Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"We spend 2 1/2 weeks in Namibia, travelling about 2000 miles by road. We stayed in 9 different locations and experienced multiple different aspects of the country. Throughout the trip, we felt safe, welcomed and that the people we met were happy that tourism was returning post-pandemic.

Our trip had been postponed several times, re-organised and altered. However, everything went 100% according to plan. Tracy at Expert Africa proved to be a knowledgeable and informative guide and travel planner. All the lodges were expecting us as predicted and all lived up to their descriptions. Highlights were Hoodia Desert Lodge and the excursion from there, Doro Nawas and Okonjima (where we were upgraded to the Villa). The driving was straightforward and we did not encounter any problems, all roads were well-signposted and fuel stops were plentiful (all took VISA cards in our experience).

This was truly the trip of a lifetime, expertly coordinated by Expert Africa. Thank you so much for your patience throughout the pandemic, reorganising everything so well and your excellent recommendations. Next time it will be Botswana..... we will be back!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

A minor issue but initially payment glitched through the website, but that was 2 years ago and we didn't have problems with the final payment.

The service and information we have received has been fantastic. We have recommended you to multiple friends already, as we have been boring them with our photographs! If and when we come back to Africa, we will definitely be contacting you again.

Thank you so much." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Overall we had a very nice trip. A few notes– we did not know about the birth certificate requirement and did not bring our son's. We had a rather traumatic entry in which they almost would not let us enter the country. I saw afterwards that it was a note in the paperwork packet but I think this is a detail that should be very specifically called out to guests in an email so no one else experiences this.

The eastern side of Etosha was much more abundant with wildlife than the western side this time. I think the first half of our trip was far more satisfactory as photographers than the second. The eastern side we had constant sighting as we did our self-drives and the waterholes were incredible, but the western side was so dry and barren that self-driving felt depressing at times (very different than our previous experiences in Namibia!). Many of the waterholes on the western side were dried up.

Please read my notes about the Safarihoek guiding experience - this was the one glaring negative about our trip and we felt rather disappointed in what felt like losing three days of photography chances.

Otherwise we had a wonderful experience. Maruska was incredible helpful and responsive as always and was able to adjust our dates for us when we wanted to change our flights." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Already said how impressed and delighted we were that our flight cancellation was dealt with so well and all was rebooked “+2” overnight on the day of our intended departure. Way prior to that the guidance and advice in putting everything together took time and great patience which Maruska coped with admirably. This included rebooking from 2021 when Vicky broke her shoulder compromising our initial plans.

I do have two observations which are offered as a reasonably regular EA client. Using a specialist based in a very different time zone does add complexity at the planning stage. Small details requiring a quick answer can take 48 hours to turn around through no fault of anyones. My second comment is that the relative costs of different options are not visible at the planning stage. I did not ask Maruska to work to a budget nor indeed did I ask for these costs in order to make our choices of destinations and lodges and so it may be my responsibility here. I now understand (but may need to be corrected) that Shipwreck and HVC were more expensive than other choices we made and perhaps having price bands indicated when putting together a tailor made trip might be useful. Useful also to have this information when giving feed back to hold the more expensive options to a higher standard even if tou can not compare apples and oranges of course!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"I am mindful this tour has been rebooked twice due to Covid - although we usually do our own bookings for other than Namibia, in this instance glad we had Expert Africa who did us proud, minimising hassle.

The trip was a success.

There were a couple of bookings where we took advice and just possibly we would have preferred our slightly less cautious personal choices!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"A very well balanced trip, as it encompassed magnificent landscapes, several excellent wildlife experiences, and provided some insight into both indigenous and colonial cultures." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"The trip went beyond our expectations for adventure, learning, excitement and fun. I believe Expert Africa made the trip a big success because they are a full service safari planning company. The website and staff provided all that was needed for making decisions and getting the right arrangement. We spent three weeks on the trip that involved 11 accommodations, three airline flights, driving 2800 km on the left side of the road and numerous guides, staff and assistants. That it all went well and left us wishing for more meant they must be doing something right." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Absolutely fantastic holiday.

Twice postponed due to covid it did not disappoint when we finally got there.

Everything went extremely smoothly, it was both exciting and relaxing at the same time and we cannot wait to go back.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, I think the service is well above and beyond what can be expected and so was our trip" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We booked this trip in late 2019 and it was postponed twice.

Claire kept us informed, and kept up our hopes that trip would actually happen.
Our trust in Claire and Expert Africa was justified, and we had a wonderful trip. We are so glad we didn’t miss it!

We particularly liked the amazing landscapes in Namibia, and the contact we had with the local people at the lodges." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"The entire trip was incredible, none of us wanted to go home. The planning was excellent and everything went flawlessly. The guides inNamibia and Botswana were excellent. It was wonderful being in these countries and meeting the people who are very happy to have tourists returning.

Maruska designed a trip for us that matched all of our goals. She was outstanding during the pandemic in rescheduling a couple of times and kept us informed of everything she was working on and changes. She is the best travel consultant we have ever worked with. She is timely and precise in her dealings with suppliers and companies in Africa. She was very responsive throughout the 3 years of planning. We highly recommend her. Thank you Maruska!" Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Sabina helped plan a great itinerary.

We loved every place we went and stayed, and the logistics worked seamlessly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, it was a great trip with no glitches." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip