Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"We enjoyed our trip to Botswana, had some very good interactions with animals and got some lovely photographs. But even though we took advantage of the special low price we can’t understand the premium it commands.

We found it very interesting comparing Zambia in our opinion for us gives much better value for money. Zambian guides take many years to qualify for each level so seem to have a broader knowledge and understanding of animal behavior allowing us to get much closer to them at times. They also find lots of other things of interest when animals are in hiding.

Walking in Botswana was interesting and super safe, in a very open area, one of the guides is armed.

Walks in Zambia are led by an armed Government scout and a couple of guides into a variety of landscapes looking at small things but when appropriate and safe taking advantage of tracking animals as well." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This has been our fourth trip to Southern Africa. The excitement of seeing animals in the wild hasn’t worn off. So, it won't be our last. We have become addicts, so to speak.

All three lodges are, in our minds, highly recommendable. But, as I said to my wife, it looks like we saved the best (Kwara Camp) for last. This is not in any way to diminish the experiences we had at Muchenje or Lebala.

It’s no secret that we had spent 12 days in Zimbabwe (organized by a different tour operator who granted us a voucher for a trip cancelled in 2020): 2 days in Harare, 2 in Kanga Camp, 3 in Nyamatusi, and 4 in Somalisa Camp. That was also very enjoyable, but I’m mentioning this here for one specific reason. In Zimbabwe, at mealtime we were always given the chance to have a table by ourselves, whereas in Botswana they followed the tradition of having the guests sit together at one big table. Well, we didn’t get sick, so everything went well, but just as an aside, we sometimes dreaded the kind of small talk we had to engage in when communicating with other guests. Maybe we were just unlucky this time.

This was the first time ever that we did an exclusive fly-in safari, which is very intense. It’s non-stop action, and thanks to the wonderful camps we did not fall victim to a sense of fatigue that we anticipated.

We chose to do it this way because we didn’t have the courage to do self-drive during the corona pandemic. But our worries were not necessary, because everywhere we went, the people dealt with the dangers of corona in impressive ways. Masks were worn by nearly everybody, shops and airports greeted you with a temperature check and hand sanitizer (!). Anyway, under normal circumstances we like to combine the fly-in with a self-drive, and that’s what we have planned on doing next year. In our experience, you get to see a bit more of the people and the land, and spending some time on the road is quite relaxing.



Not really. Everything worked quite smoothly from start to finish, which I can’t say about our daily life in the good old USA. Maybe that’s to be expected in this luxury travel segment, but still, I think it’s worth mentioning.

Since the Lebala airstrip was closed for repairs, Lucy in fact contacted us in Chobe to offer us the opportunity to switch to Kwando Lagoon Camp, since this meant that our ride from the airstrip to Lebala was going to be around 2.5 hours instead of the usual 15 minutes or so. After a short discussion among ourselves we decided to stick to Lebala." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"We very much enjoyed our stay at Splash camp and had amazing views of a hunting cheetah, a roaring lion just in front of us and many other animals.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

As a keen birdwatcher, I was a bit disappointed that the birdwatching was a bit neglected, despite the many interesting birds in the area.

However, the guides were quite knowledgeable about the birds and I see there quite some potential for improvement." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"Book as soon as possible to visit Botswana this year.

We were very torn about going or delaying our trip because of Covid but in the end there were so many Covid-related perks that we are so thrilled that we went ahead.

Most important, for people who enjoy privacy, each group had their own landrover and guide. It was special to just have my husband and myself on all of the game drives. Similarly for meals one has one's own table, although one can enjoy other guests around the fire for drinks in the evening and can also request a table with others.

We can't thank Tracy enough for being so patient as we went back and forth, but also encouraging us to go. She was outstanding in every way.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

There is no way that Tracy could improve her service as it is outstanding. Thank you Tracy." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"Our first trip to Botswana was a life changing experience.

It all started off on the right foot with Tracy as our trip specialist. She totally understood what kind of experience we were hoping to get and provided us with options that in the end put together the most perfect itinerary. She also found us deals which helped us to maximize the value for our budget.

There was relaxation, adventure, and variety, and it was all down to the thought through details and logistics.

We did not have any issues at all on our trip and can't recommend Expert Africa enough." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"This was my first trip to Africa. It won't be my last. I traveled with 2 friends who had been to southern Africa 3 times previously, one time using Expert Africa. I was extremely impressed with how smoothly the trip went, and how well chosen the itinerary was.

We wanted to see animals of course, but 2 of us are birders, and one is a fisherman. The fisherman had wonderful catches at Kwara and Setari, and the birding was wonderful throughout the trip. And the animal sightings far exceeded my expectations. I want to especially commend the trackers at Kwara and Lagoon, Mike and Ken. I did not expect to see nocturnal animals, but they were able to show us some wonderful creatures, lesser bushbaby, African wildcats, serval, scrub hares, bat-eared foxes (we saw those in the daytime too), small spotted genet. I was really thrilled.

The accomodations were far more luxurious than I had expected, and the food was overall superb. All the travel arrangements worked perfectly.

Maruska Adye-Rowe, who handled this trip for us, was great. The trip was delayed for a year due to covid, and really evolved. She dealt with our changing ideas very well. First it was a shorter trip to Botswana and Victoria Falls, then that got lengthened, then we added the time in Namibia.

Maruska stayed on top of the covid testing situation. On our way, during our layover in NY, Maruska called to tell us the entry requirements for Namibia had changed, and she'd arranged covid testing for us at our hotel at the Johannesburg airport the evening we arrived." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This was a very complicated trip and overall had very few hiccups. The complications arose because of crossing four borders during a pandemic and the multiple tests we had to have. These were unforeseen at the time we were planning the itinerary. However, it was either that or postpone which we were not willing to do. Maruska guided us through every step of the way and we are and will be eternally grateful for her expertise in planning this trip of a lifetime!

We had no Covid concerns while traveling throughout the entire region. Protocols were well established, everyone wore masks, disinfectant sprays were used liberally, and social distancing observed wherever possible. The staff at all our lodgings was totally committed to our safety and wellbeing. And, although being tested every time we crossed a border was an inconvenience, it added a huge level of confidence that we were healthy." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We were initially worried with respect to Covid and all the related restrictions etc - our trip ended up being the best ever over the past 20 years and 18+ camps visited. Would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about a visit.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: We were totally thrilled with this trip and give credit to Maruska who helped us navigate thru the Covid issues." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We enjoyed our trip allot. Saw a few people that we had seen before.

Saw some animals that we had not seen before.

Some of our game drives could have been better, probably would have been with a different guide" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Maruska planned such a superb safari for us to Zambia in June that we came home and immediately booked with her to return to Africa in July, this time to Botswana. Planning travel during a pandemic is not for the faint of heart. Maruska maneuvered through the requirements and flight changes expertly. She graciously answered my many questions and concerns. And both safaris went as smoothly as can be.

We have recommended Expert Africa to anyone who will listen already!

The benefits of traveling during these risky times is the lack of crowding everywhere. Covid precautions were taken seriously in Africa. We felt safer there, at least in the safari camps, than here in US. The testing requirements went smoothly for our return flight, in fact the nurse was helicoptered in to the camp to obtain our swabs.

Botswana was enjoyable and we were happy that the Delta still had some water from the local spring rains as the Angola floods were scant this year. The scenery was nice but was not quite the palm studded beauty which I had remembered from the past. The wide spread practice of burning during the winter creates a brown haze over much of southern Africa.

We felt it was worth the risk to travel during these turbulent times with the help of Expert Africa and especially Maruska. We also knew we were supported by Chris and his team as well. very grateful for the guidance.

Thank you or Ke a leboga Mma/Rra as the warm,hospitable,welcoming people of Botswana say..." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari