Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"We loved our holiday.
We’d have appreciated advice on tips at the beginning as at the recommended levels they add significant cost. We only found out by chance just before departure & had to get more $ at the last minute." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"This trip was booked at short notice due to receiving a special offer. We are so glad we took advantage of it as we had an amazing time.
Thanks Expert Africa!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Enjoyed it all and would hope to go back. I feel the density of game would perhaps not suit a first timer at this time of year. However we had some amazing sightings including a herd of 800+ buffalo at 4 rivers and male giraffe fighting as well as a fair number of predator sightings.

We were able to spend some time identifying birds, we are very interested amateurs. I would suggest anyone with more than a passing interest might need to book a private tour as not all safari goers wish to spend the time in the same way.

That being said, the guides did very well at keeping everyone on the vehicles happy." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"An unforgettable and amazing trip.

Everyone I encountered went above and beyond and made it a fantastic safari." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This was my eighth safari trip. The last five safaris have been with Expert Africa.

Although this was the first safari without my wife it was still very enjoyable and probably one of the best. Usually we booked our safaris a year in advance but this time in response to the special offers for safaris in Botswana the trip was booked less than six weeks beforehand.

The advice in planning of the trip and developing the itinerary with Expert Africa was easy and smooth.

From the time I arrived in Maun and until I left for home everything went to plan." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was great and I am very satisfied with everything. The advice and general knowledge when planning the trip was very good and everyone at Expert Africa was super helpful.

I followed obviously their recommendations of camps and was very impressed with both but the timing of the stays and the rhythm of the holiday was managed well too. The travel on the ground was very good, flying between camps and being driven over the border.

Advice on tipping was very helpful and on what to pack. I didn’t realise we had to pay cash (US$) at the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe though and that did cause a detour to find an ATM and a risk that they wouldn’t like local currency, but it worked out well in the end.

Expert Africa doesn’t usually book your international flights which I would have preferred as it took me a long time to work out times, connections and prices.

Also, Expert Africa did not initially book the activities at Victoria Falls although when I struggled to deal directly with a local company, they did step in and manage it all very well.

I would suggest that be handled too internally as it’s best to book early and you will get a better response as a company and I just wanted reassurance that it was all booked and organised." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Locations, camps and game viewings were excellent most of the time, except the walking safari part which came across as an afterthought.
If you are keen on a walking safari then go to Zambia!

Though the heat was nearly unbearable and being thrown around in the vehicle for ten hours a day due to the deep sandy roads was difficult on the body, I would definitely go back." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Excellent trip - big three animal sighting requests were met between the two camps.

Lucky enough to see some rare sights like cats tracking buffalo and two male lions agreeing who should prepare a giraffe carcass and who should eat first. Lots of bonding between different groups of lions both during snooze breaks and in between attacking the buffalo. Tracked a cheetah for a kill, which it let go maybe because it was startled by our speedy arrival? Fortunately we saw this female again this time with a fresh kill in the early evening.

We sat for over hour waiting for what turned out to be a female leopard only one year old, quite small, snoozing in a tree. Just caught sight of her on the ground, scent marking on our return from the cheetah. Wow." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This was our first trip to Botswana and we hope it won't be our last. The quantity and variety of animals and birds was simply amazing.

The camps we visited and their staff were all first class. Having both a guide and a tracker (a feature of Kwando safaris) worked very well - and they were more than happy to educate us when tracking the big cats. They were able to spot and identify animals and birds from a long way away (how do they do that!).

Our thanks to Amanda for recommending the camps we stayed in. They were excellent choices - all a little different from each other but all at the consistently high standard of guiding, accommodation, and food and drink.

We would be very happy to return to Lagoon, Splash and Rra Dinare and would recommend all three most highly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This is only the second time we've used Expert Africa, and on both occasions have found the company to be excellent.

We identified only one area for improvement - more for the safari company than Expert Africa - and that is to try to allocate people to safari jeeps based on their interests rather than just their arrival date. We realise this might prove difficult, but it is an area we feel merits a review." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"On the whole this was a very welcome short break.

Everything went like clockwork, the camps were immensely comfortable and the game viewing was good, though I've had better.

It was, however, extremely hot." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari