Reviews of safaris to Southern Namibia

"I was thoroughly impressed with ExpertAfrica!

We take a 2-3 week trip every year, and usually do it fully independently. For this trip, I had planned out the full trip, and then we decided for fun to see what ExpertAfrica would quote, thinking it would be higher. It turned out to be about 30% cheaper! And on top of that, Maruska provided a lot of benefits we would have otherwise missed out on.

For example, we booked rather far ahead (over a year), and Maruska was able to make the bookings even though they weren't available yet on some hotels websites.

She was also able to determine that a couple would be closed over the holidays and recommended alternatives.

Her step-by-step directions between lodges was also excellent, better than both Google Maps and our physical map.

I'd definitely recommend ExpertAfrica to my friends (or anyone!) and we will be using ExpertAfrica again if we're headed to a country tha ExpertAfrica offers trips to.

Thanks for helping make our trip so memorable!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"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

"It was a spectacular trip and we cannot wait to return. Expect Africa did an incredible job.

We stayed in a variety of accommodations and Expert Africa prepared us for each one - we knew what to expect and how to get there.

It was a wonderful trip." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful adventure holiday although it felt very safe because we had confidence in the car hire and all the information we received.

The lodges were all fantastic. The scenery is a landscape photographer’s dream. People we came across were all very friendly, helpful and happy to see us.

The food was much better than we had anticipated. Animals were very plentiful - I even saw a honey badger!

The lodge game drives were all really excellent with good, very knowledgeable guides.

All in all, a terrific experience and we will recommend Expert Africa to all." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Apart from my disappointments about Safarihoek this was another fantastic trip to this magical country.

As ever Expert Africa went above and beyond.

Anderssons was the highlight but other lodges were great too.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No. Keep doing what you are doing" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Incredible trip and experience, thank you so much Sabina" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip with great scenery. We stayed in so many different places and had positive experiences at them all. The holiday was a great mix and the walking gave us time to take it all at a slower pace. We saw more wildlife than we expected. The guides and the staff were all passionate about Namibia and very helpful and friendly.

The driving was very easy.

Anything we would have changed? Probably an overnight stop somewhere after Tok Tokkie and then the last 2 nights at Otjimbondona as it was a very long drive after finishing the morning walking." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 23 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

"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

"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