Reviews of trips to Swakopmund & Walvis Bay

"This was not a trip, certainly not a holiday (we returned exhausted !) it was a mind-and-soul-enhancing experience. We saw the hoped-for range of exotic plants and beasts, which alone was impressive. For two people who have only ever experienced elephant, ostrich and zebra in miserable enclosures at zoos, to see them roaming at liberty and (zebras) in such numbers was a privilege. The experience of such huge open spaces (coming from the land of the M6 and M1) was awe-inspiring - we feasted on the landscapes and wildernesses and dunes and beaches and rocks that we visited. This visit to Namibia, and the series of places we visited & stayed, refreshed our minds and souls, and affected us more strongly than any other foreign visit we have made, all assisted with nothing stronger than the occasional glass of wine !

We also had the luck and privilege to spend time with some extraordinary people, who enriched our lives incredibly: Wayne (Sandwich Bay), Petrus (Kulala), Lister (Doro Nawas).
Thank you for making this possible !

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

- Insist that the default vehicle for car hire will be a beefier vehicle than a Toyota Corolla, whenever significant stretches of gravel roads are to be used
- Don't use Air Namibia !
- Don't release unsuspecting Brits into Frankfurt airport !
- Inform clients what the 'toilet' arrangements are in each accommodation !!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful trip in a really attractive country with so many different types of scenery and a good mix of observing and physical activity.

The accommodation was of a uniformly high standard while allowing for a variety of styles. Food varied from the excellent, through the generally very good, to the indifferent, although this latter was unusual. The outings were well organised and enjoyable.

With the exception of some initial problems with car hire, all arrangements made by Expert Africa were faultless and the local knowledge they have and their advice on how to structure the trip were invaluable. We were very impressed with all aspects of the arrangements and have already recommended Expert Africa to others. We all hope to return to this fascinating country at some point.

In retrospect, there are a few changes which we would have made to the itinerary. While it appeared to be a good idea to have two nights in Swakopmund as we had a long drive on either side of our stay there, the driving conditions were less arduous than anticipated, and the charms of the town such that one night would have sufficed. The Tug restaurant is a must while in the town, though.

Although the Olive Grove guest house is perfectly reasonable, the change to spending a night in a town/small city after weeks out in the country was a bit of an anti-climax at the end of the trip. Windhoek seemed altogether more enclosed and oppressive than the smaller Swakopmund. The time to reach the airport from the excellent Erongo Wilderness Lodge was such that it would not have been problematic to go directly there from the lodge and miss out Windhoek. Alternatively, a night at one of the rural lodges to the south west of the town might be a more pleasant option.

Finally, the choice of a clock-wise route round the country was well chosen. To face days of travel on the gravel roads of the west after their relative absence in the east might have been a bit of a surprise and the varying landscapes of the country somehow seem to lend themselves to this direction.

Well done, Expert Africa! Oh, and Chris McIntyre's guide book was one of the best we have come across!

Suggestions for improvements:

Keep doing what you do now!!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We have recommended you to all our friends and look forward ourselves to travelling to Africa again with Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

Your literature advised us to be very careful with certain issues and in particular with the car hire. Contiue to be open and honest and you will comtinue to thrive." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Our self-drive loop tour thru Namibia was excellent, and it was extremely helpful to have the help of someone as knowledgeable as Tracy in planning it.

That said, in retrospect I would tweak the itinerary just a bit.

Our stays (after Windhoek) were as follows:

1. Bagatelle Game Ranch, 2 nights. Two nights is too many here, even if the Dune Chalets had been available (and they were not). I think we should have gone straight from Windhoek to #2.

2. Bullsport Guest Farm, 2 nights. I believe this would have been a longer drive from Windhoek (I don't know the road condidtions, of course), but it would have been a nice place to spend three nights.

3. Kulala Desert Lodge, 2 nights. Perfect length of stay, and a visit to the dunes is a must in a Namibia trip, IMO.

4. Swakopmund; Villa Margherita, 2 nights. Nice hotel, but one night would have sufficed.

5. Doro Nawas, 2 nights. Driving to see desert-adapted elephants was excellent. 2 nights is perfect.

6. Ongava Lodge, 1 night. Two nights would have been better, with the full day spent exploring the west/central portion of Etosha.

7. Etosha Aoba Lodge, 1 night. We arrived here rather late, after a full day driving thru Etosha. Nice, basic accomodation with good food. From here we went early in the morning to explore the eastern part of Etosha, and early afternoon arrived at:

8. The Fort at Fisher's Pan. We had been waitlisted for a second night at Etosha Aoba, but after seeing The Fort's brochure, we decided to stay here instead. Over the top, ridiculous, NOT environmentally friendly. But a lovely view. I would not have enjoyed an extended stay here.
(If we had stayed two nights at Ongava, we might have been able to spend just one night on the eastern side of the park, with the exploration of the eastern side of Etosha being done the day we left Ongava.)

9. Okonjima Main Camp, 1 night. This was such a lovely spot to relax, birdwatch, walk (and view cats!), 2 nights would have been nice.

10. Erongo Wilderness Lodge. This is a great place for walkers, a two night stay is a minimum. But if you're not a walker, there is probably little here for you (except for excellent food!).

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I would recommend Expert Africa to anyone planning a trip to Africa!

Despite my comments on how I might have changed the itinerary, this trip was nigh unto perfect. Omitting Bagatelle and the second night in Swakop are the only major things I would have done differently (with benefit of hindsight), and I suspect that Tracy knew what she was doing when she planned it the way she did.

My detailed comments above are more for Tracy than the general public, though you are free to share them if you feel it would be appropriate.

Thank you, Tracy, for a wonderful trip!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We have discussed this on our way home and are quite happy to say this is the best Holiday we have ever had. Fantastic country, great people, great food in general and the experience of getting us close to some big animals was wonderful.

We did not really know what to expect but this surpassed any thoughts that we did have, so much so that we have decided we will return at some point!

It also has to be said that the expertise of Expert Africa has truly impressed us even down to this feedback process!!!

Suggestions for improvement:

Difficult really. Perhaps you could do a short survey prior to planning trips to ascertain interest of the group which might help you steer the plan towards certain camps and locations....having seen the facilities in Etosha itself, as a keen photographer I would have rather stayed in the park in preference to the Aobi and Fort Lodges...." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"From the first contact with Tracy our experience with Expert Africa was a very pleasant one.
Tracey patiently listened to our requirements and took our budget into account.
We all changed things around until the final programme was agreed.
Even though Tracy was clear that Expert Africa's experience in South Africa was limited this did not deter us and between us we came up with a solution.
Our only real dissapointment was Roggeland, our last 2 nights which had so much promise... see our reviews.. which was let down by circumstances beyond Expert Africa's control but hopefully the feedback will get through.

We would not hesitate recommending Expert Africa... special thanks to Tracy" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia is a stunning & magical country and we very much look forward to a return visit sometime in the future." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa is by far the best tour operator we have ever used and this is not only down to the information they provide as standard, but down to the level of customer service.

Gwynneth was absolutely brilliant, she advised us on all aspects of the trip and nothing ever seemed to much trouble. Even basic advice from driving the car, carrying cash, what to see and do, everything! We had such an amazing honeymoon and I really do credit this to the help and advice Gwynneth gave us. Even post the trip Gwynneth has been a fantastic help.

Our trip to Africa was amazing everything we hoped for and whole lot more, and gave us a taste to want to go back, see other countries but also revisit Namibia there is so much we haven't seen, and the people are just great, friendly people!

The Bradt guide you are sent when booking the trip is also the best guidebook I have ever used, written by the MD of Expert Africa it just shows how much knowledge the company has about the countries it sells and gives you a lot of confidence in them.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep on keeping on!
You are doing a brilliant job can't think of anything that would improve it.....unless the holidays are free!!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Have already recomended Expert Africa to people" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was absolutely fantastic and we loved it! Our experience with Expert Africa, and in particular Gwynneth, was brillant.

Suggestions for improvements:

Your service was so good, we cannot think of any way you could improve!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip