Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"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

"The trip was brilliant.

It was the first time for my wife in Africa and she was charmed and able to see everything. My sister and her daughter were back in Africa for the first time in many years and both for the first time in Botswana.

The people were charming and helpful, both those at the camps and those at the airport. The food was as good as I have ever had on safari and the camps, vehicles and expertise of the guides/trackers was first class. They answered all our dumb questions with a smile. The only drawback was the problem with my wife's (Thai) visa. They insist on you having a confirmed accomodation booking and confirmed flights. They will not process the visa until shortly before the start of the trip which means you risk losing everything if the visa doesn't come through.

In our case my wife lost two days and only managed to get the visa by pestering the Botswana consulate in Johannesburg over two days whilst staying in a hotel at the airport in Joberg. Hence extra costs for change of flights, hotel, taxis and loss of two days in camp." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 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

"A fabulous trip , really well organised at every stage . The guiding throughout was of a high standard and the staff in all the camps were lovely.

Saw every kind of wildlife you would expect to in that area.

A good time of year to go..hot but fewer crowds.

Have used Expert Africa several times before and would again." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Overall a wonderful trip and cannot wait to return to Africa. We saw so much and enjoyed some really special interactions between the animals rather than just looking at them thanks to the great guides. We even saw honey bagders, which Sue was very keen to see. Feisty little animals!! Driving, walking and boat trips all very enjoyable. We actually saw 7 different leopards over the 3 camps, which must be a record as I beleive they are quite elusive. The only downside I would comment on was there were reps visiting in Lagoon & Shinde who both tryed to take over the direction of our activities. I think they should be put in seperate vehicles." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"After a break of over 10 years from a series of safari holidays we decided to go back to our favourite destination, Botswana and specifically the Okavango delta, for a holiday to celebrate a big occasion. It proved to be the perfect choice.

The Expert Africa team member we dealt with, Tom Morris, suggested a series of camps run by Kwando Safaris from which we chose Lagoon, Mma Dinare and Splash to give a variety of environments. Kwando have private concessions on land owned by the local villagers and that gives a level of exclusivity not available elsewhere in Africa in our experience.

All the camps were excellent. The safari experience at these camps was unbeatable, with more game and more interaction with their behaviour but none of the intrusion from other game trucks experienced at other destinations.

The guides, trackers and staff at each of the camps were genuinely welcoming and looked after us faultlessly. It has hard to understand how they could maintain that level of cheerfulness and pride in their work and environment at all times while working up to 18 hours a day, every day.

When our outbound BA flight was delayed late on Saturday night, the Expert Africa emergency system responded immediately to help us reorganise the journey, and provided additional prompt support on the Sunday morning.

Overall the organisation provided by Expert Africa was faultless." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari