Zanzibar: reviews from our travellers

"Overall experience was excellent with the exception of the Zanzibar Coffee House and the Fishermen tour organization.

The tour mostlly functioned as a taxi-they were on time and pleasant but not helpful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 4 on a Rwanda safari

"We had the most wonderful trip and saw so much more than we ever expected. We particularly enjoyed living in the tented accommodation being surrounded by nature and learning so much about the wildlife. This was largely due to the skill of the guides, notably Silvanus who drove us around and acted as our guide for several days in different locations of Tarangire, Lake Manyara and The Ngorongoro crater. His knowledge was amazing and his patience with two novices was truly boundless.

We like to mention how impressed we were with the safari outfit used by Expert Africa and would highly recommend this company to anyone. Their operations were run smoothly and efficiently with a constant desire to improve their services and environmentally friendly camps even further. Their training policy and opportunity for further development seemed to be very much appreciated by their employees. All their staff were happy and proud working for them which we felt speaks for itself.

The balloon trip over the Serengeti at dawn was an unforgettable experience, which we would highly recommend. The pilot was very experienced and his expert handling of the balloon allowed us to fly extremely low. Gliding across the Mara River and seeing the sun rising over this amazing landscape was truly magical.

Zanzibar offered a completely different type of holiday. We were especially interested in the history and culture of the island. The 'Princess Salme' tour was particularly fascinating and took in several different experiences: a very informative visit around the Mtoni Palace given by the project manager of the restoration project, followed by a Dhow trip, a coffee ceremony as well as a fascinating spice tour led by a guide with real knowledge of the subject and finally a delicious meal provided by the plantation owner. We would highly recommend it as it is designed for very small groups and provides a real insight into what made the island what it is.

A special mention should also go to Nick at Unguja Lodge who is a very competent and professional diving instructor who enabled me to fulfil my long held wish to complete my diving certificate.

Expert Arfrica did deliver exactly what we had asked for in our original brief and more. They enabled us to choose companies and lodges, etc which benefit their local communities and this had been one of our priorities. It also allowed us to see some very well run local projects during our travels which are all equally worth while supporting in the future.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

A suggestion might be that while on safari, to consider having a day in camp to digest what had been experienced. This could take the form of a walk with guides followed later by an evening drive. Having some time to just sit in front of our tent for a few hours and to watch the wildlife from there or reading a book was rather enjoyable especially after several days of non stop action. We think people should be made aware of this option." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Until our flights home, we had a magnificent holiday and would recommend all the places. We have one minor and one major complaint about the trip ( I should however say at this stage that Ellie was hugely helpful from the beginning to the actual holiday.

Minor:- having spent £15k on the holiday, I felt that,unlike other travel agents we have dealt with, the lack of a personal call on our return and the failure to send us this form until I requested it was not very good PR for Expert Africa.

Major:- on our return, our flight itinerary expected us to sit for five hours at Dar airport ( outside on the roadside on uncomfortable chairs) while we waited for our connecting flight with Kenya Airways to Nairobi. As we were flying business class from Nairobi to London, why were we not on the earlier Kenyan Airways flight so that we could at least wait in a comfortable lounge?

For some reason I had a fever with temperature of 103 and insisted on taking the earlier flight ( they nearly would not let me fly and wanted me to go to the hospital to see a doctor) Because we were flying economy, we had to pay 130 dollars to change flights. On this flight were many of the guests we had met during our holiday that were also on the London BA flight.

As your client it is not up to us to check all the flight times as we have already made it clear that we would want all the most sensible connections. Also,the earlier flights were not new as one guest we had spoken to had booked a long time ago like us and because BA cancelled their Wednesday flights out to a nairobi just before we were going, necessitating a change in flights all round, you could have rechecked then. We do expect to hear from you on this matter as it is not satisfactory and left a bitter taste after such a wonderful holiday up until then." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"Out of this world! We will definitely be contacting James again in the near future, funds permitting!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We have done so many safaris we have lost count and we thought this trip would just be a fill in. Far from it! There was a lovely balance between the Selous and Ruaha camps and the variety of game was superb.

The variety of activities was less than we hoped as there are no park rangers in the camps (Apart from Kitchaka) to act as guards for walks and no night drives. However in all the camps we had a very personal service and guides who were with you throughout your stay. That and excellent beach relax are two advantages over Zambia.

Thank you James for your excellent choice of camps and for such a smooth running trip. Our appetite is still not satiated, Zambia still has that edge for us and we hope return in the not too distant future." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"See the short title. It was different, the places were great, and we were so well looked after.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really at this time. Thanks James." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"The service and advice given by Ellie at Expert Africa has been superb, far above our expectations. This meant we had the trip of a lifetime, a honeymoon to remember.

We had thought that doing one safari would be enough - we were wrong!! We now have to start saving for our next one!!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Overall, our trip was a brilliant experience - getting to see amazing wildlife so close was a truly remarkable experience and one that will never be forgotten.

The highlight was really the private tour through the Central Serengeti were you really do get to see a wider range of landscapes and wildlife - the guide (Elisa Ngonya) and camp (Kati Kati) just acted to amplify this experience.

Our private guide, Elisa Ngonya, was amazing - he was entertaining, knowledgeable and will to tailor each day we spent with him to meet our needs - this included drive over 350km to find Cheetah! He made a massive difference to the experience we had on safari by through the detailed knowledge and understanding he had of the different areas we travelled to. There is no question that without him we would have seen a lot less during our time in the north.

The camps in the south (Lake Manze and Mdonya) were much quieter in terms of jeeps / visitors but still offered great animal viewing as well as different activities (e.g. boat safari / hot springs). The atmosphere in these locations was also more of the old fashioned camps - eating we all the guests, sharing Jeeps which was a nice change from the north.

Pongew was just very peaceful and relaxing and a great way to end our trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The only changes to the whole trip that I might have made looking back at it was to maybe to have one less day in either Mdonya or Manze and add that to Zanizbar but that is a very minor change!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"An amazing trip that couldn't/wouldn't have happened without Liz and James at Expert Africa. He captured exactly what we wanted to do and made that possible in this trip. Fantastic people that we met whilst out there and definitely want to return!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Perhaps relook at Tembo hotel as I don't think it matched the quality that you seem to offer!

Give James Denny a pay rise!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"From the moment of my first contact with Expert Africa (late one night - and I got straight through to Maruska in the New Zealand office!) I had nothing but praise for the friendly professionalism that guided us through the planning of our special family holiday to Tanzania. Expert Africa had been recommended to us by friends who had been on several safaris (the first ones with other companies) and we were delighted with the service provided. Having established the hopes of our group for the trip, Maruska helped me through planning the details with clear explanations about the pros and cons of any choices and the range of options available. Maruska's responsiveness as I articulated various preferences of the group was marvellous and the recommendation, quite late on, of spending our last 3 nights on Chumbe Island was inspired.

The actual trip went like clockwork. Every detail had been planned for and was delivered brilliantly All the fights and transfers worked smoothly and everywhere we went we were expected and welcomed. All the accommodation was just right - and just as we expected. Above all, we had the most brilliant driver/guide on our week-long safari. We were delighted to be with Asilia, a well regarded Tanzanian company with excellent credentials and our assigned guide, Stanford, was absolutely fantastic. He was calm, considerate, efficient and good humoured, but beyond that he was incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful, flexible and humourous. And he worked so hard! He undertook the duties of driving, guiding, communicating in excellent English and responding to any requests with a calm composure that ensured we had the most wonderful experience. We would like to put on record our enormous gratitude for this - and to thank Expert Africa and Asilia for assigning him to us!

The safari was very special and we loved the camps. I worried a few times before we left the UK whether 7 days on safari might seem like too much of a good thing but I needn't have worried. Stanford's skill enabled us to learn more and more about animal behaviour as the week went by and we were as interested on the morning of day 8, en route to the airstrip and our flight to Zanzibar, as were were on day 1 when, after a night flight, we set off at lunchtime for Arusha National Park. Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti built brilliantly on this start

Finishing our holiday in Zanzibar was also wonderful. The tropical beaches were gorgeous and the relaxed vibe was enjoyed by all 7 of us. And the final three days on Chumbe - absolutely magical! The entire trip surpassed our (always high!) expectations and it will remain a very special experience for our family. We just wished we could have spent more time everywhere!

Thank you Expert Africa, with special thanks to Maruska - and to Liz who picked up a few queries right at the end. We have already recommended you to friends and hope one day to travel through Africa under your expert guidance again." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari