Reviews of safaris to Southern Namibia

"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

"This is my second time travelling with Expert Africa and I have recommended you to a number of friends and colleagues since my first trip in 2016 and again since returning from Namibia last week.

Everything was just wonderful and people were so welcoming. I appreciated the varied landscapes, accommodations and experiences. We had such a variety and number of animal sightings - over 800 zebra in total, for example, and a mother cheetah with four cubs (a first for me). The 11 black rhino in one evening at the Okaukuejo waterhole was an experience I will remember forever. Despite the challenging roads in places, travelling around Namibia did not feel difficult, but a privilege.

I also appreciated the detailed notes about driving times and roads to take (though a couple of our driving times didn't seem to align with the notes for some reason). It might be worth noting too that the distance given to Desert Homestead from the last turn was off by several kilometres. The road from Solitaire to Walvis Bay was quite challenging; I wonder if it might be worth noting this in the notes for future travellers?

We would be happy to share details of two places we had a great lunch that don't appear in the Bradt guide (in Uis and Otjiwarongo) if it's helpful to add there or to the notes for future travellers. Cactus and Coffee in Uis and Bohemia Cafe in Otjiwarongo.

Thank you for another fantastic trip!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

keep up the good work! You stand out." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Really good." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Great trip all round" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Overall we had a fantastic trip.

All the arrangements worked perfectly - except we didn't get met at the airport by Wilderness Safaris and had to go and find them." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 23 on a Namibia trip

"A great trip, both for the scenery and the wildlife.

Accommodation everywhere was excellent. Food for a carnivore was outstanding.

Be aware that many of the gravel roads are very poor and challenging to drive on, especially in an SUV." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fabulous trip to Namibia. We enjoyed the whole experience. We loved the scenery and seeing all the wildlife, particularly in the northern part of the country including Etosha. It was everything we imagined and beyond. We wanted to go back before we had even left the country.

Everything was well-organised and the accommodation we stayed in was of a very good standard but with a pleasing variety of styles/overall feel. The people we met were also overwhelming kind and helpful.

Maruska made a fantastic job of arranging our trip - she listened carefully to what we were hoping for and put together an excellent itinerary for us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We cannot think of anything in particular. We definitely plan to be back for more trips." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We had a lovely and memorable trip with two teenage boys. The itinerary was realistic for the time we had available and we had a great range of experiences tailored to our requests.

We have given individual feedback on lodges and experiences but overall they were of a very high standard.

Estimated timings of road transfers were reasonable although we appeared to be slow on dirt roads. Overall B and C roads were good and we never felt we needed to rush.

We went “off piste” from Mundulea to Ongava - going north to the east gate to Etosha and driving through the park rather than the suggested route on tarmac. This meant we got to Ongava around 4pm and declined a sun down drive but meant we saw the east of the park.

We visited Namibia 25 years ago with no children, the first edition of Chris’ book and no device that needed to be plugged in to USB. Despite the changes in the world since we had an equally amazing time in 2023.

This was (for us) an expensive holiday but the service we were provided was good and we had confidence we would have a great holiday. That confidence was well founded.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Wilderness Safaris did not meet us at Windhoek - another guide showed us their lounge where we invited ourselves in.

But the lounge was a godsend as Europcar tested our goodwill with unprepared hire cars on a very cold morning and when check in IT failed as we tried to depart - leading to very long queues and our Frankfurt London flight “waiting” for us.

I was a little put off by Maruska living on the other side of the world. If we went again I’d have a 30 minute call before we left the UK to check my thoughts on gas stations (much easier than 1990s) and to get some insider tips - the one disappointing experience for us was a poor sundowner drive at our last stop at Red Dunes which we should have skipped." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We had an absolutely wonderful trip! We left almost all the details to Expert Africa, and they delivered! (I usually plan all our trips myself and am admittedly very Type A, so this is high praise.) The lodges we stayed at were uniformly wonderful in terms of comfort, service, food and activities. We particularly appreciated the outstanding food at our lodges after eating at a well-rated but frankly terrible hotel restaurant in a small city while waiting for a spare tire. Expert Africa also knew which lodges we should only pay for half-board at and which lodge to pay full board at: their recommendations were exactly right. And their recommendation to stay at a premier waterhole chalet at Okaukuejo in Etosha was spot on. We also appreciated their advice to stop at the Cape Cross seal colony, which was a highlight of our trip for us and our teenagers. The one thing we would have done differently was our full-day Sandwich Harbor tour while in Swakopmund--which was nice but too much driving to see more dunes--but otherwise we would not change anything!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"EA and Maruska provided great guidance and support. Very flexible in allowing us to modify the trip to meet our expanded intentions. Great vehicle, excellent itinerary.

We were surprised at the km of unpaved road. 3000km of 4000km. All serviceable, but occasionally very rough. Fuel readily available. 4305km/12.62km/liter/N$6905/$387 We consider this a good value.

We were very fortunate in that we had no tire or vehicle issues. We thought we were well prepared for communications. To our surprise neither of our iphones with T-mobile worked. We did not want to be out on the road without a phone to call for assistance, so we bought a che ap phone and 100 minutes of time. In the end we didn't need it but would not undertake the drive without a phone. Suggest you offer a phone as part of the package.

2nd- offer a basic sat based GPS system. Map is very good and easy to use, but a GPS allows better definition as to location, time and distance. We brought a basic Garmin GPS with southern Africa maps and it was indispensable.

In summation this was an adventure of a lifetime and EA made it possible." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip