Reviews of trips to Luderitz

"We had an amazing trip - our first visit to Namibia and first time using Expert Africa.

It was difficult to know what to do/where to go but Tracy was really helpful from the start. She was extremely knowledgable about the places we wanted to visit and gave us some great information before we then went off and did some research. We then came back to Tracy to ask more questions and look at an itinerary and accommodation in more detail.

We knew were going for 'scenery' rather than wildlife and having done our research our trip met or exceeded our expectations on every level. It was also good to know that Expert Africa was there should we have experienced any problems.

I can't speak highly enough of Expert Africa and particular thanks to Tracy for all her help.

Comments on our Private Guide

We quickly built a good rapport with Usko. We were a little concerned about spending so much time with our guide as there was only my husband and I but needn't have worried. Usko was delightful and was happy to listen to how we wanted the trip to go in terms of leaving time from each lodge, how many stops we wanted to make en route etc.

He told us we didn't need to 'make conversation' but could just enjoy the views from the vehicle and ask questions if we wanted to know anything. He was very knowledgable and always pointed out places of interest/wildlife/flora and fauna, landscapes etc. It made the days easy and relaxing (for us!).

He also told us that some evenings he wouldn't join us for dinner so that we could have time together. Usko made the trip really stress free, our cases were loaded/unloaded and delivered and collected from our rooms. He was an excellent driver especially on the bumpy gravel roads and soft sand at Sossusvlei!

The picnics we enjoyed en route some days were amazing! A proper table, camping chairs, tablecloth and delicious food in 'the middle of nowhere'. Usko really made the trip for us, we felt in incredibly safe hands knowing that if there were any problems that he was fully equipped to deal with them." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Very "diverse" trip from wine tastings, excellent food to hiking in the Namibian deserts and beachwalks in Paternoster.

Rather easy and comfortable to be done in three weeks." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 14 on a South Africa trip

"We were expecting great things and I had built the vision of “holiday of a lifetime”. We were not disappointed! We both agreed that this was the best holiday either of us had ever had and almost every day exceeded expectations. The itinerary was spot-on, the accommodation excellent, and occasionally mind-blowing, the scenery spectacular and ever-changing and our few excursions thoroughly enjoyable. To then add the value for money when eating and drinking and fuel prices a third lower than here in UK, our additional spend was well under budget! I hope we remain healthy enough to experience another trip such as this." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"What can we say! We had no idea what to expect from Africa or a safari and this trip and all the animals, accommodation, scenery, food and people far exceeded our expectations.

The same could not be said of the roads, though, most of the non-tarred ones were much worse than we expected. It was a very good place to get what they call a "Namibian massage" as we bumped along in our all-wheel drive Nissan X-Trail.

Beware, food portions are very big, like in the US! The quality of the food is superb, especially the beef, so tender.

We were apprehensive that we were staying in tents at some of the places - but they were nothing like what we expected the tent to be. They were really big and solid and felt safe (our main concern), plus all except Kanaan Desert Retreat had amazing facilities and amenities in them. Beds everywhere were really comfortable too.

We can truly say this amazing holiday was one of if not the best we have ever had, so glad we did not do a group trip." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"This was an epic trip. We both agree it was the best we have ever taken. Maruska was so helpful with first designing it and then with questions we had along the way. She even helped with getting us tickets to Robbens Island when it was sold out!
At times it felt like too much driving but I wouldn't have wanted to cut out anything. Probably just added more time. I really liked that we were in Swakopmund in the middle of the trip to have some city time between lodges. Also having stays at two different ends of Etosha with a drive through the middle. The lodges were all so wonderful and fun. Also being met at the airport before and at the end by Wilderness Safaris was so helpful. They waited in line for sim cards while we did rental car. Got us on our way quicker.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Not really. You did say somewhere that the shortest route is not always the fastest. We wish we had listened as we followed our cars GPS on first day and ended up hours behind schedule and at the start of darkness. Warned not to drive after dark so that was stressful on our first day.
We felt we had lots of info." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"This was an amazing holiday, we enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to Sabina for all her expertise, organisation and suggestions.

Disappointing not to see apex predators, should have gone on more guided drives." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"We had a very good experience working with Sabina. We had done a fair amount of reading and research prior to our decision to work with Expert Africa and were looking for someone to assist us in the planning of our holiday in a collaborative way. Sabina was open to this way of working with us and incorporated our ideas and interests with her recommendations to create a bespoke itinerary for us.

An additional benefit was having, in Sabina, a local who also had worked in the UK. We found her personal experience with and knowledge of the various lodges in Expert Africa's portfolio assisted her in recommending which lodges would suit us best. She was very helpful in route planning and timings - these were invaluable when we planned our daily travels and ensured we were never caught out by the time it takes to travel various distances. We liked how our route took us to various of types of lodges and also how our travel was along the back routes to ensure we could enjoy the fabulous and ever changing scenery, which when speaking with others staying in the same lodges seem to make our trip somewhat unique.

Sabina was also fantastic in communicating my dietary requirements to the lodges and ensuring that they were accommodated, even on bush lunches and braais. We also appreciated how she was available immediately for the two problems we encountered while traveling and was able to advise and in one case, sort one problem out with the lodge on our behalf. Finally, she kindly provided us with a cool box and ice blocks which she personally dropped off at the Olive Grove Guesthouse.

All of these small touches along with her expertise and attention to detail made our trip stress-free, highly enjoyable and a very positive experience.

We would definitely recommend Expert Africa to friends and family who desire a similar experience at a similar price point." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"A fantastic trip, which exceeded our high expectations. We did a lot of driving of course, which is part of the adventure, roads were good.

Its had to think what we would have done even slightly different.

We came back full plans for next time." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 24 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Namibia. Expert Africa organised it so that we did quite a lot of our own driving, which is what we wanted, but broke up the trip with a few fully inclusive stays at lodges. This meant that after lots of long journeys when we were quite independent, we were able to stay put and take advantage of the wonderful service and activities at the various lodges and camps.

Sometimes it's tempting to do it all your own way, but I think what we learned was that if you let a guide share his local knowledge with you, you gain a huge amount which you then take with you to the next place. Learning as you go, you can't help but look at everything differently and you gain so much enjoyment from it.

I would say do as many activities as you can.

All aspects of the trip were seamless and all arrangements made by Expert Africa worked perfectly. We travelled a huge number of kilometres, saw some stunning landscapes, and enjoyed lots of wildlife particularly in the north.

We are already dreaming about our next trip to the areas we didn't manage to cover and I'm sure we will go back." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"In 1 word: epic." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip