Reviews of safaris to Southern Namibia

"This was a very complicated trip and overall had very few hiccups. The complications arose because of crossing four borders during a pandemic and the multiple tests we had to have. These were unforeseen at the time we were planning the itinerary. However, it was either that or postpone which we were not willing to do. Maruska guided us through every step of the way and we are and will be eternally grateful for her expertise in planning this trip of a lifetime!

We had no Covid concerns while traveling throughout the entire region. Protocols were well established, everyone wore masks, disinfectant sprays were used liberally, and social distancing observed wherever possible. The staff at all our lodgings was totally committed to our safety and wellbeing. And, although being tested every time we crossed a border was an inconvenience, it added a huge level of confidence that we were healthy." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This was my first trip to Africa. It won't be my last. I traveled with 2 friends who had been to southern Africa 3 times previously, one time using Expert Africa. I was extremely impressed with how smoothly the trip went, and how well chosen the itinerary was.

We wanted to see animals of course, but 2 of us are birders, and one is a fisherman. The fisherman had wonderful catches at Kwara and Setari, and the birding was wonderful throughout the trip. And the animal sightings far exceeded my expectations. I want to especially commend the trackers at Kwara and Lagoon, Mike and Ken. I did not expect to see nocturnal animals, but they were able to show us some wonderful creatures, lesser bushbaby, African wildcats, serval, scrub hares, bat-eared foxes (we saw those in the daytime too), small spotted genet. I was really thrilled.

The accomodations were far more luxurious than I had expected, and the food was overall superb. All the travel arrangements worked perfectly.

Maruska Adye-Rowe, who handled this trip for us, was great. The trip was delayed for a year due to covid, and really evolved. She dealt with our changing ideas very well. First it was a shorter trip to Botswana and Victoria Falls, then that got lengthened, then we added the time in Namibia.

Maruska stayed on top of the covid testing situation. On our way, during our layover in NY, Maruska called to tell us the entry requirements for Namibia had changed, and she'd arranged covid testing for us at our hotel at the Johannesburg airport the evening we arrived." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We had an excellent trip to Namibia with the assistance of Expert Africa.

We were fortunate to time our trip right in the middle of COVID waves and found Namibia to be operating largely as normal. Cities such as Swakop were quite strict on safety protocols. The remote camps were a bit more lax. But we found a self drive as a great way to vacation during the pandemic and were lucky to have many of the camps to ourselves with a full staff serving us.

Many thanks to Maruska for her excellent recommendations and her flexibility in dealing with passport issues - she truly went above and beyond. The highlight of our trip was the drive from Swakop up to Damaraland and through the Skeleton Coast park.

Self driving is an absolute must in Namibia!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"This was a very good 'Taster' of Namibia while en route to ZA. Its a big country and we didn't want to spend all of our time in the vehicle, our itinerary turned out well, but the dirt roads are long and dusty, probably not for the feint at heart. I worried about getting a puncture or breaking down, luckily neither happened. Its no joke given the remoteness and temperatures. SO its vital to have a well prepared 4 x 4 vehicle and good back up, if needed. We started in Windhoek and ended in Walvis Bay, flying direct to Cape town, ZA, this proved a great way of doing it and removed any need of retracing our steps. Air Namibia were bang on time and gave us great service in a modern aircraft.

Its a beautiful country, just magnificent scenery that changes frequently. Friendly people and a very different way of life. The corona virus started to emerge as we were there 2nd week of March 2020, it seemed a better place to be than Europe !" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Our overall experience was amazing.
It was special getting to see all the landscapes and the animals. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly.

We stayed at a variety of accommodations, all of which were great. It ticked all the boxes.
Thank you, Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have been trying to think of things but we were really happy with the service and information provided - we have booked with you twice and both times were amazing. We will ponder and let you know.
Thanks again, we had a wonderful time and we have been recommending you!

See you again in a few years :)" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We totally enjoyed the trip overall. This was a terrific agenda, thank you to Tracy at Expert Africa for all her hard work and our many changes.

Johann, our private guide, was absolutely super. We could not have asked for a better person to manage our way and maximize our stay in Namibia. Highlights were numerous, and we would not have missed any. Outstanding for all of us was our stay at Huab under Canvas, Driving the Dunes at Sandwich Harbour, Sossusvlei & Deadvlei and Kolmannskuppe.

Elephant and Rhino tracking were once in a lifetime experiences, and we appreciate all the efforts involved to allow us those opportunities. We would highly recommend the trip, and both the care & service provided by Tracy before we got there, and by Johann once we were in country." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We had an excellent trip. But, like a previous reviewer, we would have enjoyed it more with a better vehicle. EA recommend a Renault Duster as being 4-wheel drive and adequate for the Namibian roads. While 4-wheel drive is occasionally useful, the Duster has standard tyres and in some places more rubber is definitely needed. The roads round Sesriem and in Damaraland are considerably worse than in other parts we visited and we would recommend anyone visiting these areas to pick a Toyota hi-lux. See our comments on Bidvest for more details.

Our second disappointment was the amount of electric light we experienced. Nearly every lodge had path lights which stayed on all night, ruining the view of the sky, and in some cases our sleep. We were used to little light and Tilley lamps on previous visits to Africa and this came as a shock. Tok Tokkie and Mundulea were a relief from this. In some places the lights were behind the tent/room but at Erongo we had to resort to removing lightbulbs from the path outside to allow us to sleep. At Ongava, the waterhole light shone directly into our room. We are very saddened that lodges feel this amount of light is necessary.

EA often states that when on half board “drinks are extra”. Most of the lodges we stayed on half board included 2 large glasses of house wine per person each night. Sundowners were extra.

We stayed at 3 Wilderness Safaris lodges and got to know their dining style. Everywhere else game was often the meat provided, at Wilderness it was regularly basic beef, pork or chicken which was quite uninteresting. They also had an obsession with hot plates, which at 30C seemed unnecessary.

It was very nice to receive a recent copy of the Namibia guidebook in August. This was hardly opened before our trip and still fell apart before we got to Etosha. A large number of pages fell out somewhere which meant that we didn't have the information about Etosha that we wanted. We also had with us a 30 year old bird book with all its pages intact. It's a shame Bradt can't make their books a little more robust.

We were told that using toilets at petrol stations could not be recommended. We carefully took a trowel and a roll of paper with us. This was completely unnecessary as every toilet we visited was spotless." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"Very satisfactory is not even close to describing our satisfaction with our experience with Expert Africa. Maruska did a superb job in communicating with us whether over the phone or by email. She answered all our questions promptly, stuck to our budget, fulfilled our request for a self guided tour and the areas we wanted to visit and provided many more useful suggestions. We followed her itinerary to a T and was never disappointed. Still there was plenty of opportunity to use the Bradt guide and add extra excursions when we wanted. I think that was only possible because of her careful, knowledgeable planning. Our group of three visited from Oct 5 - Nov 1, 2019

If we know of anyone going to Africa we would not hesitate to point out the excellent service that Expert Africa provided us.

Thank You Expert Africa and especially Maruska! You made our vacation hassle free and memorable." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"I had planned our engagement in Dead Vlei in great detail and even ending up in the wrong pan and there being no sunrise (fog) couldn't detract from it being an amazing location, possibly my favourite and a truly amazing country. I wanted to show Agita what all the fuss was about and Namibia didn't fail to deliver once again.

Thank goodness she said yes as we still had 14 days to spend in a car together - could have been a bit embarrassing

I would like to thank the EA team with special thanks to Megan (who sorted out a few wrinkles during the trip) for all their support and also the Wilderness team for getting our luggage to us at Wolvedans which is greatly appreciated, as we were starting to small by day four.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It is difficult to call anything perfect, but you are getting very very close." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"What a great trip. Superbly organised by Expert Africa (thank you Tracy). It was well worth organising a private and exceptionally nice driver (thank you Ronnie) as we were able to cover an enormous distance in great comfort (an 8 seater Land Cruiser with A/C and a fridge just for the 2 of us).

We saw and understood much more by having our own guide than we would have done if we had guided ourselves. We were spared the problems of driving on relatively poor roads and the anxiety of coping with possible punctures and breakdowns.

With hindsight we wonder whether it was worth the very long journey to Fish River Canyon. Yes it was amazing but unless you have arranged to walk the canyon, you see only a limited part of it from the rim.

We also wonder whether an entire day at a diamond mine that wasn't working was worth the bother.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We think that your organisation and service was fantastic. Well done and thank you." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip