Namibia: reviews from our travellers

"I loved my trip. It really was the journey of a lifetime. It helped me a great deal to have the advice and support of Tom at Expert Africa in planning my trip, which was a fairly complex process as I was combining work and leisure for some of the time. Everything went smoothly and to schedule and I had no problems, which was amazing considering that I was away five weeks (everything except a cancelled flight home, but the airline dealt with that).


The places I stayed were well chosen and I enjoyed them all in different ways. I especially loved Fish River Lodge and the canyon there. I was lucky enough to meet the owners and to talk with them about their interesting plans to extend their conservation work in the area.


The only aspect of my journey that was different to what I expected and a bit more challenging was the driving. I did not have any problems, although I covered about 1,500 miles driving solo, but it is not easy driving on dirt roads (they are described as gravel roads but this is not really accurate). The car hire company and the Bradt guide recommend not driving above 70kph on dirt roads but that is not practicable over long distances and I think this advice should be revised. Nobody else was travelling at those speeds. If I had driven that slowly on certain days a 5-hour journey would have turned into an 8-hour journey, which presents a different kind of risk. I would recommend driving at the national speed limit, which is what I did, meaning that I was driving safely at 80-90 kph on those dirt roads. I think a frank discussion of what driving in Namibia realistically entails would have been useful, but this is a minor point!

Namibia is a beautiful country, for me part of its attraction is its remoteness and the opportunity to be alone in open spaces, but I also had encounters with Namibians of many different backgrounds, all of which were positive and interesting. I have brought home many happy memories and would love to return one day. Thank you, Tom, for making it happen." Read full review: 35 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"The trip as a whole was very nice.

The only problem was having a bat in our room while we were sleeping for 2 nights in Okakuajo and one night in Kalahari Red Dunes. But that isnt Expert Africa's fault!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Our third trip booked by Expert Africa, and as always it was wonderful!" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"We had an amazing time and will definitely be using Expert Africa in the not too distant future.

As regular safari goers, this trip did not disappoint. Tom was helpful and the itinerary that we put together was perfect for us.

A lot of driving, but worth every mile we drove.

One small (petty) thing, petrol can be hard to get in Etosha, so maybe a diesel vehicle would be better." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"This was an amazing trip and covered areas of Namibia that we had not been to before. It involved long days driving which we were aware of and was part of the adventure. As this was our fourth visit to Namibia we knew the places we wanted to get to and also the majority of the lodges we wanted to stay and it didn't disappoint. All of the Gondwana properties were excellent and set the standard for accommodation in Namibia." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Great trip, especially suited to Africa novices like us.

Namibia has three really world class sights - Etosha, Sossusvlei and Fish Canyon. Luderitz, Swakopmund and Tweifelfontein interesting. Food and accommodation generally very good.
Only disappointment was the Skeleton Coast - one of the most boring drives I have ever made.

The main drawback of Namibia as a whole is the amount of driving involved, especially since the car rental firm imposes (maybe sensibly) a limit of 70km/h on gravel.

We covered 5000km and after all this time in the car, the last long stretch from Fish Canyon to Windhoek seemed an eternity...

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only suggestion would be to let people know about the time spent driving. We found that on gravel roads, with the car rental company's speed limits and our own stops, we took 50% longer than Google thought we should. This made for a couple of very long days.

Not sure we would have changed our itinerary but if we had been aware earlier it might have made the hours in the car less of a downer. You should also advise people to get a phone app like Spotify and download a LOT of music on it to be played over Bluetooth." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We cannot praise the organisation of this trip highly enough. It was excellent from beginning to end.

It provided everything we wanted. The choice of accommodation for our budget was spot on, and some how we seemed on almost every occasion to be in one of the best rooms. Hard to believe that was by chance!

We experienced only two very minor 'hiccups' and both were resolved by the Namibian representative almost instantly - itself perhaps as good a recommendation as one can give.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our experience of the availability of internet across Namibia was considerably better than the Notes to Travellers indicated we should expect.

We found every fuel station and lodge we visited expected us to pay by credit card, and in the end we were left with a large amount of SA currency which we were only able to use after a friendly SA lodge manager agreed to accept it in payment of our final account at the end of the trip." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was really great, each element was different from the next but all were really high quality.

Although we have provided some comments that may be perceived as a negative, we both agreed that we were so spoilt for good service and locations that we were being picky about little things and really these elements were down to personal preference. We wouldn't have wanted to do much more driving than we did in the time frame - it was heavy going and the air con struggled to keep up with the 40 degree heat in the car.

The wildlife spotting was superb and the arrangements really clear and well designed to our requirements - especially where we had arranged the first week of travel ourselves - nothing was too much trouble to sort. By far the best aspect of the trip was Ongava for the stay as a whole. The accommodation, location, game drives, all inclusive service and wildlife activity at the watering hole as well as the private dinner for us on our tent terrace for our honeymoon. The only thing we didn't need there was the day trip to Etosha as we drove through ourselves the next day and that took 8 hours!

This is really a much higher "class" of holiday than we are used to and (other than the tipping at the end of each stay) was really lovely to experience without any hiccups or miscommunications. We had a little bit of everything thrown in but would have liked a little less sitting on tour vehicles and a little more opportunity to walk for the two weeks we were on the self -drive.

Okonjima was the first place that truly offered it but we weren't there long enough to take advantage (one night)." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Overall the trip had many surprises, and thankfully they were almost all positive!

The people we met were all enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable. Several went out of their way to help us. We did not meet anyone who was antagonistic.

The accommodation was better than we were expecting. We found all the small lodges to be exceptional and very well appointed. The individual accommodation was always superb. As a retired geologist I found Mowani's great granite boulders to be inspiring.

There was a lot of travelling and some of the roads were a bit rough but our Toyota dealt with them easily and never let us down. On one occasion when we got stuck in deep soft sand it's four wheel drive got us out with aplomb!

We had gone to Namibia to see the scenery and animals and neither let us down. I will never forget the elephants of Etosha and Damaraland. The sand dunes of the Namib are unforgettable.

This was the best holiday we have ever had. Thankyou!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We would not have changed any of our accommodation, each lodge was perfect in its own way. Despite some misunderstandings in the planning process we were very happy with our trip which was quite memorable.

If we were booking this trip again we would allow at least three extra days and limit driving to about 4 hours so that we arrived by the early afternoon to allow time time to relax and enjoy the lodges facilities..

One night half way between Eningy Clay House and Hoodia Desert Lodge to break the journey. It took 7 and a half hours for this journey using the scenic route.

An extra night in Swakophund

An additional night in Okonjima, probably in the bush camp.

Ideally we would book earlier to ensure accommodation availability." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip