Reviews of safaris to Damaraland

"We had an excellent trip to Namibia with the assistance of Expert Africa.

We were fortunate to time our trip right in the middle of COVID waves and found Namibia to be operating largely as normal. Cities such as Swakop were quite strict on safety protocols. The remote camps were a bit more lax. But we found a self drive as a great way to vacation during the pandemic and were lucky to have many of the camps to ourselves with a full staff serving us.

Many thanks to Maruska for her excellent recommendations and her flexibility in dealing with passport issues - she truly went above and beyond. The highlight of our trip was the drive from Swakop up to Damaraland and through the Skeleton Coast park.

Self driving is an absolute must in Namibia!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Our overall trip experience was excellent. The decision to book the trip with Expert Africa was to a very large degree due to Sabina's advice, responsiveness and enagement to make sure I had all the necessary information and also to answer all my questions. Sabina was very good at providing the various tour options and accommodation combinations and subsequently at organising the whole tour once we had settled for an itinerary.

Sabina was in contact with me and/or available before departure and well as throughout the whole trip to help or provide advice. This was very good as a first traveler to Namibia as we felt that there was always someone available to help us with any unexpected situation. Sabina is very personable and also very good at what she does. I felt 100% comfortable dealing with her and receiving her advice.

The literature, advice and information provided was also comprehensive and very good. The map, itinerary and instructions were also very good and also the logistics and communication with the various lodges. They were all expecting us and checking in and a fast service was never an issue.

In particular the advice regarding the following points was useful:
- Purchase local Super Aweh SIM card at the airport
- Exchange EUR/USD at Maerua Shopping Mall in Windhoek/withdraw cash at Cash Machines along the trip (roughly 100 EUR per day on a self-drive tour to provide for fuel, food, entrance fees and payment for extra activities at the various locations)
- Covid tests in Windhoek (Rennies Travel)
- Payment of the tour quote in USD with Euro credit card (everything worked well with this)

The quality of all the lodges/accommodation was very good, except for Halali as already explained, and I also understand the reasons for it.

Doing a self-drive tour was also a good experience and luckily we did not experience any negative issues on the roads and also not with Herz the car rental company upon returning the car (Isuzu 4x4).

We were also lucky to meet another family with teenagers during out trip, which we coincided with at two locations during our trip, and so this was a very good experience for us and for our kids to get to know other people.

We would be very happy to book again another tour with Expert Africa and with Sabina in particular.

Damaraland Petrified Forest: One minor negative comment...
On the C39 road, a couple of Kms. from the crossing of the D2612 and the C39, on the right hand-side of the road there is a hand written sign for the Petrified Forest, we did not realised this is not the "official" site after driving into the side road a few hundred meters upto a parking and agreeing to pay N$100 per person to a "local community". The locals were very friendly and did show us some pertified trees lying on the ground in addition to some Welwitschias. This was only maximum 20 Minutes visit or so, it was interesting, however, it was clear that this was not the official site. All other archeological/official attractions provide an official fiscal receipt upon payment. We did not make an issue of it, however, were disappointed to be tricked into this site. Because of this experience and the time that we had already spent, later a few Kms. along the road we did not stop to visit the "official" Petrifed Forest." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Thank you Expert Africa for yet another fabulous trip to Africa during Covid-19 times!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"I have been to >25 countries in Africa. Sabina is the best travel agent I have ever worked with. Just GREAT. THANK YOU!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fantastic holiday. It was so good to be able to escape the UK for a bit.

Sabina was incredibly helpful and we had a lot of last minute changes due to covid restrictions and various flights been cancelled and a couple of our original places to stay were closed. She dealt with it all in a very professional and helpful way, always getting back to us really quickly and making sure we were up to date with all the latest information.

We felt completely safe the whole time we were on our holiday, and Namibia is clearly dealing with Covid much better than we are back in the UK." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We were able to complete two weeks of a four week trip before having to leave at short notice because of the travel restrictions imposed due to the Coronavirus.

What we saw and did in those two weeks we loved.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nothing at all. Sabina worked tirelessly to sort out flights for us to get us out of Namibia and back to the UK. The situation was changing every few hours as did the airline timetables and seats were very limited indeed. We absolutely could not have done this ourselves. I should point out that we had booked our flights independently and were not meant to be flying out of Windhoek at all so Expert Africa really did go above and beyond in helping us.

We have used Expert Africa a number of times over the years and always recommeded to friends. This trip absolutely highlighted why !" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"This whole trip was an amazing adventure. Expert Africa did a phenomenal job making all the arrangements for us. We truly had never imagined the attention to detail throughout the trip.

The combination of Sossusvlei, Damaraland and Ongava gave us three memorable experiences, made possible by well planned connecting flights. With only a week, I can't think of a better way of arranging things.

We were there in January, which is low season. Although it's supposed to be rainy season, we only saw rain one afternoon in Windhoek. Instead, we had bright sunshine, no crowds, and still plenty of animals to watch.

Wouldn't change a thing!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"Our overall experience was amazing.
It was special getting to see all the landscapes and the animals. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly.

We stayed at a variety of accommodations, all of which were great. It ticked all the boxes.
Thank you, Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have been trying to think of things but we were really happy with the service and information provided - we have booked with you twice and both times were amazing. We will ponder and let you know.
Thanks again, we had a wonderful time and we have been recommending you!

See you again in a few years :)" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Maruska was great! She made great suggestions and listened to our needs.

The only lodging that was not great was the one that I suggested (next time, i will take your advise, Maruska made suggestions when lodges were above our price-line and redirected.us. I believe our trip was as great as it was thanks to help from Maruska and Expert Africa!

Thanks so much!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa were fabulous. An incredible trip was planned at relatively short notice.

We particularly liked the small details such as the travel pack that was sent ahead of the trip.

Thank you Sabina!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip