Zanzibar: reviews from our travellers

"An excellent first trip to Africa and on safari. It exceeded our expectations and was hugely enjoyable.


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Thank you so much. You were recommended to us and we would recommend you to others." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"We loved our holiday.

The safari was simply amazing and we loved our trip to a Zanzibar.

Everything was organised perfectly. We couldn’t recommend it more highly." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had a brilliant holiday. We enjoyed our stay in Stone Town, a very interesting place, and our stay at Pongwe Beach was very relaxing and everything we could ask of a beach stay. Our safari experience was on a different scale, exceeding our expectations on every level. It’s hard to imagine how it could have been bettered. More than half of the people we met at the Kicheche Mara camp were repeat customers. They really have got everything right." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"It was amazing. I am glad that we had 3 nights in both camps in Serengeti. Camps were great fun and driving in open sided vehicles a definite bonus. 4 in a jeep seemed an ideal number.

We saw more animals than we could have hoped for, including 2 leopards up trees. We were disappointed not to have tour of slave museum which had been main reason for going to Stonetown.

Matemwe Lodge at the end was perfect although it was only about half full so would have been even better with a few more guests around in the evening. I could have done with 5 days there!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"This was a trip of a lifetime and we had an outstanding time. The number of different animals on safari was incredible and the differences between Ruaha and Selous made the trip complete. Great camps, great service, great food and great activities. Who could ask for anything more? Memories to last a lifetime." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"perfect holiday. very good organization and structure from the places we stayed" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a wonderful holiday in Zanzibar and owe a big thank you to Jessica at Expert Africa for making sure that the accommodation was top notch and that everything went super-smoothly for us." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zanzibar holiday

"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

"The entire trip was impeccably organised by Expert Africa. Travellers should be aware that they do not book international flights or arrange travel insurance. End July/August is a splendid time to go on safari in Tanzania; we came across no mosquitos and few Tsetse flies. The three lodges we stayed at were each very different in feel and location and this made a fascinating two week safari with four nights at each lodge, followed by a week in Zanzibar. With two game drives a day one is often out in the bush for up to 12 hours a day and one has to be prepared to be in the jeeps for this length of time, as the opportunities for getting out are very limited because of safety. The bush is, of course, wild and the going often rough, so first time safari goers need to be prepared to be thrown around in jeeps (but with seat belts!).

The game viewing at this time of year is magnificent and we saw several crossings of the wildebeast in the Mara river, quite a few prides of lions in the Ruaha, including the full pride of 13 at one point and two close up sightings of an entire pack of wild dogs at Beho Beho. Three separate leopard sightings in the Serengeti were very special.

Zanzibar is the ideal place to wind down after a safari but one needs to choose one's hotel carefully according to what atmosphere and recreations one wants. Near Stone Town, or not, swimable beach, or not, isolated or not. Some of the taxi and shuttle drivers can be quite on the wild side, but it is the nature of the island!

Our expectations were more than fulfilled on this magical trip." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari