Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Great. The only issue was SAA.

Everything else was superb." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Overall we enjoyed our safari very much. The encounters with wildlife were more extensive and intimate than we had experienced before. Birdlife was superb.

We were surprised at the high number of elephants in Hwange, but it was explained by the guides that there are very few permanent, natural water sources and those that are there are mainly man-made. They are maintained and water is pumped permanently which means the elephants do not need to migrate to Botswana during the dry season but can stay in Zimbabwe year round and are breeding very prolifically.

Seeing white rhinos in the wild was fantastic and the reason we chose to visit Zimbabwe so we weren't disappointed.

All 3 camps were very comfortable in their own ways and all very different from each other. it was a pleasure to stay at each of them. Ilala Lodge was a wonderful start to our holiday.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It may be a good idea to recommend at least 3 nights at Amalinda if visitors would like to see cave paintings and visit World's End. We hadn't realised we wouldn't have time to do both." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Overall an excellent trip which showed off the diversity of Namibia

The only aspect of the trip that was poor was Windhoek airport - a disaster area with no concept of care for travellers - particularly immigration Not a good advertisement to encourage travellers!" Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"We truly could not have dreamed of a more special place to spend our honeymoon! Every aspect of the trip was so exciting - from our driving to all of the different lodges to getting to see such different terrains of the country. The whole trip - from A to Z - was so perfectly organized by Expert Africa (and Wilderness Safari). It was such a pleasure to work and plan the trip with Sabina, who was very responsive and conscientious of what we envisioned for our honeymoon.

My only negative comment would be relating to the disappointing choice of stays at the Okaukeujo Camp, as well as the Hotel Thule. Not that these hotels were truly awful, but coming from each of the different other amazing lodges, it really felt like a dip in our trip, as they were average, if not poor hotels. Given that it was our honeymoon, it would have been nice to have stayed at consistently nice accommodations so that there would have not been any regressing point during our trip.

This being said - the Voigtland Guesthouse - which I personally asked Sabina to book for us as it was not originally on the Expert Africa list of recommended hotels, was absolutely wonderful. We stayed there our final night and the owner's Stephan and Gaby could not have shown us a warmer stay. It is also only a twenty minute drive from the International airport, making it the perfect hotel to stay at the final night's stay in Windhoek before heading home. My hope is that Expert Africa familiarizes themselves with more hotels around Windhoek, as the few options that were offered to us were not of the same ranking in terms of quality as the other lodges/hotels around Namibia.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Again, we were so impressed with how organized everything was for our trip! There wasn't a single time where we felt lost regarding any of the planned details. From renting the car to making sure we had all the necessary material for each of the hotel checkins, Expert Africa made sure we were more than prepared for each part of our trip.

Besides the two hotels where we felt a bit underwhelmed by (the Okaukuejo Camp and the Hotel Thule), every single lodge we stayed at was absolutely amazing. One other small suggestion would be to recommend to clients to download the 'map.me' navigation app. Although Expert Africa provided us with a physical map, this app provided us offline driving routes all throughout Namibia that really helped us navigate our route to each lodge. It worked really well and gave us extra confidence driving in a country we were both unfamiliar with." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Thoroughly enjoyed the holiday but not the best safari/beach holiday we've had in Africa.

Would recommend both resorts but Manta is expensive which we put down to location.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nope; We'd recommend your company" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"This was our third trip with Expert Africa and our biggest. I had planned this trip over a couple of years to celebrate my retirement and was not disappointed.

I would change a few things, with hindsight.

Erongo deserves at least two nights. Trust me.
Zimbabwe was a challenge. Getting in took ages. We did not feel at all welcome. I would advise staying in Zambia and travelling in to see the Falls.

As a general rule, lodges where you are able to go off road are better. The exception this rule is Chobe, just because of the scale of the wildlife experience that you are exposed to.
In future (God willing), I would transit through Jo'burg faster.

See you in a coupe of years, God willing.

I would be tempted by a lodge with perhaps more water based activities in the delta.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No.
Keep doing what you are doing." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful trip!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"It was a really fantastic holiday! Absolutely loved every minute - each place we stayed was lovely in it's own way, the driving was easy and being in Etosha was a long held dream come true! The dramatic landscapes and beautiful animals are just breath-taking to see! Our trip was carefully planned to ensure that we had a good mix of 'safari-time' in the National parks and downtime to rest and enjoy the beautiful surroundings." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"We cannot praise Expert Africa highly enough. All your recommendations were spot on, there were no hiccups, and there were some little personal touches, such as marking up the locations of our lodges on the map, which we had no right to expect.

We did not see all Namibia has to offer but enough to appreciate how much it has to offer and be able to confidently recommend others to go. We would also recommend others to opt for the larger car. The driving was a joy. Although the distances varied each day we reached our destinations by 2 pm every day except the last and this allowed us to relax and, from Hohenstein, enjoy a swim,

Indeed the quality of the lodges (accommodation and food); their locations and scenery; and the chance to experience the cool freshness in the early morning and relax with a drink as the sun went down; were probably as important in our enjoyment as seeing the amazing dunes and the rich variety of game animals.

So, a huge thank you

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We are lost to think of anything" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"I have always said that I would set foot on all seven continents before I was dead and gone and although I had been to Tunisia and Eqypt and therefore have set foot on the African continent it was never the "Africa" that comes to mind. But the seventh continent under our belt I never really considered a safari seriously until some friends went to Namibia with Expert Africa. They were full of praise for their experience with Expert Africa and Namibia in particular and so we gave it a go and how very VERY glad we did!!!!

We have fallen in love with Namibia, a beautiful vast country with helpful friendly people wherever we went and not just in the Lodges. The vast distances to travel over also do not detract from the experience but indeed add to it making me certainly feel I have travelled and experienced Africa to the fullest.

This trip has certainly eaten into my soul and that of my wife dictating that we will return to not just Namibia but also to neighbouring countries to see more of this fabulous continent and experience the wildlife up close and personal. As a photographer it has been a dream and trawling through my photographs I am longing to return!!!!!

Thank you Africa, Thank you Namibia, Thank you Expert Africa and Thank you Josh Flatman for your valued help and patience in arranging such a wonderful experience...............do you need a mystery shopper to go out for you to check on the Lodges?????????

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Absolutely none!!!!!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip