Reviews of safaris to Kwando-Linyanti area

"The whole trip was a big success. We were torn between two camps for 3 nights or three camps for 2 nights each before we went and I am not sure which would be better even with hindsight - maybe just a longer holiday would be the answer.

This was the first time we have been to Africa without either our children and/or friends and being just two has its drawbacks. The possibility of incompatible jeep mates and the relentless socialising with new people (where are you from? which camps are you visiting etc.) was potentially an issue. We are naturally gregarious and generally had good luck with the above but I would bear it in mind in the future given that all the camps seem to go for the single table dining experience.

Your advice on camps seems to have been very good (unless all the camps are this standard) and as the weather warmed up through the week we thought that for perfection we perhaps should have gone one or two weeks later.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:/b

Nothing strikes me. It was all very smooth and professional." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This was my 3rd time to Africa and my husband's first. We were celebrating our 25th anniversary and my dream of seeing Victoria Falls. The trip was a dream come true - for both of us. David couldn't imagine how something as large as an adult elephant could be 'hidden' right next to us. And, the guides, wildlife, camps and staff never disappointed us.

Now I just need to figure out a way to take our 3 children (ages 19/21/23) to Africa to show them why I've always said 'imagine we are the zoo and the animals are us'. They roam freely and still give me such joy!!!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maruska was excellent in that she had visited some of the camps we stayed in and had other guests whose comments she shared with us.
She took the time to really listen to our wants and needs to what we were looking for and picked out some really good options and helped us pick the best. I will recommend Expert Africa to friends and family.

Thank you Maruska for a fantastic vacation / 25th wedding anniversary!!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"We had an absolutely fantastic time. Nick (with additional help from Lucy in his absence) organised a superb trip for us at very short notice.

We are fairly experienced Africa travellers so we knew what we looking for and we got exactly what we asked for in terms of variety of environments and expert guiding etc (despite understandable limitations on camp availability caused by the very short lead-in/booking time).

I felt Nick quickly understood our objectives (specifically in terms of photographic opportunities, but also in terms of camp ambiance etc) and was very efficient in terms of putting options to us and getting confirmations etc.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not particularly. I was very impressed with the service we received and would be very happy to book again with Expert Africa !" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"I initially used the Bradt guide to research our holiday and then selected Expert Africa from a shortlist of 3 companies -all of which had been given the same brief.

This meant I'd felt we had made good choices for our first trip to Botswana and others commented on what a good balance it was.

So the advice we received ensured we had a very good trip which exceeded expectaions which were alreay high.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I cannot fault the help and advice given by Lucy Copson and Nick Hobbs - nothing was too much trouble and they really made every effort to meet my initila brief and provide alternative options.

Although i didnt choose Africa Travel Resource to book my holiday I did like the ranking system they used, which enabled us to refine our choices and keep within budget. Perhaps something like this would be a useful addition to your site." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Absolutely wonderful! Botswana feels so much wilder than the other places we have been to on safari in South Africa. For me, the sense of remoteness and being so far away and cut off from every-day life, was a refreshing experience. Everyone we met in the camps was warm, friendly and very helpful. We were very pleased with all the Kwando Camps we visited and the following general comments apply to all the camps.

I was interested to know about policies on waste, water supply and energy use and it seems that the camps are keen to do all they can to minimise their impact. The solar water heaters are Lebala and Lagoon were particularly good. Considering how remote the camps are, the facilities are fantastic. There are no electric points in any rooms for charging camera batteries, etc., but this is not a problem as the staff will charge any batteries or gadgets during the day. You just need to make sure you have spare batteries, and since there are many chargers and batteries from other guests, (especially for Canon and Nikon), I took a waterproof pen and marked our initials on our chargers and batteries.

Since all camps follow a similar daily routine, it's very easy to get used to. All the camps are very flexible on the duration of game drives. If game viewing was going well, then vehicles tended to stay out longer, rather than sticking to fixed meal times. The food in general was good and the home baked breads, cakes, quiches and pies for afternoon tea were excellent.

It was difficult to separate out any individuals who were particularly good or helpful as all guides, trackers and camp staff were so pleasant, helpful and informative. All of our guides were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It was great to sit and talk to staff who had grown up in the delta and were to talk about their old way of life, before their families were moved to villages.

The weather in June can be very cold, so it's best to take lots of layers. Thermals would be very good. I was really glad that we took our warm duvet jackets, which are very light and compressible to pack in the luggage and many other guests commented that they wished they had similar! It was beautiful and warm during the middle of the day, but the temperatures soon dropped after sunset. It was particularly cold first thing in the morning and some camps provided a hot water bottle (as well as the usual blankets), which made things much more comfortable.

It may have taken four flights just to get to the first camp, but it was certainly worth the long journey and we'd love to go back as soon as we can.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I'm always paranoid about our luggage not arriving with us, especially when on a trip with a complicated itinery. The last few times we have been away on such a trip, I have made special luggage labels, which hopefully would give it chance to catch up with us, if it was delayed. I typed up a very small version of our itinery, with passenger surname name, dates and flight numbers, destinations, names of camps, with Kwando Safaris contact number in Botswana and my mobile number. (It is possible to get all this in). I printed all this onto a credit card size piece of paper and laminated them with some special luggage labels I found on the internet. They were really durable and a least gave me some confidence that we may see it again ! The format is quite simple to copy. I thought that it would be a valuable service (although very cheap and easy to do), if Expert Africa could provide such labels for customers. You could put the Expert Africa logo on the back. Please let me know if you would like to see an example of the label I did for our trip." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This was a trip of a lifetime, and it was even better than I imagined it would be. The arrangements worked perfectly and we can't wait to go back!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The advice was very helpful and the trip was fabulous. It would have helped to be reminded that it gets cold throughout the evening and night, so we could have used more warm clothing not just in the AM but for the evening and sleeping!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Trip was great. I'm still trying to reduce my 2,500 images to something more manageable!

Game viewing was great and the cold mornings and evenings meant that mossies were less of a problem than we expected. The two Wilderness camps (Duma Tau and Litlle Vumburu) were far better than Chobe Safari Lodge for atmosphere and the 'safari experience' as well as the food and the atention to detail." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"A fantastic experience with excellent service and hospitality everywhere we went. We couldn't really hope to have had a better trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Very comprehensive feedback which was good.

An easy company to book with, everything was delivered as advertised or better than expected" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was exceptional! We have been to Africa three times before but never to the Okovango Delta or Capetown and never with Expert Africa. We wouldn't change one day of it! Every part of it was exceptional from the Falls to the safaris to the wine tasting in Capetown.

We agreed that one of the things that made it truely exceptional was the construction of the trip. What I mean by that, is that we got to do and see exactly what we wanted, so it was a highly individualized tour, but we had Expert Africa there every step of the way to make sure that every detail was taken care of and taken care of professionally.

When we climbed on our flight from the US to fly ten thousand miles to another continent and begin a unique adventure, we did not know if everything would go as smoothly as promised or not. It went better, every step of the way, then we could have imagined. Every flight was on time, every camp was expecting us and treated us like royalty, even our side trips to Gaborone and Capetown went without a hitch. And through it all we were able to travel on our own schedule without being hampered by being part of a larger tour group. We would recommend Expert Africa to anyone!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions really. While Maruska was away, her sister helped, Saskia, us. She was as professional and helpful as Maruska. They were both great!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"The trip was amazing and we are already discussing another one. From the organisation pre-trip to details during the trip, everything went perfectly.

I much appreciated Lucy, she was always quick to respond and answer questions.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really, I was extremely satisfied with everything and we wouldn't hesitate to work with you again.

Perhaps one small thing, it would have been more convenient if you offered travel insurance for residents of countries outside of the UK. Since we live in France and the US, it took us alot of time to look at the different providers in each country and eventually purchase the insurance." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari