Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"We felt that the trip to Botswana/Livingstone was extremely expensive.

We were somewhat dismayed that at every turn someone was there with their hands out. It was particularly annoying to have to tip spotters who did not do anything. We much prefer the European systen of tipping only when something special has been done. All the other people we met on the trip felt the same way. Everyone found the tipping part to be very stressful. This was discussed over sundowners with all the other guests. Since these camps are so expensive, at least make tipping an exception and not the rule." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 15 on a Botswana safari

"This was a first trip to Namibia and it surpassed all expectations.

The dunes are breathtaking and should not be missed by any visitor. The countryside is very diverse, the people are so very friendly, the standard of accommodation is first class, the game viewing is as good as anywhere in Africa.

It is a refreshing experience for anybody who loves Africa.

Suggestions for improvement:

Expert Africa are a pleasure to deal with as they know the country, the lodges and how best to advise travellers. I am very pleased to have become a traveller with the team and hope that Tracy will be around to advise me the next time.

I think that possibly a better vehicle could have been brought to my attention as the dirt roads are very ridged at the moment. We only saw two graders the whole time and travelling nearly 3000 ks is quite a lot in a little car." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"As a whole the trip was excellent. A lot of conversations and emails went back and forth in the planning stage (thank you for your patience!) to get exactly what we wanted and all of that planning was definitely worth it as the camps hit the mark perfectly on what we were looking for. Proving the detailed knowledge basis of the staff was a strong contributor to the trips overall success.

I was cautious particularly since I was introducing some friends to Bots for the first time. I believe they were extremely impressed with what's on offer and will return to Africa again." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"We had a fantastic time. the whole trip was wonderful and we are now hooked" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"We had the most enjoyable and exciting holiday. We felt well prepared before we left and when we were there we found a very high standard of accommodation, quality of food and service. The scenery is breathtaking and the locals were charming. We are thinking of going back!

Just one thing : we found the saloon car inappropriate for some of the roads we used. Upgrading the car in Swakopmund was the best thing we did." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"We have been thinking about this trip for a while and it just came through as we possibly planned. The service given by the team of Expert Africa was excellent as expected, or otherwise we would not have contacted you again.

Namibia has surpassed our best expectations in many ways. Once again its our trust that smaller camps are always preferable to large scale operations.

Wilderness Safaris have completely disappointed us as we were expecting a higher service level. Guests are treated as numbers and not as individuals. While perusing their operational brochures we became aprehensive of their magnitude and the size they have attained on these last 5 years of operation. I am afraid that they will loose all the African flair we "guests" look when going to Africa.
Their lodges are good but possibly due to immediate success they are relaxing on quality of service.

Thank you for a wonderfull experience/ holiday." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Overall a great holiday, we did have one problem - the hire car. It didnt arrive when expected which meant we were hanging around on the first day. After several calls itt arrived the next day." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a South Africa trip

"Expert Africa team were extemley helpful at all times.

However I do disagree that the gravel roads can be used by normal car. We had a 2x4 and struggled at points, I personally could not drive on some of it. I would advise people paid the extra for 4x4.

Dora Nowas & soussi Dunne Lodge said that only 'brave' people do not use 4x4. If I were advising simeone else I would advise they flew to the main attraction & did the activities or hired a driver.

African people are wonderful.

Suggestions for improvement:

I would suggest you promote the flying to destinations & not using ordinary cars" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"The holiday more than lived up to our expectations. The accommodation in most cases was excellent and the extra excersions we had booked through Expert Africa were all well worth doing.

Namibia is a very interesting and diverse country and we would like to think that we will have the opportunity to return and visit the parts we didn't have time to do this trip.

We drove over 2500 miles and were glad that we had been advised to have 2x all terrain vehicle. The gravel roads we drove for the majority of the time were not as good as we had been led to believe by the guide books. People we met who had "normal" saloon cars all said they were struggling.

A 4x4 is not necessary but the extra ground clearance of our Hyundi Tuscan was an advantage.

In our exprience the service of Expert Africa helped us plan just the holiday we wanted." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip