South Africa: reviews from our travellers
Unedited reviews written by our most recent travellers to South Africa
"My Feb 2025 trip"
"My Dec 2024 trip"
Other than getting soaked through on one game drive at Shinde, it is hard to imagine how it could have gone better.
Everything happened on time and as it should. I can't think of a single person who wasn't helpful or better.
We traveled with our children and each place we stayed was great for them as well as us. We wanted a variety of experiences, but with a certain level of comfort and we were not left wanting. Really, an outstanding experience!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari
"3-generation family tour"
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
"Sensational south Africa"
We made other sightseeing plans independently in Capetown, with no difficulty.
We took far too many clothes!!! Travel lighter next time !" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a South Africa trip
"Our Nov 2024 Botswana trip"
Standard of 2 of the camps much higher than expected . 1 slightly less so but compensated for great guiding and wildlife viewing .
One bonus of the Duba Explorers Camp is they ( Great Plains Group ) have introduced a really good lounge at Maun airport which was really helpful as we had 2 and a half hours to wait ." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari
"My Nov 2024 trip"
"Cape Town to Fish River and back"
Rather easy and comfortable to be done in three weeks." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 14 on a South Africa trip
"Our Nov 2024 trip"
We enjoyed the contrasts between the coastal Garden Route on our way to Port Elisabeth and the inland desert and mountains on our way back to Franschhoek and Cape Town.
We felt that our decision to stay 3 or 4 days at most places gave us the opportunity to match weather and activities plus we were not perpetually unpacking and repacking.
Our biggest disappointment was that we were too late to see whales at either Hermanus or Plettenberg Bay. From advice on the ground we needed to be early October at the very latest to see the whales offshore, whereas we had read that early November would still be OK.
On the whole, we felt safe whilst travelling around South Africa but until we got to Franschhoek, we were totally discouraged from walking to restaurants and bars in the evenings as it was unsafe in the dark, which was by 7 30pm. This was inconvenient and undesirable but we needed to stay safe. Unfortunately, the contrast between those residents that have and those that have not financial stability is enormous and this will be evident to you in every urban area you visit." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip
"My Oct 2024 trip"
Was specifically designed to sync with our son's cricket tour and that worked well." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a South Africa trip
"Our Oct 2024 trip"
The camps we visited and their staff were all first class. Having both a guide and a tracker (a feature of Kwando safaris) worked very well - and they were more than happy to educate us when tracking the big cats. They were able to spot and identify animals and birds from a long way away (how do they do that!).
Our thanks to Amanda for recommending the camps we stayed in. They were excellent choices - all a little different from each other but all at the consistently high standard of guiding, accommodation, and food and drink.
We would be very happy to return to Lagoon, Splash and Rra Dinare and would recommend all three most highly.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
This is only the second time we've used Expert Africa, and on both occasions have found the company to be excellent.
We identified only one area for improvement - more for the safari company than Expert Africa - and that is to try to allocate people to safari jeeps based on their interests rather than just their arrival date. We realise this might prove difficult, but it is an area we feel merits a review." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari
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