Tanzania: reviews from our travellers

"What a holiday - all we can say is Thank You Expert Africa and we hope we will be able to travel with you again!

Elsewhere in their review, they also commented:

We left Zanzibar the day of the Nairobi airport fire and cannot praise Expert Africa, in particular Liz Woollen, enough for her efficiency and help in getting us back to the UK via Egypt - in as painless a way as possible." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Ilikuwa ni mkubwa! Asante sana.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We don't. You provided expert advice and expert services, and we will certainly be recommending you to our friends.

Liz at Expert Africa should be paid her weight in gold and given a free holiday. She rescued us when Nairobi airport caught fire and redirected us on another flight via Cairo. We were upgraded to business class, and provided with drivers to and from the airports as if it had all been planned weeks in advance. We arrived a mere few hours later than previously scheduled. Thank you!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"The trip, like its two predecessors, was absolutely brilliant. I just revel in the whole safari experience: the getting there, the camps, their locations, the inspirational people you meet, the excursions, the myriad wildlife encounters, quenching your thirst, filling your belly and the siestas afterwards. Then getting up in the afternoon and doing it all over again: two days in one!

When asked to score the holiday out of ten, our teenage daughter (whose commitment and subsequent enjoyment I was a bit trepidatious about before our arrival) gave it a firm nine and a half. When pressed about the missing half, she explained this was docked because of all the stops on safari at my insistence to look at 'stupid birds'. So you're pretty near perfect.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

On our way to Kilimanjaro airport, we stopped off at the very green and plush Arusha Coffee House (?).

I presumed we were going to have a very pleasant buffet lunch there as we had been travelling non-stop for at least 24 hours and a sit down in very relaxing surroundings would have been most welcome.

Instead we were whisked off again with a school kid's packed lunch (complete with bag of crisps, Mars bar and a wedge of very 1970s Dairy Lea!).

This is the only change I would make to the itinerary." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"My sixth trip with Expert Africa, my sixth trip to go perfectly as planned. I would not hesitate to recommend Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"This was our first trip to Africa so we were unsure of what to expect. Liz from Expert Africa gave us ideas and direction when we needed help with planning and sorted our flights out which had to be changed several times due to BA timetable alterations.

We loved Beho Beho which was the highlight of the holiday but the whole holiday was of a very high standard. Tanzanians seem to be very warm and friendly people generally and we really enjoyed our holiday on the mainland and on Zanzibar." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zanzibar holiday

"A trip of a life time and it certainly measured up the everything we had hoped and more. Firstly please pass on our huge thanks to both guides. Martin of Asilia was amazing and so professional .We'll for ever be grateful for his patience for our bird watching interests and his expert knowledge. He was so good at finding the quieter places and picking up the signs before others got there!! Please note our grateful thanks to him personally through Asilia.

Also we would like special recommendation for Paulo Siololo of Nomad Tanzania...Arusha. as he was fantastic too. Think he has telescopes for eyes as he picked signs of animals at tremendous distances and had the patience to pursue and wait. We had numerous wonderful experiences just watching cheetahs and Leopards all on our own as well as so much more. He really put himself out to please us and make our experience memorable.

Fishermans tours on Zanzibar not quite so efficient as 3/4 hour late one trip and didn't turn up on last return drive to airport. Neither actually caused us problems as door man at Serens Inn got us a taxi and arranged for paymenbt between driver and F. tours.but thought you may like to know for future.

Well done Expert Africa and especially Ellie ,you judge it perfectly for us....right locations and timings ." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"The whole trip was awesome! Our agent Ellie did a great job in helping us put together a perfect itinerary, and we were looked after from beginning to end. Both our guides were great, especially Fred George who took care of us so well and helped us have a fantastic experience. The only disappointment was leaving with over $250 of brand new ruined clothes from Sayari Camp.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

service from expert Africa was great!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"A wonderful trip.

The two camps were both fantastic experiences and both very different in style, Mwagusi was fast paced, close up, rustic and informal, where as Beho Beho was slow paced, a bit more open plain and distant, luxury and formal.

The contrast in experiences enhanced our trip, excellent advice Liz!!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"Although I have been on several safaris, this was my families first experience and I had several criteria.

A country I hadn't visited.
At least two camps which would give a wide range of habitat so that we could go on drives, walks and boats.
Game viewing without 50 other vehicles around
Small camps which concentrated less on luxury and more on the game viewing and the bush experience but without sleeping on campbeds and washing in buckets.
Guides who were enthusiastic and knowledgeable and who loved the animals and their country
Open vehicles and preferably ones with only 4 to 6 people.

Eleanor came up trumps in every respect. On day one, when we reached Selous camp after a stunning game drive from the airstrip, my son said "mum, if we go home now this will still have exceeded all my expectations "

Experience piled on experience - so many memorable moments - the matriarch elephant who decided to check out our vehicle and was literally eyeball to eyeball with Stella. The cheetahs strolling past us. The 8 lions on a fresh kill. The 2 hippos fighting on the bank within 50 yards of our bush breakfast.The giraffe kindergarden. The fish eagles and the goliath herons making catches.

Thank you Ellie , Expert Africa and all those fabulous people in Tanzania, from the taxi driver who picked us up and tried to teach us some Swahili, to the guides and trackers and staff at all the camps who loved their country and wanted us to love it too.

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Maybe I'm undemanding but I think you are pretty damn good !" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic short trip but was good combination of safari and then relaxing on beach. Everything was organised perfectly and no problems.

The service was fantastic from day 1 and very attentive and was exactly what I wanted. Help and input from team was great and there was fantastic communication and organisation! Thank you Elizabeth!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari