Reviews of safaris to NamibRand Nature Reserve

"We had an amazing time in Africa and loved our trip. All the places to stay were nice and pretty much everything we did was enjoyable.

Most disappointing thing was cancelled balloon flight but that was out of anyone's control.

Thank you for arranging it and we would definitely recommend Namibia and Expert Africa to others. Didn't want to come home!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is a stunningly beautiful country and from our experience Namibians are universally warm and friendly. We had a fantastic trip and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys active holidays.

With one glitch, (the car being sent to the wrong guesthouse) all the arrangements worked extremely well and the information we were given in advance was very comprehensive and helpful. Nothing important was missing. This will always be one of our most memorable holidays." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We feel like our holiday in Namibia was really long and that is because we did so many different things in very different areas. And everywhere we went there was another highlight!

The standard of accommodation, the knowledge and enthusiasm of the guides and lodge/camp staff was all fantastic. We had 2 older teenagers this us and there were no complaints about the lack of wifi as they were too enthralled.

What we all noticed was how peaceful it was. No planes, very few cars, not many people. Great scenery, lots of amazing animals and lots and lots of stars!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This was an excellent holiday, and we really enjoyed exploring the diversity of places, activities and landscapes that Namibia has to offer. We really appreciated the informed advice from Tracy at Expert Africa when we were planning this trip - it made planning a lot simpler and easier.

However - and this is a big however - we object to the advice that a normal 2WD car is sufficient for the route that we took. We were assured that this would be fine, so we hired a Toyata Corolla. This was of course fine on tarmac, and meant we had good fuel efficiency. However, the gravel roads and access routes to lodges were very difficult and stressful to travel on in this car. We are not inexperienced, and we drove very carefully - and slowly - which meant that we took significantly longer than most to travel a route. Despite our care, we could not avoid damage to our car undercarriage on the access road to one lodge. We managed to avoid other damage that we needed to repair (though we incurred several dents and knocks from stones thrown up from the road) - had our car had a higher ground clearance and a more robust undercarriage we could have avoided this.

The car was extremelyuncomfortable to sit in on the gravel roads if they were not freshly regraded, including in the centre of Etosha near Halali - neither we nor the car were built for all the vibrations that ensued. Given that this is was an expensive holiday, paying a little extra for a more robust and comfortable car would have been money well-spent. This doesn't necessarily have to be a 4WD but it would be the easiest way to ensure the car is up to the job, When the roads are long and empty and you have no mobile reception, you want confidence that the car is built for the job." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Another wonderful holiday in Namibia and Botswana visiting some old favourites and some new ones that will probably become old favourites now.

Everything went smoothly from the arrival of the brochure to our arrival in Namibia and our return home.
Sabina organised an excellent trip for us - was that Sabina that we met at Doro Nawas? we thought it was but perhaps were wrong.

Nothing can replace the absolute peace we feel either looking at the stars or sitting round a waterhole late at night . The long empty roads are a joy to drive and arriving at such magical destinations incomparable. We feel that we had several holidays all rolled in to one - a couple by the river, in Etosha, at wonderful Doro Nawas, the seaside, and then Sossusvlei.

Just one amazing adventure.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thanks for such a great trip from start to finish." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Superb

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Some comments sent already [Ed: in lodge review pages - linked to below], no major suggestions, all went really well. Many thanks!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip as a whole was excellent - we have never had a better holiday and will remember it forever with great affection." Read full review: 36 nights in Africa; 28 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa could not have been more helpful - this is our second trip with them and we would definitely use them again.

Namibia is an amazing country. The people are friendly, the roads are ideal for self-drive with a little bit of adventure thrown in, and the lodges are consistently of good quality.

There is something for everyone here - deserts, wildlife, tranquility and excitement. Highly recommended." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"we have, we guess, become bitten by the Africa bug. We had a great time though we know that our measures of enjoyment are not necessarily those that others might use. This was our first trip to Namibia and it lived up to expectations. Stunning landscapes, extraordinarily nice people, a history that you should learn about to understand the place.... and for those that live in great cities, just amazingly empty. What will we remember? Sabina said to us that we shouldn't waste money on hiring a 4x4 but suggested we got a vehicle that had good ground clearance. We went with this.

On our drive back from Wolwedans to Windhoek, having still not seen any major rain, we had to drive over a small range of mountains, and on the way to the main pass I realised that it had rained here and the road was largely washed away. But we got over the pass and I said it should be easy from here.My partner took over as we drove down to the plains, and the we remembered that if it rains in the mountains, the water has to go somewhere. When we drove into the second bit of flooded road which seemed to run as far as we could see in front of us, we swapped driving again, and after a couple of hiccups, we got through. Thanks for your suggestion Sabina, in a VW Golf, we'd still be sitting in the middle of a fllor, and as you know, not many cars come along in Namibia ....... We will of course go back; the deep south around the Snake River is there to visit and then we'd like to go along the Caprivi into Botswana and Zambia....

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our experience of Expert Africa is that you are content to let people work out their own routes for particular sections of a trip and then help with areas where they are less confident. It probably reduces your income but it means that we feel that you are helping us work out what we want to do, rather than just selling us a package. This is more like the old time 'outfitters' who helped you buy your kit and suggested the best routes, than a travel agent. It suits us well and makes us feel confident in following your advice.

Thanks Sabina and you helped us enjoy your country." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 28 on a Namibia trip

"This was a truly fabulous trip. We loved the country. In particular, the landscape was so varied but consistently breath-taking. This meant that the long drives in between destinations were as much of a treat as the excursions in between.

We were very pleasantly surprised by the standard of food and service throughout the country and the warmth and friendliness of the people everywhere we went - and more generally, by what an easy place Namibia is to travel around. The game viewing (not just at Etosha) also exceeded our expectations. Returning home has been even more difficult than usual, but I have come back determined to encourage my friends and family to visit Namibia. We certainly plan to return and see more of this beautiful country.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only a couple of very minor points around car hire:

1. It is worth recommending to clients in the very helpful pre-pack you send out that if they need to buy a new tyre, it is worth phoning ahead to check the nearest town (which could be over a hundred kilometres away) has a spare in stock. We made the mistake of assuming we could get a replacement tyre for a Nissan X Trail which meant we wasted time travelling from Etosha to Tsumeb when in fact the nearest tyre available was in Otjiwarongo, another 200 km or so away.

2. Partly for the above reason, you should recommend/insist upon clients having two decent spare tyres.

We were very impressed with Expert Africa (as was everyone we met who had booked through you) and would certainly use you again." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip