Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"A really excellent trip. We had a fantastic time. We were very lucky to be in an early wave of visitors following the removal of Botswana and S Africa from the UK's red list about a month ago. There were very few other tourists there - which made the trip an even bigger "treat".

The stand out thing about safari on a fly-in/out to a private concession (vs fly drive which we have done previously) is that the guides and trackers are dedicated to finding the best vantage point for viewing game and will go off road to do so. We had some amazing sightings which we simply would not have seen if we had been driving ourselves.

The S African leg of the trip was very different from that in the Botswanan bush but still very enjoyable. The strength of the Rand vs GBP made eating out very affordable." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"A big shout-out to Maruska who held our hands through extraordinary times. We had to delay the trip by a year, and then became very much the vanguard of the African safari tourists because of Covid.

We felt as if we essentially had the continent to ourselves--which was wonderful but a bit weird too. The pandemic complicated things quite considerably because of the need for timely PCR tests, flights disappearing, places closing, etc., but Maruska helped get it all organized and all the facets of the trip she organized came together perfectly.

This is our second trip with Expert Africa, the first the result of a recommendation from a friend. Elizabeth, who organized our first trip, did a fabulous job, and now that high bar of service continues. We are likely to go on safari again, and we will most certainly use Expert Africa again--and will recommend your services to friends.

Again: thank you for taking such great care of us, Maruska. I very much appreciated your solicitous and friendly professionalism.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maintain that high standard!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Zambia and all lodges were absolutely beautiful and we'd like to come back and recommend to everybody who is interested in.

We also were very lucky with the weather conditions.

Lusaka is not worth to see it. Typical big city with nice areas but nothing special.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

no you're just perfect !!!

we're very happy we found you in the internet under such a lot of different tour operators." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Zambia safari

"We were very happy with our trip as a whole and the help we got from Lyndsey.

Of course there are always some details. We didn't receive our pre-travel package in time, probably because of Brexit. When we returned we saw that there was only a guide of Zanzibar and not of Tanzania in the package. The covid rules were even easier than you told us. There is a list of countries that should do an extra antigene test when arriving. UK is on that list, the Netherlands not. We found out ourselves but we think in this case Expert Africa is just a bit too UK-minded because we were told that we probably should do that test when arriving. The list is on the Tanzanian government website.

Fisherman Travel did a good job but one driver had a bottle of water for us the other didn't. When arriving on Zanzibar from Dar the driver was too late. So I had to fight off dozens of "helpful" taxi drivers, some became a bit too intrusive so i had to act angry and aggressive to get rid of them. After ten minutes our driver arrived. No big deal but sometimes details are important.

But as we said, this is our second journey with Expert, and we are still very happy with the service and the overall experience." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Overall, game is very good across 3 NPs (South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi, Kafue).
- Numerous lion sightings, but lions are the most majestic at Busanga Plains
- 13 unique leopard sightings, some with cubs, one feeding on an impala kill on the tree.
- Carmine bee eater colony was a bit smaller than usual at Shenton's hide this year, but saw the one near to Nkwali Camp from across the river. That colony was bigger.
- Not much luck on dog sightings except seeing the same pack twice in Mfuwe sector, and they were resting
- Game appears to be the strongest at South Luangwa northern sector. Lions were feeding on buffalo or hippo kills everyday

I have no hesitation in recommending all camps to future travelers
- Except for Mukambi Lodge/Mukambi Plains Camp, until the guiding issues are addressed.

Other notes to assist future travelers: PCR test
- Nature By Nature DNA Research Laboratory delivered as promised.
- Returned to Lusaka at 12 noon
- Swabbed at 1 pm
- Received results electronically (email/whatsapp) at 3 pm
- Was hand-delivered hardcopy results at 4 pm
- Left for airport at 7 pm.
- Flew out same day without issues.
- Healit Zambia now has a test center at Lusaka Airport, but it is not yet fully operational. I think it will be be up and running by next year. It is on the right hand side as you enter the departure hall of the new airport.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 16 on a Zambia safari

"The Africa trip made possible by Expert Africa is one we'll remember for the rest of our lives and will be one we'll be talking to friends and family about for years to come. It was a phenomenal trip to say the least.

