Journeysmiths Reviews 

Our 4th holiday with Africa Exclusive but our first trip to Kenya and it was a really interesting itinerary. Stayed at 4 totally different camps in very different parts of the country so there was always something new to see but equally enough downtime to feel relaxed.

Memorable trip from the original booking with Ross to the amazing guide Nathan throughout our stay in Rwanda . Great hotels , lovely country , fabulous people and one unique unforgettable trek with the gorillas .

Traveling to Antarctica is not an easy task and not one we wanted to attempt without the help of a pro. We are so grateful that we worked with Ross from Journeysmiths. Our trip was cancelled multiple times due to Covid and without Ross' help I doubt we could have navigated the process. It was such a relief to know we had him to advocate on our behalf and ensure that we got full credit each time and ultimately ended up on a better ship, the Ultramarine. Our experience was lift changing and we are so thankful that Ross could help with every detail, from booking to getting us to front of the line for excursions and extras. I wouldn't recommend trying this trip without Ross and Journeysmiths guidance. Cheers.

This is the 2nd time I have used Africa Exclusive (Ross) for a family Safari and beach holiday. The advice, guidance and insight that they offer makes the whole experience fantastic and allows for two way conversation on what would work the best, always putting the experience first. I would recommend to anyone.

A great experience with perfect itinerary proposed by Paul Hawley of Africa Exclusive. Brian of Capture Africa was a delightful, knowledgeable (reassuring!) host and guide during our time in the bush - cannot recommend him highly enough. Seven days without mobile signal or wifi or contact with the outside world was a little strange to start with but then wonderfully liberating!

Spectacular birding and game watching trip to Botswana for 8 (mobile tents with a quite brilliant guide called Brian who was an absolute delight to be with) and Zambia. I have had the enormous privilege of holidaying in S Africa several times with African Exclusive. All have been quite splendid-but the most recent trip was very probably the very best.

Organized our first Safari with Africa Exclusive, all remote and all communication via email or phone. Ross was fabulous in advising us and holding our hand in the tricky decision as to where to go. When we were just about to depart, COVID hit and we had to postpone our trip for 2 years. During the whole period, Ross and Holly were patient enough to rebook us, find alternatives and ensure penalties were kept to a minimum. We managed to enjoy the Safari in September 2022 and it was a life-changing experience. Do not hesitate and book with them!

We had a superb holiday from start to finish. Ross at Africa Exclusive had interpreted our needs to the letter and the service that we received from the transfers to accommodation, food and our amazing guide were second to none.
All in all the holiday of a lifetime - until the next one … We will definitely use Africa Exclusive/Journeysmiths again.
Helen and Julian

This was our first safari trip which was postponed from 2020 due to COVID restrictions so it was very much a leap of faith for us when we finally made our trip two years later. We were very impressed that our trip across five African countries went like clockwork in complete accordance with the very detailed itinerary which had been developed for us. Transfers between locations were seamless and we felt that everyone wanted us to have the best experience.

Everything worked incredibly smoothly, and camps were fantastic. We would unreservedly recommend the team and have had a wonderful family holiday as a result of their recommendations. Thank you.

We have just returned from our 4th African safari trip organised by Africa Exclusive. Ross, our consultant, has yet again triumphed in organising a well structured and varied trip which met all our expectations. It was such a delight to return to Africa post pandemic, and to find that safari camps were entirely back to their best. This time, Ross found us two absolutely stand out camps….Xaranna in Botswana and Camp Sossus in Namibia…..these two camps are the very best we’ve stayed in over the last ten years, and the levels of service impeccable. Every day held such magical moments. Thank you once again Africa Exclusive for a truly memorable experience.

I have recently returned from a truly wonderful safari holiday organised by Africa Exclusive. I first met Paul Hawley of Africa Exclusive at a travel fair in London: his obvious love for and knowledge of Africa convinced me to go with Africa Exclusive for our trip. It was the best decision ever. My travel companions and I were not new to safaris, but Paul listened to us and then suggested camps that provided new locations for us, all beautiful and with a variety of landscapes. Africa Exclusive created for us a two week safari that was superb in every way: wonderful choice of camps and extraordinary travel arrangements with attention to every detail to make it easy and stress free for us. Thanks to them it was the best planned and organised trip I have ever been on. And also - this trip was originally planned for 2020 so they completely rebooked it for us for this year, down to the minute details of travel (example: a person to meet and help us at airports and supply of a wheelchair for one traveller).
Africa Exclusive is an exceptional company and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

As a single parent I wanted to make my 8 year old daughter’s dream of seeing the animals of Africa come true. But I had no idea where to start, from malaria to safety to where to see the animals to sustainable travel and local impact.

Paul and Philippa at Africa Exclusive knew all of the answers and we have jut returned from the trip of her life. Highly recommended.

Africa Exclusive from the first conversation with Ross as been first class. Ross listened to the things we wanted and advised us on our itinerary and accommodation, Waterberry Lodge, Nottens Bush and The Commadore Hotel were all 5☆places in prime locations.
We we're met by our private transfer at each airport and traveled in style and felt at ease with no worries even when we missed our first connecting flight Ross phoned me and had another flight 2 hours later booked and even stayed on the phone until we checked in. We had a perfect safari holiday which was down to Ross with all the hard planning of our itinerary. I would recommend anyone who wants to go to Africa to book with Ross at Africa Exclusive because the all round expertise, knowledge of the country,and leaving nothing to chance is exceptional. 100 per cent happy with every part of our holiday, thank you Ross for giving us the relaxation and confidence to just enjoy our holiday.

We had a truly exceptional experience planning a family vacation to Kenya and Zanzibar with Africa Exclusive. Ross Cambray was responsive, knowledgeable, flexible, and very understanding of the needs of a family with three kids. Our trip was perfect - the locations Ross helped us select provided a balance of exposure to fun activities, community, and animals and all the places we stayed far exceeded our accommodation expectations. Fully recommend working with Africa Exclusive to book travel to anywhere on the continent.

Our family has just returned from an experience of a lifetime - all thanks to Africa Exclusive! Having been postponed 12 months already we weren’t sure if it would even go ahead and were prepared for another 12 month wait. However we were assured that we would still have the same experience and to go for it… so we did! From the very beginning Ross guided and advised and really took the time to understand what we were looking to achieve from our African Adventure. He put together a fantastic itinerary combining a variety of camps in Botswana and then a little gem of a lodge on the banks of the Zambezi river near Victoria Falls. Everything was covered - from the complex guidelines around testing and Covid - which thankfully had all been relaxed in time for our trip. Africa Exclusive really are experts and complete professionals who go above and beyond to make the experience as seamless and trouble free as possible. We will never book with anyone else!

My family (10 persons) booked a 9 day Kenya safari with Africa Exclusive for November 2021. We just returned and I could hardly wait to write a glowing review. Words cannot express how thrilled we were with all aspects of this wonderful adventure. Of course we were concerned about doing this trip during Covid, but Africa Exclusive handled all the necessary details to comply with Covid travel requirements. The accommodations, charter flights, venue staff, food, and fantastic game drives all exceeded our expectations and the whole trip ran like clock work. I would not hesitate to book with Africa Exclusive again in the future and would highly recommend them to my friends, family, and anyone who reads this review. All of the venues were thrilled to have travelers again and are just starting to ramp up from the negative impact of Covid on the travel industry. We absolutely loved our experience and have created lifetime memories from this special adventure. One word description:
FANTABULOUS!! Richard Emery, USA

Very impressed with the brilliant way that the team dealt with cancelations and changes to plans during the covid pandemic - ensuring that the necessary refunds were provided without any stress or hassle, and very good communication throughout. A very professional and easy-to-deal-with company. Book with confidence.

We have not yet traveled with Africa Exclusive. We have had to postpone our 2020 trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Africa Exclusive has been very supportive in amending the dates (to one year later basically). The process was fast and smooth.

We got involved with Journeysmiths when my friend won a safari to Botswana at a polo match in Denver. we decided to expand our trip with a sojourn at Victoria Falls before the Botswana safari, and 4 days I Capetown after. Journeysmiths took care of all the arrangements, both for the safari and the extended trip, and it was a delight. their recommended accommodations were top notch; travel and connections in-country were seamless, and the overall trip was the vacation of a lifetime. Journeysmiths charted out the entire itinerary, and we had a wonderful time. We would recommend Ross and Heidi and Journeysmiths for anyone looking for a wonderful adventure,