Reviews of safaris to Kalahari's Salt Pans

"This was a totally memorable trip for our whole family.

The itinerary and logistics worked really well making the travel in Africa part of the adventure.

We saw amazing game and some beautiful places." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"A fantastic holiday experience only marred slightly by abysmal international flights with British Airways which is not Expert Africa's fault in any way.

Very, very pleased with Tracy Lederer (and Lucy Copson who stood in for her when Tracy was away).

Lodges well chosen with wonderful accommodation, guides, variety of landscape, wildlife and activities." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Botswana safari

"The trip was focused on trying to see and photograph Wild Dogs with a Kalahari extension for Meerkats bolted on. Despite a hiccup with our luggage thanks to BA and some issues with dog dens sadly being in conflict with lions, the trip delivered all that we had hoped for and a few surprises. We added 7 lifer sightings to our list which is always great!
The Kalahari was the real surprise in terms of experience and sightings, and certainly encourages us to go back again in green season.
We chose the Kwando camps in and around the Delta based on reputation with Wild Dogs and the ability to off road in private concessions, and two out of the three camps were excellent. It is always high risk to have a pretty single minded goal on a trip but it finally paid off and we got some great other sightings / encounters along the way. Having the trackers on the vehicles was essential as good old fashioned detective work is critical to sightings - the landscape can be pretty challenging at this time of year between green and dry. Our stay at Kwara Camp has set a standard for safari accommodation that will never be beaten!
Overall the trip delivered what we were hoping plus a very special dog encounter." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful as ever. It was our 8th trip to Botswana and 5th to Namibia but we still saw lots of things we hadn't seen before, had great experiences and made lots of great memories.

Expert Africa / Megan, as efficient and helpful as ever in ensuring it all went smoothly and that we had a great time.

Our special requests, eg, for vehicles with canopies wherever possible, were passed on and acted on.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

How can you improve on perfection!

Perhaps the 'sighting list' could be a bit more broadly based to cover the ever present animals (for those new to Africa) and some of the rarer sightings for those with more experience." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"This was a successful holiday that delivered some great experiences. All the arrangements for travelling and being met worked well.
The quality of the food and drink was excellent.

Wildlife is about birds as well as big cats - and there are many to be seen.

Camp staff and guides gave high standard of service and we were well looked after at all times. The people were invariably friendly and welcoming." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This started out as a once in a lifetime trip but as we travelled further in to Africa we decided we will definitely go back!!!!

I would have packed a little differently than I did. Taking 2 pair of thermal underwear would have been useful, as our nights and morning game drives were quite cold. We also had banking issues along the way. Even though we had given our bank all of our travel information we still had issues at ATMs. We should have brought far more cash with us than we did.

The people, the environment, and the animals were incredible!! Africa is something everyone should experience if they can.

We will go back!!!!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None that I can think of." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"My trip was really great. I saw may beautiful things in the almost pristine Botswana. I had a perfect mix of different habitats and plenty of wildlife. Wild dogs were one of the main drivers for this trip and I was able to see them in 3 out of the 6 camps.

So glad I included Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in my itinerary . What a great surprise. And what a nice camp, Camp Kalahari. And a meerkat experience which made me literally cry. Savute under Canvas was a bit of a disappointment. Due to the fact that this time the Savute channel was dry (no water - no life) and not the best guiding experience. Lebala I could have skipped without missing anything.

Great Plains offers superb wildlife experience. In very many ways. I have been very spoiled and lucky to have a car all to myself in both Duba plains and Selinda. Both are very pretty areas, and Duba plains even has a touch of magic.

I travelled alone and Botswana is a perfect and very safe destination. You travel alone, but are never alone. In the "posh" camps , people tempt to be a little bit more on their own, in the camps just below that level, all people join for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Logistics were arranged perfectly. Everybody knew when I was coming or going. It has been a wise - and very good - decision to book privates in several camps. Unique wildlife experience in your own pace. The " privates" in both Duba and Selinda were an extraordinary and great bonus." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 20 on a Botswana safari

"We could not be happier with our trip. The planning process went very smoothly. We received prompt and helpful replies to our email questions. Maruska was very informative and in addition to arranging most of out trip, she kindly and helpfully advised us on aspects of our trip that weren't booked by Expert Africa.

The camps all exceeded our expectations in every way, accommodations, food, activities. The transitions from one activity to another were flawless; there was always someone expecting us at the appropriate time and escorting us to the next flight or camp or activity.

We have travelled extensively in developing countries and this was the most stress free trip we have ever taken. It was pleasant, relaxing, and simply wonderful.

Though masks are not often used in Botswana, we never felt threatened by COVID. During our entire trip, we were almost never indoors with other people. During the one exception, our flights, the pilots wore masks and we were instructed do the same. Game drives were in open vehicles and all meals were served outdoors with the option of being nowhere near other diners.

We are confident that our risk was less on the trip than it would have been had we stayed home.

After a couple of days, we just stopped thinking about it." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"This was our second trip to Botswana with Expert Africa.

Despite our initial nervousness about this trip post- COVID, everything went extremely well. The advice and support provided by Tracy Lederer was invaluable in setting up our excellent itinerary. Whilst we knew that April/May are not the best times to see wildlife in Botswana, we were nevertheless able to see a wide variety of wildlife and birds during our trip, largely thanks to excellent guiding.

King’s Pool was a fantastic place to start as one would expect from a Wilderness Safaris camp. Kwara Camp was an excellent choice with a real focus on wildlife - we were very impressed with Kwando Safaris. Camp Kalahari was a very different and interesting place to finish - we had a wonderful experience there and would highly recommend it.

Overall the trip was amazing - it may have cost a lot of money but we will always treasure the experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No - we are very happy with everything done by Expert Africa. Thank you." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Brilliant. I can’t imagine not using Expert Africa for a trip to Africa.

This is the second time we’ve travelled with Expert Africa and the whole experience has been amazing. I especially want to thank Megan Green - I have never experienced a travel consultant who is willing to call you (I live in Australia so considerable time difference) in order to find out about you and the type of trip that would best suit you, and respond so quickly to emails and follow up on every little query and concern with the utmost patience.

And thank you so much Megan, for recommending Andrew to us. I had never even heard of mobile safaris until you told us about Andrew’s and we are now truly hooked.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not that I can think of at present." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari