South Africa: reviews from our travellers
Unedited reviews written by our most recent travellers to South Africa
"My Jul 2017 trip"
"Yet another amazing trip organized by EA"
"My Jun 2017 trip"
I must say that the website for Expert Africa really helped our understanding of what each country has to offer in the way of safaris and you can start to narrow down your options according to your wants and needs. But it wasn't until chatting with Lucy that everything really came into focus. After one phone conversation she really grasped what the family and I were looking for and organized our unforgettable trip to Zambia.
With first hand knowledge of the bush camps in South Luangwa National Park, Lucy choose two that were an absolute fit for us. We went on drive safaris, walking safaris, night drives, and even an overnight camp out and learned about all the animals, birds, and plants of the park.
Lucy also chose for us our excursion to Livingstone which was an excellent way to end our stay in Zambia.
Once again, thank you Expert Africa and Lucy for putting together an unforgettable bucket list trip for the family and I." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
"Excellent trip with rewarding sights"
First time in Botswana great time on the Chobe river viewing elephants crossing , and the birds. Spoilt with the number of lions with kills, and the first cubs I had seen albeit bit hidden in the trees.
Zambia provided a fitting finale something completely different, namely Victoria Falls, seen from the air and on foot, fantastic noise of the the water roaring.
The challenge is how to beat this trip?" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip
"My Jun 2017 trip"
We were very pleased with both of the camps we were staying, indeed, at Tafika we had stayed before and knew its high standard. All the transfers went without problems, we were met by representatives of the camps at the airports and transported safely to the camps. Everything was well organized.
Of course, quite a few hours were spent travelling from one camp to the other, but that is only what has to be expected when you like to visit places that are really remote. The good thing about all our hours on the road, was that we felt we saw a lot of the country, which is interesting in itself." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari
"It turned out well in the end."
The success of a game spotting holiday can be down to luck in seeing the game. In this respect luck was not on our side, particularly, this time but having been on four holidays to Kgalagadi, we know that this is not the be all and end all. The landscapes, birdlife, and small animals are all wondrous. Most of all, however, we are always struck by the interesting people we meet and the stories they tell us - including Mercy, who recalled meeting Chris McIntyre.
Our one criticism is that the revised plan meant a lot more travelling between distant camps and too many changes in accommodation. 10 changes in a 12 days stay is too much especially when there were six hours and more of travelling to be done in a day. But, anyway, we had a holiday!
Kgalagadi is not for the packaged tourist and long may it stay that way despite the gradual increase in accommodation at the camps." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a South Africa trip
"Wonderful Safari"
I would like to offer some feedback to ExpertAfrica specifically - we were very frustrated with the lack of a final reconciliation 2 months before we left. We were trying to make our individual final payments and there seemed to be no way for us to get a list that said, PAX #1 owes THIS, PAX #2 owes THIS, etc. We ended up having to sit down with literally pages of payment records, separate out our own credit card surcharges, subtract our own payments made to come up with final payment amounts. It was EXCEEDINGLY frustrating. I can't believe that we are the first group travel you've ever dealt with - so it baffles me that a clear and final reconciliation was not provided. I went round and round via email, and requested this several times in several ways, but got the impression that I was asking the impossible.
In addition, I asked about tour arrangements in Cape Town, and was quoted USD75 per person to join a scheduled bus tour. When I asked about a private mini-van, the price doubled. I did a little research and booked privately with a well-known, well regarded tour company who gave us private tours for USD60 per person inclusive of wine tastings and park fees. My issue was that I had no means of contacting them once we were on holiday - although they were great and checked in with Acorn House, and it all went off just perfectly. it would have been much simpler to do this through Expert Africa and I cannot believe that with an office there you can't do better than what was quoted. The LEAST you could do is offer a recommendation of a company you like to save your clients the trouble of finding out. This booking was over USD40,000 and I had to do a lot of the legwork myself - don't get me started on international air because thats a different can of worms. I understand if you can't offer consolidator fares from the US, but arrangements need to be made if you're serving the American market." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
"Exceptional trip"
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't think of a thing, we are 4 very satisfied customers." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari
"A really fabulous trip, exceeded expectations"
The small plane flights were great and the hot air balloon trip outstanding." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari
"My Apr 2017 trip"
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service
Proper maps for Capetown area. Update restaurant info etc and make this more personal rather than general travel agent type reviews.
Wilderness safaris in Namibia were fantastic. So helpful at the airport including dealing with all the car hire for us. Really excellent ground agents.
We have been using Expert Africa since 2002 on and off and we keep on coming back even though we know pretty much what we want to do on our trips. We use you because you add to our holiday and make good suggestions and you are good value for money and give us the back up it's comforting to have whilst we are away." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

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