Reviews of safaris to Kwando-Linyanti area

"Maruska worked with us on this trip and really tailored it to our interests. We got to see more animals than we ever expected and up very close. The level of service from staff and the quality of lodging and dining were as she described.

In addition, due to her vigilance, we were able to rescue the trip from disaster when British Airways suddenly cancelled our flight to Zimbabwe with a 2 week notice. She had prepared us for this so we had a back up plan. Also, she gave us very good COVID traveling advice which we followed to the letter and things went very smoothly with all border transitions.

Overall, the trip was a much needed break from the stress of the last 2 years. Out in the safari car with the wind in our faces, looking for animals was mentally, spiritually and physically rejuvenating. This was truly the trip of a lifetime.

Thanks to everyone at Expert Africa!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: The trip was excellent. It would be nice to be able to log into my trip and see all the documents and advice I need with one click. The value was fabulous and Maruska is the best!

We kept joking, "Just do what Maruska says and you will be happy!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This is our second time travelling with Expert Africa and we were once again very happy with our experience. This is especially considering the many times we had to re-book due to Covid! EA worked hard to make sure we still got the experience we wanted and we are massively appreciative of that.

Megan gave excellent advice on where we should stay and was very patient with my many questions and changes of mind during planning. I always love that with EA you get one person who sticks with you from the first enquiry until you're safely home (In this case extra impressive when my first email exchange with Megan about this trip was Nov 2018!!).

I also appreciate that, unlike many travel agents, EA will happily communicate predominantly by email. This just suits me so much better around work and gives me a record of all the information for discussion with the rest of the group. The superbly detailed and easy to read information on the website is also a big plus.

Additional thanks to Chris, who responded personally when I had concerns about re-booking during Covid. It's also a lovely touch to get your guide book with a booking. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it was our only reading material for most of the trip so it's been read cover-to-cover and we're looking forward to a sequel!

Thanks again Expert Africa - we'll be back when the savings have replenished enough for another go!! (North & South Luangwa? Maybe Etosha... so many places to see!)" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This trip was a legacy of our deferred 2020 trip.

We wish to sincerely thank Kwando Safaris for their understanding, and willingness to reschedule our trip. We also want to commend Lucy Copson for her assistance at the time of deferral (we had arrived in Cape Town just as all the borders closed), and then all her willing and cheerful help subsequently in rescheduling, and replying to many questions about details post-Covid.

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and it was well worth the wait...!

Everything went smoothly (better than we could have hoped for, given all that happened since 2020), and we would strongly recommend Expert Africa, Lucy Copson and Kwando!" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Very happy with the manner in which our trip, which had to be re-organised twice due to Covid, was handled by Lucy and, on one occasion, Chris. Nothing was too much trouble for them.

We were particularly impressed that, on departure from UK day, Lucy made telephone contact to advise that our airline for one of our flights had been grounded and she had already arranged alternative flights.

We would definitely use Expert Africa in future.

I would not recommend Machaba camp to guests looking for Wild Dog sightings as there are very few in the area. It also seems Botswana has very few cheetah apart from Chobe area so not great for those with an interest in them." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Overall it was brilliant" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We were so happy to finally get to Botswana 3 years after we originally booked.

Expert Africa were excellent at arranging for the trip to be rolled forward each year due to covid restrictions. The recommended camps were excellent choices and we enjoyed that all 3 camps were quite different.

Lucy was an excellent source of information and very responsive to all our queries. When our flight from Vic Falls to Joburg was cancelled at short notice, she was quick to arrange an alternative from Livingstone so that we still made our international flight back to London.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Everything was excellent. A trip of a life time and well worth waiting for." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This was my fourth trip to Africa, but my first to Botswana, and it was the most rewarding. Sightings in three of the five camps visited were incredible - cheetahs, leopards, pairs of mating lions, mating hippos, and fighting giraffes and impalas. As a solo and older traveler, I really appreciated the friendliness, hospitality and inclusiveness shown by the Botswana people.

Overall the accommodation was excellent, as was the food and service, and the guiding generally exceptional. Having had multiple hip surgeries, I was so grateful my agent Maruska Adye-Rowe had done an excellent job in securing accommodation close to the main lodges, and preferential seating on the game drives. Maruska not only rearranged my whole schedule due to the pandemic, but also remained on top of my itinerary noting the cancellation my British Airways homeward flight from Victoria Falls, and arranging and paying for a new flight from Livingstone. The flight arrangements from camp to camp, and the transfers by Wild Horizons between Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia were absolutely seamless.

Sadly I did not see any wild dogs on this trip, and elephant sightings were few, even at Chobe Elephant Camp. However, I was compensated by many "up close and personal" encounters with other animals, and thrilled at the huge variety of birds.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Both Maruska and Chris McIntyre were always available to answer any questions or concerns I had about this trip, and could not have been more helpful.

In hindsight, I wish I had probed for more information in terms of the manner in which the various camps operated, and also about the weather conditions. Being overly concerned about my luggage weight, I did not pack adequately for the very cold morning drives and huge swings in temperature. The camp schedules were also quite grueling for me - starting at 5:00 a.m. and going until after supper with very minimal "siesta breaks" in the hottest part of the day. However, I took some downtime at Okuti, where I also found a heavy fleecy jacket, and got my second wind!

Many thanks to you both for making this trip so memorable!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 14 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

"Words cannot describe how good our trip was - it is as simple as that" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 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