Zanzibar: reviews from our travellers

"Rwanda was brilliant - fascinating, scrupulously clean, would recommend the country to anyone who is bitten by the Africa bug. Communication was in a mixture of English, Swahili and French. It was good to start our trip with a visit to the Kigali genocide memorial. Our driver/guide Jackson was fantastic - and added hugely to our experience of Rwanda, even though he was an Arsenal supporter!

However were we to go again, we would adjust some of the timings. The routine seems to be to go and see primates early in the morning, which leaves the rest of the to explore, and so in many ways we would have been better doing 2 (rather than 3) nights in Nungwe, only one night in Moriah Hill, and possibly add one night (or more) in Gisenyi. (It would have been great to go over the border into Goma.) Volcanoes NP was good, though again one night less would have been fine and we would still have time for three primate expeditions. (We were rather extravagant and saw two diffierent goriila groups, which was great but very expensive!) We were also quite sad a not staying in Kigali again.

We had one medical emergency - our daughter got huge boils on her back, luckily on the night before we were due to return to Kigali, so the following morning we drove to a private hospital in Kigali for treatment. This was relatively efficient - after we had paid some money - but did mean that she missed out on swimming in Zanzibar.

Dar was a lovely surprise for one night - we wished we had stayed an additional night here. Zanzibar was as expected, though Stone Town was more chaotic and smellier than I remember (from 35 and 7 years ago).

The whole trip was very expensive - which of course we knew about beforehand! - but tips etc menat that we spent another 500 US dollars per person duing the three weeks, without being extravagant. For example, tipping of guides was $10 per person per excursion, and sometimes we chose to give trackers etc. tips. This is not a complaint, just for information." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 6 on a Rwanda safari

"We had an amazing honeymoon. Can't fault the whole experience from start to finish. Expert Africa gave us loads of advice and made sure that the sort of accommodation recommended, exactly suited what had been requested.

We have already recommended you to friends and family.

Suggestions for improvements:

None" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"We will both remember this holiday as our best so far (don't want to rule out topping it with another in the future!)

Thank you so much to Ellie and the rest of Expert Africa for putting together such a fantastic itinerary. I will (and have already) recommended you to friends. You listened to what we wanted and made thoughtful suggestions. I really appreciated the personal knowledge of the team with regards to places and activities." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Many thanks to Claire for her expert advice and service. Our trip was excellent and executed seemlessly.

I would not hesitate to recommend expert africa to friends and family and will use the company again in the future.

Thanks" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Wonderful and glad we booked at short notice on the basis of the short S Times note.

Tanzania comes across with great credit - a very friendly country with helpful people.A water/land safari was a real plus and exceeded expectations.

Suggestions for improvements:

You compare well with other companies that we have used elsewhere in the world and we will use you as the reference base for any future trips to Africa. Mateo (manager at Selous) spoke highly of EA and mentioned that you visited the region to check on the details rather than took stuff off web sites." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic holiday, and very well organised. Everywhere we went we were met by people who were expecting us and knew where we should be! This obviously meant we could relax and enjoy the experience. Everyone was very friendly and helpful

I think we were well advised and the combination of lodges worked very well. The animals we saw at both exceeded my expectations, and we weren't surrounded by lots of humans! Often we could have been the only people for miles (and probably were).

Suggestions for improvements:

can't think of anything." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We were both very happy with the trip, all the arrangements went smoothly. I am vary satisfied with Expert Africa and will be recommending it. Your service, as compared to the general standard here in Holland is outstanding." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We saved money for several years to catch our dream to go to Africa. Then, more than one year in advance we started to plan the trip in detail, together with the most professional staff from Expert Africa.

Of course there was a risk that we created too big expectations. But during the trip and now afterwards when we talk about our adventures, we can easily say that this was above all expectations - the tanzanian people, the wildlife and the excellent food has given us a memory for life." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Driver ( Martin) was particularly good. However, unlike nearly all other vehicles , this one did not have sun canopies.

We had a problem with flights at one stage and tried ringing the Sunvil '24 hour helpline'. I rang 10 times and left at least 3 messages but never received a reply. In the end i had to ring Claire on her mobile early in the morning to get help." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"Expert Africa and especially Eleanor got it right from the word 'go!'.No hiccups and everything worked smoothly,A seamless pleasurable experience.

Suggestions for improvement:

Keep up the good work !" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari