Reviews of holidays to East Coast Zanzibar

"This was our first 'adventurous' trip with the children and it felt well organised, safe and most importantly, left us with incredible memories. Everything Richard organised; airport pick-ups, transfers etc all worked like clockwork. We were well looked after.

I cannot recommend Kicheche Mara and Pongwe Beach enough - we were so sad to leave! This has been our best family holiday to date - I'm not sure how we can top it!

Thank you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Perhaps warn travellers about Nairobi airport!

We were inundated with mosquitos there (had packed repellent) and both my husband and daughter got food poisoning from the food court!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Overall a fantastic trip.

Too short in retrospect.

Albert Lucas the guide was fantastic." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"We love wildlife safaris, and this Selous/Ruaha venture was no exception in most aspects.

The overall efforts from Lyndsey at Expert Africa meant that the whole itinerary unfolded as planned - no hitches. She provided all of the necessary information from London to us in Oz. for me to feel confident of the outcome.

Our experiences in both Selous and Ruaha were what we had hoped for in respect to the vast wilderness feel to both regions, the variety of vegetation and topography, as well as the absence of hordes of other safari vehicles. We were a little disappointed that due to several factors ( maybe vegetation cover/animal numbers of some species) we didn't locate wild dog, cheetah or leopard in either location. We've never based our trips on seeing particular wildlife because often it's more luck than anything, and no one factor can change this.

The camps chosen were equal to anything we had previously encountered, and would recommend both Impala and Mwagusi.

Overall a great trip." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a fabulous honeymoon and really appreciated Claire's expertise.

We have already recommended Expert Africa to 3 people since returning home. Thank you!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"I was able to research our trip with the help of your excellent website and conversations with Lyndsey and book a holiday which exceeded my expectations. I was keen to avoid crowds at safari camps and therefore avoided the Serengeti and crater and choose Ruaha and Selous. Both were fabulous and we enjoyed visiting at this time of year when the areas were so green and lush. Ruaha with its baobab trees was particularly beautiful. We also enjoyed the contrast of Selous with the river and lakes and the option of boat safaris to see crocodiles and hippos.

I was pleased to have had 2 nights in Stone Town. What a fascinating town. We booked a historic tour for 8.30am before it became too hot and found our guide well informed. The last 3 nights at Mtembwe Lodge were wonderful. The place was paradise and we really didnt want to leave. All in all a super holiday.

The only plan I would have changed would have been to have stayed 3 nights at Ras Kutani instead of 2 nights, as the journey seemed too long from Dar es Salaam for just what ended up to be one whole day there as we only arrived at 6pm and had to leave at 7.30am. The hotel was good but we couldn't really appreciate it in the time allowed." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We loved every minute of our trip. A new day a new adventure. Superb accommodation, safaris, food and wines.
Loved Africa." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Another great trip to Tanzania. This was our 6th trip to Tanzania and as always we loved it. Accomodation, transport, food, game viewing and beach were all excellent. Can't wait to return." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"I applied for a job in Tanzania some time ago so i bought the guide book and book on safaris just in case I got the job. Well i didn't get the job but the book really got me excited about Africa. When i found a travel partner, some years later, while re reading my books i was inspired by the fact that the authors had travelled to this area frequently and consequently I was drawn to contact the affiliated company regarding trip planning.

Lyndsey was excellent. She started off by asking what kind of trip we wanted and from there guided us through planning a trip that would meet our needs and expectations. She answered our questions, wasn't pushy and was open to my suggestions of things i wanted to work into our trip, like visiting fish markets and seeing some of Dar es Salem. The adventure was exactly what we wanted and more.

Travelling as two older women it was important to feel safe and at the same time experience the opportunity of adventure. Keeping the costs down and not going to high end camps was important as well as avoiding the crowds. We met other travellers who had been further north and when they showed up at an animal sighting there where 50 jeeps already there, everyone lined up. We knew we didn't want that nor travel in an enclosed vehicle so again great direction from Lyndsey.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We were not charged the $30 fee to leave Tanzania and I'm not sure if this is because we left from Zanzibar or not.

The Stone Town Airport does not open until midnight for a 2am flight so there is no point going out there early. If u do the toilet outside the airport building costs money and the one inside is free. You need TZ shillings.

The booklet is confusing on tipping in the camps and we received different information from the different camp managers. If two people are travelling together do they pay their guide as one person or do they people double the recommended amount? We paid our driver, the guide, the boat guide all separate from each of us and then half that amount at the second camp. Other people we talked to seemed confused as well.

I brought a black head net and was really glad I did as the flies at the second camp were fierce in some areas. Burning elephant dung helped somewhat. Green head nets interfere with your vision clarity but the black ones work great.

Thanks Lyndsey for all your help in planning our wonderful adventure!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Very enjoyable trip combining a safari in two contrasting areas of Kenya (Samburu and Mara Naboisho) with a beach holiday in Zanzibar. it was a particular pleasure that we were not bothered by mosquitoes.

Expert Africa's recommendations and organisation were spot on." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"We booked this holiday very late and Olivia came up with the perfect itinerary. This was an unforgettable holiday." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari