Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Itinerary was really good & scenery in both Crater & Serengeti are stunning. Generally good levels of game. Mafia really is a great destination to relax at the end of the trip. As expected the guiding / service aren't up to the standard of the best Southern Africa camps.

Overall it was an enjoyable trip that felt like a long break as we kept doing different things.

Suggestions to help you improve: Nothing really - excellent as ever - Many Thanks to all the team" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"excellent holiday, journey well planned by you lovely varied accommodation.

thank you tracey" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We were very pleased with the level of service we received from Expert Africa, especially when we had to change our itinerary late in the day on which Sabina worked extensively and imaginatively to come up with a solution where we might otherwise have had to cancel the entire trip. We cannot praise Sabina too highly.

We were glad we limited our travel. We met many people who were spending a night here and a night there trying to see the majority of the country in a couple of weeks - several of whom were attracted by our more limited programme. From our perspective, we'd reckon we got far better value out of the vacation by focusing on one particular corner of Namibia's vastness.

Bottom line: this was a great trip - not least as we saw 32 different mammal species including many we did not see in Tanzania last year - and we will be coming back to Expert Africa shortly to explore options for Botswana next year and hopefully (now Clare's seen rhinos) satisfy Alastair's 26 year quest to see wild dogs!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"The trip as a whole was amazing. It was extremely well coordinated and other than not having the ticket back to Dar from Zanzibar, it really could not have gone any more smoothly. Our driver Ayub for the first half of the trip from Sokwe was fantastic. Please make sure he hears that.

The only other thing I would have done differently (though we really liked Gibbs) was stayed within the different parks more. It's really a different feeling when you are in the park, every moment of the day, sleeping and eating, and it's also a much easier day. You can start your game drives earlier (close to dawn) and stay out later (close to sunset). This really makes a difference as that's when the animals may be most active and there is less driving to and from the park each day. Also, you can sleep later in the morning, etc.

This was something we weren't aware of when planning our trip and would have been good to know." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had excellent experiences with gorilla tracking in Rwanda, game viewing in the Serengeti and enjoying the sun on Zanzibar. We would recommend all of these experiences to friends.

While we would recommed going to the Selous, we can not recommend the Lake Manze Camp. This camp was not a good match for us. However, the Lake Manze Camp was the only camp in Selous that had availability on our preferred days. We knew that there were risks with going to this camp as it was so new (in that there may be some procedures that may need to be worked out). We did not expect the full Italian experience. We were expecting that there would be an African experience.

We already talking about our next trip to Africa. We know that we will go again.

When we do, we plan on contacting Expert Africa.

Feel free to include us on the mailing list for your 2008 brochure. Thank you!!!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic as usual!! We had absolutely wonderful safari experiences - perhaps the beach side was a little tame after that (we are not that good at relaxing).

We have used your expertise for 4 holidays on the trot - and expect to do so in the future. Clearly we are very happy with your service - you provide us with the expertise and very clear information we need. There have been no nasty surprises on any of the holidays because everything has been so thoroughly explained before we go.

On previous trips we have had to contact you whilst on holiday - what a service you provide - everything sorted out efficiently and immediately leaving no hassle for us. We feel absolute confidence in Expert Africa - so we cannot think of anything to improve on what you already do so well!!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"The visa waiver situation did not work on this occasion. This needs to be discused and further clarification made.
Please come back to me to discuss in detail." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"We had a great holiday, with the combination of action packed safari followed by complete relaxation on the beach working well.

This is our second trip with Expert Africa and both times I have been impressed with the level of personal knowledge and expertise of the advisors as well as their honesty. I have found this a huge help when making decisions about where bto stay and also I have been well prepared for each of the venues. Many thanks.

Suggestions to help us improve: The only comment i have is the reference in your note to the recommended use of travellers cheques for making payment in Tanzania/Zanzibar. Our experience was that most of the hotels/restaurants would not accept them due to the time taken for banks to transfer the money to them. It would be useful to adjust this information in your notes." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Really good destination, good game, good camps, met some nice people, Tafika a five star experience.

Wilderness somewhat corporate experience.

Pleased that most people were veterans - no honeymooners.

Very very hot - quite a lot of tsetse." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"Thank you for a memorable experience.

Just a couple sidebar comments - Bill and I really took to heart your brochure/manual's instructions and brought/bought all neutral clothing and packed in soft-sided duffle bags. We were pretty shocked that a good percentage of visitors wore bright clothing and brought suitcases with wheels! I was a little embarrassed for them (especially the Americans). Does this happen often?

We cannot thank you enough for our best trip yet! :-)

Up until this trip, I would've said that my trips to China/Japan and New Zealand were my favorite, but since this trip, I have told anyone who asks, that this is by far my most favorite trip I have ever taken. It was amazing. I went into this trip thinking that this would be a "once in a lifetime" experience. But now, Bill and I think that if we can afford it, we will DEFINITELY go back and if we could, we would go back multiple times (and also explore other parts of Africa).

As I mentioned in my review of Kwara, Chris certainly showed Bill and I why he wrote the Bradt Guide on Botswana. Chris could not have been more on par with planning our trip considering we planned it so late and there was not a whole lot to work with in terms of availability.

In hindsight, there are a couple things I would have done differently--

1) I would not have stayed 4 nights at Chitabe. I would've stayed either one more night at Kwara or Vumbura.

2) Vumbura would be the last camp, rather than second to last.

3) If it were possible (although, I did not see this occur nor do I know if one could do this), I would have requested a different guide at Duma Tau.

Overall, an excellent experience! The best trip we've ever taken!!! :-)" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari