Reviews of Splash Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
102 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Splash Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

96% success

66% success

83% success

79% success

100% success

100% success

99% success

99% success

98% success

85% success

71% success

43% success

33% success

28% success

1% success

1% success

0% success

0% success
"Prettiest camp of all"
Josiah was excellent guide and very knowledgeable but talked too much to us and on radio a lot...very accommodating to me and my physical limitations.. Sandra thought camp too big...tried to hire private guide for pm of one day and am of next but manager insisted we pay two whole days fee...." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 16n in Tanzania; 10n in Botswana; 1n in Kenya

Buffalo
1 sighting

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
1 sighting

Giraffe
1 sighting

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
1 sighting

Zebra
1 sighting
"Excellent Safari at Splash Camp"
The wildlife is fantastic. We were awoken one morning by lions roaring just outside the camp, having stolen a kill from wild dogs. We had a great team in our guide David and tracker KB. Highlights on game drives included seeing a cheetah at full speed catching a baby lechwe; wild dogs; two lionesses with ten cubs; and our first sighting of a side-striped jackal. Numerous species of antelope were abundant, with the baby boom just beginning as the rains are in sight." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

Buffalo
7 sightings

Cheetah
3 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
8 sightings

Lion
3 sightings

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Spotted Hyena
3 sightings

Wild dog
2 sightings

Wildebeest
8 sightings

Zebra
9 sightings
"The ultimate experience at Splash Camp"
Special thanks to all kitchen staff for the delicious food, our birthday and anniversary chocolate cake! Special for us was the dinner in front of camp in the bush, esp the ending, so having coffee at the main area as we had a visitor (elephant)
Also special thanks to the one and only guide Tom and his tracker KB, they tracked wild dogs for us which was highly on our Wishlist. Furthermore they have a good sense of humour and extensive knowledge.
A lot of activities to do, walking safaris, mokoro trip, 'normal' safari, boat rides etc. Not in the list of animals below but seen the Pels Fishing Owl a rare sighting.
And a visit of an huge elephant to our tent while sitting on our balcony he was enjoying his food from the tree next to us and followed his path to the main building scaring other people on their way for the afternoon drive. :)" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana; 4n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe

Buffalo
10 sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
10 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
10 sightings

Roan antelope
1 sighting

Sitatunga
3 sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wild dog
9 sightings

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Great Safari and Splash Camp"
The camp was just built and so was in perfect condition. It was luxurious for its purpose and well sealed to keep out animals and large insects. We also felt close to the wild world. Wild dogs and lions killed prey near the camp while we were there. We heard a lion outside our accommodation two of three nights there. We saw one while accompanied back to our dwelling. Pretty exciting stuff but we felt safe.
The whole staff was friendly and engaging. They put together a wonderful celebration of Botswana Independence Day that included vibrant singing and dancing as well as festive foods and drink.We hugged several folks when we left." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
Multiple sightings

Roan antelope
Multiple sightings

Sable antelope
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Wild dog
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Splash: the enclave"
There are animals that come to the pan, lions and cubs early one morning playing was a highlight, wild dogs another morning, its exciting. My concern, though not my husbands, was the way we saw the wildlife. We followed a pack of wild dogs and puppies for two hours one morning, until they successfully hunted and killed. Three trucks travelling fast on the tails of the dogs, for my husband exciting, for me not so much.
There is nothing bad to say about splash if you are looking for a well-run lodge, good food, good sighting, then this may be for you. If your looking for a more intimate experience then you may be disappointed" See all these reviews: 17n in Botswana

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings
"Splash Camp review"
The concession is large, varied and interesting. At the time of our visit the area around the camp was dry as the water had not arrived this year. There was still water in the area in some of the waterholes. This did affect the game viewing a bit but made the wonderful sightings so much more special.
The central area has comfortable sofas, rows of long, high seating and chairs around the campfire. There is a self-service bar with a wide choice of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The dining section needs a bit more character as it looks a little austere at the moment.
There is the main camp and then an area with further accommodation that can be private. We did not really understand the layout but it did not matter. The buildings are wooden and raised off of the ground. The rooms are huge and have a balcony. The front is netting and has a lovely view out to the waterhole. There is a large bathroom with inside and outside showers. The toilets have a view too!
Your guide works hard! They wake you up in the morning, eat breakfast, brunch and dinner with you, drive you around and then take you to your room at the end of the day. Our guide, G was lovely and full of information but could, perhaps, deliver a little more of the life stories about the animals which all of the guides know intimately. Nothing like telling a story about a pride of lions or a cheetah to get guests really involved! He very kindly organised with another vehicle to add us 2 to their group of 4 as only 3 vehicles are allowed at a sighting and we were the fourth and would have missed out. They were following wild dogs who were hunting and we saw so much because of his decision. G then used the time to go searching and found a cheetah for us to see after we had finished with the dogs.
The meals are served buffet style and everyone sits at a communal table for lunch and dinner. You have a morning bowl of porridge or cereal and fruit around the campfire and then go out until around 11 when you come back for a substantial brunch. At about 4 you have high tea and are then out until you come back for drinks and dinner. The bar is open and self-serve and wine is served with dinner.
One of the trips was a visit to a heronry which was fascinating but so cold to start with! That morning we had a cold snap come through from South Africa and it was around 6 degrees first thing, very unseasonably cold and this lasted for a few days. On our trip we saw that other camps had warm ponchos to help with the cold which would have been very, very welcome in the vehicle and on the boat. The blankets we had just did not keep out the wind and cold. Ponchos are worth considering for the future I think.
For some reason at the camp when we were there we had a lot of hunters who kept on deliberately bringing up the subject rather than avoiding it when realising how uncomfortable it made others. This caused a lot of polarisation and discomfort. Worth going on safari knowing what to avoid and accepting what you might come across!
While we were at Splash there was a medical emergency which was handled extremely well by the management. They went well out of their way to help the gentleman affected and deserve praise and lots of credit.
Lovely camp, nice staff, beautiful area and some wonderful wildlife sightings with a knowlegeable guide. Great stay!" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana; 4n in Namibia

Buffalo
5 sightings

Cheetah
2 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
7 sightings

Hippo
4 sightings

Lion
2 sightings

Sitatunga
1 sighting

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wild dog
2 sightings

Wildebeest
5 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"A Gem in the Delta"
Great staff, great food, outstanding guides, wonderful safari/game viewing experiences and we really enjoyed the boat and mokoro canoe excursions" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 4n in Rwanda

Buffalo
6 sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
5 sightings

Lion
6 sightings

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
One small point: I had to buy some sun-screen. The price ($24) was twice what it should have been. And when I asked whether I could pay by card the exchange rate was pretty poor and I was told a 3% addition would be added. This is not generous and not the way I expect to be treated in such a high-cost resort." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

Buffalo
1 sighting

Cheetah
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wild dog
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Splendid new camp"
As with Lagoon Camp, our driver and tracker tended to spend far too much time searching for a particular animal (1 hour looking for leopard in this instance - on 2 occasions) when we had already had good sightings of it. Then we missed viewing elephants at a waterhole which was the stated intention of this drive at the outset. This detracted from our otherwise extremely good experience at this camp. We stayed in the Enclave section of Splash (4 lodges) which was about a 6 minute walk from the main camp (8 lodges). Breakfast and then after-dinner drinks around the camp-fire was an added bonus." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana

Buffalo
2 sightings

Cheetah
2 sightings

Elephant
3 sightings

Giraffe
5 sightings

Hippo
5 sightings

Leopard
3 sightings

Lion
4 sightings

Wildebeest
7 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Splash Camp"
I didn't enjoy the food as well: I had to be vigilant about my food issues because the servers didn't seem to be aware unlike everywhere else. It was the first time there was much talk about Trump and one of the guests seemed to enjoy being a contrarian. The night drives were just a late return from the afternoon drive but we didn't see anything on either of the two I did (I didn't bother with the third one because it was a late return for no good reason). Our guide complained to us a bit about the tracker keeping the light too high to see anything but he didn't say anything to the tracker. He also told us the grass was too high to see any of the smaller night animals. I suggest they not do night drives if the conditions don't make sense.
We also found out the last day there was a boat option and a walking safari option but they weren't offered to us until the last moment. I suspect there was a work/customer distribution problem and trying to maximize number of people per vehicle. As I say teething problems. We had already had 3 boat trips by this point (one from Okuti to Splash) so we didn't need another one but I had been hoping for a walking safari the whole time in Botswana. They seem to want their guides to do everything from walking people to and from cabins to hot water bottles to helping with transport concerns as well as guiding. I think our guide was exhausted.
I also was disappointed that there were no internet opportunities here. When I asked one manager about being able to check in for my flights he said they could phone that through for me. Another manager said it wasn't necessary. As it happened, I wasn't able to check in in Maun for my connecting flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town and we very nearly missed the flight to Cape Town. If I had been able to check in, this would have been handled in a timely way.
Finally, our safari vehicle had a battery problem on Day 2 and needed a boost. But the same thing happened the next day and while we were right next to the leopard family. There was another truck but they drove off and I got nervous. I asked our driver and he made a joke about us being there all day. Then the other truck appeared again. Not a good time for a joke and don't they know that once a battery goes flat you need to replace it?
They didn't seem interested in real feedback. We were all strongly encouraged to sign the guest book but that's not really a place for this kind of feedback." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 4n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
1 sighting

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wild dog
1 sighting

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
Multiple sightings
Holiday styles & special interests in Botswana
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Botswana.
Other lodges in Okavango Delta Safari Reserves
Alternative places to stay in this same area.