Reviews of safaris to Okavango Delta Safari Reserves
1011 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Okavango Delta.
Chris
Calgary
"Teenager in Botswana "
I visited Botswana between 19 Jul 2017 and 27 Jul 2017
"Great trip, no complaints and pretty much as advertized."
Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs & Mr P
Essex
"Another wonderful trip"
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 15 Jul 2017 and 3 Aug 2017
"This was our 7th visit to Botswana and 4th to Namibia. As ever we had a wonderful time. Expert Africa was once again exceptionally helpful and friendly. Although Megan booked our trip initially and was our contact more recently, Tracy also looked after us very well while Megan was away.
As usual, we mainly used Wilderness Safaris camps and, as usual, were particularly impressed with the high quality of the guiding in all locations. Transfers between camps were organised seamlessly.We were also very impressed with their care and consideration with regard to Ken's problems with balance in the dark, and in all locations they went out of their way to ensure that he had good lighting to escort us back to our tent at night.
We were also impressed by the way information was passed from camp to camp, so that when we arrived in a new location they already knew, for example, what drinks we liked for sundowners and other details of things we liked, which made us feel at home.
The Wilderness lounge at Windhoek was a good addition as somewhere to escape while waiting for the next connection and to use a computer to check in for flights.
Our only regret is that some camps now have separate tables for meals, as one of the things we have always enjoyed about these holidays has been the opportunity to meet and talk to people from so many different countries." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari
As usual, we mainly used Wilderness Safaris camps and, as usual, were particularly impressed with the high quality of the guiding in all locations. Transfers between camps were organised seamlessly.We were also very impressed with their care and consideration with regard to Ken's problems with balance in the dark, and in all locations they went out of their way to ensure that he had good lighting to escort us back to our tent at night.
We were also impressed by the way information was passed from camp to camp, so that when we arrived in a new location they already knew, for example, what drinks we liked for sundowners and other details of things we liked, which made us feel at home.
The Wilderness lounge at Windhoek was a good addition as somewhere to escape while waiting for the next connection and to use a computer to check in for flights.
Our only regret is that some camps now have separate tables for meals, as one of the things we have always enjoyed about these holidays has been the opportunity to meet and talk to people from so many different countries." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr W
Altrincham
"Holiday of a lifetime "
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 24 Jun 2017 and 13 Jul 2017
"Excellent trip.Probably one of the best holidays you can imagine. Beautiful, safe country with well educated pleasant people.
You want to go return." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Botswana safari
You want to go return." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr D
London
"My Jun 2017 trip"
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 17 Jun 2017 and 27 Jun 2017
"An excellent trip."
Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms K
Oakland
"An incredible experience for our family"
I visited Botswana between 5 Jun 2017 and 14 Jun 2017
"This trip was incredible and exceeded our expectations in every way.
Everything went smoothly; the people we met were gracious and friendly; wildlife was amazing and the accommodations and food were also superior." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Everything went smoothly; the people we met were gracious and friendly; wildlife was amazing and the accommodations and food were also superior." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
EB
France
"Magical trip"
I visited Botswana between 5 Jun 2017 and 9 Jun 2017
"This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; it was such a gift to be able to experience the nature, animals and people of Botswana.
Lucy from Expert Africa did an excellent job planning it, choosing the right places for our tastes, in the best order, and everything went off without a hitch." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari
Lucy from Expert Africa did an excellent job planning it, choosing the right places for our tastes, in the best order, and everything went off without a hitch." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs R
Hants
"Okovanga Delta June 2017"
I visited Botswana between 1 Jun 2017 and 13 Jun 2017
"We had a fantastic trip.
Thanks to Sarah Glyde's suggestions we saw a wide range of habitats; we stayed at camps near permanent water channels, another near mopane woodland, another in open grassland.
The range of camps and the stunning flights over the region gave us a feeling for the vastness of the delta and the ever-changing water levels." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari
Thanks to Sarah Glyde's suggestions we saw a wide range of habitats; we stayed at camps near permanent water channels, another near mopane woodland, another in open grassland.
The range of camps and the stunning flights over the region gave us a feeling for the vastness of the delta and the ever-changing water levels." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs C
Southwest USA
"Wonderful Safari"
I visited Botswana and 2 other countries between 27 May 2017 and 12 Jun 2017
"I have tried hard to frame my comments from a specific point of view of an ex tour operator. The majority of our party was overwhelmingly satisfied. My dissatisfaction with Kwando comes from (perhaps unrealistic) previous expectations. The animals, the service, the camps, and the people were all 5 stars. I purposely put off giving this feedback to gain some perspective on the events of the trip, and I feel like what I have said is justified and fair.
I would like to offer some feedback to ExpertAfrica specifically - we were very frustrated with the lack of a final reconciliation 2 months before we left. We were trying to make our individual final payments and there seemed to be no way for us to get a list that said, PAX #1 owes THIS, PAX #2 owes THIS, etc. We ended up having to sit down with literally pages of payment records, separate out our own credit card surcharges, subtract our own payments made to come up with final payment amounts. It was EXCEEDINGLY frustrating. I can't believe that we are the first group travel you've ever dealt with - so it baffles me that a clear and final reconciliation was not provided. I went round and round via email, and requested this several times in several ways, but got the impression that I was asking the impossible.
In addition, I asked about tour arrangements in Cape Town, and was quoted USD75 per person to join a scheduled bus tour. When I asked about a private mini-van, the price doubled. I did a little research and booked privately with a well-known, well regarded tour company who gave us private tours for USD60 per person inclusive of wine tastings and park fees. My issue was that I had no means of contacting them once we were on holiday - although they were great and checked in with Acorn House, and it all went off just perfectly. it would have been much simpler to do this through Expert Africa and I cannot believe that with an office there you can't do better than what was quoted. The LEAST you could do is offer a recommendation of a company you like to save your clients the trouble of finding out. This booking was over USD40,000 and I had to do a lot of the legwork myself - don't get me started on international air because thats a different can of worms. I understand if you can't offer consolidator fares from the US, but arrangements need to be made if you're serving the American market." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
I would like to offer some feedback to ExpertAfrica specifically - we were very frustrated with the lack of a final reconciliation 2 months before we left. We were trying to make our individual final payments and there seemed to be no way for us to get a list that said, PAX #1 owes THIS, PAX #2 owes THIS, etc. We ended up having to sit down with literally pages of payment records, separate out our own credit card surcharges, subtract our own payments made to come up with final payment amounts. It was EXCEEDINGLY frustrating. I can't believe that we are the first group travel you've ever dealt with - so it baffles me that a clear and final reconciliation was not provided. I went round and round via email, and requested this several times in several ways, but got the impression that I was asking the impossible.
In addition, I asked about tour arrangements in Cape Town, and was quoted USD75 per person to join a scheduled bus tour. When I asked about a private mini-van, the price doubled. I did a little research and booked privately with a well-known, well regarded tour company who gave us private tours for USD60 per person inclusive of wine tastings and park fees. My issue was that I had no means of contacting them once we were on holiday - although they were great and checked in with Acorn House, and it all went off just perfectly. it would have been much simpler to do this through Expert Africa and I cannot believe that with an office there you can't do better than what was quoted. The LEAST you could do is offer a recommendation of a company you like to save your clients the trouble of finding out. This booking was over USD40,000 and I had to do a lot of the legwork myself - don't get me started on international air because thats a different can of worms. I understand if you can't offer consolidator fares from the US, but arrangements need to be made if you're serving the American market." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Good
Mr & Mrs H
Godalming
"A wonderful safari"
I visited Botswana between 10 May 2017 and 24 May 2017
"This was a varied and always interesting holiday. The camps suggested by Sarah provided contrasting experiences as to the differing types of camp, country and game.
We would certainly recommend anyone who is prepared to accept the relatively basic facilities of a mobile camp to spend some time with Andrew Harkness who was a relaxed, informative and very knowledgeable guide. We felt that nothing that could have been seen was missed.
The bush walk with Scoupe at Tau Pan was the highlight of our stay there.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The out of hours service was excellent when we ran into trouble with our flight from London on the outward journey as it was delayed by three hours putting our connection in Johannesburg at risk. As it happened we made it with seconds to spare. Nevertheless it was very reassuring to be able to speak to someone late at night even though we had made the booking ourselves." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari
We would certainly recommend anyone who is prepared to accept the relatively basic facilities of a mobile camp to spend some time with Andrew Harkness who was a relaxed, informative and very knowledgeable guide. We felt that nothing that could have been seen was missed.
The bush walk with Scoupe at Tau Pan was the highlight of our stay there.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The out of hours service was excellent when we ran into trouble with our flight from London on the outward journey as it was delayed by three hours putting our connection in Johannesburg at risk. As it happened we made it with seconds to spare. Nevertheless it was very reassuring to be able to speak to someone late at night even though we had made the booking ourselves." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs T
Cambs.
"A really fabulous trip, exceeded expectations"
I visited Botswana and 2 other countries between 9 May 2017 and 28 May 2017
"Wow, it was just wonderful everything went seamlessly. All we wanted to see, we saw - painted dogs, leopards, lions, cheetahs; the whole lot and more. Venues were superb and staff and guides brilliant at all the camps. If we did the same trip again we might stay an extra night at Lagoon, and sacrifice one night at Little Kwara, just because it was so good. Thanks Tracy for all your advice and help, (also Chris for his offer to help with the BA problems - which thankfully did not affect our return.
The small plane flights were great and the hot air balloon trip outstanding." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari
The small plane flights were great and the hot air balloon trip outstanding." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
1011
reviews of Okavango Delta by travellers since August 2007
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