Reviews of safaris to Kwando-Linyanti area

"We had a fantastic trip to Botswana and Namibia. We felt very safe traveling as all camp staff are vaccinated and tested. The guests as well since the airlines won't let you board without a Covid test.

The experience visiting the different parts of the Okavango delta is not to be missed. The amount of animals is amazing.

We also visited two camps in Namibia, our favorite country in Africa. The scenery is out of this world and so varied you never get tired of looking at it.

Expert Africa did a great job helping us plan this trip and Megan was incredibly helpful in working around airline flight cancellations and changes. She also helped us get all of our Covid tests scheduled for country transfers.

This was our second trip with Expert Africa and both went very smoothly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I can't think of anything you could do better." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"We enjoyed our trip to Botswana, had some very good interactions with animals and got some lovely photographs. But even though we took advantage of the special low price we can’t understand the premium it commands.

We found it very interesting comparing Zambia in our opinion for us gives much better value for money. Zambian guides take many years to qualify for each level so seem to have a broader knowledge and understanding of animal behavior allowing us to get much closer to them at times. They also find lots of other things of interest when animals are in hiding.

Walking in Botswana was interesting and super safe, in a very open area, one of the guides is armed.

Walks in Zambia are led by an armed Government scout and a couple of guides into a variety of landscapes looking at small things but when appropriate and safe taking advantage of tracking animals as well." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This has been our fourth trip to Southern Africa. The excitement of seeing animals in the wild hasn’t worn off. So, it won't be our last. We have become addicts, so to speak.

All three lodges are, in our minds, highly recommendable. But, as I said to my wife, it looks like we saved the best (Kwara Camp) for last. This is not in any way to diminish the experiences we had at Muchenje or Lebala.

It’s no secret that we had spent 12 days in Zimbabwe (organized by a different tour operator who granted us a voucher for a trip cancelled in 2020): 2 days in Harare, 2 in Kanga Camp, 3 in Nyamatusi, and 4 in Somalisa Camp. That was also very enjoyable, but I’m mentioning this here for one specific reason. In Zimbabwe, at mealtime we were always given the chance to have a table by ourselves, whereas in Botswana they followed the tradition of having the guests sit together at one big table. Well, we didn’t get sick, so everything went well, but just as an aside, we sometimes dreaded the kind of small talk we had to engage in when communicating with other guests. Maybe we were just unlucky this time.

This was the first time ever that we did an exclusive fly-in safari, which is very intense. It’s non-stop action, and thanks to the wonderful camps we did not fall victim to a sense of fatigue that we anticipated.

We chose to do it this way because we didn’t have the courage to do self-drive during the corona pandemic. But our worries were not necessary, because everywhere we went, the people dealt with the dangers of corona in impressive ways. Masks were worn by nearly everybody, shops and airports greeted you with a temperature check and hand sanitizer (!). Anyway, under normal circumstances we like to combine the fly-in with a self-drive, and that’s what we have planned on doing next year. In our experience, you get to see a bit more of the people and the land, and spending some time on the road is quite relaxing.



Not really. Everything worked quite smoothly from start to finish, which I can’t say about our daily life in the good old USA. Maybe that’s to be expected in this luxury travel segment, but still, I think it’s worth mentioning.

Since the Lebala airstrip was closed for repairs, Lucy in fact contacted us in Chobe to offer us the opportunity to switch to Kwando Lagoon Camp, since this meant that our ride from the airstrip to Lebala was going to be around 2.5 hours instead of the usual 15 minutes or so. After a short discussion among ourselves we decided to stick to Lebala." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Our first trip to Botswana was a life changing experience.

It all started off on the right foot with Tracy as our trip specialist. She totally understood what kind of experience we were hoping to get and provided us with options that in the end put together the most perfect itinerary. She also found us deals which helped us to maximize the value for our budget.

There was relaxation, adventure, and variety, and it was all down to the thought through details and logistics.

We did not have any issues at all on our trip and can't recommend Expert Africa enough." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"This was a very complicated trip and overall had very few hiccups. The complications arose because of crossing four borders during a pandemic and the multiple tests we had to have. These were unforeseen at the time we were planning the itinerary. However, it was either that or postpone which we were not willing to do. Maruska guided us through every step of the way and we are and will be eternally grateful for her expertise in planning this trip of a lifetime!

We had no Covid concerns while traveling throughout the entire region. Protocols were well established, everyone wore masks, disinfectant sprays were used liberally, and social distancing observed wherever possible. The staff at all our lodgings was totally committed to our safety and wellbeing. And, although being tested every time we crossed a border was an inconvenience, it added a huge level of confidence that we were healthy." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We were initially worried with respect to Covid and all the related restrictions etc - our trip ended up being the best ever over the past 20 years and 18+ camps visited. Would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about a visit.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: We were totally thrilled with this trip and give credit to Maruska who helped us navigate thru the Covid issues." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This was my first trip to Africa. It won't be my last. I traveled with 2 friends who had been to southern Africa 3 times previously, one time using Expert Africa. I was extremely impressed with how smoothly the trip went, and how well chosen the itinerary was.

We wanted to see animals of course, but 2 of us are birders, and one is a fisherman. The fisherman had wonderful catches at Kwara and Setari, and the birding was wonderful throughout the trip. And the animal sightings far exceeded my expectations. I want to especially commend the trackers at Kwara and Lagoon, Mike and Ken. I did not expect to see nocturnal animals, but they were able to show us some wonderful creatures, lesser bushbaby, African wildcats, serval, scrub hares, bat-eared foxes (we saw those in the daytime too), small spotted genet. I was really thrilled.

The accomodations were far more luxurious than I had expected, and the food was overall superb. All the travel arrangements worked perfectly.

Maruska Adye-Rowe, who handled this trip for us, was great. The trip was delayed for a year due to covid, and really evolved. She dealt with our changing ideas very well. First it was a shorter trip to Botswana and Victoria Falls, then that got lengthened, then we added the time in Namibia.

Maruska stayed on top of the covid testing situation. On our way, during our layover in NY, Maruska called to tell us the entry requirements for Namibia had changed, and she'd arranged covid testing for us at our hotel at the Johannesburg airport the evening we arrived." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Covid made this trip a real challenge to plan and coordinate. We had international flights that cancelled, countries that closed, then opened, then closed again. There were a few points where we weren't at all sure it would go off.

I believe that if it had not been for the knowledge and attention that Maruska and Expert Africa provided, we would not have made it.

Everything went like clockwork.

The covid testing added a few days to the trip but it was well worth it." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was amazing. Finally glad to travel as Covid postponed our 2020 trip.

After having reviewed the camps prior to booking, I was pretty certain that the itinerary provided was going to live up to my expectations.

Megan took over my booking after Richard Ball retired. She was as attentive as he was in getting the information needed prior to travel. Would recommend anyone use her if traveling to Botswana." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"An impressive journey in a strange period of time. Lots of hurdles to take, endless paperwork and testing but very worth it in the end.

The Botswana people were very happy to welcome us and thanked us multiple times for taking the effort to come to their country in these complicated times.

Once there everything ran smoothly; a well organized trip and a great combination of camps giving a complete picture of Botswana." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari