Reviews of trips to Little Karoo

"Our overall experience of Expert Africa was excellent.

They listened very carefully to what we wanted to achieve and created a really good programme for us in terms of locations, drive times, variety of landscapes and things to do and see. This absolutely ticked the boxes in terms of history and culture which particularly interested us, while enabling us to enjoy the classic Cape food, wine and landscape experience.

In other words, our holiday was exactly what we wanted, delivered with care and attention to detail." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"A really excellent trip. We had a fantastic time. We were very lucky to be in an early wave of visitors following the removal of Botswana and S Africa from the UK's red list about a month ago. There were very few other tourists there - which made the trip an even bigger "treat".

The stand out thing about safari on a fly-in/out to a private concession (vs fly drive which we have done previously) is that the guides and trackers are dedicated to finding the best vantage point for viewing game and will go off road to do so. We had some amazing sightings which we simply would not have seen if we had been driving ourselves.

The S African leg of the trip was very different from that in the Botswanan bush but still very enjoyable. The strength of the Rand vs GBP made eating out very affordable." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Excellent trip! To be honest, I can't recall an Expert Africa trip that wasn't, but this was right up there.

Both Lucy and your properties worked brilliantly with respect to Making it easy for Sheila's limited mobility. I think every property managed to put give us the closest room/suite/villa to keep distance down, and Sanbona allocated the front passenger suite in the land cruiser to Sheila.

Great combination of properties locations scenery etc. By the way, Bontebok Reserve was worth the visit - not lots of animals, but lived up to its bontebok moniker with plenty of good views of them.

I know Sanbona isn't one of your regular properties. So here's my perspective (having visited a wide range in the past - Addo, Kariega, Etosha, Selous etc).
Ok, so it doesn't compete with these for scale.
The scenery was great, if you like your geology on the surface (I do).
Limited numbers of antelope visible - a few kudu and not much else.
Great views of the big beasts (elephants, rhino, giraffe - and the white lions are truly special).
The guide was very good, and I think did a great job with a group of people who were only there overnight and therefore a focus on seeing the big ones. I'm sure we would have seen more of the smaller animals if we'd been there longer. We also didn't have time to spend around the dam and lake, so there would be plenty to see over a longer stay.
It's very dry, and unsurprisingly it's some time since they've operated boat trips (still showing on their publicity) - not a problem but worth noting in case someone's heart was set on it.
The accommodation/suite was fabulous. I imagine the Dwyka Tentedd camp would be similarly amazing.

So, pretty much as we'd discussed with Lucy, if you'd more time and the inclination to head to the Eastern Cape, the Addo / Kariega option is the better bet. But if not, Sanbona is definitely worth one or two nights for anyone interested in a safari (and even for those who've visited much bigger safari areas).

Ok I think that's about it for feedback - other than a huge thank you to Lucy and everyone's go contributed for putting together a great trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nah, it's brilliant.

I hope the current virus problems don't impact you and your partners/properties too severely, and indeed you all keep safe." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a South Africa trip

"Claire put together an excellent itinerary with a nice selection of accommodation none of which was large impersonal corporate hotels. The whole trip worked well and in particular driving directions were spot on which was very helpful given the distances we covered. We did use a friend's map of the Garden Route as the directions were missing details of actual distances - this might be helpful for future clients. We used 'MapStudio Garden Route & Route 62' a lot of the time.

Our only hairy moment was taking the car back to the airport (which we had avoided on arrival by having car delivered to hotel) and this was slightly stressful as we had to return the car with a full tank but the BP garage was located on an obscure location on the other side of the car rental return area. It was chaotic at the BP station as everyone was filling up before returning their cars. That said the check in at Bidvest was very good and straightforward.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Although the holiday was expensive it was worth it and we couldn't have put it together without Claire's assistance." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a South Africa trip

"We had a great time in SA. it is a truly beautiful and spectacular country.

In hindsight, we regret not spending longer in Plettenberg Bay and would also have loved to spend a night or two in Prince Albert. At the expense of either Swellendam or Oudtshoorn; both of which towns were not as memorable.

Tracy was very helpful and gave great advice. If we travel to Africa again, we plan to use Expert Africa and have recommended it to several friends.
This was our second time to use Expert Africa. We travelled to Namibia in 2016.

Thank again" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip

"For us it always a pleasure to travel to southern Africa, which we have been doing for over 40 years.

As ever the Expert Africa consultants were excellent and we wouldn't consider travelling to Africa without their help and advice.

Although the travel tags and wallet are extremely well made and gratefully received, we found them bulky and might act more like flashing beacon to unscrupulous locals to locate unsuspecting tourists! We didn't use them preferring a simply plastic wallet on the basis that 'more is less'..

We booked our hotel accommodation The Taj in Cape Town ourselves. Located opposite St George's cathedral it is a very comfortable and welcoming place with staff eager to please. They also provide a complimentary shuttle service, by limousine (Range Rover/Jaguar ) to anywhere within 10 Km area and a regular shuttle bus to VA Waterfront and Table Mountain. Most rooms have views of Table Mountain too." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 5 on a South Africa trip

"As mentioned elsewhere, the highlight of this trip was the Karoo National Park.

Its a pity that Expert Africa do not extend their horizon to this area. It is really worth taking a 3-4 day detour north of R62 and the Garden Route. Karoo National Park was truly exceptional, Graaff-Reinet worth a visit, Prince Albert simply delightful, the Swartberg Pass unmissable.

This was my fourth holiday with Expert Africa - they continue to be my first choice" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"As we have come to expect, the planning, booking and reservation process with Lucy was deceptively easy - for us.

We got exactly the holiday, the places and the dates we wanted. No hiccups, no poor advice and the whole exercise worked just as we wanted. We have lost count of the holidays Expert Africa have managed for us over 16 years but the record is impressive and we would not dream of going anywhere else for our Africa bookings. Thank you all, it is always a pleasure.

Once again we were able to meet Lucy for a drink(s) on our last evening at The Cape Grace - thank you again but next time it is our shout.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, the formula works wonderfully well. Don't fix it!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip

"Another very successful trip to Africa. It was all a very interesting experience but it was so different from the Africa of further north with which we are very familiar.

We enjoyed everything, but the one thing that stands out is the charm, the efficiency and the helpfulness of all the staff everywhere. Well done South Africa! Come here and teach us a lesson.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

well done Tracy keep up the good work !" Read full review: 31 nights in Africa; 21 on a South Africa trip

"It was special from the moment we crossed the border from South Africa, where we saw a total of seven people at the border crossing each with a form or a clip board, but they were all lovely.

With hindsight we are very pleased that we started in the south and not in Windhoek because we think it gave us a better perspective of the country. Once we had crossed the border and were driving north the traffic was almost non existent and the scenery beautiful. You need to blank out worrying about being nowhere near a doctor and how long it would take to get to hospital if you had to.

The variety in Namibia is staggering. Fish River Canyon - the second largest in the world, and we had it pretty much to ourselves. The bizarre Helmeringhausen Hotel. Sossusvlei and its 3-400 metre sand dunes. Mile after mile of desert. The Germanic Swakopmund and Walvis Bay in the middle of nowhere. The spooky skeleton coast, and a long drive through the desert up to mountainous Damaraland and the lovey camps. Then on to Etosha where we saw everything except leopard, and after that driving south to Windhoek through the much more heavily populated and industrialised side of the country.

We would love to go back before it becomes too popular." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip