Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"This was very much a 'trip of a lifetime' for us and we certainly weren't disappointed. With the benefit of hindsight it might have been better to visit fewer places and have more time at each, but, the downside is that we wouldn't have seen the range of landscapes etc that we did. Nevertheless, the high mileages we necessarily clocked up meant that what appears on the schedule as 2 or 3 nights, in reality, translates into only 1 or 2 days and we hadn't really factored that in.

With a trip such as this there were 'highlights' just about everyday (which itself tells it's own story) but, that said there was, of course, still a personal 'pecking order' which for us would be this: spending 3 nights/2 full days with Bruno Nebe at Mundulea was, quite simply, a dellight and a real priviledge and was, by a long way, the best highlight for us.

Next would be Zebra River Lodge which was so relaxing and where the welcome and hospitality from our (stand-in hosts) Merle and Thom oozed genuinenss and care (something we found rather llacking at most of the 'up-market' lodges where it felt like everything was done to a standard format of 'one size fits all' mentality rather than looking at the requirements of the individual guest.

Joint 3rd would be our day spent with Allie and the trackers at Desert Rhino Camp and with Wayne, Alexandra and Heidi on the Sandwich Harbour trip. Finally our very sincere thanks to Maruska who organised every part of our trip from start to finish with both professionalism and great proficiency and, at at all times a really friendly disposition - even in the face of my multiple e-mail enquiries and on the occasion when I answered her call on my mobille with a greeting of "Hi babes!" (mistakenly thinking it was my wife Joy calling!!). She was even kind enough to say that it made her day!

On that note thanks once again to Maruska, Chris and all the staff at Expert Africa for masterminding such a wonderful holiday. We are now saving our pennies so that hopefully we can undertake another big trip in the not too distant future" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful experience - really lived up to expectations.

Great combination of camps.

Once in Botswana, everything worked perfectly" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"A wonderful & memorable trip.

It's hard to say what's so great about Namibia, for me it was the sheer isolation and desertedness of the place (especially coming from London), driving for hours and maybe seeing 1 or 2 other cars. Lovely, friendly people. Guides who were all really passionate about what they do and their country, and proud of their country and their way of life.

An amazingly clean country, everyone really cared about keeping it clean and tidy, preserving their resources, looking after the wildlife, the environment etc.

Suggestions for improvements:

Your brochure is excellent compared to others I've used.

The only thing missing is an estimated price for the accommodation. This would be really helpful so we know whether we're choosing the most expensive or cheapest accommodation, and therefore, if for example, your quote is a bit high, we could've looked at choosing accommodation that might've brought the price down a little." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We could not fault a short but very special trip, which was touchingly ackowledged as such at several of the places we stayed.

We had stayed at all 4 places before and it was good to be recognised as returning, rather than new, guests.

Suggestions for improvements:

Keep up the current high standards! Sabina could not do enough to help. Again...................................." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a South Africa trip

"See Ibo Island Lodge comments - great trip." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Mozambique holiday

"In whole Botswana and the trip exceeded oru expectations." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Our honeymoon was amazing.

From initial planning with Lucy, who was very patient, knowledgable and friendly we had high hopes for our trip and all our expectations were exceeded!! Thanks so much" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our Botswana trip was a truly magical and amazing experience.

Expert Africa did a great job of meeting our needs and our budget for a fantastic trip. Heading to Tanzania next and will use them again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Everything was positive." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"The response by Expert Africa was great, well organized and responsive to requests.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It is good to have feedback from people who have been to the resorts.
Makes a real difference." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zambia safari

"We were not scheduled to go to Chitabe lodge however we were transferred there after it became clear that the Siba camp was unacceptable for a 3 day stay.

The chitabe camp was EXCELLENT. Our guide, Ebs, was fabulous. The game viewing was incredible and the location beautiful. The staff in general was very accomodating and friendly.

Expert Africa and Wilderness Safaris were both helpful in arranging this transfer from Siba to Chitabe." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari