Reviews of trips to Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

"This was a special, month-long trip to revisit some of our favourite places in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Western Cape. We were joined for part of it by 6 family members, including one son-in-law and two grandchildren (aged 8 & 10) who were having their first experience of Africa.

Lucy took a lot of trouble putting together an itinerary in which everyone’s requests could be included. She made some excellent suggestions for accommodation and activities, which we all enjoyed. The Zambezi cruise on New Year’s Eve was just one example.

As there were eight of us for almost half of the tour, we were treated as a ‘group’. This meant we had our own vehicle and guide for safaris, which was very relaxing and we all had a lot of fun.

A major flight delay at the start threatened to seriously derail our itinerary. It was a couple of days before Christmas, but the team at Expert Africa sprang into action and got everything back on track incredibly quickly.

The South African part of the holiday was just the two of us. It included a hire car and some very high quality accommodation.

We had very high expectations of this trip and were not disappointed, thanks to Lucy and her colleagues." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"This was the BEST trip of our lives.

It was everything we had hoped for and more. So many memories and new experiences.

Maruska met and exceeded our brief, and we can't thank her enough for her time, suggestions and recommendations." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"We have had the most amazing trip of our lives. We have travelled to many places but this holiday, to get a feel for South Africa, was very special.

Our itinerary was followed to the letter as we had expected and the whole trip just flowed so well. Pick-ups and drops offs were exceptionally well organised - Ilios is an excellent company. This was our first experience of South Africa - a BIG birthday present for my husband who has always wanted to visit South Africa based on the tales told to him as a boy by his late father.

The trip certainly exceeded all of our expectations - more in fact. We are already thinking of another trip maybe the same time next year in advance of another BIG birthday perhaps.

A very big thank you to Lucy and the Team in Cape Town for making this such a memorable experience

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We can't think of anything which could have made this trip more enjoyable other than maybe an extra night in Kwandwe and Grootbos and one less night in Cape Town but nevertheless we enjoyed the whole whole experience.

Thank You" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa trip

"We went to watch cricket, but we enjoyed many other aspects of the Cape and had an excellent time.

The information we received was good and so were the driving instructions" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a South Africa trip

"Our Expert Africa trip could not have been bettered. Our contact Megan was brilliant, very knowledgeable and helpful.
it really did feel tailor made for us and Chris McIntyre - the MD - clearly took into account our personal preferences when he initially suggested an outline for our trip before handing us over into Megan's very capable hands to fine tune the details and book us in.

We will definitely be returning to South Africa for another holiday, what an awesome country - needless to say we will not hesitate to ask Expert Africa to plan it all for us, safe in the knowledge that another awesome holiday awaits us!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a South Africa trip

"A great trip, well organised by Expert Africa. We would use them again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 17 on a South Africa trip

"We had a great time. It was expensive but that is obviously what we paid for!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a South Africa trip

"Once again, Tracy came up trumps! We had been spoiled on our previous trip, to Zambia and Namibia, and weren't expecting to be quite so blown away this time - but we were, thanks to the sheer variety of the package that Tracy put together for us. From our safari experience at Kwandwe, to the opulence of the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, we were stunned by the quality of accommodation and service we encountered throughout our trip. Thank you so much, Tracy!

We loved South Africa, and very much look forward to returning there in the near future.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

None at all - our experience with Expert Africa has been just what we wanted, and we know we can trust you to put together the ideal holiday experience to suit our requirements. We look forward to our next trip with you!" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 21 on a South Africa trip

"Thanks to Claire for selecting such wonderful hotels for us, The scenery is stunning. The fynbos fascinating. There can't be a better country for a road trip.

And returning to such lovely welcoming hotels each night made the whole holiday a real treat." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 21 on a South Africa trip

"Expert Africa triumph again!

Our remit was flora and landscape which we got brilliantly, but we never expected such luxury and fine dining. Many thanks for all you have done to make our short stay so wonderful and memorable.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I didn't really use the brochure much and the web site not at all, as your team is always so well informed that we took their advice and you came up trumps again!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a South Africa trip