Reviews of safaris to Chobe National Park

"When I arrived in Johannesburg from Heathrow, London I was given assistance and found myself in a smallish room with television and noise blaring out and about 8 assistants doing nothing. Eventually I asked to be taken to the Gate for Kasane.

When I arrived in Johannesburg Airport from Maun it took nearly 2 hours to get through passport control and I had to re-enter, departures because baggage cannot go direct from Maun to Heathrow. A man who had an identity pass insisted that he gave me guidance ( which I said I did not want) because he knew where I should go.

He wanted $10 for the privilege,, which he did not get, and showed me to the wrong place anyway. After several attempts to get help a lady official opened a barrier and took me through in front of the queue and made sure I had assistance. The 'assistance' said if I wanted to give him "something" I was not to give it to him in front of anyone.(he did not get anything either!). ..Is there no other route to Botswana?

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I was very satisfied with Lucy's assistance in arranging my visit to Botswana and will definitely consider Expert Africa's assistance if I need any help in the future.

Lucy partly remembered arranging my trip to Botswana six years ago and from that trip we planned this one. Through our Emails I found Lucy friendly, lucid and easy to communicate with and within a few days at short notice My Botswana itinerary was in place. Each stage of the plan went smoothly and there were no hold-ups or my being left stranded. Even at Maun airport I received unexpected assistance to make sure I was where I was expected to be.

My experience of a very enjoyable and well-planned trip leaves me without any suggestions for improving Expert Africa's service - except for, perhaps, including within this form a feature that prevents automatic deletion when accidentally pressing a wrong key or Back to previous page..........

VERY MANY THANKS, LUCY, FOR ARRANGING MY TRIP SO EFFICIENTLY, FROM, JEAN." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari

"We had a fabulous trip with no disappointments at every stage. The trip was very varied with a range of different excellent game viewing in different environments. The staff everywhere were welcoming with the best trained being the And Beyond staff. The quality of the game viewing ( e.g. three separate lion kills!) was exceptional. In addition to game drives the most memorable and instructive activities were the photographic safari on the Chobe, bush walk and star gazing in the Kalahari.

I do think that the flora aspect of these places are a resource to be developed as their was little information on them unless one asked questions. Premises should label plants important to the animals and the community as it is part of the narrative of the environment.

We would like to thank Lucy Copson for the time and trouble she took to tailor a Safari that met our needs which resulted in two very happy travelers!

We would be happy to recommend Expert Africa to anyone wanting to visit Botswana." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Our experience in Botswana and Vic Falls was excellent throughout - great accommodation, smooth transfers and wonderful safari.

We greatly appreciated all the work that Nick Hobbs from Expert Africa put into advising us on our itinerary to meet our requirements and budget. We hope to do it all again soon." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"Top notch!

Everything was well organised and well planned - a very thorough and professional service by Expert Africa.

Our special thanks must go to Maruska for her individual attention. We will highly recommend this service to our friends." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"This was the best organised and most enjoyable trip we have ever experienced! The service from Expert Africa was professional, sympathetic and extremely knowledgeable.

The packed breakfast from Roys Restcamp and indifferent management at Ngepi were the only incidents (and not controllable by EA) which were not perfect in a safari which gave us a range of excellent accommodation, a kaleidoscope of stunning locations and landscapes and an unforgettable selection of activities. Transfers and flights were seamless and on time, all bookings were recognised and honoured. Everything worked better than expected!

We have been extremely impressed with the efficiency of the EA service, the response to queries and information provided and overall knowledge available to us in dealing with Maruska who did a superb job in putting together the package for such a disparate group.

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Can't think of any." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Maruska did an excellent job in putting together a varied itinerary for our mixed group. We had a fantastic trip!! One of the highlights of our seven months away. Such a wonderful balance of comfort and adventure. Highlights included the balloon ride over the Namib desert, game drives in Etosha and Chobe, fishing on the Okavango panhandle and enjoying sundowners as a family each evening.

Although more expensive than other trips we had done, we can confidently say that it was excellent value for money. Simply put, Maruska made everything easy for us - things worked like clockwork!

Namibia is an easy country to do a self drive. The flexibility this gave us was refreshing. Given the long distances, everyone shared the driving. The pacing of the trip was spot on!

We were also pleasantly surprised with how much we loved the Okavango panhandle. It really was the 'Delta' experience we were looking for.

Thank you once again Mush for a great holiday!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"It exceeded our expectations for just about everything.

For your adventurist guest, when staying in Victoria falls, take a rafting trip on the Zambezi river and don't forget to do the Gorge swing if you don't have a heart condition! Botswana may be more expensive that other African countries for you Safari, but if you are concerned about the well being of the local people, we have been told that your money actually goes to free health care and education for their people. The Zero tolerance for poaching by the government appears to be working.

Its a very special place and without recommendations from Maruska Adye of Expert Africa, we would have never known what we were missing.

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You need to update the info on laundry. There is no limits on what they wash. Shinde, Okuti and Muchenjie all provided flash lights and had plenty of medical supplies. No need to supplement this when trying to keep baggage to a minimum. Trip itinerary was flawless. All of the connections to and from camps, while "open" went off like clock work.

Thanks Again Maruska!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This was an incredible trip giving us treasured memories and a desire to visit this fascinating continent again.

The trip was a long time in the planning. I love to research and plan our trips but felt I needed help on this one. Taking into account our budget limit, numerous discussions and e-mail exchanges with Tracy Lederer took place before settling on our final itinerary. Tracy was always enthusiastic, patient and above all knowledgeable. We certainly would not have had the great trip we had without her. All arrangements for the trip went without a hitch but it was reassuring to know that help was just at the end of a phone should the need arise.

Crucial to our enjoyment was the variety which was included in our trip;
We were self driving in Namibia and had our transport organised in Botswana.
We stayed in very different camps/lodges, some humble some much more luxurious and one stay on a boat.
We experienced land based and water based activities.
We had a day trip to Victoria Falls.

The Bradt Guides and all of the detailed information which was sent to us prior to departure was very much appreciated.

Expert Africa will be our choice for our next trip." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"This was a much anticipated and long-awaited trip, and undoubtedly our most expensive holiday to date, but it probably exceeded our expectations. We appreciated the Botswanan approach to tourism (high income, low volume) which we believe preserves the "goose that lays the golden eggs" - the richness of its wildlife and the distinctive personal nature of its camps. We loved the variety of terrain, accommodation and wildlife that we experienced, which was what I had requested when we first started discussing the itinerary.

We chose Expert Africa because of its intimate knowledge of the area, and I appreciated the personal information and advice I received from Lucy, who obviously travels regularly to Botswana and could talk to me about the camps from her personal experience. All the arrangements worked like clockwork and so we could just relax and enjoy the experience.

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One aspect that we found a little difficult was tipping. Some camps had trackers as well as guides, and others had additional offerings that could be rewarded, e.g. the Bushmen at Camp Kalahari while others did not, and it was difficult to budget as we went along. I did not realise that in most cases the staff managed their gratuity box themselves, without reference to the management, so I think this could be explained more clearly in your information before travelling." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We had such a super trip! Having just spent a week at Kruger Park, I was worried the kids would be 'safari-ed" out, but it turns out that each location had a special charm and offered us something new and exciting.

Though we 'saw' a sleeping lion in Kruger, we saw a whole pride of lions walk by our car in Chobe. Thought we 'saw' a leopard in Kruger, we saw a leopard in a tree trying to protect a kill from hyenas underneath. We loved the sounds of the Delta - the natural heartbeat of birds and frogs and so on that greeted us every morning and night. We loved the service of our lodges -- we felt very taken care of.

Mostly, I really appreciated that all the logistics were so smooth -- the pick-ups (and, in particular, border transfers) were on time and professional. The shuttle services (Wilderness safaris, African Odyssey, etc) were excellent. Having meals and inclusive private safaris added to the trip cost, of course, but were essential for traveling with a family and making it care-free.

Our favorite part of the trip was assuredly Machaba Camp -- my youngest son (age 3) hit it off with our guide (Moreri) and we are still missing him! Mostly, they were so accommodating with times and meals, that we relaxed into our vacation in a very real way. Thanks for making all these logistics so smooth!!!

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Honestly, it was excellent and I would recommend your services again -- worth the pennies to have all those logistics sorted out. We had a great time!

I might just add two small things - I might have missed the part about Ilala being in USD, and USD prices. Since we were coming from South Africa, this obviously seemed more pricey to us than we were expecting (and the only part of our trip that was not all-inclusive) and we could only get USD from the ATMs. Not a huge problem, but might be good to have included that in the trip info (perhaps I missed it - if so, sorry).

Also, we were essentially bribed at the VFAirport...the guys asked us if we wanted to upgrade to business class for $200 and when I agreed, he said it had to be in cash. Ugh -- by this point, he had already booked the tickets so we had no real choice, but it was clear I was not going to be getting a receipt for that one. I am sure he saw our American passports. I felt very duped, but since everyone else had been so honest and helpful our entire trip (and since the VFA airport is so beautifully new and professional!), this took me by surprise. Folks should be on the lookout for scams like this (especially as Americans).

Otherwise, super duper trip!!! Happy to answer any other questions." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari