Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Our trip to Africa was truly a dream come true! We planned this trip two years in advance, and due to Covid needed to replan the trip again, with endless back and forth to ensure we got the itinerary to a place that met the regulations and restrictions of each country.

Our trip exceeded every expectation, and while we initially thought it was going to be a once in a lifetime trip, we are already talking about when we will return. Richard helped to organize the trip and make the endless changes for us. While he was generally patient, I couldn't help but feel like he was sick and tired of me in the final months of planning.

Perhaps there's a difference between how Americans communicate and how the British communicate, as I found that getting on the phone helped tremendously. Overall, the trip was one we will never forget and we are beyond grateful to Richard and Expert Africa for all of their assistance in planning." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"What was special for me on this trip, my second to Kenya and fifth to Africa, was the opportunity to see more of the country at eye level. Meaning that in driving ourselves around we could more easily stop in little towns and villages along the way.

Kenya, like much of Africa, is bustling with people walking to and from work in the larger cities and towns, or shuttling a goat to market on the back of a motorbike, or working a corn field with a hoe. The individual sellers in a street stall or market are invariably friendly and, they are always happy to show you what they've got and encourage you to negotiate if you like something. The park rangers and guides love sharing their knowledge of the plants and animals.

These are what earn Kenya the nickname, the warm heart of Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I WAS SUPER IMPRESSED AND THANKFUL THAT RICHARD CAUGHT A MISTAKE IN MY FLIGHTS which gave me time to correct the oversight. I ran into a snafu with my outbound flight that caused me to have to rebook on a different airline and would not have noticed the error on the return flight until I got to the airport, potentially either missing my flight or losing my last day of the trip.

So kudos again, Richard, for your thoroughness!

[Ed: This traveller booked her own flights. As is our usual practice, we'll always try to bring any flight issues the the attention of our travellers as/when we become aware of them, even if our travellers have arranged their own flights.]" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"Thank you Expert Africa for yet another fabulous trip to Africa during Covid-19 times!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"I have been to >25 countries in Africa. Sabina is the best travel agent I have ever worked with. Just GREAT. THANK YOU!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"If it wasn't for Richard Trillo, I wouldn't have taken the trip at all.

It was an extraordinary and wonderful experience. I am very grateful and felt very protected by him every step of the way.

Considering 4 or 8 flights were cancelled, and considering what a crazy time it is, I feel very grateful and fortunate." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari

"Great trip. We were really lucky with our sitings and saw so many.

Unfortunately I moved on too quickly and missed the section on which animals we saw on safari. [Ed: this comment refer to how this traveller filled out our feedback form.]

Our guides Zachary, Omari and James were first class, their knowledge of the animals, birds, flora and habitat was encyclopaedic." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"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; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"This 16-night safari was arranged at short notice after we had to defer a planned trip to Zambia. We chose Tanzania for a third visit because there were good flights available and the country has fewest (Covid-19) restrictions for visitors among African countries.

On Olivia's advice we went to Tarangire for the first time: we loved the scenery and were astounded by the numbers of elephants. The prospect of fewer visitors being around also lured us to the Serengeti and we witnessed the mind-blowing spectacle of 10,000 wildebeest galloping majestically across the Mara.

There is normal life out there beyond the Covid black hole known as the UK. In Tanzania day-to-day interactions with other human beings are, well, normal. Simple practical precautions are in place like hand sanitising and masks on the small bush planes.

The welcome we received without exception was tremendous but we were just so pleased to be there and were privileged to have magical wildlife encounters with no-one else around and see a couple of great migration river crossings with a handful of other people present. Truly a once (although it was twice!) in a lifetime experience.

All this added up to a very special adventure tempered somewhat by the fact that many camps remain closed with those still open operating on reduced staff. We only hope common sense prevails over hysteria with so many people's lives in other parts of the world so drastically affected. Not just the humans but the wildlife too.

If anyone out there wants to go on safari there has never been a better time. The people of Tanzania will really appreciate you making the effort." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 16 on a Tanzania safari

"Africa - and in this case - Kenya is open and in need of international tourists.

A bit more planning is necessary, and you will need to have a Covid test but the minute you land at JKIA your heart will soar.

Just go. You won’t regret it." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"This was one of the most enjoyable trips to Africa over the last 12 years.

Everything went smoothly from beginning to end in spite of having to re-arrange the itinerary numerous times due to factors out of our control. The fact that we managed to go at all was a miracle.

In fact I told Maruska that her name in English meant miracle worker because that was what she did. Perform a miracle." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Zambia safari