Reviews of trips to Livingstone & Victoria Falls

"We have had another wonderful holiday – our third trip to Namibia, and at least 9th with Expert Africa – but things could have been better.

Our feedback reflects what we have come to expect from Expert Africa – a minimum 4-paw grading for everything – therefore 5 paws are very hard to achieve and reflect something exceptional.

We were very annoyed by the cancellation of the direct Air Namibia flights; this caused us significant inconvenience. We met so many people who shared our views – from fellow travellers to lodge owners to guides – everybody was unhappy about it. Having been forced to fly via Frankfurt we thought Frankfurt airport was very poor – lack of signage, few shops, little seating and even a mouse in the Business Class lounge. Toilets were dirty. The process will make us think twice before going back to Namibia.

However........ arriving at Windhoek in the morning we found the drive up to Etosha no problem – there were 2 of us to share the driving and we stopped off for shopping and lunch on the way – we definitely prefer to get straight on the road rather than spending a night in Windhoek and effectively wasting a day. We'd recommend buying a Namibian SIM for your mobile at the airport (took 5 mins and cost around £10) – others tend not to work, even with Global Roaming enabled – and we did use it when we discovered we'd left Ghaub with the room key in a pocket!

We'd always thought the road signs on the B1 warning of warthogs rather amusing but we saw dozens on the side of the road this time! Our trip was mostly on tar roads this time, which is great in some ways but they can be very straight and boring – in particular the roads through the Caprivi. We were glad we had booked a 4X2 vehicle for driving some of the tracks in Etosha and Mahango – no need for 4x4 at this time of year.

We were so pleased we were doing a one-way trip; we met many people who had found the driving tiring and were not looking forward to the drive back to Windhoek from the Caprivi. We had tried to slow things down and space them out so that most of our drives were less than 4 hours and, where possible, we spent at least 2 nights in accommodation. This gave us the chance to take advantage of the activities on offer and relax (eg at Hakusembe).

Many lodges do not provide drinking water (or at cost) so we suggest buying a 5 litre bottle in a supermarket (about N$15) and taking it with you.

We would happily repeat our holiday and revisit any of our accommodation with the exception of Namutoni – no way!

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We have travelled with EA so many times it must be a recommendation in itself! We did do some market testing on this trip and found competitors more expensive. We're already organised for next summer's trip.

However, on rare occasions accuracy of quotations is somewhat sacrificed in the interests of getting them to clients quickly. This is obviously partly due to the complexity of trips but can be frustrating." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"one of the most memorable holidays we have had

Suggestions for improvements:

The service you provided was excellent" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"will go back. best holiday i ever made with the whole family" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Anna was extremely knowledgeable and very efficient in organising our trip. She dealt very patiently with all our queries and requests and clearly knew Zambia inside out. As a result our whole holiday went like clockwork. We would definitely be very happy to recommend Expert Africa and Anna Devereux-Baker to anyone planning a trip to Africa and we will certainly use them for our next Africam adventure.

Suggestions for improvements:

None" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"These comments actually cover the time when we were 'on our own' in Zambia. First, we rented a 4x4 from Limohire that we drove to my daughter's village (she is a Peace Corps volunteer) in a village called Chisebwa about 15km from the Great North Road at an intersection about 50km southwest of Serenje. We also used it to visit some farmers my daughter is working with and to visit Kundalila Falls. Those experiences were off paved roads but were on fairly good single lane trails/roads.

Based on the Guide book I must admit I was fairly concerned about driving in Zambia, and seriously considered the use of a driver. However, I found the roads to be in excellent condition, except for the Great North Road north of the turnoff to Mansa, at which point one had to carefully watch for potholes. I realize the Guide book does need to be cautious (and certainly I never considered any serious off-track adventures) but it ended up being quite a bit easier to get around than I originally expected.

Second, I emailed three car rental agencies in Zambia (Limohire (who responded immediately), Livingstone 4x4 Hire (who also responded immediately but had no vehicles), and Voyagers (who never responded). So I went with Limohire. The cost for a Nissan Safari was $140/day (500km) plus fuel. We handled everything by email and, when in Zambia, by phone, and I was completely satisfied (in other words we never met in person). He did not accept credit cards so I had to wire transfer half the rental fee as deposit before the trip, and then pay the remainder plus a $1000 deposit when I received the car at the airport upon arrival. Hans, the owner, is an honest individual. Because of logistical problems I had to leave the vehicle for him to pick it up at Pioneer Camp (without getting back my deposit) so he arranged for one of his employees to meet us at the airport upon our return from Livingstone, and he was there with our deposit. Were I to visit Zambia again (and I may since my daughter may extend for another year) I would definitely do business with Hans.

Finally, just a couple comments regarding the Guide. The Sweetwater Guesthouse near Mkushi is 'no more'. The owner, Vernon Cantlay (not sure about spelling) is the father of friends of my daughter and we happened to meet him at a barbecue when we were there. He continues to own and farm the property but does not run a guesthouse any more. Also, you might want to consider checking out the Shaolom Takeaway as a funky, friendly little cafe in Mkushi. I understand the Peace Corps volunteers like it because it serves more chicken with its nshima than other cafes/restaurants in town. By the way, we enjoyed our meal there!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"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

"This was a lovely trip, we enjoyed every minute of it. Lucy got it absolutely right in the order we did things. It was lovely to chill out at the Zambesi Sun for the first 4 days with the game drives at Chobe and Kafue following. This gave us the chance to get very close to all the animals we had hoped to see and to photograph them. The walking safari following on meant there was no pressure to see and get very close to any of the animals and we could enjoy the walks and savour Africa at a leisurely pace with animals getting close to us when we stayed still.

All the places we stayed in were very special and was just the sort of safari we had hoped for. There was a bit of pressure on animals in Chobe with 4 cars watching lions at one point but there was fantastic amounts of game there. The boat trip was particularly lovely and we watched elephants drinking from the river and 100's of birds.

It was very easy to move from one part of the holiday to the next and all links and transfers were perfect. Hard to imagine that so many links and transfers and border crossings could go without a hitch!

At the planning stage, Lucy listened carefully to me and made absolutely the right recommendations. She remained cheerful through 2 sets of reboookings caused by BA changing flight days. She and Anna are obviously well known and respected in Zambia. Lucy's service was so good that I have booked my next holiday to Equador and Galapagos through Sunvil, and hope to book Namibia in the future. Pity that Expert Africa didn't organise the weather!

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It was the quality of your service before booking that made us book with you, irrespective of price. We could easily have done this trip cheaper by making our own arrangements - but I wouldn't like to be in Africa without Expert Africa! Just the thought of the Zambia|Botswana border without Expert Africa makes me go cold. What other firm gives clients their consultants mobile numbers in case of emergencies?

Matchless service and nothing could have been improved." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"We have been on 2 safaris before and this was a really fabulous trip with many highlights, tempting us to try another in a few years' time!

Most people we met were going or had been to Botswana so maybe we should try that destination.

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Lucy pointed out that we would save the enormous sum of £2,000 between us if we cut our trip by one day, eg into and out of the same airport, Lusaka. We felt this was a very valuable point and it made us book through Expert Africa" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"The trip certainly was a grreat experience and we enjoyed the wildlife and the people very much.

What is always difficult is the estimation of a good itinerary - there were some days that we were more in the car than we planned or expected to be, but it's difficult to avoid unless you go again to a place you already know a little bit." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We have brought home wonderful memories and had an amazing trip from start to finish. The whole experience was everything we wanted it to be - and more! As we left the Uk , I was concerned that I had seen so many documentaries and David Attenboroughs that I might be disappointed. How wrong could I have been - it was was above my expectation, there was real wildlife as soon as you left camp and often in it.

The staff were overwhelmingly friendly, nothing was too much trouble and we met some interesting staff and visitors alike.

Suggestions for improvements:

Tipping - this was all a bit difficult. Chris Macintyres book mentioned and I'm glad it did. There were guidelines to suitable amounts in each camp , which were different from camp to camp, which seemed odd. Everything was set based on the average wealthy American family, who live with a culture of tipping. The British don't, the Americans we spoke to said if those were the suggested amounts they felt they should pay more and we just felt mean! I was very glad to have thought this through from home. Maybe its something you could emphasise more in your useful information.

I didn't engage enough with the Wilderness safari culture and ethical stance before I went, due to lack of realisation and time but I'm glad we chose the things we did, given the difference it makes to parts of the country and opportunities it presents. It could be somethign you make more reference to or raise the profile within Expert Africa" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari