Reviews of safaris to Caprivi Strip

"It was fabulous to return to Okonjima and Etosha - in new camps - and the Caprivi Strip and Botswana were excellent and everything we had hoped for in terms of a different safari experience.

The driving is enjoyable, the people all very friendly and generally helpful and all the lodges did not disappoint. Can't wait to return to Botswana and who knows where else in a couple of years time." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Great trip with one lodge excepted!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Provide guidelines for the cost of activities so there are no surprises." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful experience from planning stage to returning home. The variety of lodges/accomadation suggested by Tracy were superb, possibly our best holiday ever !!.

Car hire; Tracy recommended a 4x4 when pushed, accepted it was possible in a 2 WD, as indeed all brouchers indicate, not just EX AF. I would happily tell anyone that I made a mistake, and a 4x4 is essential. The gravel roads are so variable in quality throughout Namibia some rutted so badly or loosely laid that grounding is unavoidable at 20Kph, the C14,C19, C27 for example, in Etosha water flooding the road -- how deep?, fortunatly we remained dry.
Thanks Tracy for a wonderful trip

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No --- keep up your high standard of good work." Read full review: 31 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We were very pleased with the overall selection of camps and the pacing of the holiday generally. We felt that going to the Kalahari first was a good move as it might have seemed a bit low key if we had ended here. The efficiency of the transfer arrangements including help with immigration was outstanding.

The advice regarding the "green season" was good and we have no regrets about going at this time. We only had two occasions when the heavens opened and one of the game drives had to be abandoned. Several times we had spectacular lightning without any rain. Viewing at the Victoria Falls was restricted due to the very high water levels.

It would have been nice to have spent a little time in Maun before flying onwards as it seems to be the centre of the universe as far as the Delta is concerned. The Kwando Safari organisation (including Moremi Air) seemed well organised and we liked their camps. We enjoyed meeting Sue Smart at Kwara.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The warnings about space in passports for visas etc proved unnecessary. We took wet weather jackets but this was not really necessary as ponchos and umbrellas were provided at all camps." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"It was a wonderful trip. We were aware that we were not doing this trip at an ideal time of the year, but, it enabled us to see a different side to Namibia having exprienced the South and the deserts previously this was totally different.

We found the driving along the Caprivi Strip rather monotonous, but, it certainly gave us a feeling of being the real Africa with the small Villages along the way and cattle, goats and children scattered in the road until the occasional car/lorry approached. Everyone we stopped to speak to were friendly and happy to communicate with us.

It was interesting that apart from Waterberg all the other lodges we stayed at were on islands which again made it very different to our last visit and allowed us to see the wild life of the rivers and wetlands.
The Victoria Falls was our highlight which we wanted it to be.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No. This is our 2nd trip with you and we would highly recommend you to all our friends and family." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 5 on a Namibia trip

"Officialdom
With one exception, officialdom was always courteous and polite, if often annoyingly slow.

At the vet fence north of Sehitwa in Botswana, we pulled slowly up to the white stop line on the road in front of the barrier as there were no vehicles in front. A policeman appeared and without explanation demanded a "fine" of 200 pula. He said we should have stopped at a stop sign which was propped up on bricks just a few feet earlier. After a polite stand-off, we left without paying. On discussing this incident at our next lodge, we were told that whilst on the spot fines are legal in Botswana, the amount demanded had been irregular. The consensus of opinion was that this had been a try on.

Suggestions for improvements:

We have been very satisfied, hence our repeat business. Off the cuff, we haven't any suggestions.

Overall
There were occasions when a 4WD vehicle could have been useful (but we don't know the cost).
This was our annual treatment for the 'Africa virus' and it worked very well (actually our eleventh trip to sub-Sahara Africa). Where next?" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"everything during the 6 week trip went like clockwork.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The driving was far easier than expected in both South Africa and Namibia, route 707 is a good road.

The only adverse comment we have to make is it is slightly misleading to make a half board booking without activities when clearly there is no alternative. Where we had booked full board on the days when we did not have lunch,a packed luch was no problem ." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"After the trip, we think that we spend 1 or 2 days to much in Caprivi strip ( where it is not a lot to see) . These 1 or 2 days would be very useful in Etosha park, I mean in a lodge situated in the park (Halali for instance) in order to see game at dusk (we had to leave the park before 6 pm). Or in the waterberg region. Or in the Namib desert. Or in the south of Namibia (Lüderitz).

Despite of that point it was an extraordinary trip. The advices, the services and and the effectiveness of expert africa were excellent too.

I would like also to say that we appreciate the "Olive grove" in Windhoek : excellent on all points (location, food, room ...)." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"This was our third trip to Namibia, and we had a great time. The organisation by Expert Africa was very good, and recommendations, by and large, were very reliable.

Suggestions for improvements:

Could provide advice about reclaiming tax on gifts - we are unable to cash the cheque we received at Windhoek Airport with our UK bank account.

Could remind travellers along the Capriva strip about the time difference - we were an hour late for our Susuwe pickup" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We have had another wonderful holiday – our third trip to Namibia, and at least 9th with Expert Africa – but things could have been better.

Our feedback reflects what we have come to expect from Expert Africa – a minimum 4-paw grading for everything – therefore 5 paws are very hard to achieve and reflect something exceptional.

We were very annoyed by the cancellation of the direct Air Namibia flights; this caused us significant inconvenience. We met so many people who shared our views – from fellow travellers to lodge owners to guides – everybody was unhappy about it. Having been forced to fly via Frankfurt we thought Frankfurt airport was very poor – lack of signage, few shops, little seating and even a mouse in the Business Class lounge. Toilets were dirty. The process will make us think twice before going back to Namibia.

However........ arriving at Windhoek in the morning we found the drive up to Etosha no problem – there were 2 of us to share the driving and we stopped off for shopping and lunch on the way – we definitely prefer to get straight on the road rather than spending a night in Windhoek and effectively wasting a day. We'd recommend buying a Namibian SIM for your mobile at the airport (took 5 mins and cost around £10) – others tend not to work, even with Global Roaming enabled – and we did use it when we discovered we'd left Ghaub with the room key in a pocket!

We'd always thought the road signs on the B1 warning of warthogs rather amusing but we saw dozens on the side of the road this time! Our trip was mostly on tar roads this time, which is great in some ways but they can be very straight and boring – in particular the roads through the Caprivi. We were glad we had booked a 4X2 vehicle for driving some of the tracks in Etosha and Mahango – no need for 4x4 at this time of year.

We were so pleased we were doing a one-way trip; we met many people who had found the driving tiring and were not looking forward to the drive back to Windhoek from the Caprivi. We had tried to slow things down and space them out so that most of our drives were less than 4 hours and, where possible, we spent at least 2 nights in accommodation. This gave us the chance to take advantage of the activities on offer and relax (eg at Hakusembe).

Many lodges do not provide drinking water (or at cost) so we suggest buying a 5 litre bottle in a supermarket (about N$15) and taking it with you.

We would happily repeat our holiday and revisit any of our accommodation with the exception of Namutoni – no way!

Suggestions for improvements:

We have travelled with EA so many times it must be a recommendation in itself! We did do some market testing on this trip and found competitors more expensive. We're already organised for next summer's trip.

However, on rare occasions accuracy of quotations is somewhat sacrificed in the interests of getting them to clients quickly. This is obviously partly due to the complexity of trips but can be frustrating." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip