Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"We have had another wonderful holiday – our third trip to Namibia, and at least 9th with Expert Africa – but things could have been better.

Our feedback reflects what we have come to expect from Expert Africa – a minimum 4-paw grading for everything – therefore 5 paws are very hard to achieve and reflect something exceptional.

We were very annoyed by the cancellation of the direct Air Namibia flights; this caused us significant inconvenience. We met so many people who shared our views – from fellow travellers to lodge owners to guides – everybody was unhappy about it. Having been forced to fly via Frankfurt we thought Frankfurt airport was very poor – lack of signage, few shops, little seating and even a mouse in the Business Class lounge. Toilets were dirty. The process will make us think twice before going back to Namibia.

However........ arriving at Windhoek in the morning we found the drive up to Etosha no problem – there were 2 of us to share the driving and we stopped off for shopping and lunch on the way – we definitely prefer to get straight on the road rather than spending a night in Windhoek and effectively wasting a day. We'd recommend buying a Namibian SIM for your mobile at the airport (took 5 mins and cost around £10) – others tend not to work, even with Global Roaming enabled – and we did use it when we discovered we'd left Ghaub with the room key in a pocket!

We'd always thought the road signs on the B1 warning of warthogs rather amusing but we saw dozens on the side of the road this time! Our trip was mostly on tar roads this time, which is great in some ways but they can be very straight and boring – in particular the roads through the Caprivi. We were glad we had booked a 4X2 vehicle for driving some of the tracks in Etosha and Mahango – no need for 4x4 at this time of year.

We were so pleased we were doing a one-way trip; we met many people who had found the driving tiring and were not looking forward to the drive back to Windhoek from the Caprivi. We had tried to slow things down and space them out so that most of our drives were less than 4 hours and, where possible, we spent at least 2 nights in accommodation. This gave us the chance to take advantage of the activities on offer and relax (eg at Hakusembe).

Many lodges do not provide drinking water (or at cost) so we suggest buying a 5 litre bottle in a supermarket (about N$15) and taking it with you.

We would happily repeat our holiday and revisit any of our accommodation with the exception of Namutoni – no way!

Suggestions for improvements:

We have travelled with EA so many times it must be a recommendation in itself! We did do some market testing on this trip and found competitors more expensive. We're already organised for next summer's trip.

However, on rare occasions accuracy of quotations is somewhat sacrificed in the interests of getting them to clients quickly. This is obviously partly due to the complexity of trips but can be frustrating." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"one of the most memorable holidays we have had

Suggestions for improvements:

The service you provided was excellent" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"will go back. best holiday i ever made with the whole family" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Another fabulous trip to Africa, we can't wait to go back

One thing we did notice however, was that, while the standard of guiding remains generally very good, there seem now to be some guides who are doing the job just to make enough money to be able to fund other business/life plans. As a result we encountered one or two without the old passion/feel for the job. While their knowledge was probably very good, it was in a bit of a textbook style and seemed to lack an empathy with the animals/environment.

Possibly because the good rains had meant animals were more dispersed and therefore a bit more difficult to find, there seemed to be a lot of racing around trying to find things without stopping to evaluate the surroundings and potential. I also felt that there was a bit more harrassing animals by changing position to let people get a different shot rather than just sitting quietly to observe, again perhaps because of the perceived need to move on to try to find something else. Also because there were possibly fewer 'opportunities to view' there tended to be several vehicles at each sighting.

Suggestions for improvements:

Difficult to think of anything Expert Africa could do better. We are always delighted with the service and have recommended you to lots of friends.

It would have been helpful to have seen the questionnaire before we went so that we could make notes on relevant points as we went along. After three weeks and lots of locations it is a bit difficult to remember precise details for" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"everything went absolutely to plan - we didn't have any 'hitches' at all - and all the staff at Linyanti Camp, Kwhai Camp and on Mboma island were absolutely first class.

It certainly was an experience that we will never forget - not just as a resut of the amazing range of game that we saw, but also the great people from African Bush camps that we got to know (if only for a short time)." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Very very good. Each lodge had some advantages and some disadvantages, but on the whole they were really good. We had no real problems on the trip and some very good experiences (and animal sightings). It was one long safari, but that was really what we had wanted.

The one contact we had with Wilderness Safaris was good too - through the delay at the airport with the car hire, and the fact that we took one wrong turning on the motorway, we were on course to arrive too late in Waterberg. Wilderness had an emergency phone no and she arranged for the Waterberg gate to stay open, so that problem was solved.

We were also very satisfied with the whole procedure between our first enquiry and the actual trip. Maruska was extremely helpful and efficient, patiently giving us detailed answers to any question we had." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Susannah assisted us in planning our trip and helped point us in the direction of camps that fit our needs. Chris was also very helpful in answering our questions about appropriate photography equipment. We also appreciated Lucy's help with our last-minute questions.

This resulted in an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Suggestions for improvement:

We were originally booked on a morning flight from Maun to Johannesburg on our last day in Botswana, but we were on the stand-by list for the mid-afternoon flight that day. Shortly after we booked our trip, seats opened up on the afternoon flight and our booking was changed accordingly. Because we were scheduled on an 8am flight from Mapula to Maun, we think our changed booking was not updated with either Mack Air or Mapula Lodge. However, the connecting flight was pushed back and we were able to enjoy our morning game drive. That minor hiccup is our only suggestion for improvement, but it did not detract from our wonderful experience overall.

We would definitely recommend Expert Africa to our friends and family.

For the photographers amongst our travellers, these travellers also observed, by email after their trip:

We just returned from our trip to Botswana yesterday. What an amazing experience! We were only there for 8 days, but I can't count the number of impressions we collected on the way.

I just wanted to follow up with you regarding the discussion we had regarding lens selection. Per your advice, the 100-400 lens was definitely the right way to go. The extra zoom came in very handy -- the majority of my pictures were taken in the >200 mm range -- and bumping the ISO was usually enough to deal with the low light situations. Tellingly, one of the guests we rode with at Kwando had both the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 and the 70-200 f/2.8 lenses, and he didn't use the latter at all during the 3 days we spent together on game drives.

Your advice on the flash was also good. Too bad I pulled my clip-on flash at the last moment due to weight concerns and the mistaken belief that I wouldn't be able to use it on animals at night. I later learned that it would not have bothered animals with night vision, and it would have come in handy on two occasions (you were also right about this). But we'll still have the memories.

Thanks again for your help. My girlfriend and I absolutely loved it in Africa and are already thinking of doing a trip to Uganda in two years. We'll keep in touch.

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Oh, by the way, I highly recommend online lens rentals for people who only want such expensive lenses to use every once in a while. It cost me about $160 for a three week rental, and the lens was insured in case anything happened to is (easing my mind very much). Based on a friend's recommendation, I used www.lensrentals.com [Ed: this is a US-based company], and I think they have similar services in the UK.

I think a lot of amateur photographers would love the opportunity to go on safari with such an incredible lens without having to invest over $1500 in something they will not be able to use very often. You can really tell the difference between my pictures and my girlfriend's pictures (she used my entry-level zoom)." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"This was a lovely trip, we enjoyed every minute of it. Lucy got it absolutely right in the order we did things. It was lovely to chill out at the Zambesi Sun for the first 4 days with the game drives at Chobe and Kafue following. This gave us the chance to get very close to all the animals we had hoped to see and to photograph them. The walking safari following on meant there was no pressure to see and get very close to any of the animals and we could enjoy the walks and savour Africa at a leisurely pace with animals getting close to us when we stayed still.

All the places we stayed in were very special and was just the sort of safari we had hoped for. There was a bit of pressure on animals in Chobe with 4 cars watching lions at one point but there was fantastic amounts of game there. The boat trip was particularly lovely and we watched elephants drinking from the river and 100's of birds.

It was very easy to move from one part of the holiday to the next and all links and transfers were perfect. Hard to imagine that so many links and transfers and border crossings could go without a hitch!

At the planning stage, Lucy listened carefully to me and made absolutely the right recommendations. She remained cheerful through 2 sets of reboookings caused by BA changing flight days. She and Anna are obviously well known and respected in Zambia. Lucy's service was so good that I have booked my next holiday to Equador and Galapagos through Sunvil, and hope to book Namibia in the future. Pity that Expert Africa didn't organise the weather!

Suggestions for improvements:

It was the quality of your service before booking that made us book with you, irrespective of price. We could easily have done this trip cheaper by making our own arrangements - but I wouldn't like to be in Africa without Expert Africa! Just the thought of the Zambia|Botswana border without Expert Africa makes me go cold. What other firm gives clients their consultants mobile numbers in case of emergencies?

Matchless service and nothing could have been improved." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"The trip certainly was a grreat experience and we enjoyed the wildlife and the people very much.

What is always difficult is the estimation of a good itinerary - there were some days that we were more in the car than we planned or expected to be, but it's difficult to avoid unless you go again to a place you already know a little bit." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This was the most expensive holiday we have ever taken - but it was truly worth it. Botswana seems to have got it just right. There was no commercial feel to it, just observing the natural world, and being guided by locals who you felt genuinely care about the environment, love their jobs, are well trained and justly proud of their country.

Suggestions for improvements:

You are right - it really is COLD in the mornings! Lots of layers are the best things to take - and I was very pleased I had my gloves.

We took your advice on the order we did our trip, and for safari novices it was really good - the night in Motsentsela to acclimatise, then starting the trip at Muchenje - luxurious and a good overview - then Lagoon where we got a bit more involved by following the wild dogs, and some hunting lions, and then finishing with Grant at Santantadibe where we really felt a part of the African bush.

I cannot think of anything that could have improved our trip (oh, perhaps if we could have stayed longer..)" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari