Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"This was a fantastic holiday.The adjectives that come to mind are not sufficient. The variety of landscapes, sights, activities and experiences were wonderful. It was a really good family holiday also. There was something for all our children to do and they got something out of every place we went to. However, the highlight of the trip for our 6 year and 3 year old was the car being pulled out of sand in road works on a minor gravel road in the Caprivi Strip by a huge six-wheeled grader - and particularly the bit where the driver forgot to put the grader's handbrake on and had to chase it down the hill and jump into the cab! Our 10 year old cannot say what the best part of the holiday was. It was all great. We agree.

Namibia is a great country and should be on everyone's list of places to see. The people are friendly. It feels safe and there is none of the lurking tension that you feel at times in South Africa. We'd say it was like South Africa, but better. There is such a variety of things to do and places to see. The desert is stunning. The dunes at Sossusvlei should be on your list of 50 things to do before you die. Swakopmund was so relaxing and it was just nice to potter about there. The food was delicious - seafood near the coast, game inland - and cheap. The smell and sound of the seals at Cape Cross will stay with us forever! Etosha is (insert your own superlative here - words escape us)! The numbers and variety of animals is mind-blowing - and all from your own car window. You do safari at your pace and go where you want to go without 20 other camera toting tourists in the vehicle with you. While there are lots of other people in the park with you, it never seems busy. The roads are largely empty and you could be the only vehicle at a waterhole on many occasions. We had the fortunate experience of a leopard cub ambling about in the road in front of us without a care in the world and eventually leading us to its mother, with no other cars in sight. Try doing that in Kenya! The Caprivi Strip is an undiscovered gem. The river camps and lodges are all perfectly sited and the opportunities to see riverine wildlife are fantastic. Again, there are few other tourists around (for the present), but once word gets out this is sure to change. There is none of the mass safari tourism of East Africa in Namibia. See it while it stays like this.

We also enjoyed finishing the holiday off at Victoria Falls while relaxing at the Zambezi Sun. Victoria Falls is another 'must see' and again adjectives do not sufficiently describe the experience. Our only regret was not seeing more of Botswana, but time did not allow. People we met who had been to the Kalahari and Okavango Delta were impressed.

It was very helpful and consderate of Sabina to contact us in Swakopmund to inform us that the garage in Kongola had closed and so fuel was not available there.

This was probably our best holiday ever with memories to last a lifetime." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful trip. We have excellent advice and service from Sabina at Expert Africa - thoroughly recommended. Namibia is a perfect place for an active holiday - dramatic landscapes, friendly people and a huge range of wildlife.

Thank you." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We really enjoyed our holiday and the positives completely outweigh the negatives and I have the photos to prove it.

We would go back to Botswana tomorrow - The Lagoon lodge was a fantastic experience.

Despite my reservations about the car it did not let us down after the puncture episode and was quiet and comfortable to ride in

To view my photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/perces/Namibia2008" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was wonderful, everything worked like clockwork and all the arrangements were perfect.

Namibia was a beautiful country and the weather was perfect, much warmer than we expected, though cold at night, and no clouds at all for the entire trip, fog at Swakopmund on one day. The driving on tarmac was easy and on gravel we felt that 4x4 made the driving much more pleasant, others suffered with ordinary hire cars.

We ventured into towns, shops and garages and felt quite comfortable, only at Windhoek was there more of an edge with quite a lot of youths hanging about in the evening. The standard of accommodation and food was higher than we had expected, the scenery outstanding and the game in Etosha more widespread than we had expected." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa were the Experts for us. We had a vague idea it would be good to go to Namibia - had read the guidebooks but needed Gwynneth to really sort us out and she provided us with a tour of Namibia which encompassed many fantastic experiences of a wonderful country with great people.

When we tell people about the holiday they are surprised, intrigued, interested. It was one of the safest and most relaxing holidays of our experience and we have been a few places.

If you are interested in going to Africa - Namibia has it all - go!" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"The trip exceeded our expectations in every way. The tourist infrastructure in Namibia is outstanding, with the quality of the hotels, courtesy of the people and maintenance of the roads putting much of the UK and Europe to shame.

This was not a cheap holiday, but we felt that it was money well spent and would love to return. We saw and photographed far more than we had expected and this will provide us with many wonderful memories for the future.

We found that we used much more cash on the trip than expected. Fuel is now N$8 to N$9 per litre meaning that refilling tank was around N$400 at each petrol station (6 fills for 3000km). No petrol station we visited accepted cards. Needed more cash for tips, park entry fees etc than anticipated. Had informed our UK bank that we were travelling to Namibia, but they still blocked debit card as soon as it was used in ATM. They left message on UK phone to ring them back -not a lot of help in Namibia!

Fortunately credit card remained functional (had phoned their security dept before leaving rather than relying on website link). Initially took GDP£400 in SA rand, but took out further N$6000 to cover expenses en route. Had to draw this over three days in Swakopmund as ATMs seemed reluctant to give too much in one go. Banks close at 3.30 in afternoon, so not easy to access them if out on trips." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We can only laud praise on Expert Africa for the superb service which you have provided. Sabina was most patient and helpful in assisting us plan, and then in meeting our changing demands and requests. The advice she gave us, and the itinerary and accommodation she recommended were all absolutely faultless. We were particularly impressed that she continued to monitor waiting lists and was willing to change our accommodation long after our final confirmation and payment of the holiday.

We met many people along the way, and we think we had, withot doubt, the best operator!! We will unreservedly recommend Expert Africa to others and doubtless use you again when we next want to visit Africa. Our whole holiday has been a wonderful experience, and as well travelled people, we have found Expert Africa, second to none.

Thank you very very much!!! When our car broke down we were impressed with the way in which you telephoned us at the earliest opportunity, at Fish River Canyon to check we were OK and then sorted out an appropriate compensation from Europcar, which was waiting for us on our return.

Suggestions for improvement:

You are doing an axcellent job - I can add nothing as there was nothing in which you did not impress us!!" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This really was a super trip - not cheap, but your recommendations were all good and the accommodation and services surpassed expectations.

We though it was a great experince and just wish we had a bit more time. Howevr, I'm sure we'll be back before long to explore other parts of the country and Botswana as well.

We enjoyed the Sefofane flights (and could not have done the trip in the time without them), but it was also nice to do some driving ourselves which allowed us to stop in real towns and interact with real people - just flying between luxury lodges for a whole trip would give a rather limited experience of the country.

Suggestions for improvement:

Not really - we were overall very pleased and impressed with the trip you had arranged for us, based on my initial rather vague thoughts." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"We (2 adults, children 11 and 10) had a great time. We had been to Namibia in 1995 and found it really quite unchanged for the most part. Highlights were Etendeka, the dunes at Sossussvlei, the kayaking trip with the seals at Walvis Bay with Jeanne Meintjes and some of our sightings in Etosha, including 8 lions and a cheetah. By the end of the holiday we were already making lists of places we would go to next time (Northern Damaraland, Caprivi Strip etc)

We would rate Namibia as a great first time destination in Africa for those who are allergic to package tourism and want to be independent, and don't mind a bit of driving (we did just less than 2000 miles in 15 days, which I would guess is not unrepresentative)" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful country of huge interest and contrasts we had the holiday of a lifetime and a lifetime of a holiday! Thank you Expert Africa." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip