Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"Incredible, extraordinary, exciting, unbelievably memorable experience we will always cherish as a family!

Maruska did a fabulous job of getting it all together with not a great deal of time. She got back with us in a very timely manner which especially helped given the time constraints and the fact that we were dealing with 6 adults with different job schedules and on different continents.

She was professional and very knowledgeable.

We would definitely recommend Expert Africa and hope to come back to Botswana some day.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Had we started at Okuti we might have felt differently about the experience. It was so different from Tubu Tree. Obviously one has to work with availability but it might be good, if possible, to use a formula of the least desirable camp first. Being our first safari, we also were not anticipating such a big difference between the private and public reserve experiences. One positive consequence was that Okuti really made us appreciate our time at Tubu Tree and Labala and allowed us to see subtle differences which none the less made a huge difference in the atmosphere and experience." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful trip characterised by unique sights, smells and sounds in a series of fabulous environments. Many stand-out moments including the red dunes, the flight to Damaraland via Swarkopmund (sp?), the swamps of Okavango and the great people every where (notably at all of the camps). We loved the sense of optimism evident in Namibia and the ambition for the country to change from being an underdeveloped country today to becoming a developed nation by 2030!

Could'nt have been better! Well done Expert Africa! Simon and Niamh...Melbourne

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Had a wonderful trip and would definitely do it again." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Overall our trip was excellent. Only glitches were a missing extra spare tire in Namibib and they guy in Livingstone who was to meet us ran off with another couple. Thanks to a great airport travel desk guy, he sorted it out and matched us with the person we needed.

The Expert Africa folks we dealt with were uniformly very good to excellent. There were some delays in feedback during the planning process which we noted but overall very good. Quick feedback during the planning process is critical to us as we are comparing ideas and proposals from more than one company and we need to hear from everyone.

For this trip we spoke to three different folks--Nick, Sabina and one other. Next time I would spend more time in conversation with each of them and would better understand our itinerary options. There is only so much I retain from web sites and travel books.

We also want to find places in Botswana with animals. That was the big surprise for this trip. Our East Africa trips have spoiled us and shaped our expectations for game viewing." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"After a few self inflicted disappointments last year we returned to our well tried formula on this trip and had the most wonderful holiday. As usual the Expert Africa input was impeccable and the new Mrs Green, aka Megan, excelled. At no point were we left wondering where, what or when and knew that had anything gone wrong it would be sorted.

Almost without exception all the managers, staff, guides and boatmen who looked after us went out of their way to ensure that we had the best possible experience. It worked and we saw pretty much all that the Delta has to offer in relative comfort and with excellent food - even if it is delivered 8 times a day!

Another triumph for Expert Africa and Wilderness. Thank you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No. It aint broke so don't fix it!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The advice and information from Expert Africa about the camps was spot on." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This was a wonderful trip. We would work with Expert Africa again and recommend them to family and friends.

The team member who dealt with most of our trip was Gwynneth -- who I know is no longer working at Expert Africa -- but she deserves recognition for all her efforts. I am evaluating Gwynneth below, even though I have to choose a different team member from the drop-down menu" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Superb advice from Nick in the UK office, no request or question too small. Wonderful trip put together for us, paying great attention to our wishes for animal sightings, our requirements as 6 people traveling together and our request for small groups and individual attention. Loved all the choices and had a really superb time.

Would travel with Expert Africa again and also recommend.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really.

A couple of issues came up for the friends we were traveling with (Mack Air) - but as Ian and I weren't on that plane we've left it to them to report what happened. As advised very clearly by you before we left, they reported what had happened straight away to the camp manager and the problem was dealt with right away and to everyone's satisfaction. Altogether a very clear process in booking and very clear guidelines for what to do if things aren't right along the way.

Many thanks indeed for a tremendous trip." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Overall, a fantastic trip.

Expert Africa did an excellent job in their seamless arrangements." Read full review: 34 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Nick was straight back to us on the text when he knew we would be late and showed great forethought in reserving us a room at the Airport Hotel. The A380 had a lot of passengers who missed their flights and the hotel soon became fully booked.

As a comment if Expert Africa has customers who are "time rich" as we are [though not necessarily "cash rich" ] it might be a good idea to suggest a day's stopover after a long-haul flight. Because we had to stay over a day we started our holiday fit and refreshed and enjoyed it all. If we had arrived at Nxia Pan Camp as planned I think we would have been exhausted and it could have taken a few days to recover............the tourist schedule for retirees is pretty demanding !" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari