Reviews of safaris to Okavango Delta Safari Reserves
1005 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Okavango Delta.
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
Bertie
UK
"Botswana Rocks!"
I visited Botswana between 6 May 2017 and 17 May 2017
"We love this country. The people are so friendly. We felt very safe travelling around.
We learnt a few words of Setswana which was really appreciated.
This is a fascinating country, if you go ask about the history, Batswana are very proud of their country.
This trip was put together by Sarah Glyde who was very helpful, patient and knowledgeable.
Our first trip with Expert Africa and we would really recommend them." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari
We learnt a few words of Setswana which was really appreciated.
This is a fascinating country, if you go ask about the history, Batswana are very proud of their country.
This trip was put together by Sarah Glyde who was very helpful, patient and knowledgeable.
Our first trip with Expert Africa and we would really recommend them." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Good
Ms A
Wareham
"May 2017 Botswana Trip Feedback"
I visited Botswana between 5 May 2017 and 14 May 2017
"A very special holiday which we both thoroughly enjoyed.
The quality of the accommodation, food and service were excellent.
The local people are very open and welcoming." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari
The quality of the accommodation, food and service were excellent.
The local people are very open and welcoming." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Miss C
São Paulo
"My Apr 2017 trip"
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 13 Apr 2017 and 22 Apr 2017
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs H
Bedford
"My Apr 2017 trip"
I visited Botswana between 9 Apr 2017 and 24 Apr 2017
"An excellent holiday. We greatly appreciated the help and advice you gave us before we booked the trip - everything went very well indeed. A holiday to remember! We met some lovely people on our travels, both fellow travellers, and the staff at the camps along the way. Everyone we met seemed genuinely keen to be helpful and ensure we had a good time in their country. The wildlife and landscapes we saw were wonderful."
Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms M
Canmore
"My Apr 2017 trip"
I visited Namibia and 2 other countries between 9 Apr 2017 and 28 Apr 2017
"Everything went smoothly and according to plan. The only glitch was having to leave Nduvo a day early in order to get to Maun on time."
Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Kathy
Tucson, AZ
"Botswana in March"
I visited Botswana between 18 Mar 2017 and 27 Mar 2017
"March is a non-traditional time to visit Botswana, but we found it awesome. The central Kalahari is bursting with life. And the Okavango Delta was awesome too - though the grass was tall, and many of the roads were muddy.
Expert Africa did a great job at putting together a diverse itinerary; in every camp we saw different types of game and landscapes. Their description of the camps and game likely to be seen was very accurate. All the camps were great - well above our expectations. And the off-season rates were very good for the quality of the experience.
This was our first safari, and we were mesmerized by the experience. It is amazing how close the game is willing to come, and how much there is to see. It's like driving into the middle of a Natural Geographic documentary. One of the peak experiences of our lives." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Expert Africa did a great job at putting together a diverse itinerary; in every camp we saw different types of game and landscapes. Their description of the camps and game likely to be seen was very accurate. All the camps were great - well above our expectations. And the off-season rates were very good for the quality of the experience.
This was our first safari, and we were mesmerized by the experience. It is amazing how close the game is willing to come, and how much there is to see. It's like driving into the middle of a Natural Geographic documentary. One of the peak experiences of our lives." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
1005
reviews of Okavango Delta by travellers since August 2007
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