Reviews of holidays to East Coast Zanzibar

"We had a fantastic holiday.

In most cases it exceeded our expectations with just a couple of exceptions. Our 4 days at Lake Manze were brilliant. The game viewing was great, as were the guides, managers and all aspects of the camp. Our 4 days at Old Mdonya were also great. The game viewing was brilliant and so were the guides however we found the present managers at the camps to be a little distant at times and I think the running of the camp would benefit if the managers engaged more with the guests and the staff as was the case with the previous managers.

Pongwe Beach hotel is fantastic in all ways and the whole family thoroughly enjoyed their stay. Generally all our travel arrangements worked well and our flights and transfers were good apart from our final transfer at Dar when the Coastal Shuttle bus failed to turn up and we had to pay out for taxis. All in all a great holiday and one that I would love to repeat at some time in the future." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a brilliant trip to Tanzania, with a great variety of scenery, wildlife and culture.

We appreciated the gentle encouragement to go to 2 separate safari parks as we had been put off visiting Ruaha by the extra cost, but it was worth every penny. The contrast in environment and scenery between Selous and Ruaha was particularly marked during our visit as the rains had come early in Selous but yet to arrive in Ruaha. We hadn't realised quite how striking the differences between the 2 parks and wildlife were. We appreciated that Olivia didn't pressurise us to book a more expensive holiday but we would recommend highlighting these differences explicitly to future customers.

The variety of walking, boat and driven safari was brilliant, with expert guides and drivers able to find/spot wildlife and share insights about every species. Sharing these experiences each night at the communal dining areas was lovely too.

The guidebook sent to us before the trip was a really useful extra and we used it to book a recommended eco-tour to Jambiani village as an extra. The leather travel wallet has a lovely construction but could do with being a tiny bit larger (just an extra centimetre?) to accommodate the A4 documents sent out before the holiday.

The camps, hotels and transfers all worked seamlessly - there were no niggles beyond a minor adventure with an aircraft stuck in the mud at an airstrip after overnight rain. We felt very well looked after at each destination and extend our thanks to every member of the teams for making our holiday so memorable." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"This was a very enjoyable trip.

It was good to experience different areas and to experience land and water safaris.

An added bonus was a wonderful few days in Zanzibar.

Expert Africa provide a great service. Knowledgeable, professional and friendly staff and a very competitive price." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Perfect holiday and thanks to expert Africa for the expert knowledge!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"An excellent, truly memorable trip. Amanda stepped in later in the planning process after another team member left and her advice and organisation were invaluable." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"An excellent trip that lived up to expectations. It was well planned and well thought out. Our only slight reservation was the Coastal Aviation detour to get from Tarangire to Ruaha, which took a lot longer than scheduled." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"This trip to Tanzania for a safari followed by time relaxing on Zanzibar, was a long-planned trip for my brother and I, and our wives. My wife and I had previous experience of safaris, but my brother did not, so I felt the pressure of "getting it right". We decided to plan it with Expert Africa following a previous very successful trip planned with their help, and I am delighted we made that decision. A meeting with Expert Africa's Olivia helped her to perfectly judge our requirements, and the result was a highly successful holiday that exceeded all our expectations." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"As mentioned already, somehow the trip exceeded our expectations, even though we had been planning this for years! I am so glad we went with Expert Africa - a well named company. Having all the internal connections sorted out before we left made a big difference to our enjoyment of the trip in that we could relax, knowing everything was covered.

Lyndsey is great - we had a number of calls and countless emails. She always got back to me very quickly (within 24 hours) and provided clear and full reponses to my many questions and requests. Having the same person to work with throughout the process helped greatly and we couldn't have done better than Lyndsey - thank you." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"Really happy with this company and the level of service they provided to us for the whole trip - from the pre planning to during and the post the trip. All very professional and if/when i am going back to Africa again i would seriously consider getting a quote off these guys and using them as i was really happy. This was our third trip to Africa and i hope it wont be my last. Keep up the good work." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"This trip was wonderful. It came about because our eldest son was working in Dar Es Salaam. But we had already used Expert Africa in the past to take our three sons to Namibia. That had been the best family holiday for us. We felt we must use Expert Africa again. I can only say that I am indebted to the knowledge of Lyndsey Marris, and the fact that Expert Africa listens, wants to know what we are looking for, what kind of budget do we have, and then makes carefully thought out suggestions. Lyndsey was so good. Absolutely excellent.

The trip was in every way memorable. Each place we stayed at was great. Lyndsey had provided us with a spot on itinerary. I feel with Expert Africa we are privileged to have people who care about Africa, and who really know it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company. I wish we could return to Africa in the future, but not sure when!

As someone who has lived in Africa and whose work a long time ago(!) was dealing with books for Africa, I feel passionately about it, and two of our three sons have lived there. Chris's books are the best, without a shadow of a doubt. The Zanzibar book is full of rich detail and I left it with Jasper to keep as he is still out in Dar. It is a superb book.

Having time with Jasper in the Selous and on Zanzibar was incredibly special. We will not forget it. Jasper was blown away by the Selous in particular. Thank you, Expert Africa. Our youngest son lived in Botswana; one day I hope to get there, but for now, from the bottom of our hearts, thank-you." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday