South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"I think the individual feedback says it all - we were enchanted with our accommodation, captivated by the people, intoxicated by the countryside, the flora and the fauna, not to mention the sea life.

The planning was perfect - we had been closely advised by Expert Africa and found the timings to be spot on - no stay in one place was too short, no stay too long. We were priviledged to have 40 days and the luxury of being able to enjoy two countries, we felt, at our leisure." Read full review: 39 nights in Africa; 24 on a Namibia trip

"Officials generally were not very helpful or pleasant eg at border, NWR park receptions (Hobas, Sossusvlei, Anderson gate - exception Ai-Ais).

Betesda - one night here before Sossusvlei would have been enough, then straight on to Rostock Ritz for 2 nights from Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei - 4 wheel drive ticket is now NA$110pp
Solitaire - a must to stop off for petrol and atmsophere at Moose's for apple crumble and coffee - general buzz of overlanders

Etosha
Is it right that the park fees are not included in the Park Lodge accommodation costs?
Saw 11 lions watched game herds approaching Springbokfontein waterhole.
Etosha Pan look out is a must
Lunch stop at Namutoni, really liked the atmosphere and cleanliness of this site, nicely laid out.

Cape Interliner bus service to Livingstone was 1.5 hours late leaving Tsumeb and 3 hours late at Livingstone.

Exceptional help and planning from Sabina in organising our trip, thank you!

Suggestions for improvements:

Definitely we would recommend Expert Africa." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Zambia surpassed all expectations.

I wanted to go back to Zambia where I grew up and give my family a positive snapshot of the country. The Victoria Falls is indeed a natural wonder of the world and the helicopter flight along the gorges was thrilling.

Robin Pope Safaris were exceptional to the point that nothing else measured up! We saw all the game we had hoped to see and discovered the magnificent birds of Southern Africa. It was a pleasure to be in the company of such wonderful guides and staff.

My husband and youngest daughter are now converts to river fishing, having enjoyed it so much on the "Mighty Zambezi!"

Mozambique, Bazuruto Island was disappointing because of the activity staff's failure to engage with us. I would not recommend the resort to people who are not going to sunbathe all day." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"All I can say is that we had never expected to travel to Namibia before this holiday but after it, we are so glad we have.

Seeing wonderful animals such as leopard, cheetah, elephants, lions and hordes of antelopes etc. in the wild and with the assistance and genuine affection for their jobs of the local guides, we both feel as though we have experienced something no one else has had...

Obviously, other people are doing the same, but we were made to feel very special by almost all of the people we met and by their staff, and it really made a difference to our holiday. The local people seemed so friendly and attentive to tourists and many countries around the world could benefit from their 'ideas on customer service'. A superb trip all round." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We could not fault a short but very special trip, which was touchingly ackowledged as such at several of the places we stayed.

We had stayed at all 4 places before and it was good to be recognised as returning, rather than new, guests.

Suggestions for improvements:

Keep up the current high standards! Sabina could not do enough to help. Again...................................." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a South Africa trip

"Our honeymoon was amazing.

From initial planning with Lucy, who was very patient, knowledgable and friendly we had high hopes for our trip and all our expectations were exceeded!! Thanks so much" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"the activities were as we expected or even better and the logistics worked smoothly throughout the whole trip" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Mozambique holiday

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and all of the help and assistance that the team provided - especially Gywneth was more than appreciated!!!

Gwyneth was so helpful before and during our trip!!!! Thank you!! We found all of the information/maps/notes etc provided by the team to be invaluable for our trip and Chris's book was brilliant!!

The highlighted map was a must and we would have been lost (quite literally) without it!!!! We will definitely be recommending expert africa to our friends and family!!!!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fantastic time in Namibia and will definitely consider using Expert Africa again as we are already thinking about our next opportunity for Safari/trip to Africa!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Whole trip. Very well organised and on the whole super accommodation. All went without a hitch and the Kalahari well worth a visit.

We had some rain whilst there which made some driving difficult and we were glad we had the 4x4 although probably not necessary if dry. Would certainly go back there, probably at a different time of year to see the contrast.

Thanks for organising it all at short notice.

A couple of places we stayed on our own and we can recommend them maybe for futures use. Oystercatcher Lodge at Shelley Point St Helena Bay WC. Superb location and lovely rooms.
La Boheme B& B Plettenberg Bay. Again lovely rooms and great host." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 10 on a South Africa trip