Reviews of safaris to Kalahari's Salt Pans

"This was a fantastic holiday.

Botswana is expensive but it really has been worth the extra pennies. Being able to drive off road makes a huge difference over other destinations in Africa. Our wild dog encounters were outstanding - we fell in love with this country & cant wait to return.

The only negative comment was our fellow guests. we have never been anywhere where 95% of our fellow guests showed so little interest or knowledge of what they were viewing e.g no-one knew what a pangolin/aardvark was and showed no interest or excitement in the exceptionally lucky sightings and seemed more interested in the table decorations and the Wine.

Suggestions for improvement:

We cannot think of anything apart from the price!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari

"Our Botswana trip was a truly magical and amazing experience.

Expert Africa did a great job of meeting our needs and our budget for a fantastic trip. Heading to Tanzania next and will use them again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Everything was positive." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Very good. The lodges chosen were fine, the connections all worked well and the service encountered was exemplary.

Great time and trouble was taken by Lucy (Copson) to make sure that I got the trip I wanted and nothing was too much trouble." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We woudl have liked to have known before we went that neither camps could cope with us walking the first one as it is in a national park and you are not allowed and the second one we all worked as a group so if one wanted to go for a walk everyone had to we were hoping to have gone on a guided walk on our own as we have done before" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Absolutely excellent ! The wildlife experience and quality of accomodation were superb.

Expert Africa were extremely helpful and knowledgable in getting the itinerary we wanted and dealing with all the questions we had.

Suggestions for improvement:

On your website I would suggest you try and give more details on the wildlife a visitor might expect to see with a bit of luck at each camp." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Botswana safari

"We felt that the trip to Botswana/Livingstone was extremely expensive.

We were somewhat dismayed that at every turn someone was there with their hands out. It was particularly annoying to have to tip spotters who did not do anything. We much prefer the European systen of tipping only when something special has been done. All the other people we met on the trip felt the same way. Everyone found the tipping part to be very stressful. This was discussed over sundowners with all the other guests. Since these camps are so expensive, at least make tipping an exception and not the rule." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 15 on a Botswana safari

"The overall experience was better than expected and the trip gave us a further insight into Botswana" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We always enjoy our trips that you organise, but this year, in particular, we felt that it was your influence that got us the choice accommodation sites at the camps and lodges. Especially the Mukwae. We couldn't be so lucky all the time.

We appreciate the time and effort you must put in to find the camps that we would like." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Met all out expectations - great trip!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We had a fantastic trip. All the logistics worked out perfectly, our flights from camp to camp were all in the middle of the day so we didn't miss any activities and all the flights except the last one were without any stops and we were the only passengers. The only incident came on the trip back home, when our BA flight from joburg to heathrow had a 4 hour delay, so we missed our connection to Madrid and had to take a later flight. At least they didn't lose our bags!

We really liked the lodges & camps, most of them met or exceeded our expectations, and we will recommend them to friends, except perhaps Jack's Camp, which we didn't like that much: it's too stuffy and snobbish for our taste, the people there need to loosen up a bit. Also, we didn't like that they plan all the activities for you and don't tell you what the plan is when you arrive, it's like they want everything to be a big secret surprise, a bit childish and condescending.

All the rest were fine, our favorite was Duma Tau. I also loved Mapula because of its very relaxed and laid-back atmosphere and its focus on game viewing; my wife also liked it though she found it too rustic and less tidy than the others.

Expert Africa did an excellent job in organizing this trip, keeping us informed of changes (e.g., when NationWide Air went bankrupt and the flight was changed to BA), submitting all the info, etc. I especially liked the "camp availability chart" they sent us so we could figure out how to fit our preferred camps in the itinerary, that was a most useful tool for urs." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari