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Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Discover the beautiful and remote Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

There are only a few camps inside the reserve.

Central Kalahari is a great place for spotting cheetahs.

Other wildlife can also be found in good numbers.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Reviews of safaris to Central Kalahari Game Reserve

146 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Central Kalahari .

Showing 1-10 of 146
Duration
Arrival date
Family H & L
Berks

"My Sep 2024 trip"

I visited Botswana between 13 Sep 2024 and 28 Sep 2024
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs LP
United Kingdom

"Our Botswana Aug 2024 trip"

I visited Botswana between 16 Aug 2024 and 31 Aug 2024
"Anton put together a fabulous trip for us. He listened carefully to our wishes, chose camps which suited us perfectly & enabled us to experience different aspects of the Delta plus the Central Kalahari.

A member of the team was always available with advice or to answer questions, excellent service." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Miss L.
United Kingdom

"My Jul 2024 trip"

I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 9 Jul 2024 and 20 Jul 2024
"This was the most amazing trip. We saw so much wildlife the highlights being the cheetah the sable and the baby elephant giraffe hippo and lion cubs. We experienced being very close to lions and a little too close to elephants. My only disappointment was not seeing the wild dogs but they had moved out of the area and also not seeing a leopard. Our guides did everything they could to find the leopard and we did spend time tracking but if they don’t want to be found then no amount of searching will get that sighting." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs A
Kent

"My May 2024 trip"

I visited Botswana between 30 May 2024 and 11 Jun 2024
"Our 10 days in Botswana was better than we could have imagined.

We went just before the high season and it was very dry, but in our four day stay at Splash camp, we could see the difference as the floods started to arrive. There were many highlights and this trip has created lasting memories.

The friendliness of everyone we met was amazing, they work long days but were always smiling and wanting to help." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Clare
London

"My Feb 2024 trip"

I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 17 Feb 2024 and 28 Feb 2024
"very helpful indeed and extremely knowledgable." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Flying Dutchmen
NL

"This was truly very special!"

I visited Namibia and 2 other countries between 7 Feb 2024 and 24 Feb 2024
Overall trip
Excellent
David and Sammy
SF

"My Apr 2023 trip"

I visited Botswana and 2 other countries between 2 Apr 2023 and 14 Apr 2023
"Pre-trip planning was great. I had many back-and-forth conversations with Megan and we tailored a trip that met our specific needs. We had to go through several rounds of proposals until we got the right one, and Megan was patient, prompt, friendly and very helpful. We definitely could not have arranged the trip without her guidance.

Once on the ground in Africa, we encountered a major problem. Because I was traveling without my wife, I was told by the border agent in Namibia that I needed to present my son's birth certificate, a letter from my wife giving me consent to travel alone with my son, and a copy of my wife's passport. This is all due to child trafficking prevention laws in southern Africa. I was not aware of these requirements and had to call my wife at 2am in the morning US time so that she could send me a copy of my son's birth certificate. The border agent also wanted the letter and her passport scan but I told her there was no way I could get those in short order and she reluctantly let us in to the country.

Over the next few days, I had my wife get a notarized letter and scan that and her passport and send to me. This, however, was not technically in compliance with the laws of these countries, as I was supposed to have an original copy of both the birth certificate and the letter. This meant that any border agent in Zimbabwe or Botswana could have decided to follow the law exactly and decline us entry into their country.

Upon reviewing the itinerary from Expert Africa, I did see a short section about traveling with children under 18 in southern Africa. It was several pages into a long itinerary, it was pretty vague (it mentioned a birth certificate but nothing else), and no one at Expert Africa - either by phone or in email - ever pointed this out to me.

I feel that this was a major failure on the part of the company. I had several restless nights wondering if I was going to miss an entire week of my trip due to this, I had to call my wife in the middle of the night, I spent time talking to the US consulates in each of these countries and generally this caused me a lot of stress.

I want to be very clear with this: any time Expert Africa has a parent and child traveling with them, they should repeatedly and proactively remind the parent to get all necessary documentation in order weeks before the trip takes place. This should not be left to a small-print section at the back of a document. As much as I loved my trip and the service I got planning the trip, I don't think I can recommend Expert Africa to friends unless I have confidence that other travellers would not be put in the same situation that my son and I were put in." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Good
Mrs P.
United Kingdom

"My Mar 2023 trip"

I visited Botswana between 16 Mar 2023 and 27 Mar 2023
"We really liked the suggested itineraries on the Expert Africa website. If we were to book again we might spend a little more time analysing the alternative camps." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr D.
London

"My Mar 2023 trip"

I visited Botswana between 15 Mar 2023 and 28 Mar 2023
"I've been to Africa on numerous occations and so decided to visit locations that I haven't been to before. Central Kalahari, Naxi Pan and Kwando concesion in the Okavango.

The three camps that I've stayed in, Tau pan, Naxi pan and Kuara are all run by Kwando safaris. The camps, situated in great locations, were stylish, spacious, comfortable and clean.

The teams were friendly, profesional, easy to talk to and made us as wellcome as possible.
The food was varied and tasty, pesonally I love a buffet and was spoiled with alternative dishes to accomodate my lactose intolerance.

The tents/rooms were enormous and very comfortable.

All the guides and trackers that I've spent time with were cheerful motivated and knowledgable.

Being the rainy season I knew that animal sighting could be patchy, although pleasingly Naxi pan was busy with wildlife due to the limited water supply.

I was delighted to find out that most people I've met were repeat visitors to Africa, some many times over.

Overall I was satisfied with my holiday. Unfortunately the Okanango section of my trip didn't live up to expectations due to few animal sitings." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
B & F
Hexham

"My Feb 2023 trip"

I visited Botswana between 28 Feb 2023 and 7 Mar 2023
"Potentially it was a great trip but the insect bite which resulted in hospitalisation in Johnannsburg rather took the shine off!

However all the people at Kwando Safaris were extremely helpful." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Showing 1-10 of 146
98%
146 reviews of Central Kalahari by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
135
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Where to stay in Central Kalahari

Our suggestions for safari camps in Central Kalahari Game Reserve


Tau Pan Camp

Tau Pan Camp

The comfortable Tau Pan camp inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve offers some of Botswana's best summer game viewing and birdwatching.


96% (92 reviews)
Kalahari Arms Hotel

Kalahari Arms Hotel

Kalahari Arms Hotel, in the town of Ghanzi, is a practical overnight stop for travellers crossing the Kalahari to or from Namibia.


75% (23 reviews)
Kalahari Plains Camp

Kalahari Plains Camp

Kalahari Plains Camp, situated in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, is a traditional tented camp offering some of Botswana's best summer (Dec–Mar) game viewing, and an introduction to authentic Bushman culture.


91% (16 reviews)
Edo's Camp

Edo's Camp

Edo's Camp is a small camp with only four spacious tents overlooking a permanent waterhole. Surrounded by 20,000 hectares of private game conservancy you can expect to see white rhino, springbok, oryx and eland here.


93% (8 reviews)
Dinaka

Dinaka

The newest addition to Ker and Downey Botswana’s portfolio, Dinaka is based on a private game reserve on the northern boundary of the CKGR.


96% (5 reviews)
Deception Valley Lodge

Deception Valley Lodge

A private reserve on the border of the CKGR, Deception Valley Lodge offers more flexible activities than within the reserve and a particularly good Bushman experience.


96% (5 reviews)
Gham Dhao Lodge

Gham Dhao Lodge

Gham Dhao Lodge is one of a number of lodges located on the northern boundary of the CKGR, offering a year-round Kalahari experience.


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