Sightseeing Tours & Trips in Namibia and South Africa

I took Namibia Nomad tour and I've got very contradictory feelings about my experience. On the one hand, I've seen and experienced some really unforgettable things that will stay in my heart forever. Camping life was ok for me, the food was great and plentiful. We had a knowledgeable and experienced tour leader, who gave detailed information about the places to those who were interested. Peter and Juda, thank you for your professionalism and dedication to your work, and especially for the good mood and happy smile you were giving to every group member. Now the things i didn't like. The truck was full to the capacity (28 people) and it was really jammed inside. In fact in the first days of my trip we travelled in 2 trucks, so it was a group of around 40 people in campings and activities. 40 young yelling noisy uncontrollable people. That was not how I imagined my African dream! I think the space in the truck could have been arranged in a better way. 8 seats out of 28 were facing backwards and were extremely uncomfortable, no leg space or leg support, you sit knee-to-knee with the person in front. Windows had no curtains so we had to use the solutions like blankets and scarves on the windows... No ventilation or air conditioning other than open windows was available, and windows opened only completely to the end that produced air drafts and made us sick. As the truck was overcrowded it looked like complete mess and we didn't have enough space for our belongings. There was always somebody's stuff on the floor blocking the narrow passage. Things fall down and get lost there. I think the problem could be solved by fixing additional shelves above the seats. The truck itself was very old and falling apart. According to truck rules we were supposed to switch seats every day as not all of them were equally comfortable, however a number of people were not willing to do that, so many of us had to spend much time in uncomfortable back seats... Still all this was just a minor thing to me as I didn't expect to get five star comfort on a budget trip. What turned this trip into a nightmare for me was this crowd of loud youngsters from UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia, who were yelling and making noise non-stop from morning till night, without any consideration to the people around. Being locked up with them in the truck for 6-8 hr a day was a real torture. It was especially annoying during safaris and nature walks, when one would expect to hear the sounds of nature and silence. 3 days before the end of the trip a drunk party started on the truck. It was morning (!) time and after several hours of watching this crowd drinking, dancing, singing and yelling with the loud music on, my only solution was to leave the tour. No reimbursement was offered to me and apparently company's policy is to protect the interests of the majority - this rude partying crowd with low level of culture. If the company took its clients' comfort and peace seriously, some basic behavior rules could have been imposed on all group members with certain sanctions on those who don't respect them. That's a difficult job for a tour leader, but we all pay big money for the tour and we all want to enjoy it! I've seen other travellers complaining about the same problems in their feedback, but apparently Absolute doesn't want to do anything to solve them...

An absolutely great trip, Lesley & Peter were great. So knowledgeable about the areas we visited.

Very good tour, covering all the key attractions of Namibia, with informative, knowledgeable guide.