Reviews of safaris to Kalahari's Salt Pans

"This was one of the best holidays we have ever had. We do not spend a huge amount of money (at least compared to what you could spend in Botswana), but nonetheless had a great time, saw and experienced lots!.

We had highlights (Nxamaseri, Chobe, Vic Falls,) and lowlights (bald tyres, Camp Kalahari), but overall enjoyed the trip

The wildlife, birds and animals, is great. The landscape outside the delta a little dull (say compared to the desert in Namibia), but OK. The delta is really interesting as are the salt pans.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

a difficult one. we had several phone calls and lots of emails, and a few iterations of the itinerary before agreeing everything. my main concerns were about driving

on the driving, i think a 4wd is essential even if using camp drives in the parks. there are too many places where one can get stuck in sand. also, there are roadworks in Namibia and Botswana that caused some delay. i realise this is difficult to factor in when booking a year in advance - we did not think to check.

one other point - when discussing where we could drive and how to get into Zimbabwe I was told that Budget would not let us take the car across the border. instead we paid for a driver and van to take us to and from Vic Falls. however, when picking up the car Budget asked us if we wanted the paperwork to cater for crossing into Z. I don't know how much money we spent on the two taxis, but it would appear that this was an unnecessary expense" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This is my third time with Expert Africa, and I wouldn't use anyone else.

Megan was great, and the transfers were seamless. Especially the transfer to Zambezi Sun, from Camp Kalahari. Flight to Kasane, drive to water's edge, boat across river, then drive through border and on to Zambezi Sun. Really smooth and easy. I think it was done by wilderness, who also took us over to Zimbabwe for tea at the Victoria Falls hotel, they were excellent.

This really was the wonderful trip we dreamed about.

Expert Africa have been fantastic all three times I have used them." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

""Very satisfactory" hardly does our trip to Botswana justice. It was truly an amazing adventure and the trip of a lifetime. Of course, the wildlife was amazing, but the safari camps were equally fantastic. We were so well looked after from start to finish. The food was superb in all 3 camps and the staff always polite, professional but also genuinely friendly.

Our activities, accommodation and plane transfers between camps were seamlessly organised.

Megan at Expert Africa was excellent at keeping us informed about all aspects of our safari before we went and always answered any queries promptly, efficiently and professionally. I will recommend Expert Africa wholeheartedly to anyone I meet who is thinking of going on a safari. Thank you so much for organising all aspects of our trip so brilliantly." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"When asked we would, and have recommended Expert Africa. Nick, Chris and Megan have all been very responsive, knowledgable and gave considerable guidance and listened quite carefully to our needs and expectations.

As you are very much aware this being our third try, I must admit my expectations were not as high as they were two years ago, thus the joy way that they were exceeded by a significant margin.

The extraordinary Wildlife, both birds and Mammals and the different eco Systems that we encountered them in throughout the journey. The people of Botswana were most helpful, polite, knowledgable and carried a fine sense of humour. They realise that the protection of their lands and wildlife are key to the sustainable Safari trade and defend these traits with great passion. There were some exceptions, which I have mentioned per camp.

The planning was good, now that we have been, we might have more input, should we be going again. I think that the areas need to be visited in a different season to obtain a proper perspective. We did expect a greener, wet time, but Mother Nature stopped the rains in Mid March.

The overall quality of the Camps did vary more than we expected, in that we presumed that they were of equal value/cost. This I believe is more an issue with the management of such as opposed to the actual staff.

All areas

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Face to face meeting prior to and after for follow-up, if possible with contact.

This is not intended as a criticism, as I was going to suggest it and like most got lazy and distracted. Will come up to see you all soon.

Donald and Susan" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We really loved every minute of our holiday in Botswana!! From the places we saw, the quality of the camps and the services they offered, the food, all the incredible experiences ...

Not only the safaris were awesome but we met fantastic people and fell in love with the country. It was very sad when the holiday came to an end but we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to go. It has been one of our best holidays and we will never forget it!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thank you Megan for having organised an amazing holiday for us! We went in occasion of our 10th wedding anniversary and in all the years to come we will always remember what a fantastic time we have had and how special our celebration has been." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Maruska Adye was a joy, very knowledgeable. She listened our interests and was very flexible in designing an excellent trip to fit.

We will be going back to Africa and it will be Maruska we will calling to design our trip." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"This was my first trip to Africa and it exceeded all my expectations.

Megan at Expert Africa was wonderful to work with and really listened to what I wanted to do and see on my 12 day safari. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again on a future trip. Thank you Megan" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed every minute! Organisation was perfect, thank you Megan!

As we particularly enjoyed our walking safari, we will definitely plan more walking and boat trips for our next safari. Leaving Africa was, again, very hard. But we're already dreaming about going back!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It would be great to be informed whether camps accept children." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Botswana safari

"Outstanding in all respects. We have been to most of the world and certainly rank this trip among our favorites.

The assistance and guidance we received from Saskia Adye was fantastic, accurate and honest!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
If I were to go on safari and was assigned to a vehicle with nine people crowded together, not even mentioning the roads - I would end my trip then and there! This did not happen to us and usually it was either my wife and self on one other couple with two couples only once for a short period. Obviously, I prefer the two bench vehicles with a top (although I fully realize this is not always possible for a number of reasons. We are 77 and in good shape, I seriously doubt if anyone our age or approaching our age not in a reasonalbly good physical and mental condition would enjoy the trip we took. However, there are certainly many alternatives for any situation whereby almost anyone could be accomodated as long as they realize it is not a trip to New York City." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Primarily we wanted a varied experience of Botswana and to see the wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs and that is exactly what we got. It was a wonderful trip filled with many happy memories. In particular we were struck by the exceptional friendliness of all the people in Botswana - it was a real pleasure to be there. The guiding in the Kwando camps was of the highest order and nothing was too much trouble.

The only downside was the six people two tier vehicles used at Little Kwara and Nxai Pan. We were very fortunate not to be too affected by this but on another occasion we might not be so lucky. Some of the Kwando staff were apologetic about this situation which can be easily remedied by the senior management. We had little problem with six people in the three tier vehicles at Lagoon when the occasion arose. When you have paid a significant amount for such a holiday you don't want to be cramped into a vehicle for several hours.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No. Nick Hobbs gave us all the information we needed about the flights, the camps and tipping. Thank you very much." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari