Zimbabwe: reviews from our travellers

"We loved our holiday.
We’d have appreciated advice on tips at the beginning as at the recommended levels they add significant cost. We only found out by chance just before departure & had to get more $ at the last minute." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was great and I am very satisfied with everything. The advice and general knowledge when planning the trip was very good and everyone at Expert Africa was super helpful.

I followed obviously their recommendations of camps and was very impressed with both but the timing of the stays and the rhythm of the holiday was managed well too. The travel on the ground was very good, flying between camps and being driven over the border.

Advice on tipping was very helpful and on what to pack. I didn’t realise we had to pay cash (US$) at the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe though and that did cause a detour to find an ATM and a risk that they wouldn’t like local currency, but it worked out well in the end.

Expert Africa doesn’t usually book your international flights which I would have preferred as it took me a long time to work out times, connections and prices.

Also, Expert Africa did not initially book the activities at Victoria Falls although when I struggled to deal directly with a local company, they did step in and manage it all very well.

I would suggest that be handled too internally as it’s best to book early and you will get a better response as a company and I just wanted reassurance that it was all booked and organised." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Tom organised all aspects of our trip and he put together a wonderful itinerary balancing seeing the landscapes of Namibia with the wildlife viewing as we wanted.

He suggested a series of memorably good lodges and camps with sensible more basic options for when we simply needed a comfortable guesthouse for a night rather than luxury lodge. He discussed and booked a series of excellent activities for us and we kept in contact throughout the period up to the trip.

To demonstrate the great level of service. We managed to leave an ipad at Damaraland Camp and between the wonderful camp staff and Tom and his colleague Tracey's efforts and ingenuity they managed to organise its return to us back in London - this was definitely above and beyond!.

All in all it was a wonderful holiday, faultlessly organised and we would very highly recommend Expert Africa." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Didn't really know what we wanted to do so were reliant on Amanda's advice. We loved all aspects of Nkwali Lodge ...the Lodge, the staff. the food, the location, the safari trips, walking safari and our guide Perry. He was so enthusiastic about his job and making sure we really enjoyed our stay. Also the hostess Bianca arranged for us to having a morning in town to do a craft workshop and visit a school. Perfect 4 days.

Palm Ridge was a bit of a contrast and we enjoyed relaxing by the Zambezi after several 530am starts. Again the staff were excellent and Tina at activities desk arranged several outings once we recuperated.

There were no hiccups throughout the trip ...we were met at airports, picked up in hotels, Zimbabwe visa organised. All ran very smoothly.

If I had to change one thing I would have stayed an extra night in Lusaka. For 2 reasons ...we loved the Latitude 15 hotel and also it would have been interesting to see centre of Lusaka. However we accept total responsibility as at no point did we ask Amanda to do that for us and also we had a limited no of days for trip.

The whole trip was amazing and far exceeded expectations. Shall thank Keith Drew for recommending Expert Africa." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zambia safari

"A fantastic trip. It was so good that it will be almost impossible to better or even equal it in future (we will try though and you will have a very hard job!)

Tracy was great at arranging everything and we really can't think how they could have been better.

All of the holiday arrangements and documentation were correct and complete. Many thanks to all of the Expert Africa team involved but especially Tracy." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"The whole trip was put together between Megan Green and ourselves and everything worked like clockwork thanks to her.

Thanks also are due to Tours Africa for their assistance in Lusaka both on arrival and departure. Getting in and out of Zimbabwe would not have been possible without the help of Wild Horizons

We saw many other animals and birds not noted in this feedback but the checklists provided by Robin Pope are very comprehensive. Of particular note are crocodiles, Puku, Kidu, water buck, warthogs and numerous birds particularly eagles.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None. Just keep going to provide the same quality product and service to clients" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"Extremely happy with everything, wouldn't change a thing." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Excellent, far exceeded our high expectations. We particularly enjoyed the two week self-drive in Namibia with our friends in convoy. All the accommodations more than met our needs and budget with Camp Kipwe and Ongava Camp being the absolute high lights.

The EuropCar Toyota Hilux vehicles were comfortable and robust and gave confidence on the corrugated roads (Landcruiser not needed) and staff both ends of the trip were terrific.

The Wilderness Meet and Greet Service at Windhoek Airport was tremendously helpful getting SIM cards, ATM and assistance with hire car, coolbox was really appreciated. If you're travelling in convoy, consider using walkie talkies as phone coverage was often very limited.

Expert Africa (Tom Morris and Chris McIntyre) were very responsive in dealing with our missed flights from Frankfurt to Windhoek, we felt very reassured by their involvement and actions." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We were expecting great things and I had built the vision of “holiday of a lifetime”. We were not disappointed! We both agreed that this was the best holiday either of us had ever had and almost every day exceeded expectations. The itinerary was spot-on, the accommodation excellent, and occasionally mind-blowing, the scenery spectacular and ever-changing and our few excursions thoroughly enjoyable. To then add the value for money when eating and drinking and fuel prices a third lower than here in UK, our additional spend was well under budget! I hope we remain healthy enough to experience another trip such as this." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"I think it was thanks to Tom Morris and his suggestions that we had one of the best holidays we have ever had. He really listened to what I wanted out of this holiday and tailored it to perfection - it could not be improved. it was everything we wanted from a safari and more. I had a lot of questions for Tom about general things such as wildfires, trophy hunting, the political regime etc before signing up and he answered them all, comprehensively and honestly.
When the documentation arrived in our leather travel pouch we were so impressed by the level of detail - all those names and phone numbers provided really did inspire confidence and reassurance. We felt we were in safe hands. Never before , no mater how much we have paid, have we had such a level of detailed input. And this was very much appreciated.
Thank you to everybody who might have been involved in putting together our unforgettable holiday and a special thanks to Tom!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari