Reviews of safaris to Kalahari's Salt Pans

"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

"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

"Amazing. A trip of a life time" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We had a great trip. The only part which was not excellent was our short stay in Linyanti." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"One we will always remember for the right reasons.

Come back full of different knowledge and experience. When people say oh now you are back you feel like you have never been away I can truly say, I've been away." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"A great safari experience - but one camp too many....

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Make it clearer that we would be essentially totally out of communication before we left (mobile and internet)" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"My main reasons for visiting Botswana were all satisfactorily achieved." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We've been to Africa 10 times now and this was my third trip to Botswana. Amazing experience overall.

Great accommodations, great people and the best wildlife viewing in Africa, if you like more natural and wild environment." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was amazing, as usual! Maruska is always on top of our itinerary.

Nick was very helpful as our trip approached." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari