Extraordinary Africa Reviews 14

From the 1st conversation I had with Alex, she listened carefully to what we wanted to do, made good suggestions and tweaked the itinerary several times to accommodate changing numbers in our group and our budget.
Alex was available throughout the trip to help. Fortunately we only needed to contact her once when we came close to missing our connection to Kigali.
The trip was very well organised, and all the local logistics worked seamlessly.
All her recommendations were valuable & appreciated:
• The itinerary and length of time in each place
• Staying in the parks to maximise our experiences
• Getting quality guides particularly in Tanzania
Our guide in Rwanda, Nuuru was helpful, courteous and very knowledgeable about his country. Always on time to meet us with a ready smile on his face. He went over and above- took us to airport early in morning to get our delayed luggage, ensured that we were assigned an easy gorilla trek and a friendly gorilla family so that everyone in our group was able to see and enjoy their time with the gorillas.
In Tanzania we were so lucky to have Gabriel Mushi from Nomad Tanzania as our guide for the safari through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire parks and conservation areas. Gabriel is a world class guide, extremely knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions. He is also a very safe driver (an important consideration when you see some of the other driving).
We had the time and, Gabriel showed us the value of being patient, to watch animal behaviours and be rewarded with some amazing animal experiences every day. Gabriel encouraged us to start early to experience areas with fewer people and more animal activity. Without him. there were so many things we wouldn’t have seen or experienced. He was always early, immaculately dressed and has a wicked sense of humour.
When one of our group required medical attention, Gabriel came early in the morning, cleaned and dressed the wound, drove us to a clinic and ensured the person got the necessary medical help. Fortunately, it was not serious. When we parted, it was like saying goodbye to a good friend.
If you would like to have an amazing trip to see the gorillas in Rwanda and a Tanzanian safari, we highly recommend Alex.

We took our time to prepare this trip very well and started looking for a travel agency more than 18 months before departure. We contacted some agents but felt good when talking to Alex from Extraordinary Africa. Her experience in Tanzania helped puzzle our journey together and select the right lodges. Alex arranged it all in the background; we are sure this took some time and work. Upon departure in Arusha, our guide from Nomad was there on time. Again, Alex did a lot of work in the background to ensure Nomad was well prepared for us. This trip went without a glitch; every second was well worth it. We saw amazing crossings and had wonderful close encounters. For example, we will never forget the hundreds of wildebeests that passed us within 50 meters when we had breakfast close to the Mara River (crossing point zero). The guide makes all the difference here; his experience brought us to many crossings where we were almost alone. Truly an experience. Again, Alex made the difference, as Tanzania is not so easy to travel around. We are quite seasoned travelers, but we do not advise self-driving here. Instead, invest in Alex, and you will enjoy it daily in Tanzania. Note: We also saw a lot of cheap cowboy organizations racing from one site to another. Do not do that. Trust Alex and you will not regret it. Not a second.

Alex is extremely knowledgeable about Africa and where to go on safari. Alex asked what our goals were and how counties differed. We chose Kenya. With her guidance, we went to 3 camps: Tortillis in Amboselli for the giant tuskers, Lewa Safari Camp in Lewa to insurer rhinos, and Kicheche Bush Camp in the Masai Mara for the big cats.Each was excellent as well as being located in a private conservancy, so we had excellent wildlife experiences without crowds. We saw every animal experience we wanted. The logistics and transfers between camps and in Nairobi were perfect. Plus, she got us into the Giraffe Manor which the large travel companies could not. And the Karen Blixen and elephant orphanage were memorable stops in Nairobi. 5 stars+ for Alex and Extraordinary Africa!

Our trip with Extraordinary Africa was unforgettable. From the moment we started planning, I felt completely taken care of. Alex catered a perfect and personal itinerary for us based on our top bucket list locations, budget, and time-frame. The itinerary of Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Masai Mara was planned with so much care and attention to detail. I was so impressed with Alex's knowledge of the continent and each location we visited. My biggest goal of the trip was to see the wildebeest migration, and I assumed that meant I'd need to go to Masai Mara in August (when the river crossings happen). Alex assured me that going to Serengeti in June gave me just as good a chance to see it, at a much lower price and with way less crowds, and I'm glad we followed her advice because we got to experience thousands of wildebeests all to ourselves.
Each accommodation she suggested was also perfect. Lion's Paw in Ngorongoro was as close to the crater as possible, so we were one of the first cars there in the morning! Lahia Tented Lodge was in western Serengeti, where the migration was at that time of year.

Every destination felt perfectly timed and balanced; every new stop on our trip felt like the perfect time to go there and the transitions between them were smooth and stress-free. All the provided prep materials we received ahead of time made a big trip like this feel unintimidating. I felt so confident and excited going into it, and once we were there, I always felt safe and supported.

If you’re looking for a trip that’s not only beautifully curated but also deeply personal, I can’t recommend Extraordinary Africa enough. It lives up to its name in every way.

A trip of lifetime for our honeymoon made easy by Extraordinary Africa.

Alex was fantastic, building our bespoke holiday with ease and to our taste. She has excellent knowledge of Africa as you would expect, but to be able to create something so amazing just for us is a real skill and you can tell she has a passion both for her work, and Africa.

Before we left we were sent a professionally produced pack-up of information for each country we visited, paper copies of tickets and visa information as well has handy tips, a description of where we were going and how, and recommendations for restaurants, sights and more. A wonderful keep sale delightfully presented in a leather wallet. We were also given access to an app with all the information (including live weather) that was super convenient when on the trip.

Our three week trip involved stays in Cape Town and Franschhoek in South Africa, safari in Botswana at the incredible Camp Xakanaxa, the Victoria Falls and Vilankulo in Mozambique for some beach front sun.

Everything from the flights, road transfers, safari light aircraft, and other bookings were all taken care of and made getting around simple, and in many ways, a joy. All of our accommodation was lovely and relaxing with a real homely feel.

All of Alex’s recommendations were of high quality, providing personalised and unforgettable experiences.

I’d recommend Extraordinary Africa to anyone. Careful and experienced hands for your once in a lifetime experiences…

My entire life I have dreamed of experiencing an African safari.
Prior to connecting with Alex, I had spoken with 4 other travel companies. When Alex and I connected, she asked many important questions, then I explained what I really wanted this trip to be. When I received the different itineraries, I was so impressed with how well she had listened.
This was truly a bespoke trip, planned to perfection. From the moment I arrived in Kenya, until the moment I left I was so well cared for, the entire trip was seamless. I quite literally HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE !
Many thanks to you Alex, for helping make my dream come true.

We have nothing but praise for Extraordinary Africa and the bottom line of this review is that we highly recommend the company. I spent ages looking for the right company and I can honestly say that if you are doing the same, you can stop looking and trust Alex and her team to handle your arrangements. From the initial contact with her, she was professional, friendly, super attentive to our needs, and full of fantastic advice. She listened carefully to what we (2 adults and a 13 year old) wanted and she helped us to chose what was right for our budget and expectations of what a safari would be. She was always honest about the prices provided and the types of accommodations available and she spent a lot of time helping us to get every bit right, from flights to accommodations to extras like ballooning. While Alex wanted everything to be perfect for us, it is probably the best measure of a company to know how they perform when things go a bit wrong and in this respect Extraordinary Africa is a company you can trust to take care of you if things don't end up going according to plan. When we arrived in Africa, the Tanzanian tour operator (Asilia) very apologetically broke the bad news to us that our private driver was sick (nobody's fault, just one of those unfortunate things) and that our itinerary would have to be changed. It was peak season and another private driver wouldn't be free until the final third of our planned safari. The Asilia rep very quickly pulled out all the stops to get us on safari to the places we had planned. They informed Alex that changes were needed and both Asilia and Alex worked extra hard for us. We were upgraded (at no extra cost) to a flying safari to get us to our first two camps and we switched to using the camp drivers in private vehicles until Asilia had a free driver to complete the final third of the safari. Our planned accommodation at Ngorongoro had no drivers spare, so Asilia also upgraded us to the 5* Melia Ngorongoro Lodge. All of this was done in a matter of hours while we relaxed, watching the monkeys play in the lush grounds at Rivertrees. Our safari ran smoothly and we were treated like VIPs for the rest of our time in Tanzania. We have so many special memories and this is largely because of how brilliant Extraordinary Africa and Asilia were with their fast action, generous upgrades, and genuine customer care when things didn't go exactly to plan. Africa is an incredible continent and if you travel with an open mind and a company you can trust you will have a great time. We cannot recommend Extraordinary Africa highly enough.

I would recommend Alex to anyone considering a safari in Africa. Before planning our adventure, she interviewed me, asking about my family's "travel style" and she immediately understood what type of safari would be best for us. She expertly advised on which parks to go to, and gave us great options for lodges. The trip was absolutely flawless, and she was incredibly responsive when we had a question during the trip itself. We could not be happier.

We cant fault this company. My wife and I used Alex (and her team) to organise our honeymoon to Mauritius and Kenya and we were simply blown away by how well planned and executed it was. Alex listened to what we wanted, offered advice and suggested options. When we were happy with our choices, the transaction was painless and easy. We then got sent a full list of all the necessary documents/visas etc and she kept in touch at regular intervals to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything.

On the trip, everything was pre arranged for us…we didn’t have to think about anything, which made the whole experience all the mire special.

In our opinion, the level of service you get with an independent company such as EA is far better than you'd get with any of the large corporations.

We will be using their services again and recommending to all our friends and family.

This was a much needed holiday for my son and myself after my husband had died. I was very anxious that all should go well under the circumstances. I needn't have worried. Alex organised the most fabulous holiday for us, with every detail catered for, keeping us informed of the itinerary plans, anticipating questions that I might have needed answers to, and instilling me with the utmost confidence, from her own personal experience of the camps, that we would have a really great time. And we certainly did. She was at the end of the phone, in case we needed her and followed up after we had returned home for feedback on our time away. Communication was excellent and reassuring. Accommodation in the camps was luxurious. Food was worthy of a Michelin star. Our holiday was a resounding success. Thank you so much Alex.

Alexandra from Extraordinary Africa arranged a fantastic and truly memorable trip for my husband and I to Kenya in February. She spent a great deal of time and effort ascertaining exactly what we were looking for and delivered it perfectly. Every transfer/flight/lodge worked perfectly, totally eliminating the stress often involved with travelling. We visited three separate lodges in Amboseli, Mara North and Diani Beach and each were wonderful and suited us perfectly. We are experienced safari goers but this was one of our absolutely favourite trips. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the company and advise you to entrust your plans with Extraordinary Africa.

My wife and I worked with Alex to plan our honeymoon to Rwanda and Kenya. I cannot say enough superlatives about our experience! Alex gave such an incredible level of detail and care to really make sure the trip was exactly how we wanted it. When we reached out to her we didn't even know where in Africa we wanted to travel and only had vague ideas of what we wanted to do. She gave us so much information and helped tailor the perfect itinerary for us. There are a lot of travel agents around, so having that personal touch makes such a difference!

Alex was recommended to us from a friend and in turn we are recommending her to our friends! Alex will make sure you have the trip of a lifetime.

I just returned from a two week holiday in South Africa and I can't say enough good things about my experience booking the trip with Alexandra (Alex) from Extraordinary Africa. She made every effort to understand the type of experience my family and I were looking for (Cape Town, Safari, Johannesburg, etc.). She took care of every detail from high end hotel bookings, flights, hotel transfers, Safari Lodge recommendations, tours and restaurants. Alex has an exceptional understanding of the Africa tourism industry and recommended experiences that made this one of the best family vacations we've been on.

Alex was recommended to us by friends who enjoy high end travel adventures. I would happily recommend her to anyone who is interested in booking a vacation in Africa. Absolutely no reason to guess where to go when you have a market expert like Alex in your corner!

Alex advised on and organised our honeymoon to South Africa. You couldn't be in better hands. The whole holiday was flawless. Alex listened to my vague brief, outlined various wonderful options, was deftless in her handling of my many questions, and gave detailed info on what to expect. Once an intinerary was decided, Alex organised the whole holiday from start to finish and was a great communicator; prepped us on what we needed, checked in regularly and made sure everything went well. I cannot imagine how it could be done better. Recommended.