Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Wonderful trip to Nairobi and the Serengeti. See individual camp reviews.

Only overall snag was Kenya Airways cancelling a leg of our return flight from Kilimanjaro-Nairobi which Expert Africa quickly stepped in to help with (involved re-routing the bush flights to enable us to fly Zanzibar-Nairobi instead).

Was very grateful for this support, quickly provided." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"A great trip as always.

I know Kicheche, Expert Africa and Richard Trillo well and as always the trip was simply superb.

Its always a pleasure dealing with Richard who listened to what i wanted from the trip and drafted everything we wanted and needed and the trip simply flowed exactly as i requested.

Kicheche are an amazing company and the camps and everything about Kicheche is perfect from avid wildlife watchers to photographers who need guides who understand the photographers needs.

We always drive our guides hard and spend more time in the bush then most guests and this is never an issue for the guide who always accomodates our requests even if that means staying out all day.

A hugely memorable trip

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

There is nothing i would change.

Dealing with Expert Africa and especially Richard couldnt be simpler, its a joy to speak to someone who is as passionate about Kenya as i am so we work very well together creating the perfect trips." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"A holiday of two halves.

First half disappointing in several respects. Second half exceptional.

Transfers and logistics good overall." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"The walking safari format worked very well for us. In both cases, our guides were excellent (Boas at Etendeka and Bruno at Mundulea). We were able to see so much wildlife that we would have missed, but for the guides. We also liked being able to support projects like the Mundulea Reserve and Etendeka that are working to protect and restore habitat and wildlife in Namibia. The folks that we met (I am adding Harry Waterberg here) are doing such important work in protecting and restoring habitat.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The trip logistics were great (accommodations, directions, choice of guides, locations, food, etc). One suggestion: This was our first time in Africa. We found it very helpful to have Grace's assistance when we arrived at the Windhoek Airport. We took your advice to check in at the Wilderness Safaris office there, and Grace took us under her wing and walked us through the process of using the cash machine to get local currency and picking up the rental car. She made that process so much smoother for us." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"We had an exceptional overall experience.

Top notch service from the beginning with Parita helping us every step of the way, to perfect execution from the minute we landed in Nairobi to the minute we left.

We cannot thank Parita and all the travel partners involved in executing such an incredible and exceptional safari adventure!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"once again Claire has hit it out of the park. Her attention to detail is outstanding. The weakest camp for us was Tortillis as it was large and had not a lot of animal life. We loved Kifaru house and want to return. We also did the conservation tour at Lewa which included meeting the dog tracking team--would highly recommend this to any other travellers. There are only 3 days a week on which it is possible to do this but it is well worthwhile. We also liked elephant pepper camp --the sheer volume of animal life there was amazing.

Suggestions to help us improve our tripsor our service Not any I can think of." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 16 on a Kenya safari

"Really well constructed itinerary which built on previous experience throughout the 18 days.

We loved the country, people were extremely friendly and would definitely consider a return visit." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"It was our first trip to Kenya , but not our first safari experience.

When I talked with Richard about our past safaris , he immediately suggested we use the Kicheche camps . As expected, the wildlife in Kenya was spectacular but what made us enjoy the trip even more was the simplicity although very comfortable accommodation in the two Kicheche camps .

We don’t need fancy chandeliers or swimming pools on a safari . We go there for the wildlife , and Kicheche delivered with intense days ( early starts) , bush breakfasts , delicious food , friendly staff, and stellar guides. Exactly what we were looking for!

I also want to mention the help that Parita gave us when she took over from Richard . She is very efficient and organized, and took care of our request for the fly camp later when we inquired about it." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"Overall very pleased with responsiveness and organizational details.

It was great getting the travel documents and Rough Guide Kenya book well in advance of my departure date.

Our safari went smoothly and there were no issues whatsoever.

This was our 1st safari and our expectations were exceeded.

Richard Trillo's advice was spot on and working with Parita was delightful. Thank you" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari

"This was our fifth visit to the area spanning sixteen years and, sadly, the least satisfying - a mixed bag of excellence and disappointment.

Let's start with the positives.

For thirty years now we have been making almost annual trips to Africa to see and photograph wildlife visiting many different countries. Of all those visited there is no question in our opinion that the Tanzanians are the very best people when it comes to friendliness and the provision of hospitality and service.

The next major plus point is the service provided by Expert Africa's agents in Tanzania. You really felt looked after by their staff - staffing levels are excellent. As an example, we needed some medical advice which resulted in the need for some antibiotic medicine. No problem - they just flew it up from Arusha on the next flight.

Other ways they provided satisfaction was in the way little changes to the daily plan were taken on board and executed.

We choose to go to these areas in Tanzania to enable us to see cheetah. This is where our first disappointment happened. There seem to be fewer sightings compared with many years ago (we readily accept that no animal sighting can be guaranteed anywhere).

Years ago we would see two or even three separate cheetah sightings on any one day. On this trip we saw only six sightings over an eight day visit to the area.
In this same period over the years there has been a gradual increase in the number of lion sightings and total lion numbers. This puts greater pressure on the cheetah who are often killed by lions. Also this means that when a cheetah is found it is immediately surrounded by vehicles and this pressure may be driving them away.

We witnessed one outrageous situation where three cheetah on a kill were corralled by twenty vehicles in three concentric circles with a clear area of no more than 10 to 12 meters diameter. The stress levels shown on the poor animal's faces was clear to see. This behaviour by tourists has got to be controlled! But the commercial interests rule. Years ago there were some four or five operating companies, now it seems there are forty five - you see a new name on a vehicle numerous times a day." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari