Reviews of trips to Maun

"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

"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

"We could not have been happier with the overall experience from booking through execution of our trip. Tracy Lederer was responsive and knowledgeable every step of the way. And thanks to COVID, she had three years to work with us on making the experience happen.

We stayed in Victoria Falls 3 nights to recover from the long journey and enjoy the Falls and Zambezi River experience. We had a 9-night mobile safari with 1-night stays in lodges before and after. Before to "transition" from Vic Falls area and at end to "transition" from mobile safari to the long journey home. All bookings, transfers, meals, etc were executed as expected with high quality service.

We found Tracy to be very helpful and honest in her guidance with us. The changing requirements due to COVID added more considerations for her and us to balance....and that all went smoothly with her help.

If we book more travel to Africa, we will definitely request to work with Tracy." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 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

"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

"The trip went beyond our expectations for adventure, learning, excitement and fun. I believe Expert Africa made the trip a big success because they are a full service safari planning company. The website and staff provided all that was needed for making decisions and getting the right arrangement. We spent three weeks on the trip that involved 11 accommodations, three airline flights, driving 2800 km on the left side of the road and numerous guides, staff and assistants. That it all went well and left us wishing for more meant they must be doing something right." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Fantastic!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 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

"Ultimately Expert Africa was helpful with two rebookings over the pandemic but they really made the first one troublesome, first telling me to pay balance and I would get a refund if I couldn't make it and then refusing to give me the refund!!!

Inevitably, when reviewing so many different things, one is bound to make some comparisons resulting in not everyone getting an “excellent” review. Plus, I completely lost track of any individual lodge’s pricing since I bought a package to start and then we had several years of adjustments. So, I wasn’t really rating based on “value”. For example, Otjimbondona really impressed us but it might have been crazy expensive!!

Overall, it was an excellent trip and I appreciated the variety of experience. The self drive portion was much easier than anticipated and it was great having that independence after the very prescribed Botswana portion. It was absolutely beautiful reaching the coast at Luderitz (and seafood!) after so much desert time." Read full review: 37 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip