Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"Our self-drive loop tour thru Namibia was excellent, and it was extremely helpful to have the help of someone as knowledgeable as Tracy in planning it.

That said, in retrospect I would tweak the itinerary just a bit.

Our stays (after Windhoek) were as follows:

1. Bagatelle Game Ranch, 2 nights. Two nights is too many here, even if the Dune Chalets had been available (and they were not). I think we should have gone straight from Windhoek to #2.

2. Bullsport Guest Farm, 2 nights. I believe this would have been a longer drive from Windhoek (I don't know the road condidtions, of course), but it would have been a nice place to spend three nights.

3. Kulala Desert Lodge, 2 nights. Perfect length of stay, and a visit to the dunes is a must in a Namibia trip, IMO.

4. Swakopmund; Villa Margherita, 2 nights. Nice hotel, but one night would have sufficed.

5. Doro Nawas, 2 nights. Driving to see desert-adapted elephants was excellent. 2 nights is perfect.

6. Ongava Lodge, 1 night. Two nights would have been better, with the full day spent exploring the west/central portion of Etosha.

7. Etosha Aoba Lodge, 1 night. We arrived here rather late, after a full day driving thru Etosha. Nice, basic accomodation with good food. From here we went early in the morning to explore the eastern part of Etosha, and early afternoon arrived at:

8. The Fort at Fisher's Pan. We had been waitlisted for a second night at Etosha Aoba, but after seeing The Fort's brochure, we decided to stay here instead. Over the top, ridiculous, NOT environmentally friendly. But a lovely view. I would not have enjoyed an extended stay here.
(If we had stayed two nights at Ongava, we might have been able to spend just one night on the eastern side of the park, with the exploration of the eastern side of Etosha being done the day we left Ongava.)

9. Okonjima Main Camp, 1 night. This was such a lovely spot to relax, birdwatch, walk (and view cats!), 2 nights would have been nice.

10. Erongo Wilderness Lodge. This is a great place for walkers, a two night stay is a minimum. But if you're not a walker, there is probably little here for you (except for excellent food!).

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I would recommend Expert Africa to anyone planning a trip to Africa!

Despite my comments on how I might have changed the itinerary, this trip was nigh unto perfect. Omitting Bagatelle and the second night in Swakop are the only major things I would have done differently (with benefit of hindsight), and I suspect that Tracy knew what she was doing when she planned it the way she did.

My detailed comments above are more for Tracy than the general public, though you are free to share them if you feel it would be appropriate.

Thank you, Tracy, for a wonderful trip!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We have discussed this on our way home and are quite happy to say this is the best Holiday we have ever had. Fantastic country, great people, great food in general and the experience of getting us close to some big animals was wonderful.

We did not really know what to expect but this surpassed any thoughts that we did have, so much so that we have decided we will return at some point!

It also has to be said that the expertise of Expert Africa has truly impressed us even down to this feedback process!!!

Suggestions for improvement:

Difficult really. Perhaps you could do a short survey prior to planning trips to ascertain interest of the group which might help you steer the plan towards certain camps and locations....having seen the facilities in Etosha itself, as a keen photographer I would have rather stayed in the park in preference to the Aobi and Fort Lodges...." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is a stunning & magical country and we very much look forward to a return visit sometime in the future." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 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

"Expert Africa is by far the best tour operator we have ever used and this is not only down to the information they provide as standard, but down to the level of customer service.

Gwynneth was absolutely brilliant, she advised us on all aspects of the trip and nothing ever seemed to much trouble. Even basic advice from driving the car, carrying cash, what to see and do, everything! We had such an amazing honeymoon and I really do credit this to the help and advice Gwynneth gave us. Even post the trip Gwynneth has been a fantastic help.

Our trip to Africa was amazing everything we hoped for and whole lot more, and gave us a taste to want to go back, see other countries but also revisit Namibia there is so much we haven't seen, and the people are just great, friendly people!

The Bradt guide you are sent when booking the trip is also the best guidebook I have ever used, written by the MD of Expert Africa it just shows how much knowledge the company has about the countries it sells and gives you a lot of confidence in them.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep on keeping on!
You are doing a brilliant job can't think of anything that would improve it.....unless the holidays are free!!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Thank you Sabina and Expert Africa! You certainly have the right company name.

Thanks to your faultless arrangements we had an excellent holiday. From all the communication prior to our trip, to the pack we received with all our vouchers and information regarding our travel, there was nothing else we could have asked for or needed.

I would have no hesitation in using your company again or recommending you to anyone else.

Thank you.

Suggestions for improvements:

How can you improve on the excellent job you do already?" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and carry very good memories of Namibia." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"I thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip but the long drives on poor road surfaces ruined it for my wife.

Although my friends had done the trip they did not seem to experience the poor road surfaces and as one of the lodge manager's said, Namibia was becoming a victim of their own success with the additional road traffic breaking up the road surfaces." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was a really great experience and we enjoyed everything we did. A good mix of a holiday. Well planned and it worked well.

All the arrangements worked perfectly some turning out better than expected.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

NO!!!!!!!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful trip. Namibia is a great place for a holiday. It has amazing scenery and wildlife, excellent accomodation and a good road network. We found traveling around by car easy and safe.

There is very little traffic, even on the major roads. Any problems we did have, mainly punctures, were quickly solved. Even though we were there in the main tourist season none of the places we visited seemed crowded.

Suggestions for improvements:

No. Tracey gave us excellent advice when we were planning our trip and very helpfully answered our numerous questions." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip