Reviews of safaris to Southern Namibia

"All well planned, helpful preparation discussions with Sabina.

Only minor detail that went wrong was advice to shop in Keetmanhoop before entering South Africa through the Mata Mata gate only to have nearly all our food and firewood confiscated by SA Customs." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 10 on a South Africa trip

"Definitely one of the top holidays of our lifetime (so far!!), expertly put together and managed by Sabina at Expert Africa. We were recommended by friends who have used Expert Africa and would unreservedly recommend them ourselves. Sabina listened to what we wanted from the start and built the itinerary, timings and accommodation around that perfectly.

Overall driving distance was about 4,250km so it was a tough schedule, but everything we expected (and a quite a bit more).

Managed to see and pass through stunning scenery, stop at interesting places and observe a variety of wildlife from Southern Right whales in South Africa to the big cats in Namibia, not to mention the magnificent seasonal flora on display in the Namaqualand.

Everything was in place for us so minimising hassle." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"This trip - which had been twice postponed because of the pandemic - in the end turned out one of the best we've ever been on (and we've been to close to a hundred countries!).

The driving was great fun – especially through the vast empty landscapes of southern Namibia. The stunning scenery of the Namib, Namibrand and the Sperrgebiet will stay in our memories forever. This wasn’t so much about wildlife, but we had a few nice add-ons in that department too. Plus the highly atmospheric ghost towns of the Sperrgebiet and the lonely barren Skeleton Coast. And on top of all that we stayed at some outstanding lodges, characterful hotels and guest farms and enjoyed lots of good food (too much so – we both put on a few kilos over the course of this trip!).

Everything worked fine, no major hiccups, and we really found we were leaving our stresses and worries far behind and thoroughly recharged our batteries. Thanks for putting this together for us!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't really think of anything. It was all fine. .... maybe add Angola to your portfolio. We'd love to go to that northern neighbour of Namibia too ..." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip

"It was an experience to say the least.

Sabina's recommendations of alternative accommodation when original choices were not available were excellent.

We did experience a puncture on our hire car, which fortunately happened not far from Otjiwarongo where we discovered a Dunlop tyre depot. The manager contacted the rental company on our behalf and sorted out the issue for us.

Overall the amount of wildlife seen was extremely numerous and observed throughout the country.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None.

The service we received from Sabina was excellent. Knowing she was at the end of a phone line or e-mail if we had any queries gave us us reassurance throughout our trip." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Thank you Sabina for organizing an amazing trip to Namibia for us. It was definitely worth the wait!

The scenery was spectacular, the people were very friendly and welcoming and the accomodation and food was great.

We thoroughly enjoyed seeing a great variety of wild life particularly in Etosha.

Everywhere was well organised and our whole trip ran smoothly." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We have already recommended expert Africa and Maruska many times during and after out trip. We had already done one trip through expert Africa 6 years ago and so we knew we were going to get a great service and Maruska had such a great handle on our needs and what would suit us we trusted her recommendations and knew it would work for us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: There was only one area where I think it could have been helpful to understand a little more which was crossing the border from Botswana back into Namibia. This seemed to be far more officious and complex than going from Namibia to Botswana. For example - we ended up at the board queued behind a long line of lorries ( about 20) - but we luckily decided to chance it and drive past them to the front and it turned out that was the right thing to do but had we not taken the risk we probably would have been in the queue for 2 hours. Also we did take a bit of time to work out the tipping position as we were reading the book the information on our documents and then the local information. We worked it out in the end but real clarity on tipping guides directly and specifically and then tip box with an average daily tip probably would be helpful ( but maybe we were being to sensitive about this)." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"The trip had to be postponed three times due to personal circumstances and covid so it wasn't the easiest to arrange. However, when it finally happened it was superb. We were originally looking to organise it ourselves but so glad we used Expert Africa for a number of reasons:

1. Their recommendations on hotels and advice on an itinerary. All the hotels were fantastic and without the advice, we'd have ended up driving in the dark which is not recommended

2. The price they charged for the hotels was no more expensive than booking direct and occasionally cheaper

3. When one of the hotels on the trip closed for refurbishment, they recommended and booked a replacement for us immediately, in line with the itenary.

4. For the first two trips we booked the Fish River Canyon ourselves which was a real hassle, sometime there were spaces available on a certain date, sometime not. Once we realised Expert Africa could do it for us, it was so much easier. They booked and changed it in-line with the itinarey.

5. The small things - being met at Windhoek airport by a representative who took us to the office in the airport so we could get organised, help us with car pick-up. The map we were given with our route marked on it along with the location of the hotels and time to drive between them (not obvious) plus the Namibia book, nice wallet to store all our paper work made it all feel very professional

6. Flexibility in changing our trip each year, rebooking the hotels plus advice given when we asked" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"We had the trip of a lifetime and thoroughly enjoyed the whole itinerary and all the lodges….

I had a set itinerary including certainly lodges that were a “must do” Sabina of Expert Africa was the only person and company of the four I tried that was able to accommodate our wishes and make it all fit together seamlessly. Thank you Sabina it couldn’t have worked out better !!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This is one of those trips that will stay with me forever.

Expert Africa supplied everything we asked for. The weather at this time of year is perfect for ‘oldies’ like us, who want more than sunbathing. The skies were clear, the sun shone. The nights were very special. The stars and moon are too beautiful to describe. One of our guides told us that his father told him when he was a child that if he looked closely at the Southern Cross he might see the head of a giraffe looking down protectively on Namibia! Keeping guard. What a lovely story.

The lodges we stayed in were clean and well designed, set in lovely places and full of delightful staff.
I just need to say a big, big thank you to you all. You deserve to flourish. I will certainly be telling everyone to go to Namibia for their holidays!,

Just as a post script. After our holiday with you, we met our daughter and family in Windhoek, rented 4x4 s and stayed a further two weeks camping. We went up to Etosha National Park and had a wonderful time. We returned to Europe, encountering a strike by ground staff in Germany! We got rerouted to Manchester instead of Birmingham, where we managed to catch the train back to Ludlow. We didn’t manage to contact our taxi driver so we had to pay for a fare we didn’t use. Our baggage didn’t make it on to the plane and as of today (18th August) we still can’t find it! Lufthansa have not been at all helpful. I won’t be recommending them to anyone! So, my guidebooks my diary my little gifts are lost. That is one reason I have been slow to fill in you questionnaire. I don’t have any written records.

Still all of that will not spoil my memories of an amazing country. I have been humming the Paul Simon song ever since I stood under that African sky! “Joseph’s face was as black as the night and the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes”" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"Amazing trip. Fantastic scenery. Great locations and accommodations.

Be prepared for driving time as dirt roads limit speed able to drive. However minimal traffic.

Excellent trip." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip