Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"We had a fantastic trip, i was expecting great things, but i was still surprised at how great the trip was .

i would go back tomorrow and the next day,...

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the trip was wonderful, Im sorry but i do find you website a bit dull, i prefer to go onto other web sites for inspiration and pre-holiday excitement. however that is small and wouldn't stop me using expert africa. the knowledge of the team is phenomenal" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a Botswana safari

"Stunning! A huge variety of memorable experiences, diverse lodges and special people made this trip everything we hoped for.

Tracy Lederer take a bow as your help, suggestions, comments and patient answers to our many questions made this trip work as well as it did. Everywhere we stayed added something special to our overall experience and your suggestions of adding a private safari and a trip down to San Camp made a great trip a spectacular experience. Our private safari with Kazuma will always be very special and you may have spoiled us for the future!

We did not know what to expect from Botswana. The old mantra was Botswana was high cost because of low vehicle numbers/tourists. In our experience that is not totally true any more. Chobe around Kisane is so busy from the land and the river that it is unpleasant in places and it looks like development is continuing at pace. Some of the companies who run river trips are aggressive and do not consider the animals or other boats. Having said all of that, seeing the hundreds of elephants on the Chobe River near Kasane and being able to watch them swim makes this still a wonderful place to visit. Moving quietly in boats is a fascinating way to see wildlife from a different perspective. Savute and Khwai are both busy with Khwai being particularly so at times. In Khwai and Savute you can, however, leave the crowds around the lions or the dogs and go off and find your own wonderful wildlife which we could do with our private guide.

The wildlife is not the wide variety of plains animals that you see in Kenya or South Africa. Botswana is not the place for a quick tick-list safari. What you do have is much more intense and lengthy experiences with the animals you see. We found most of the animals to be very relaxed and not bothered by vehicles or boats. The variety of landscapes is breathtaking. The guiding is very, very good in general.

We are used to travelling in a variety of little planes which are used like taxis so they were not a shock. The routes are not finalised until the day before you fly so be prepared for short hops to drop off and pick up other passengers from a variety of dirt air strips. You may not get to leave at a time that suits you. The small planes we took were a mixed bag but the young pilots all seemed professional. The planes could get a little bumpy but nowhere near as bumpy as the road trip would have been!

We did not expect to come away with an understanding of how the different management styles between Botswana and Namibia affected the wildlife and the land. Although explained to us several times we are still struggling with the geography of the Delta! We did not expect to learn so much about the Salt Pans and how everything managed to survive such a harsh environment. We learned so much about animal behaviour by being able to take the time to sit and watch what was going on and have everything explained by well-trained and enthusiastic guides. We listened to the calm debate about the possibility of reintroducing hunting in Botswana. We met some wonderful like-minded travellers and some that were not so pleasant but that is what happens on safaris: you learn when to speak and when to leave subjects alone! We met some really special Batswana people whose enthusiasm for their country is wonderful.

This was a special holiday for us that we had wanted to do for a long time. We have been lucky enough to travel to many African countries, some repeatedly but had never made it to Botswana before. We would llike to return!

A few hints.
- A number of tourists did not realise how cold it can get at night so take clothes you can layer, a puffer jacket or fleece and even gloves and a hat.
- Take a torch and spare batteries.
- Take a kanga or a kikoy with you so that when the temperature gets unbearable you can soak it and wrap it around your neck to keep you cool. It also helps when it is very dusty to cover your mouth and nose.
-Laundry is done almost everywhere so you do not need as many clothes as you think and it is certainly not a fashion show.
-Almost everywhere we stayed provided shampoo, conditioner, soap and mosquito spray so you can save weight on not bringing too much of these.
- Stick to the baggage size /weight recommendations if you are in small planes. They really can not take suitcases! Have something different like a bright ribbon on your handle. We saw one group of around 20 all travelling with the same bags that were just like ours!
- Cross pack with someone you are travelling with in case one bag goes missing somewhere!
- Money: Botswana Pula is not available out of the country. There is no cash machine in the new airport at Kasane. There is a cash machine at a shopping strip in Kasane town so your driver may stop for you if you ask. I do not know about Maun. We carried US dollars cash with us for tipping (with a number of small bills for porters) and we carried more than we thought we would need.

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You are streets ahead of the opposition and I recommend you to anyone and everyone. The knowledge of your staff is first-hand and they always take our likes, dislikes and experiences into account when suggesting holidays. Seems simple but not often done!

Your web site is amazing however too many of your description pages that I was browsing now say that the lodge has not been visited since ... (quite a few years ago) I know it is impossible to keep totally up to date but a lot of pages are well past their use by date so maybe time for some more visits to keep your pages up-to-date and the comments relevant. Chris and I will volunteer to help whenever you like! :D

You do not have Aardwolf or Elephants on your San animal list." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"This was our first safari holiday and our first time in Africa and as such this was an excellent holiday with all expectations met or exceeded and with many surprises on the way. The holiday was very well organised and transfers between the lodges never caused a problem.

We saw all the animals we had hoped to see, and a few more, and despite the early morning starts, the immersion in the world of safaris was both restful and refreshing. Driving in Namibia was unproblematic and the border crossings in and out of Botswana were relatively quick.

My personal highlights: watching giraffes taking on cheetahs at Okonjima; walking to a group of Rhinos at Ongava; the beautiful Tree Top camp at Onguma; fishing in the Okavango at Nxamaresi; and the huge herds of elephants at Nambwa and Garden Lodge." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was amazing!

Lucy could not have done a better job of meeting our needs. Her knowledge of the camps allowed her to help us make choices that would be good for us.
If she didn't have the information, she would find a colleague who did.

Everything was seamless." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was mind blowing.

Richard Ball was instrumental in building the picture in our minds of what the trip could be like and he was definitely spot on about Gomoti Plains Camp! Megan Green delivered a perfect execution throughout including at the very last minute to arrange an additional activity as we were flying out to Africa.

Advice on photography by Chris McIntyre was helpful and really beyond the call of duty.

We thank everyone on the team and we look forward to working with them for our next trip!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The detailed knowledge that the staff have of the different camps including sightings and camp characteristics distinguishes Expert Africa from the many other operators we approached and really helped us in deciding what to do/where to stay. Their advice on travelling with children was also spot on and very helpful.

Perhaps more focus could be provided as the trip is planned on the safari guides, as they really make the difference to one's trip (even if we appreciate travellers cannot choose who they will be guided by).

Looking forward to the team living up to our newly heightened expectations for our next trip!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Expert Africa was great to work with and Ellie was on top of everything." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We visited a wonderful combination of hunting and photo safari camps that not only provide outstanding experiences, but serve to illustrate how important BOTH are to sustaining/maintaining the value of so many wildlife species and the habitats upon which they depend." Read full review: 3 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"A great 70th birthday trip.

Perhaps erred a bit on the luxurious side, but we didn't really complain." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"An excellent and memorable trip that probably surpassed our expectations. Botswana is a fantastic place to visit." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"I would really recommend this holiday. Away from all pressures and - as one of the other guests put it - you pay to see the animals and the vegetation on your own. This is a tailor-made experience, away from the crowds of people you find in other safari holidays. You can watch a leopard quietly feeding with no other truck around. This is impossible in most game reserves. In a word: outstanding." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari