Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Excellent. We enjoyed all aspects of our trip and were impressed with the accuracy of EA's descriptions of the various parts of our holiday and what we might expect. The lists of what to pack etc were also extremely helpful, as was the Brandt guidebook.

I should also mention Claire Scott, who dealt very efficiently with our holiday arrangements whilst Eleanor was away." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"This was really the experience of a lifetime. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip from start to finish. Lake Manze was just what I was looking for from a safari experience and Shooting Star Lodge was the ideal place to go to relax and enjoy the sun afterwards.

There are two VERY minor points to do with travelling. The driver from Kearsley who picked me up from the airport did not know what time I was to be collected the following morning to be returned to the airport. The driver was waiting when I got to reception in the morning, but it would have been good to know the time in advance. Also, Coastal Aviation tranferred me from the domestic to international terminal on my return, which was very easy, but it would have been good to know that this would happen in advance.

Suggestions for improvements:

The website is excellent with a great deal of helpful information to help in planning the trip. When trying to select a hotel in Zanzibar, however, the lack of clear pricing made it quite difficult to establish which hotels would be within my price range. Claire was very helpful when I phoned to ask her advice, but I had initially discounted being able to book at Shooting Star Lodge because the website pictures suggested that it would be well outside my price range.

The information booklet was great with lots of very helpful information for trip preparation.

I would definitely used Expert Africa for booking a future trip. Thank you for all your help." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a truly wonderful time. We found nothing but courtesy and friendliness in Zanzibar, and everyone was incredibly welcoming.

We were taught a few Swahili phrases each day by staff at Fumba Beach Lodge - and it really is worthwhile using it with local residents. The organisation of the trip by Expert Africa was superb: they really know what they are talking about, and they took the trouble over even the smallest details.

We came back much refreshed - and, once in the UK in gloomy November, immediately wished we were back there!

Suggestions for improvement:

No suggestions - you clearly understand your clientele and how you can tailor a holiday to suit their requirements." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zanzibar holiday

"The trip was good and well organised. Unfortunately we were both `under the weather ` slightly due to a cough bug so probably didnt enjoy it as much as we should but that is life!!

It was certainly lovely seeing all the animals in the wild and appreciating how everything is inter related in the survival there.

Suggestions for improvement:

Perhaps a smaller hotel which is more personal in Dar would be nice especially after the good service we received at the camps etc." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"A fabulous introduction to Namibia. It really is a land of incredible scenery and diverse wildlife. And there are huge areas we did not get to see.

It has just whetted the appetite for more. The quality of lodges and guides and the friendliness of the locals were all better than expected.

I think we need 3 months not 3 weeks next time!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 3 on a Namibia trip

"very good all round,no problems.

Thank you Maruska,we highly recommend your firm having done a fly drive twice.
keep up the good work,2 trips were excellet thank you" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"I read once that a trip to the African bush puts a mirror up to the soul, its teaches you about yourself, in away thats not possible in the city.

I hope that I can discover more of both very soon.
In the mean time I have some great photographs to remember this trip, until my next venture.

Thank you." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Because we were traveling on our own to Livingstone, Zambia prior to the start of our Botswana adventure we needed to make arrangements to travel from Livingstone to Kasane, Botswana and back again by ground transport. These arrangements were initially a concern for us as they required car transfers, boat transfers and meeting up with our scheduled flights to the camps. But these details were planned and arranged without complication helping to begin and end our trip on a positive note especially considering the many things that can potentially go wrong when crossing borders in Africa and using multiple forms of transport!

November is considered a shoulder season in Botswana and thus the costs are usually a bit lower. But this is because it is also the start of the rainy season. Weather is obviously beyond the control of any planning and if you travel during this time you must plan for possible rain (Of course it could just as easily start earlier or later). In our case the first rains happened to occur on November 4th, the night before we arrived in Botswana. Nearly every day there was at least overcast and the threat of rain for some portion of the day with occasional light showers on several occasions. We were prepared for this and it did not dampen our enthusiasm for our trip. If you travel during this time you should be prepared for this possibility too.

Kwando provides nice ponchos on every game drive but it is recommended you carry at least a light or medium weight jacket and personal rain gear as desired as it is surprising how quickly one can get cold in a moving vehicle once you get a little wet, and especially in the evening, even when it had been 90+ degrees earlier in the day. That all said we had only one game drive that was significantly impacted by rain enough to return to camp and most game drives had little or no rain. Game remained plentiful during our visit.

Laundry service is available in each camp but drying is at the mercy of the weather so keep that in mind. At our last stop in Kwara things never really got dry (towels, socks, shoes) even though it didn't rain all that much. Can't imagine what it might be like at the height of the rainy season!

Kwando uses custom safari vehicles that are completely open (no roof, canvas or otherwise). This is absolutely fantastic for photography but be advised it provides no protection from rain or the sun. So bring sunscreen, hats and long pants and long sleeve shirts if sun exposure is a concern for you as it was for me. The vehicles have 2 rows of seats with room for 3 people in each row. If you happen to get lucky and have only four passengers in the vehicle this is very comfortable and great for amateur photographers like myself who bring way too much gear! If you have 5 or 6 it is not quite so great especially for the person in the middle particularly if they are an avid photographer. Each vehicle has both a guide and a tracker which is an excellent luxury to have for game spotting.

Suggestions for improvement:

The superb Expert Africa website was what first drew me to the company and contributed to my booking with Expert Africa despite being from the US. This feedback form is a nice feature although it tends to time out quickly if you tend to be overly long winded with comments as I am! I suggest you write and save your comments elsewhere and then cut and paste to this from when you are ready." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We made the big mistake of putting the trip back from October to November, with the rains arriving very heavily and promptly. We did experience some pretty spectacular storms which sent the animals into the green bush, we must be among the few people who went to Chobe and didnt see an elephant.

It was a lesson to me to research the weather pattern better,and not to be put off by difficulty wih accomodation to push the dates on to a less favourable season

This is not to say that we had a great well organised trip, in which all your arrangemets were well thought out, lodges well selected, and went like clockwork.

We would certainly travel with expert africa again." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was our first to Botswana and our first dealings with Expert Africa (EA).

I can honestly say that all the staff at EA were excellent with sorting out the itinerary for us and giving us advice when asked - everything went just like clockwork with no problems encountered. The paperwork etc. was just perfect explaining many of the things we had doubts about.

The Botswana people were the friendliest we have met anywhere in Africa and because of this we hope to make a return trip soon.

To conclude I would like to thank you all at Expert Africa again for setting all this up for us and making it one of the best safari holidays we have ever had.

Suggestions for improvement:

We did have a worry regarding the number of blank pages required in the passports, but needn't have panicked as I started with 7 blank pages and still had 6 at the end!! We were told that we needed 3 for each country visited." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari