Reviews of holidays to South-west Zanzibar

"It was a fabulous holiday, which we will never forget. All the pieces organised by Liz at Expert Africa fell into place, however improbable, including the tiny light aircraft which emerged in the bush to pick us up.

The camps were exactly as they had been described, so no place for disappointment; if anything, they were better than we had hoped for. It was a great advantage to be able to speak to knowledgable staff in London who could really help find the right places for us. Liz tried to persuade us not to go in February, and it was very hot, but we like that, coming from the European winter!

I would definitely recommend both the company and the camps to friends. Many thanks.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I can't think of anything much! You might suggest that people bring their own rock shoes, as the coral and the urchins are quite a hazard.

Many thanks!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Fantastic!

Selous and Ruaha gave us the variety of countryside and wildlife we wanted, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tented camps. A few relaxing days at Unguja made the perfect end to our trip. We loved Tanzania and the people we met.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Your service was excellent, especially in one way that you do not ask about: we were not sure which country we wanted to visit, and our ideas were quite vague to start with. Your team were very skilled at questioning me, proposing ideas and narrowing the choices down gradually. This plus the layout of your website helped us make the right choice.

I am happy for you to contact us by email but I would rather not receive regular brochures; they often get thrown away, so are such a waste of paper." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"Were visiting our daughter in Zanzibar where she is working as a doctor on a one year project,she was able to show us round Stonetown and joined us on the holiday. We found it fascinating with its' Arabic influence and enjoyed looking round the markets which we probably would have not done by ourselves, it also helped to have someone with a little swahili.

Trip was a big success and incorporated three mini holidays at Stonetown, Matemwe and Chumbe. Was a shock to the system to return to sub zero temperatures in the UK

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only small gripe was when we arrived at Zanzibar airport we were tired after the trip and found our taxi there with a sign with our names, there were two men there, one of whom offered to carry our bags all of 10 yards and then demanded a tip when all we had was dollars, don't know whether our taxi driver knew what was going on but did not help us much." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Zanzibar was lovely, getting there and back had its downsides.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Dont send people to Dar hotel." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We were very pleased with the service we received from Liz, she was very knowledgeable, answered many questions, gave sound advice and we were delighted she recommended Beho Beho which was the highlight of the trip.

The trip was extremely well organised, any future trips to Africa will certainly be booked through yourselves.

Thank you Liz for arranging such a memorable holiday." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zanzibar holiday

"What we loved about the trip was the variety of locations, living arrangements and geography. It was a nicely mixed bag. The entire trip was seamless. We never had to worry . Someone else was in charge and we transitioned from plane to plane, camp to camp, etc. without a worry. It was brilliant and you will be dealing with us in the future as we are hooked on Africa.

The only downside to the entire trip was Lake Manyara. After the solitude of Selous, it was a culture shock and something we could have taken a big miss on. The Ngogoro Crater was also difficult with its traffic jams but the crater more than made up for that. In the future we will steer clear of "busy" spots because they simply aren't our thing.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I really cannot think of a thing. Claire Scott did a fabulous job and we will recommend her and Expert Africa to our friends in the US. Sadly, people in the US do not travel nearly enough and can't be counted on for much business." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"We used Expert Africa on a recommendation and found the staff to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable. We absolutely loved our trip and it fully exceeded all our expectations.

Thank you to the whole team for always answering our queries so patiently!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really. We were very happy with all the recommendations, received literature and general assistance." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We have been working on this trip for years - and it lived up to every expectation. Great variety of accommodation, excellent game viewing and a bit of swimming at the end. We have already discussed the possibility of going back.

Thank you to all at Expert Africa who have had input to this over the years - Chris, Claire, Penny, Liz and Ellie.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The trips are excellent, service very good and, despite trying, we cannot better you on price." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari

"An absolutely amazing experience throughout, the memories of which will last us a lifetime.

Expert Africa were very patient and helpful in working with us to arrange our perfect honeymoon!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We were more than happy with the service Expert Africa provided" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"This is the first time I have ever arranged a trip using an agency. Although I have worked regularly in Tanzania over the last decade, I was not confident I knew enough about the holiday side and would be able to arrange the necessary transfers.

I was recommended the Bradt guide to Tanzania and noted that Chris acknowldeged his involvement with Expert Africa and sort of liked that. So got in touch and was very ably advised by Liz Wollen. I was late in doing the bookings but she guided me very competently through the available choices and I cannot fault her recommendations. I

n the event, on several of the bookings, she was able to get us better deals than we thought was possible at the outset. When she left on an assignment to Africa, Ellie seamlessly took over the arrangements. It was a pleasure working with the team and everything, without exception, went as planned.

Not a whinge but a suggestion. The pickup times on the transfers by road were not specified and it wasn't always easy to find a contact at the transfer company who was fully up to speed. Everyone now has mobiles in Africa - when I visit farmers in remote parts, I make the arrangements by mobile - so why not recommend that your clients buy a local sim card and send the details to you. You can then advise hotels, transfer companies etc so they can text collection times and other last minute info as needed.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It may be me being thick but I lost a couple of versions of this form as I was completing it. You guys are doing a great job." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday