Zimbabwe: reviews from our travellers

"In a word, the trip was superb - and Maruska Adye had a lot to do with it.

It's important, we think, to compliment Maruska on every aspect of her work with us. From the time we first contacted Expert Africa by email, to the phone conversations we had, to the numerous questions we sent - Maruska's responses were quick (ridiculously quick in some cases - we couldn't believe how attentive she was) and always helpful. We felt all along - and our trip was two years in the making - that we were being treated not simply as faceless clients, but as individuals with preferences and ideas that were worthwhile and needed to be dealt with. Maruska's suggestions always seemed to relate directly to the information we'd forwarded to her. She actually seemed to be thinking about OUR TRIP, not her needs.

One of the things that was most helpful for us was that her description of each of the camps we stayed at in our email correspondence before we left was very accurate. So we had a sense both of what the accommodation and feel of the camp would be, and a good idea of what we were likely to see in each of the concessions.

The organization of flights, transfers, etc. was flawless. Every time somebody was supposed to be somewhere to pick us up they were there. Every time a plane was supposed to arrive for a flight (and there were four of those) it was there ready to go. The drivers and pilots were all friendly and helpful. The most complicated little maneuver, the drive from Kasane to Victoria Falls with the border crossing from Botswana to Zimbabwe, was handled expertly by the drivers on both sides." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Overall we had a great trip. Camps were well run. Staff were sensitive to our needs and preferences. They were also flexible enough to divide our group into different activities to match the preferences within our party. For example, on one occasion four of us went out on the boat fishing while two were taken on a guided walk to study the medicinal uses of the flora.

There was sometimes the sense of being over programmed and not given enough time to ourselves.

We very much enjoyed our walking safaris and could have done more of those.

In conclusion the trip was excellent and no small thanks to Expert Africa and Maruska in particular for helping to organize this trip. Maruska was extremely patient, diligent and made sure that she understood what we were looking for. Nothing was too much for her. She is also very personable and pleasant. Thank you Maruska and Expert Africa" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"A really wonderful trip - thank you for organising!

Only downer was the City Lodge - the rest was incredible" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"First class service. Cannot fault the trip or Expert Africa's organisation." Read full review: 3 nights in Africa; 3 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Saskia planned the trip, and Maruska took over at the end.

Nicely planned - a good mix of camps, wildlife, and land/river.
it was a bit of a surprise to discover how dry Tubu was in November. I was more expecting hippos outside than a dry waterhole.

I'd do it all again tomorrow." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Great variety and accommodations, especially given limited time available and sort of last minute booking. Maruska's excellent; courteous, informed, proactive, responsive, creative, etc." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"All transfers and flights worked like clockwork. Very impressed with Expert Africa's arrangements from start to finish. Full information given at all times and really good advice.

We love Kwando camps in particular although the best game viewing was at Sandibe. Saskia Adye was superb in helping us plan our trip and Maruska took over the reins very efficiently in the final stages.

We would certainly recommend expert Africa to anybody." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"This was a "special" holiday and it certainly lived up to expectations. Zimbabwe was absolutely wonderful, both camps were different but excellent and we saw more wildlife than I had expected. It was a real privilege to view it so closely and to be accompanied by guides who had expert knowledge and genuine enthusiasm for their subject.

Zimbabwe is a wonderful place and never have we felt safer anywhere. Everyone should go there - whatever you think of the regime, it is the people who need tourists and go out of their way to make them have such a good time.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We hardly needed any money on our trip as so much was included, but in Bulawayo we could only use Visa cards, which I suspect was the case for other places.

We had intended to get our visa prior to travel, but when I 'phoned the Embassy, they assured me that it was easy to get one on arrival in Zimbabwe. A second call revealed that you needed to apply for a form which would take a week to arrive and then collect the visa from London. It was easy enough to get one at Vic Falls airport, but the queue was very lengthy and it took a long time to get through. It would seem that the Embassy make it difficult to get one in advance." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"The trip was superb.

We are very happy with your recommendations, with your help and with the whole planning of the holiday.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Would be nice to indicate people traveling around Namibia in a self-driving trip the distances between locations.

We knew that and for us it was OK, but I think that for some elder drivers some of the distances between one hotel to the next can be fairly long." Read full review: 34 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was everything we had hoped for and more. The lodges we stayed at and the whole seemlessness of the logistics to facilitate it was excellent!
What more can I say?

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I don't really have any suggestions.

This was our first experience of a tailor made safari and it has certainly made me feel confident to do this again. I had been slightly worried about how it would all link together and who would meet us and help us get from place to place and this could not really be faulted. I felt that even if I had been travelling alone I would have felt happy that someone was there to help me." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari