Zanzibar: reviews from our travellers

"On the whole the trip was very good, apart from the problems with the flights out. Fisherman's Tours were reliable and efficient in transferring me from place to place. The people I met were charming, friendly and helpful.

The excursions seemed expensive, but I did enjoy them. I had a very good guide from Fisherman's Tours who took me on a tour of Stone Town and a boat trip to Prison Island.

I didn't do as much snorkelling as I would have liked as it was not feasible to snorkel at low tide. At high tide it would have meant swimming out quite a way to get to the reef. I did try near the shoreline, but could only see sea urchins and seaweed and the wind was churning up the sand making visibility poor." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Excellent." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"I thoughly enjoyed my trip and would go back to Zanzibar and both hotels again. The trip lived up to my expectations and I found Zanzibar to be a very warm and a welcoming place to be. I just hope that there is not too much large hotel development allowed as this would, in my opinion, spoil the fabric of what is Zanzibar today.

Both the hotels were excellent and very good value for money. The staff were very friendly and helpful and both Russell and Heidi need to be commended on the staff and the service provided.

The guide who was booked for me by Expert Travel to do the walking tour of stone Town was very good, knowledgable and gave a good insight into Zanziabr and it's history.

The taxi driver was the same one who picked up form the airport, drove me to Emerson Spice and to Pongwe Beach and to the airport again. It was lovely it was the same gentleman who was very friendly and keen to show me the island and culture.

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I found Expert Africa to be excellent at what they do. I was provided with all the information I could want and nothing was too much trouble.

My questions were answered in a timely manner and I liked and found the guide book and folder that was provided for holding tickets etc to be very useful.

I would definitely use Expert Africa again and would recommend you as a tour company to other people.

I am thinking of going to Namibia next year and will definitely be in contact with you if I decide to go." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zanzibar holiday

"If I had had any doubts or fears of taking this trip to Tanzania they were dispelled completely. I found Expert Africa as a company, by accident and would turn to them again for a future visit in a heartbeat.

There was no question however trivial that was not explained fully and my complicated itinerary ran like clockwork. Yes, it was an expensive trip but I was travelling alone and to some more remote parts of the Serengeti so my safety and health was important to me.

I have to thank Richard and the staff at Expert Africa whose current knowledge and expertise about my trip was exemplary. I was a complete stranger to them yet there was minute attention to all the details.

The experience will stay with me for a lifetime. So many thank you’s." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"Our trip was truly wonderful. We had an amazing safari in Botswana a few years ago, but this beat it, both in terms of the range of game we saw and the quality of the accommodation.

Everything went like clockwork, it was very relaxing but also an intense safari experience.

Our final week on the Zanzibar beach at Pongwe Beach Hotel was the ultimate in exotic pampered chilling out - very informal and laid back with just the right mix of excellent service, great food, and wow location.

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As everything worked so well, and the advice we were given was so good, I can't think of anything to improve it - just keep it up!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"On the whole, our visit to Zanzibar was delightful and the holiday arrangements made for us by Expert Africa were very satisfactory. We applaud James Denny for his assistance and responsiveness throughout our planning process and trip. We cannot say enough good things about Matemwe Lodge -- it is a fabulous retreat. Our initial disappointment with our room at the Zanzibar Palace Hotel was quickly addressed with a move to a better room. Our thanks to James and the Expert Africa staff for their assistance." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had an excellent holiday, we are lucky enough to have had some lovely holidays and this was one of the best." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"A very well thought out trip for which we received excellent advice from Expert Africa (James Denny). In particular, the order of visiting the camps was perfect in that, had we visited Mwagusi first the sheer volume of game in Ruaha may have led us to be a little disappointed in Selous. That said, our guide at Impala Camp was truly outstanding in that we saw more than others staying at the same time due to his patience and desire that we understood the animal behaviour. By spending time observing the animals with him, we saw the full story of a lion kill from them first being alerted to a wounded wildebeest to the kill itself and the subsequent family hierarchy in action for the "feast". Often we were the only observers of significant wildlife events which made it very special.

In addition the choice of camps suited us much better than, for example, the Serengeti. We wanted quiet and remote and that is exactly what we got, combined with plenty of wildlife action. A nice bonus is that both camps were better than we had expected, from facilities to food to service.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our whole experience with Expert Africa has been excellent.

Nothing springs to mind as needing improvement which tells you a lot about the service you have provided to us." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip exceeded our expectations, not often you can say that..

All the places we stayed we would recommend. A great combination of safari and relaxing by the beach." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Thanks for organizing this for us. My only concern was double booking of the Stonetown Tour guides." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zanzibar holiday