Reviews of trips to Windhoek

"We loved the whole Namibia adventure - the bush, the desert, the mountains and, of course the welcome of the people at all times. We will recommend it to our friends as a once in a lifetime African experience.

Due to the high season and the late booking, we were obliged to choose some accomodation which did not always meet our standards of comfort and food service. Unfortunately the last 3 accomodation choices were substantially inferior to the first 4 choices.

It would have been helpful to know in advance that the rooms and the tents would be very cold - at night and early morning - as they had no room heating. We weren't prepared (with the right clothing) at these times and for the game drives and this
did affect our health and thus our enjoyment.

This was made worse by the drought, which caused very low temperatures across the country early morning and late at night - less than 10° and -3 at Windhoeck on one morning!!

The advice and support ( patience !) of Gwynneth was outstanding at all times and greatly appreciated. This was an important part in the planning and the success of the holiday. So many thanks to her." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"it is a small point, but it would have been better to have known the arrangements for our pick up from the cresta lodge ahead of our stay there. Otherwise info good.

Chris/ Sabina - there are some points I have not included on our stay to Nkasa which you might find helpful to know. Particularly re the awful track and bridge that you have to negotiate to get to the lodge!

Re Nhoma and Nkasa - we would be very happy to be contacted by other families/ couples contemplating staying at either of these camps, if that would be helpful." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Can't praise Sabina and Expert Africa enough for all their help and guidance to make our holiday so enjoyable!

We can't really find anything to fault as everywhere you suggested we stay was excellent.

Just one last point to help others!

Don't fill up your car with petrol in Windhoek on your way back to the airport!

We did, and Budget charged us nearly £30 for fuel! Be warned!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"We were thrilled with our trip. Namibia was an excellent choice for so many reasons. Such a beautiful and unspoilt country - with incredibly well-designed and high-end tourist facilities. First class hotels and delicious food. Good roads and safe to drive. Incredibly varied experiences, amazing animals, wonderful people, fascinating and troubled history.

The whole family (two adults and two teenage boys) loved this truly memorable trip. An amazing adventure which we would highly recommend.

We were also blown away by the superb advice and service we received from Sabina at Expert Africa. She worked so hard to plan our trip and take our preferences into account. Once we were in Namibia, she was also extraordinarily helpful, even phoning our emergency contact in London to track us down when we left a coat behind in a hotel - and then phoning us directly in Namibia - and all this within half an hour of us checking out. We were also very impressed and grateful that Wilderness Safaris organized an upgrade for us at Okaukuejo once they realized they'd made a mistake with our booking. And we were thrilled that Sabina recommended that we stay at Erongo despite the fire - excellent advice on her part that resulted in one of the most memorable 24 hours of our entire trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We found Expert Africa to be a remarkable company and cannot thank you enough for an amazing experience.

(We had no idea that such superb travel agents even existed!!)" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"After looking forwards to a trip for a trip to Namibia for many years my hopes were high. Both my wife's and my hopes were more than met. We saw everything we hoped to see and had a great adventure., Everything went according to plan a (except the Erongo lodge) with flights, car hire and accommodation all first rate. We really couldn't have wished for more.

Namibia is a fantastic place to go on a do it yourself safari trip as it feels very safe, the roads are quiet and the locals were all very friendly, helpful and knowlegdable. We didn't encounter any negative attitudes or pressure to buy in markets or shops and the Namibians are clearly proud of their country and keen to impress travellers.

We saw a huge amount of animals in Etosha and elsewhere brought back some fantastic photographs and memories. If only we could start it all over again!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just to reinforce the care needed when driving on the gravel roads. We had a bit of a hairy moment and saw one car overturn on the costal road north of Swakopmund." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip to Namibia was marvellous.

We travelled as a family with two kids (12 and 13 year old).

Self driving was easy enough, although some roads can be bad (Sesriem to Swakopmund f.e) . Take an extra spare tyre! One should never underestimate the distances. With kids you need several stops of more than one night, otherwise driving will be to much for them.

Although July is a busy month, it never felt crowdy. During the day and on the road you're almost always alone!

Accomodations and food are more than excellent, at least you get much more value for money then in Europe.

Namibia is a very varied country with stunning landscape. Getting close to the animals is very impressive and an experience we (and certainly the kids) will always remember.

And finally, the support and advice of Expert Africa (Sabina Hekandjo) is more then perfect. I wished everyone would answer mails that quick and informative!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We have had a wonderful holiday and are already looking forward to another visit to Namibia in the future.

We appreciated Angela's detailed knowledge and expertise. She provided us with good advice and helped with the booking of every aspect of the holiday to ensure it was a success. Many thanks." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"One of our best holidays." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Our first trip to Namibia (2010), covered central, north, northwest and coastal areas.

This trip (2013) was about 98% new locations covering central, north, northeast, Caprivi, Okavango and Vic Falls, Zimbabwe side.
The most noticeable differences in that span of time were the money exchange, electricity adaptor difference, more people riding bicycles, shopping modernization of cities, availability of 3G services (more mobile phones in daily use)

General travel tips
1. Before leaving Namibia, change your Namibian dollars to another currency: South African Rand, Botswana Pula, Euros, Dollars. They are no longer exchangeable at the Jo'berg airport nor in Paris.
2. The children in Namibia were usually asking for pens, whether or not we took photos. The supplement money for educational supplies in 2013 was used for election campaign spending.
3. Clothing is a great donation to leave with the lodges in the northeastern sector of Namibia and in Botswana. They distribute it to the villages or the lodge workers or in one case to the local churches.
4. Adaptors - Throughout Namibia and Botswana, the large 3-rounded prong South African adaptor is used. We purchased a smaller 3-rounded prong which only works in Zimbabwe. Bring your own charging strip/surge protector if you have multiple devices. Zimbabwe uses the small 3-rounded prong and British adaptors.
5. In your checked luggage through Jo'berg, pack nothing of value, other than clothing, ! It will disappear, guaranteed.
6. Reading material:
The Wildlife of Southern Africa is a definite plus to keep track of sightings (birds, mammals, insects, flowers, trees, etc.) (Vincent Carruthers) at the Windhoeker Buchhandlung across from the Hilton Hotel
"Namibian" daily newspaper - fantastic way to learn about modern Namibian culture and opinions of all ages.
"Zambezi Traveller" free newspaper in the Caprivi/Okavango (Lianshulu Lodge) - regional tips, ideas and covers a wide territory.
7. Pic n Pay grocery store (throughout Namibia) was our favorite, Super Spar is also good for finding lunch items (including an ice chest) when driving between destinations
8. Namibia has frequent, fairly well-maintained picnic spots (tree shade, concrete benches and table), which we used for lunches
9. Languages/Dialects: the smartphone "notes" application is a handy recording device to write down the courtesy words: hello, good morning, thank you, how are you, etc. We encountered 10 different languages/dialects or more over three and a half weeks. Asking a lodge staff member "how to say" is an ice breaker and opens a door to their culture.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Fantastic voyage!

The planning, Expert Africa contact, accommodations, expectations suited our needs to a tee. We made our own flight reservations, which worked out smoothly.

The Namibia/Chris McIntyre guide book was our bible. Thank you for supplying it.

On the review feedback, what does "facilities" include/mean?

We would highly recommend Expert Africa for any future voyages.

Obtaining visas before departure between countries was not totally clear.
The basic information about visas in the travel preparations could be much shorter (e.g., Visas are handled at each border control for Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Show your international driver license and passport at customs. The rental car agency provides you with all of the car details, including chassis number and motor number to fill in the paperwork.)

We paid for a permit into Botswana, but wonder if we could have given them the permit on the windshield. This was unclear in the instructions from Budget/Expert Africa whether to turn it in or buy a new one. This was the Chobe border. This was a more difficult and time consuming border post (a real hassle).

The Mohembo Border Post at Mahango was a breeze with both Namibia and Botswana." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We had excellent service from the outset. The help and information provided were excellent. Chris McIntyre's book never let us down.

We cannot recommend Expert Africa highly enough.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Afraid not! Everything was so well planned for us
We appreciated the first night visit from local rep who supplied some local advice

Cannot thank you enough" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip