Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"An action packed , superb holiday with plenty of opportunities to see landscapes, plants birds and animals and take loads of photos. Perhaps we should have built in a little more relaxation!

I enjoyed working out availiability with Susannah via email as we didn't book holiday until March and some camps were unavailable.

Our experience was that the vast majority of birds and animals were seen on the game drives and very little seen on the water. We realised how vital good guiding is to the whole experience.

Nambia and Botswana guideline booklets were very useful" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful trip and would definately go back, The Safari company there really do a professional well orgainized trip. I loved the quiteness of it all, Not hundreds of tourists with radios rushing to see kills. The camps were all fabulous (except King's Pool) and each had a different feel but were well managed, and I think you get the level of luxury that you pay for. Even however the less expensive camps were really comfortable.

The people were universally friendly and helpful - what a wonderful country (Botswana). The game veiwing was serene and comprehensive. Only a max of 4 people to a jeep added to the ambiience and ability to be flexible (like staying 1 hour to watch the hyena cubs play).

Food was excellent, although I would have loved to have tried the local cuisine at some point. The guests seemed to be like minded, so we got on pretty well with everyone. We traveled for 9 nights in 4 different camps, and I would actually recommend that 7 nights, max 8 is enough. It also struck me that there is no need to go to more that 3 camps. I
Please note that if I had not been to Kings c Pool, I would have given my trip 5 "paws

Just also like to say that Susannah was very helpful, and knowledgeabloe

Suggestions for improvements:

Not really - it all ran very smoothly and was better than I expected" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"The trip exceeded our expectations - partly because we did not think our trip to Mala Mala in 1992 could be bettered.

The problem is to combine the reality of searching for wildlife in an uncertain environment with the requirements of people used to very high standards of accommodation etc. It seemed to us that an appropriate balance between the two was achieved. A huge bonus is the friendliness and humour of the Batswana. But the deciding factor for people who are intensely interested in wildlife is the professionalism and knowledge of the guides.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate our Silver wedding anniversary." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Our holiday was fabulous! It all went very smoothly, and exceeded all our expectations.

It was all tremendous fun - we saw amazing things and met lovely people.

We have lots of wonderful memories and enough stories to last us years!

Suggestions for improvement:

No - you did a fantastic job for us!" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We really enjoyed our holiday and the positives completely outweigh the negatives and I have the photos to prove it.

We would go back to Botswana tomorrow - The Lagoon lodge was a fantastic experience.

Despite my reservations about the car it did not let us down after the puncture episode and was quiet and comfortable to ride in

To view my photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/perces/Namibia2008" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Overall it was marvellous.

The mobile safari with Grant was definitely the best bit of the holiday and well worth repeating,
Linyanti came a close second.

Shinde was very disappointing, the excellent facitlies were badly let down by the poor management and guiding

A couple of bits of information that others may find useful:

It's sandy underfoot at the campsites
Occasional clouds of dust unavoidable at this time of year, with this, photographers need to be cautious about changing lenses if using SLRs and contact lens wearers may find spectacles more practical
Getting a square to round plug adapter can be useful, gives increased flexibility at fixed sites and necessary for Grant's inverter on the mobile safari." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"It was an extremely good holiday - one of the best we have had.

In retrospect, we would probably have mixed in more variety (eg perhaps a Kalahari camp). But your advice was extremely helpful in steering us to different and complementary places. it was great to be looked after so well in such lovely places - and the transfers worked like magic.

If you have enquiries about car hire in Zambia, please don't hesitate to recommend Voyager - they were exceptionally helpful and reliable.

Suggestions for improvement:

Not really = look forward to using you again" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday which in the vast majority of instances exceeded our expectations.

Suggestions for improvement:

It would be useful to know the starting time for afternoon excursions at lodges/camps prior to arrival." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"My trip was what I had hoped for, a great adventure that was well organized.

Thanks Lucy." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"From the first contact with Expert Africa we were confident that we had made a good choice.

The lengths Lucy was prepared to go to in order establish our expectations of the trip and match them to specific camps, within our timescale, was extraordinary. She obviously had firsthand experience and was super efficient. Lucy was always a pleasure to talk to, and we really do feel it is down to her expertise that we had such a well-organised and balanced holiday that could not have gone more smoothly.

We were also pleasantly surprised that your prices are so competitive when you offer such a personal service.

Suggestions for improvement:

We have been very happy." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari