Journeysmiths Reviews 

Pre - trip advice, planning and administration were first class. The operations on the ground all went very smoothly despite our flight from the UK being delayed due to thunderstorms (local rep waited over 6 hours extra for us) and Chile experiencing major civil unrest with street protests & barricades.
The itinerary covered a variety of terrain including Buenos Aires, fjords, glaciers, seaside & desert. All the accommodations & cruise ship were excellent in all respects - location & scenery, service, food, activities and guides. The trip gave us many memorable experiences including landing on Cape Horn, a wild but friendly encounter with a Puma and hiking among giant cacti in the Atacama desert.
This was our second trip to S America with the Africa Exclusive group and both have been really great.

Having used Africa Exclusive for our honeymoon nearly 18 years ago, we were always keen to take our family back. So 2020 was the year to take the kids too. We had it all planned, everyone was excited and then coronavirus happened! AE have been fantastic at rearranging the 'holiday of a lifetime' for us. Their communication has been superb - and we have exactly the same holiday rebooked for April 2021. Thank you to Ross, Alex and the team at Africa Exclusive.

I traveled several times with Africa Exclusive circa 20 years ago, (they even arranged my Wedding on an Island in the middle of the Zambezi!). They still apply the same attention to detail now as they did back then ! Alex was fantastic in helping arrange the itinerary and subsequently Ross has been great dealing with things since the Covid-19 outbreak.

They have communicated proactively and were completely honest about the likelyhood of the trip "going ahead" very early in the pandemic. This enabled us to re-arrange for next year, rather than worrying about "lets wait and see" , only to find ourselves dissapointed or significantly out of pocket. I would definately recommend them to anyone.

PreCovid trip in February 2020 to Ecuador was well organized, the transfers and transportation excellent and the hotels superb. Our venture to the Amazon Basin and then the Galapagos exceeded our expectations. Thanks

It is hard to know what else to say other than THANK YOU. We had planned our second trip with AE, our first to Kenya (the most amazing experience), this time to South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. Well along comes the coronavirus. Ross and Hayley were there calmly to figure it out for us, they managed to move the entire trip forward one year to 2021. Next we hear South Africa airlines is going bankrupt, I email Ross and with his normal calm he acknowledges but says we will figure it out and they have. We could not ask for more.
THANK YOU!!!!

Fantastic trip!
Ross and the team from Journeysmiths did a great job organizing a trip exactly to our liking. Together with my partner, we travelled to South America for multiple weeks and all our expectations were exceeded. Can highly recommend!

We had planned our third family holiday with Africa Exclusive, this time for a week safari in Johannesburg and then a week relaxing on a remote island in Mozambique. As usual a lot of planning, time and thought had gone into this trip and we were so excited as a family to be going on this trip, to be getting away from the hustle and bustle of life and being in the remoteness of nature once again.

Then came the COVID-19 which know one could have seen coming or ever planned for. To be honest at first I thought it was just a small virus in China but then I think we all quickly realised that our whole worlds would be turned upside down for a long long time and we would see the good and bad in humanity.

I contacted Africa Exclusive straight away and they were superb. Isabel, Emily and Laura Worked so hard with all the different camps and airlines to get everything changed to next year and to keep the trip cost neutral which I was so grateful for.

After everything they have done I can’t praise the team enough on how professional and supportive they were and to hear that some of the team have been put on furlough is sad to hear, especially when they have done such amazing work for many, many customers and I hope to see them back to work ASAP.

Thank you Africa Exclusive for your amazing support and service and I look forward to booking yet another trip to Africa with you soon.

Three years ago we started planning the biggest trip of our life. It was to be a 70th birthday gift to myself and included ten other members of my immediate family. I did extensive research on the many tour groups that do trips to Africa.

In 2008 we had used AE on a trip to Africa and later did a month long trip through southern South American and Antarctica. Both of these trips were impeccable. The subcontractors they use are, in my opinion, the best out there.

It wasn’t any surprise that AE put together the best trip at a great price for our 2020 trip.

Then, the world turned upside down. Our trip was to take place in late June of this year. The pandemic was running rampant and every element of our trip was impacted negatively. Airlines, camps, and governments put up barriers that made the trip impossible. Even AE was forced to put trusted employees on furlough. Our Travel Insurance company also declined our claims to cancel the trip. We were looking at losing a huge sum of money.

As we had hoped, Ross stepped in and stayed in constant communication with us about solving our problem. Even with a short staff, AE was communicating with all the camps in Africa to see what we could salvage going forward. They were able to rearrange a new trip, one year out, for the same price as the 2020 trip. This was not an easy task for such a large group.

I have thrown away my crystal ball as to what the future will look like, but I have all the faith in the world that AE will be at our side the whole way. I also expect the trip to be wonderful.

Thank you Ross, Emily, Hayley, and the whole crew at AE for keeping our dream on track.

This is the first safari that myself and my husband have been on and thanks to Africa Exclusive it exceeded all of our expectations! The attention to detail from the very first phone call to a lovely follow up call on our return have been second to none.
Our accommodation was out of this world and the food exquisite. We had private game drives in each camp and our guides were incredible and so knowledgeable. Throughout the whole trip we were treated exceptionally well and nothing was too much trouble. This was a once in a lifetime trip and one never to be forgotten! We can’t thank you all enough! Darren & Lou

We now have been on 10 safaris with Africa Exclusive. Aeschylus one has been tailor made to our needs and interests and well organised. Our recent safari to South Africa with our daughters and grandchildren was a tremendous success.We will be continuing to use Africa Exclusive in the future and we highly recommend them

You won't want to travel with anyone else!

From our initial enquiry to the date of departure, every little detail was accounted for helping us to prepare for a holiday of a lifetime! All we had to worry about was getting to the airport on time.As soon as we landed in Tanzania the only time we had to touch our bags was to get clothes out of them.

The mixture of camps were just right enabling us to see a great range of terrain together with the most wonderful sightings of animals.

Africa Exclusive, we thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts for such amazing memories that will last forever.

Working with Africa Exclusive was an excellent experience. Emily and Haley were the best at communicating with us during the planning process. Always so patient as plans were changed and adjustments were made. Always felt like our best interest was top priority. Everything about our Uganda and Kenya trip was very well planned out. So enjoyable to sit back and enjoy a stress free trip. Such a pleasure to work with you and would hope that our paths will cross again!

This was our 4th holiday with Africa Exclusive & we certainly wouldn't book with anyone else. My husband & I had always wanted to visit Namibia, so as a surprise for our anniversary I asked Alex to put a holiday together. We had no idea of what we wanted to do, apart from a visit to the Skeleton Coast, but Alex arranged the most amazing trip. 6 fantastic lodges in such varied locations gave us a taste of this beautiful country. Alex has arranged trips for us before so has got to know what we like & dislike, but always goes out of his way to ensure everything is perfect, even arranging a special box with the itinerary in for me to present to my husband. Once everything was planned Isabel then took over & as usual was amazing. She made sure everything worked perfectly, kept us updated at regular intervals, answered all our questions, & when we raised concerns about the time between flights, arranged for us to be met & fast tracked through immigration, which made life so much easier & reduced our stress levels immensely.
If you want an amazing holiday which will leave you with incredible memories Africa Exclusive is the company to use.

I long to ring Laura as I wouldn't dream of going to Africa with any other company. My only worry is getting to the airport and getting home again from the airport. They organise everything and I don't have to think about a thing. The accommodation is always perfect, people fantastic, food wonderful and animals beyond belief. Oh, just dream of going back with AF. Hakuna Matata really should be their motto.

We asked for a safari, the first thing that happened was that Ross interviewed us: a thorough grilling really what were our likes, dislikes, expectations etc. The result was an itinerary incorporating three camps in Botswana; three camps that offered very different habitats and experiences. We saw all the usual suspects, and leopards, rhino, cheetah and even honey badgers, glorious sunsets and then each day there was at least one extraordinary experience - something that we will never forget. You might suggest we were lucky, we were, but we also had very talented and experienced guides.
This holiday exceeded our expectations in every way all thanks to the professionalism and hard work of Ross and staff at Africa Exclusive.

Superb service from everyone at Africa Exclusive.
We spent two weeks in Botswana and Zambia and already had a very good idea about our preferred itinerary.
What was good was that Ross made a number of constructive suggestions (regarding accommodation choices and timing) that improved our holiday.
Everything on the trip ran smoothly and the one issue (cancellation of a South African Airways flight while we on our holiday) was handled quickly and efficiently.
Highly recommended.

Outstanding company! We had a week long trip in Kenya and every detail was meticulously managed and organised. From the moment I contacted Africa Exclusive I knew I had made the right decision. Emily was so knowledgeable and made recommendations which suited us to the tee. Hayley did all the organising and planning and was faultless in her attention to detail and so quick to respond when I had any questions. The locations they recommended were AMAZING and the ground service from their agents was second to none (and we travel extensively). I would recommend this company again and again - honestly fantastic and exceeded every expectation! Thanks for making our trip so memorable.

We are regular africa safari trippers and the experience with Africa exclusive was excellent . A complicated trip well organised . We had a cancelled flight from joburg to Namibia discovered only when we arrived . The changes for our flight next day to the desert and the lodge etc were all changed smoothly
The trip itself was well thought through and our guide/ naturalist Tim in Namibia was a an absolute delight with his knowledge , thoughtfulness and desire to please . Strongly recommend Africa exclusive

Africa Exclusive is an excellent organiser with attention to detail, capability to organise bespoke trips and has a first class partner in Namibia. Various members of our trip arrived in Namibia from different places and departed to different destinations at the end. In addition, some of us had business luggage having combined the trip with a business one. None of these details or variations posed any problem Having travelled to various parts of Africa on a regular basis (at least once a year), over the past 28 years, I can assure you that organisation and logistics can be a challenge! I will use them again. Well done Emily and Hayley!.

I would not hesitate in recommending Africa Exclusive. Emily and Angie arranged simply the best experience you could wish for. From the very first moment we spoke to Emily we knew we were in the best of hands and that they adventure they would create for us would be second to none. Angie continued the fabulous service and took care of every little detail. This was very special for us as we chose to get married in Kenya (Emily's idea!) and it quite simply turned out to be the best decision. Our trip included 3 days in Nairobi, 5 days on safari (Loisaba) and then 8 days in Mozambique. The partnerships that Africa Exclusive meant that the whole trip was perfect. Fully recommend, in fact hopeful to soon arrange a wedding anniversary trip!