process which is always good in my book - thank you Lucy." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Sabina helped plan a great itinerary.

We loved every place we went and stayed, and the logistics worked seamlessly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, it was a great trip with no glitches." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was a long time coming. I have been on safari several times and once before to Botswana My companions were newbie safari goers so it was really interesting seeing how they responded to the different locations and wildlife.

From the beginning in Windhoek to end at Stanley's camp our trip exceeded expectation. The only hiccup was in Swakopmund due to the weather and a health issue that was efficiently dealt with at a local Medical Clinic. Neither of these were in any way related to the organization of the trip by Tracy our brilliant Expert Africa organizational wizard.

The highlights of the Namibian section of the trip were Andersson's camp in the Ongava Reserve beside Etosha National Park. It was a true privilege to be so close to wild White Rhino. All three of us are keen photographers so the hide beside the watering hole was fantastic for capturing closeups of the visiting wildlife, including numerous birds. The second was Sesriem and the visit to Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. We stayed at the Hoodia camp, outside the gates to the park which meant we were unable to see the sunrise at the dunes, however watching the changing light on the dunes as the sun rose was still a fantastic experience. This location was also one of the best for astrophotography - no light pollution, no airplane light trails and clear Milky Way shots over the surrounding mountains.

Next was Victoria Falls, we experienced two evenings of torrential rain and thunderstorms, which was very unusual. We still took some great shots of rainbows in the mist of the Falls and went on an early morning river cruise - a fantastic experience. When visiting the falls make sure you have good rain gear (you can hire some from the local pedlars at the gates to the Falls) you will get soaked when the Falls are in full flood - we had 90% capacity and the viewing points above #8 were like being in a shower.

Botswana was all about wildlife and lived up to it's reputation we saw all of the big 5 several times and had fantastic sightings of leopard and at Stanley's watched a pride of lions prepare for an impala hunt. We missed the event as we had to leave for the airstrip - it's impossible to predict what wildlife will do but it was a great way to end our last day on safari.

In the circumstances of this trip I think Tracy did a brilliant job of juggling bookings that had initially been made in 2019 to work in 2022. The only glitches we had were due to the companies Expert Africa work with and most probably due to the speed with which travel ramped back up after the pandemic." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We really enjoyed our Namibian self drive trip, lovely variety of lodges, experiences, scenery . Driving the Caprivi Strip had always been on our wish list . Its very different to other parts of Namibia and we would really recommend it.

Sabina advised us at all points and made the trip work so well. Leaving the hire car in Katima Mulilo rather than taking it across the border into Botswana was such a good suggestion . We were met by a driver and driven across border to Kasane.

Our three nights at Selinda Explorer Camp on the eastern edge of the Delta were magical. It was a fitting end to a fantastic three weeks. We nipped into Zimbabwe to seeThe Victoria Falls which were in full flood so looking and sounding magnificent.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Because we trust Expert Africa and wouldn't book with anyone else I can't really say if its good value for money. Same with the other questions really - I'm not comparing them with anyone else.

We will be back in touch soon to book another trip ." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We had a great trip to Seychelles. This is our first overseas travel since Covid started. It was postponed from initially scheduled for December 2021 - thanks to Megan for contacting hotels and ground operators that makes it very smooth.

We enjoyed our stay at both accommodations in Mahe and Praslin and all the transfer logistics are very well organized. I felt our stay at Praslin was a little short and I wish we can have time to visit La Digue, hopefully we can revisit again.

We had 2 scary moments during this trip (no fault of Expert Africa). I got verbal abuse from the owner of Anse Soleil restaurant on a day we explored Mahe on our own. Apparently I parked my car at a place where they do not allow, he kept giving me verbal abuse even though I apologized and told him that we will leave immediately. Found out later on reviews and from Katerina (Le Sans Souci) experience with her family that this guy is very bad and may have mental problem.

The other scary moment was when our rental car got struck in the sand in the parking space near Anse Lazio. Luckily, the local people (3 of them) were so nice that they helped us for almost 30 minutes until we can get our car back on track.

Overall, we had a great trip and thanks to your excellent services and thoughtful advice and arrangement throughout." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Seychelles holiday

"Our trip was fabulous from start to finish.

Extremely impressed with Expert Africa and the service we received from Lucy." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 11 on a Seychelles holiday