South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"We had a very good time, although it started badly with a delayed long-haul flight, missed connection which we had to sort out ourselves, then a call from the Game Lodge to say they were flooded out so don't come this evening. EA found us a hotel in PE which turned out to be really great and a relief to have found somewhere after a difficult journey. Next day we had a blown tyre - felt like trip was fated. But thereafter all went well.

We loved Samara and had a good time in Plettenburg area, although we felt the Plettenburg hotel was not quite us. Weather wasn't great but hey, we were away from home/work in March somewhere warm and beautiful.

And, most importantly, we had a great sighting of Aadvark that really made the whole trip a success." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Kgalagadi and Cape Town - and would happily, and enthusiastically, recommend it to others! The trip isn't for the faint hearted - or for anyone who is looking for a holiday on a plate - but if you love exploring, don't mind driving around (a lot!) and have been on safari before so you know that you won't see animals at every turn - then this trip is for you. The order you do things is important - so we would recommend Augrabies Falls, followed by the Kgalagadi, followed by Cape Town.

The wildlife we saw in the Kgalagadi was fabulous - and included the Black Maned Kalahari Lions (including a pair mating, as well as a couple of family groups and individuals), Cheetahs (including a pair lying in the shade right next to the road) and an amazing selection of antelopes, deer and other smaller mammals (including Bat Eared Foxes - and Meerkats!). As the tourist numbers in the the Kgalagadi are very low compared to other destinations in Africa, you have the chance to sit, watch and enjoy without interruption - which is a real privilege.

Cape Town is fantastic - and our only regret is not getting out to Robben Island (if you're going - make sure you pre-book ferry tickets to Robben Island in advance, as getting them when you're there is not easy).

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We think you should recommend to travellers who plan to visit the Kgalagadi that they should consider upgrading to a 4*4 vehicle. Although the roads are very good in the dry, it's a different story in the wet. But also - and perhaps more importantly - a number of the roads are below the vegetation height of the scrub/bush either side - so unless you have a high vehicle, you struggle to see the wildlife (we bumped into several people who were disappointed by the lack of wildlife - and all of them were travelling in saloon cars. Either we were lucky - or the height really did make a difference!)" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"Although there were a few weeks of delay in Expert Africa staff engaging with us to start our planning, due to some staff changes and an international travel conference, we soon were underway and were guided well and promptly through decision-making.

We had been to other parts of Africa before and could articulate what we wanted, which helped. I had read other guests' reviews about the need to be careful around animals and the harsh-sounding needs for insurance and liability forms to be signed at each camp; this wasn't actually troublesome at all.

Our trip was a delight. We look forward to going back, possibly to the Chobe area next time simply to experience a different part of Botswana while it's still as pristine as it is. The national tourism policy of low-volume, high cost is working for them now; long may they maintain it.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

About the survey: start by giving a list of the subjects we will be asked to address so we know what to save for future pages. Other than that I can think of nothing. You all are excellent at what you do, and you deserve to succeed. We have already shared your name with our traveling friends." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Tracy Lederer again put together an excellent trip for us. The service we have received from Expert Africa whilst planning both this trip and our previous trip to Namibia was excellent. The knowledge of the area and hotels really helps when discussing routes and accomodation.

We will definately be using Expert Africa for our next African trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The maps for South Africa, especially Cape town were not as clear as Namibia. We used our Sat Nav and that got us around without any problems." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip

"Exceeded all our expectations and got better as the trip progressed. Well worth the huge outlay.

Never to be forgotton but will loose all our friends raving about it!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Hard to think how you could have improved it. I think it was a shame we did not listen to the advice regarding our last camp in Botswana and feel she should have told us how little wild life ther was at Selinda. She did inform us the wild life was not as good here but there was very little." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Overall, we enjoyed it. However, the main reason for our visit - earlier in the year than we would otherwise have chosen - was our long-standing desire to view the vivid 'carpets' of spring flowers for which Namaqualand is so famous. This year there were none - according to local experts, the worst year for a decade. So this was a disappointment and meant that we drove a huge distance - to Springbok and back - for very little purpose. Of course, no-one can be blamed for that.

Our second disappointment was Constantia Uitsig and I have tried to explain why in my comments above. I'd be interested to know what your other clients think about this place." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa trip

"Our 2010 Africa trip was the latest in a succession of memorable trips arranged by Expert Africa. Each trip has brought a new experience relived again through our films, photos and my diary. This year's highlight just had to be the bushcamp experience at Dolomite Point. I have to praise the dedication and hard work which was shown by Abel, Jeraboam, Victor andJoseph. They made a superb team. I know it was only a temporary camp and will not be repeated but it was surreal.

This year was our 9th fly-drive visit to Namibia and 2nd to the Kgalagadi. We still believe there is no better place to see wildlife than Namibia closely followed by Botswana. If there is an increase in retirement pensions in April we'll be booking another trip!!

Thank you Expert Africa. You're the best tour operator we've found - scrupulously thorough and helpful.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

How can you improve on perfection?" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We have done numerous safaris but this was different. We were not expecting vast quantities of game but we were pleasantly surprised by the number of animals we saw, which included 7 cheetah and 2 male black-maned lions. The game viewing was probably not helped by the volume of rain which had recently fallen, resulting in long, fresh and sometimes green grass.

We found ourselves appreciating the smaller, less significant animals more than we would normally; for instance the mongooses, squirrels and even mice. Finding meerkats is definitely not 'simples'! But we succeeded. Bird life was surprisingly profuse, with a good variety of raptors.

The park infrastructure was excellent. The tracks were sandy, well maintained and the main ones easily negotiable by 2wd, right up to Union End. Petrol is available at Mata Mata and Nossob, but beware that the shops here were not well stocked compared with Twee Rivieren.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Difficult to see how the Expert Africa team could have done a better job! Excellent as always............" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"We are likely to return, which is something we don't often do.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Claire was excellent - she had an informed answer to every question we asked." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip

"We had a fantastic holiday - lots of relaxing doing not a lot, some sightseeing and some days walking.. We achieved our aim of a hot Christmas and seeing some cricket abroad - A promising recipe to be repeated with or without the cricket.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No - all was fine - if we had a glitches they were sorted out as we went along which is why we will use the company again - our holiday was trully tailor-made for us - thank you." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a South Africa trip