We spent time with golden monkeys and gorillas where we even got shoved and kicked by the latter which makes for a great story. We witnessed not one but two epic wildebeest river crossings in the Serengeti. We saw all of the big 5 and then some. The staff and service at all the lodges and camps were first-rate. Our guides did a fantastic job of taking care of us and educating us about Rwandan and Tanzanian history, culture, and and wildlife. We must give a special shoutout to Nomad Tanzania though. Their camps were so well-run and well-maintained and we can't stop raving about the food they served.

Expert Africa and Jessica Plumb put together an amazing itinerary for us and the staff was very helpful before and throughout the journey. Our flight out of New York was delayed, causing us to miss our connection and resulted in us having to spend a night in Amsterdam and miss out on our first night in Africa but Jessica and team worked their magic so that we just about kept to our original itinerary and didn't skip a beat. We thought we would have had to miss out on golden monkey trekking but they were able to adjust our itinerary so we were still able to do it.

We also had a scare regarding Tanzanian visas since we didn't apply for them beforehand (we would recommend getting them before your trip if you can!) and thought we wouldn't be able to get them at Kogatende Airstrip. A frantic email to Jessica's team was responded to quickly to reassure us that we'll be OK, putting our minds at ease. Overall, we felt very well taken care of from the time we landed at our first port of entry to Africa in Kigali to the point where we were dropped off at Kilimanjaro Airport to make our way home. Upon arrival in Africa, just about everything was seamless in getting us from place to place, getting COVID tests, etc. so it was nice to not have much to worry about.

And never once did we feel uncomfortable or unsafe due to any reason, including COVID, during our trip.

Though this trip felt like it was once-in-a-lifetime, we do hope that we get the opportunity to go on another trip just like this. When we do, we know Expert Africa will be able to craft something magical. We can't wait :)" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a fantastic trip to Botswana and Namibia. We felt very safe traveling as all camp staff are vaccinated and tested. The guests as well since the airlines won't let you board without a Covid test.

The experience visiting the different parts of the Okavango delta is not to be missed. The amount of animals is amazing.

We also visited two camps in Namibia, our favorite country in Africa. The scenery is out of this world and so varied you never get tired of looking at it.

Expert Africa did a great job helping us plan this trip and Megan was incredibly helpful in working around airline flight cancellations and changes. She also helped us get all of our Covid tests scheduled for country transfers.

This was our second trip with Expert Africa and both went very smoothly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I can't think of anything you could do better." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Overall a great trip, which was postponed several times. Camps and Expert Africa were flexible to accommodate the rescheduling requirements which I appreciate a lot. I had no issues with CoVID, the in-camp test was easy. All logistics worked smoothly. No problems whatsoever.

Compared to previous Zambia trips, this one rates slightly lower as the October heat, especially in the South Luangwa, was tough, in particular during Game Drives in the later morning and earlier afternoon. The heat was probably also a main contributor to a game viewing experience slightly below expectation, in particular leopards and lions were far less visible than in previous trips (during August/September). On the other site, sightings of Wild Dogs on four different days (even though it was always the same group of 21) was unexpected.

Hospitability in all camps and hotels was impeccable. Health (Covid) and safety (animals) protocols are in place and rigorously followed. Zambia is slowly recovering with international guests coming back. So there were days were I benefited from half-full camps, other days where I was happy to see camps full as it's vital for the camps. Zambia is definitely ready to welcome guests back. And it's also practical again to go on a safari." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari

"Great trip.
Perfect combination of camps and locations.
All organised at very short notice (as soon as Kenya came off the red list).

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service?
NO !!
We have been travelling to Africa with Expert Africa for very many years and have always had expert and friendly service with people that have really listened to what we were looking for - and delivered !!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"We enjoyed our trip to Botswana, had some very good interactions with animals and got some lovely photographs. But even though we took advantage of the special low price we can’t understand the premium it commands.

We found it very interesting comparing Zambia in our opinion for us gives much better value for money. Zambian guides take many years to qualify for each level so seem to have a broader knowledge and understanding of animal behavior allowing us to get much closer to them at times. They also find lots of other things of interest when animals are in hiding.

Walking in Botswana was interesting and super safe, in a very open area, one of the guides is armed.

Walks in Zambia are led by an armed Government scout and a couple of guides into a variety of landscapes looking at small things but when appropriate and safe taking advantage of tracking animals as well." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari