Reviews of trips to Stone Town

"This was our first safari, and overall the trip exceeded expectations. Jessica really took the time to understand the kind of thing we were looking for and her recommendations and advice were spot on.

It was nice to bump into Chris (the boss) on our trip - once on one of the flights and again at Mdonya. He's clearly extremely knowledgeable and passionate about all things safari.

We loved the two camps, and it was great to visit two different areas as the experience was different at each. In particular we loved the fact that both parks were relatively quiet and on the game drives we rarely saw other people.

We expected both of the camps to be quite basic in terms of facilities, but we felt really spoilt at both, the tents were lovely and the food was excellent. Probably because of this, the time in Zanzibar, which we were anticipating being a bit of luxury at the end, fell a bit short in comparison (although Jessica's first recommendation wasn't available).

Overall, I'd highly recommend Expert Africa and we hope to be able to book another trip with them one day!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Overall this 'holiday of a lifetime' as we had been describing it to friends prior to going, turned out to be just that. It had so many 'best moments' and highlights, that we've totally lost count. Life doesn't really offer many surprises but stumbling across a leopard after a kill, a bull elephant eating breakfast, a herd of zebra and wildebeest on the move, or a reef shark going about its daily life really are thrilling sights never to be forgotten. It was a holiday of incredible contrasts. From safari, to a bustling city, to a castaway coral island and ending with such luxury. What a heavenly cocktail and all thanks to Maruska and Expert Africa who certainly live up to their name." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had a very nice trip and the arrangements made by Expert Africa were an important part of this." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zanzibar holiday

"We had a fantastic trip, and appreciated the time you took to make sure it would work for all of us, from ages 7 to 77!

The process of deciding upon itinerary (places, lodging, timing) involved very productive discussions to arrive at a great trip. The 15 days with Anaphi Anafi demonstrated that our desires were listened to, and we had a truly great and effective guide.

Thank you so much for everything.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No.

Any small matters that arose, the sorts of things that occur with any planned trip, were handled very quickly" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"Another great trip, thank you very much. I am mostly clear about what sort of trip I am after but find it very useful to be able to bounce ideas and get further information and guidance from Expert Africa.

I greatly appreciate the end to end service that Expert Africa provides, which takes away any little worries concerning travel arrangements.

The 'meet and greet' service and the use of a hotel room between flight connections is a particularly welcome feature." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Our trip was amazing and Jessica was there to answer any questions and help with any changes we requested.


Suggestions for improvement:

One thing we thought was we almost would have rather done beach then Safari as we were so tired on the Safari from traveling. But we didn’t want to miss anything. This is probably only an issue for people coming from the US though!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"From the first conversation with Richard we thought the level of service from Expert Africa was outstanding. The attention to detail and the diligent way the many paperwork requirements were set out was faultless.

Every question was answered in depth and very helpfully and all the recommendations were accurate.

Having spent 30+ years in the travel industry it was a delight to travel with another company who understand and practice the highest levels of customer service that we always tried to do.

Well done one and all

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Really I don't. It seemed like we were travelling under the wing of a class outfit who did the ground work so well we didn't need much help overseas at all.

The icing on the cake was that we happened to be lucky enough to have the best guide at Little Governors. From talking to other guests who had minor frustrations with their guides, we soon realised that Tom was giving us a masterclass in how to be the perfect guide." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari

"Thank you to Tam for arranging our booking!

We had the most amazing time and would not hesitate to use Expert Africa for our planning again. The (many) flight and taxi transfers all worked perfectly. It is great peace of mind having the transfers arranged by a professional team who know the respectable companies to use and means of booking...especially after meeting people who had booked their own flights from Zan - Dar es Salam but at the desk, they were told their tickets were not recognised and they had to charter their own flight to make their International flight!

It was our first safari and we had no idea what to expect in the quieter south Selous park but we saw more wildlife than we ever imagined (even on the day we arrived) and so few cars. It was perfect! The camp and every member of the Selous Impala team were just amazing." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zanzibar holiday

"A few thoughts I had: I think it would be better to have a minimum of 3 nights at each camp or lodge as I found 2 nights was not enough especially as I lost a day due to a flight cancellation/postponement. If I'd had 3 nights at Plantation Lodge I could have still done the Ngorongoro crater safari. I know there are cost implications but in hindsight it is worth it for a better experience. And Plantation Lodge was my favourite accommodation and I only got one night there!

I would also prefer to stay in camps that are not too long a drive from the airstrips. I found more than one hour quite difficult as you just want to get there and it can also be a long drive back to camp after a safari. I would consider this if I was doing another trip.

Needless to say I preferred the luxury camps in Botswana which had a pool and included drinks and laundry, although I realise they cost more, and I did enjoy the other camps which felt closer to the wildlife etc. as a contrast. Paying for drinks and laundry was not expensive so that did not put me off.

The support and help from my Expert Africa agents with the few challenges I encountered was wonderful and
I can't speak highly enough of the quality of your company. Of course I don't know how you compare with others but having met agents from other companies and having feedback from other guests at the camps I felt very glad that I had chosen EA.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Perhaps to warn travellers about the potential for things to go wrong such as flight cancellations and injuries and talk through what to do in these situations. i know this in included in your written material but it is a lot to take in especially when having to get visas and vaccinations in preparation for the trip. I had read the information but still felt stressed when things happened. However your responses were so helpful and reassuring which helped me to calm down. Big thank you to Chris in this regard - I could only nominate one agent above but it is the sign of a good manager/owner to be prepared to step in out of hours to help a client." Read full review: 36 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"The whole experience was great. We had a brilliant time. Everything worked just as Expert Africa had planned so we didn't have to worry about a thing.

Safaris were great - the camps recommended above excellent. Everyone in both camps were determined to provide us with the best experience possible. Having discussed with Lyndsey the various areas in Tanzania we could have chosen for our safaris, we were pleased we chose the Selous and Ruaha - two very different areas though the wildlife was much the same on the whole. But we appreciated the different landscapes, the views, the lush vegetation and the amazing accommodation.

Stone Town - was good for two nights, not sure we'd have wanted any longer in retrospect, so again good advice from Expert Africa. And we couldn't fault White Sands!

All in all - an amazing holiday. Thank you!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari