Expert Africa Traveller Reviews

We had done some research before contacting Expert Africa.They were very helpful in giving advice to help improve our initial planning. We had wanted a fairly leisurely trip while at the same time seeing much of the country. Expert Africa understood what we wanted and the advice they gave allowed us to have a fantastic trip.

Drove several thousand kilometres on mainly excellent dirt roads. Experienced a huge range of magnificent desert scenery, the highlight being the dunes at Souussvelei. Stayed in middle-range (occasionally high end ) lodges which were very comfortable, with good food and charming and helpful staff.Thoroughly enjoyed the solitude of the roads ( one other car per hour, virtually no settlements) which we shared with the occasional springbok and oryx and the very occasional bird of prey.And the sun! A relaxing, energy-giving and inspirational holiday.

Very approachable, knowledgeable people in London who were painstaking in their preparation of our route , car hire and accommodation arrangem,ents. They had a charming and very effecient agent in Windhoek.

Our second trip with Expert Africa. The efforts and help from the team at Expert Africa were outstanding and , without reservation, I would recommend the organisation to anybody wishin to have a trouble free holiday in Africa. We cannot praise them too highly.

Superb. Organisation with excellent staff who have all had experience in South Africa and applied that knowledge to making the holiday a memorable experience.

A three week self drive holiday expertly organised by Expert Africa, seeing virtually all the animals we hoped to see and more. As a keen photographer it surpassed all my expectations. Charming and happy people. Easy stress free driving on empty roads. Comfortable Lodges with helpful staff.

Excellent in every way.

All the arrangements made by Expert Africa worked well, our accommodation was first class, food excellent and the guides for our wildlife experience were outstanding.

Expert Africa staff are just that - experts! The Rough Guide to Kenya was written by our expert, Richard Trillo. We have travelled with this company twice before and would not hesitate to return.

We had a long and complicated itinerary to see Rwanda (which is new to us) and then to Namibia which we have previously visited many times. Expert Africa were very good in helping us plan the itinerary to see as much as possible in a short time. We had a guided tour in Rwanda (with driver/guide) and a self-drive 4x4 in Namibia with numerous pre-booked special treks and visits recommended and arranged by Expert Africa (eg. mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in Rwanda, Desert Rhinos and Epupa Falls in Namibia). With so many reservations there was a lot of scope for something to go wrong but absolutely everything booked for us worked and we felt the standard of places we were booked into was generally excellent. Expert Africa guided us well by creating an itinerary where we could keep to schedule but without it being too hectic. In short we feel Expert Africa did a better than excellent job, pretty well as perfect as it could be.

There were numerous organisations sub-contracted by Expert Africa all of which delivered what was expected

We had 9 days self driving in Namibia, visiting old colonial towns, ghost diamond rush towns, magnificent dunes and Africa's biggest canyon. All places where we stayed we well appointed with good and varied food.

Helpful, responsive and put together at short notice and for an unusually short duration a tour encompassing so many aspects of Namibia.

The holiday was an amazing experience and ticked all of the boxes I had specifically asked for. The accommodation, location, service, people , food, activities and child friendliness were all exemplary and faultless. From the time we landed to the time we left everything was just wonderful.

Eleanor Dunkels from Expert Africa was superb. She listened to my request and she surpassed my expectations in understanding my requirements for a family safari experience. She clearly explained why some places I had considered might not be the best for our son and gave me options she considered to be the best for the time we had available and for the specific request i had made.. Eleanor was spot on! I would recommend her and Expert Africa to anyone and my next African experience will certainly be with them.

A lovely country to visit with an incredible contrast of experiences.

We have used them before and returned to use them again as we knew they would give good advice and organise our trip impeccably

I arrived in Ndutu the day before Valentine's day and was picked up by my guide at the air strip. I was a little concerned that I wasn't going to the right camp as all the guides approached people saying just the name of the camp they were from. I thought I had got it right, but I wasn't sure. I would have felt more relaxed if the guide had addressed me by name. We set off straight away for a game drive which was brilliant after being cooped up inside small aircraft for about 4 hours. I was asked what animals I would like to see and my request to see a cheater was met. A nice surprise on the way to the camp was that we stopped in the middle of nowhere to celebrate a 60th birthday with champagne and cake and other camp guests. This was a great way to break the ice and meet fellow campers. The staff were very attentive, topping my glass and plate up as soon as it was empty and bringing me a blanket when they saw I was shivering a little. I enjoyed a pre dinner drink around the camp fire and then dinner under the stars. I was little anxious on retiring to my tent that I would be cold as the temperature had dropped and the wind was getting up and I had not brought pyjamas or any thing warm. So I was delighted when slipping in to bed to find a hot bottle which kept me as warm as toast. The next morning I was awoken with coffee and heart shaped biscuits and a greeting of 'Happy Valentine's day'. It was 5am and the sky was star studded, it was mesmerising. We set off to the hot air balloon site, but as the sun began to rise so the fog descended. I was devastated when our pilot told us we would not be able to take off and he would have to cancel the flight. Then after 10 minutes or so hanging around despondently he shouted out 'all aboard' and we were off gliding higher and higher in to the sky, the fog of just minutes before a distant memory. The visibility was amazing. We saw some wild life, but just the feeling of floating in the sky over vast expanses of nothingness was incredible.We were in the air for an hour and a half and then landed to be offered cold champagne before moving on to our breakfast spot. A temporary kitchen had been set up in the middle of nowhere and our table laid under the shade of a tree. We were offered tea or coffee, fresh fruit juice, a selection of fruits, freshly baked bread and a full English breakfast plus more champagne nicely chilled. Once breakfast was over I was transported to join the rest of my group and although a little disappointed that I had missed seeing the birthing of many baby wildebeast, was consoled when we stumbled upon the migration, thousands of wildebeest as far as the eye could see. think this was my best Valentine's day ever. I would say to those travelling alone that although many people think of safaris as being for honeymooners they are perfect for single travellers. You never feel alone, you are treated like royalty and in the intimacy of the jeep all barriers are broken down. The next morning I had one last short game drive before catching my flight, I had no particular expectations, it was just nice to be out in the wild a few hours longer. Then an amazing thing happened, we came upon a lone baby wildebeest, only hours old with low life expectancy as easy prey for lions and cheaters. It attached itself to our jeep for protection and together with two other jeeps we tried to lead it to the safety of a herd of adult wildebeest. It followed behind us skipping and jumping, running fast until exhaustion took over and it all but gave up. We stopped to allow it to rest and got out of the jeep for a couple of minutes to stretch our legs. The little calf come up to me and began nuzzling my leg and butting me. At that point I knew if we didn't save it I would be heart-broken. We set off again, and then, in the distance, like coming upon an oasis we saw a small herd of male adults with one female. What happened next I will remember for ever. The herd saw the calf and lifted their heads standing stock still and alert, then in unison they began to canter towards the baby, surrounding it with the protection of their bodies. It played with the male adults butting them and being pushed over and then suckled on the female. We had done it- the baby was safe. I can without doubt say this has been the experience of a lifetime. If I were to give any advice at all to any one venturing on their first safari, it would be to have no expectations, don't go looking for anything in particular, just slowly meander through the bush, enjoy the wide open spaces and any animals you come upon and wait for the 'wild' to surprise you. I didn't see a 'birthing' but what I did see and experience was unique and unforgettable.

James was excellent from beginning to start. He even got the camp to agree to waive the single supplement for which I was very grateful. I would definitely use Expert Africa again and would ask for James.