Reviews of safaris to Southern Namibia

"Wonderful "once in a lifetime" trip. Sabina was spectacularly helpful and knowledgeable. I will wholeheartedly recommend Namibia and EA to friends and family! Some comments and constructive criticism:

Positives:

1. Self drive is easy, totally doable and a great experience. We did not have any punctures or mechanical problems but were glad to have the high clearance of the four wheel drive. That being said never engaged anything but two wheel drive the entire time but appreciated the security.

2. Very safe - people were friendly and approachable and we never felt concerned about security or safety in any way. What a relief and pleasure.

3. No health hazards - since Namibia is a very dry country most water comes from bores and hence, while flavor can vary it is very clean. We had no GI issues despite carrying an extensive armory of treatments. Also regarding malaria - prophylaxis is adviced by US health authorities but noone we met in Namibia considered the country to have any Malaria, at least below the caprivi strip and particularly in the winter months (June-August).

4. Great roads - seriously, for a country with only 1.5mm people it is remarkable how good the roads, signage etc are. We had no problems and found it easier to drive around Namibia than to drive from New York to Boston (although need to be comfortable driving on gravel surfaces).

5. Variety of activities - unlike some of the other destinations we considered, Namibia offers much more than "just wildlife". While we saw plenty of animals, birds and reptiles, we also saw many different landscapes, experienced the ocean and had some exposure to the local culture - much more enriching than just a traditional safari experience

6. Variety of travel and accomodation approaches - Namibia is approachable in many ways, from small tour buses, to camping, to self drive to fly in/fly out. This is different to other locations that require, for example, fly in.


Some suggestions, requests and comments:

1. Cash - EA should alert clients that gas/service stations don't take credit cards or atm cards in many parts of Namibia. Self drive clients should take at least N$2000 in cash with them at all times. It takes over N$1000 to fill the tank of one of the double tank self drive vehicles. Contrary to suggestions some ATM machines would also not recognize my ATM card from the US (provoking panic!) although in large cities (WH and SW) things were fine.

2. Tips - clearly guides on safaris make most of their money on tips. I had no idea how much to tip a guide for example for taking us on a two hour trip into the desert or driving us to an activity? EA could helpfully give more guidance on this matter.

2. Beef up offerings of "active" activities - Namibia seems well set up for the older couples tourist but seems light on offerings for actively minded travellers (Swapokmund and Mundulea notwithstanding). I would suggest adding to the offerings of such activities in some locations; even where "nature walks" are offered they are not very well described or promoted, perhaps because the lodges/camps don't make any money on those activities.

3. Do more at the coastline - Namibia has several thousand miles of coastline but the array of activities related to the coast seems thin. We enjoyed the kayaking from Walvis Bay very much and perhaps should have taken another day in Swakop to venture down to Sandwich Bay. The whole notion of the Benguela current, and the history of the coast and the islands in the south, seem underdeveloped to me and seems to offer more opportunities and activity. The surf around Swakop is better than anything i see except on the very best days in California and the water, despite all the hype, is warmer than california as well and wetsuits are easily rented in those places. Why not start a surfing school in Swakopmund? Or windsurfing or kiteboarding in the walvis bay lagoon? Maybe these things are already available but it would seem a missed opportunity. What Namibia offers most is "animals plus other things" rather than "just animals.." and the more of the "plus other things" there are the more people will come and the longer they will stay.

4. Connect with local populations - sometimes we felt as though we were just going from one Wilderness Camp to another and not having any interaction with the local population. We learned a lot from our guides and the staff at the camps but as noted below they mostly came from other parts of Namibia and had little to say about the history or culture of the area we were visiting. I would like to see EA and WA (see below) develop some program where visitors can interact with the locals in the vicinity of the camps, learn about their culture, history etc. I know this is possible in some locations but perhaps we missed them.

5. Balance Wilderness Adventures/Safaris experiences with other experiences - we stayed at three Wilderness Adventures properties (Ongava, Doro Nawas, Kulala) and enjoyed them very much. They offer consistently great locations, excellent design, high standard of service. Their guides are "good generalists" but sometimes don't have the attention to details and small things of other guides (one guide at Doro Nawas told us the Levine family arrived at Twyfelfontein in 1974 whereas they left in the 1960's). My standard on guides is whether they pick up poo - if so, they are really paying attention, otherwise they may be just driving and animal spotting.

Sometimes the W-A places have a bit of a corporate feel, and their activities are often limited to just game drives, with few individually directed or physically active activities and guides who just focus on finding specific "big five" animals. They have lots of European groups visiting which seems to be good business but can also constrain the options in terms of access to activities for individual travellers. I would have though EA could find other accomodations in the same areas as the WA properties that are more "idiosyncratic" and authentic and offer the same activities and aspect." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We loved it, with very few exceptions. It was a joy to discover that we could drive ourselves around this huge African Country and feel safe, and welcome everywhere.

The scenary is just vast, diverse, unspoilt and stunning. Wildlife abounds and offers exceptional viewing. We saw many animals that we hoped to see as well as an amazing variety of birds.

The accomodation was generally of an excellent standard which considering the remoteness of some lodges was a credit to all concerned.

The staff on the whole were friendly and helpful .

The locals were friendly and didn't hassle us - do wave at them as you go by! We did give some people lifts but there is conflicting advice about this. The Bradt guide suggests that it is normal and very much appreciated but written advice from the car hire company suggests that this is a dangerous practice and should not happen.

Don't underestimate distances nor the quality of some of the roads which both can make journeys very tiring.

Internet and mobile phone access was patchy to say the least so don't expect to be able to communicate home etc. We also posted letters etc most of which have yet to arrive home after well over a month!

Our actual itinerary seemed to work well with 2/3 nights at each place, as you need to have some "down" time from driving and to enjoy relaxing at the lodges etc. If we had to do the same again we would have three nights at Canyon Lodge, only two nights in Swakopmund and three nights at Okonjima. We may also have decided to drive from Okonjima to the airport for an afternoon flight - thus missing out Windhoek altogether.

We hope to return.....the Caprivi Strip beckons plus a return visit to Okonjima!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have found Expert Africa very professional and very helpful. The website is simply excellent and even this feedback form impressive.
We strongly recommend that Tracey or someone visits Camp Kipwe and Mushara Bush Camp (we don't believe you have been to these places) to see for yourselves how lovely these places are.

Keep up the excellent work and we will highly recommend you to anyone we know wishing to visit Africa. We know who to turn to for our next African trip!

Thanks." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"The three of us really enjoyed this trip and we would all like to go back.

The accommodation was so much more than I had expected. We stayed in some great places and seemed to have the best of the rooms everywhere we stayed!

The distances were manageable to drive and I was very glad we did a self-drive holiday as it gave us the opportunity to do things in our own time. It was great to also have the opportunity to go on guided walks and drives at Okinjima and Waterberg so that we could learn about the wildlife from people who lived there.

Everyone we met was very friendly.

The highlights of our holiday were Kayaking in Walvis Bay (except for Luke, who at 6'4" found the kayak a bit uncomfortable) our whole stay at Okinjima, seeing Lions and elephants at Etosha and the climb up to Waterburg plateau.

Thank you so much Angela and Tracy!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

no. it was all good!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Absolutely loved every minute of our holiday. Lived up to and exceeded our expectations in every way. We loved the country - the scenery is incredible, the people the friendliest we have met in any African country and the accommodation in general at a high standard (possibly because much is fairly new).

Every day was different, we saw lots of the country (leaving the Caprivi Strip for another holiday) and spent much of each day telling each other how much we were enjoying ourselves!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nothing I can think of" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"A wonderful holiday that reached all expectations. Our criticisms are picking on the points that were average amongst all the other good or excellent features of the holiday.

The Tok Tokkie Trail, the sand dunes and the game in Etosha were the highlights.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No
It all went well." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was more than we expected - beautiful small lodges with such wonderful staff.

We saw the diferent landscapes of the country, loved the scenery and felt it was so easy to drive and explore the country.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I thought it was all very good!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This truly was the trip of a lifetime and as it had been booked for 3 years; was so eagerly anticipated. It exceeded all our hopes.

The driving was [mostly] easy and at every turn the sheer diversity of the scenery was breath-taking. The lodge staff and guides were fantastic and we spent much time learning more about their actual ethnicity and home lives; which they were happy to share with us. That was such a special element of our trip. We were somewhat uncomfortable to realise there still seems to be much of a 'hierarchical system' with the ethnic tribal Namibians; but accept that this is part of the Culture. The trips Expert Africa organised for us prioir to going were amazing - especially the balloon trip which was a quite 'surreal' event.

The only problem with the whole trip was that a month went by so quickly and never seemed long enough! Thank you so much to Tracy for putting up with our constant questions and changing the dates of travel without complaint. Thanks too, for Chris's book which became our 'bible' both before during and even now- after this amazing experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None at all - this was excellent down to every detail. You have thought of everything and there was nothing to disappoint us.
Thank you all." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful trip apart from the scorpion. Tracy is a great asset! Please thank her again for all her help.......does she cover Botswana ( our next African trip)?" Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"Overall our trip surpassed our expectations. We have both travelled extensively and this is the first time we have ever gone through an agent. All the accommodation and food was excellent. The two wilderness safari camps activities were overpriced and there was a lack of passion with the guides we had.

I did feel that the itinerary could have been planned a little better in the middle. Most people were surprised we had 6 nights in Damarland as were we when we realised how close the camps were to eachother. We could have missed out Damaraland Camp and had 3 nights at Etosha and 2 nights at Okonjima or even 4 nights at Etosha. Despite the guide books saying you don't see much wildlife at the time of year we were there for us it was still incredible.

We definitely needed another night further to the west and had to run around for a day and a half. Obviously I am not an expert and only went by what I read. I would recommend at least 3 nights at different camps across Etosha if you have the amount of time we had. We had a fantastic time in Damaraland but had to double back on ourselves from Grootberg to Etendeka.

Again I think people should be discouraged from visiting the Terrace Bay Camp for one night - if I had understood what it was like I would never have wanted to go. We had a very long drive to get there, arrived late and then had to leave early - it was exhausting and not worth the detour. Our only disappointment was we didn't have enough time in Etosha.

We had a fantastic holiday and I would recommend Expert Africa to my friends and family.

Thank you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We would have appreciated more information about the way certain camps were run in terms of activities and additional costs ie. Wilderness Safari's Camp. We felt pressured into doing all the activities and compared to every other camp the prices were very high and quality low.

I would have liked more information about certain places, especially the Skeleton Coast. I did say I wanted to go there but was going off what I'd read and I suppose lack of knowledge. Better guidance would have made me realise this side trip wasn't necessary. The same goes for Etosha - despite what the guide books say you really do need 3/4 nights to do it justice whatever time of year you are there. I was under the impression that we wouldn't see much so 2 nights was enough. This most definitely wasn't the case and most of the other travellers we met had seen elephants and rhino, lions and even cheetahs. Please make sure that people understand that they will see wildlife if they go at this time of year.

We were advised that there wasn't much to see in Luderitz. After visiting Klein Aus Vista I wouldn't agree with this. We would have preferred to stay one or even two nights in Luderitz. The Ghost mining town was fascinating and the drive around the peninsula fascinating. There was so much to see but we felt rushed as we had to get back up to Klein Aus Vista. Luderitz itself isn't the most beautiful place but everything to do is nearby where as Klein Aus Vista is perhaps good for hikers but for no other reason. It's only another 1hr 15mins to Luderitz and you seen the wild horses on the way there. It would have been nice to be able to choose a restaurant and go for a walk rather being limited to one choice.

Finally, we were on a half board basis at the Damaraland Camp and Kulala Lodge which we found very strange. There isn't anywhere else to go so this should really be included. Our final bill came to nearly 2,000 Namibian Dollars at Kulala Lodge and 3,000 at Damarland Camp when the activities and lunches plus drinks were added in which we thought was excessive having already paid for Half Board. At Grootberg lunch was included with the activities whereas at D Camp and Kulala we paid for the activity then had to come back and pay for lunch. We understood we had to pay for extras but with nowhere but the lodge to eat at lunch should be included." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"Trip was excellent. Thank you.

Expert Africa did a splendid job of arranging the Dik Dik self-drive trip with some itinerary modification which worked out well (day trip to Sandwich Harbour instead of kayaking in Walvis Bay lagoon, extra time in Swakopmund). As it turned out, the extra time in Swakopmund was a good thing because I was attached by a dog in the street requiring a visit to the police, a doctor, a pharmacy, the bank, etc.

Had I not had an extra day there, I'd not have seen Swakopmund -- an interesting and unusual place. That is not say that extra time should be built in to all itineraries to permit post dog-attack activities. As it turns out, there is no rabies in Namibia -- or at least not in Swakopmund district -- and the dog's owner paid my N$900 expenses.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I should note that Angela Griffin also helped arrange this trip and she did an excellent job of it. Thanks." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip