Reviews of safaris to Caprivi Strip

"This was a wonderful trip.

We were lucky to be able to spend 4 weeks in Namibia, and whilst we covered almost 6000km, we were able to spend 2 or 3 nights in all the camps to get a real feel for the various locations.

We visited some areas in the South of the country, which we hadn't been to before, and these were generally quieter and more remote than the more popular areas such as Etosha. We loved it!" Read full review: 31 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"Thanks for all help, suggestions and fast follow up, even when we had some challenges the night before we left Amsterdam due to flight changes the next day from Johannesburg to Windhoek.

Great you were thinking along how to beat that challenge and giving alternatives for accommodation if we could not make it to our first stop. Thanks Tracy!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Inform your guests esp if they are used to safaris in other countries than Botswana, eg South Africa that the experience can be different. Im not talking about the game viewing which is obvious off course but the experience in the lodges. In South Africa you often for the same amount of money get more value (luxury, guest experience)" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"The trip was excellent, we covered 3000 + km's in 20+ days, driving was fun, less going from Windhoek to Walvis Bay via dirt roads.

Saw all the critter's we came to see multiple times. Next time less camping and more lodging." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"We enjoyed everything about our long Namibia trip.

All logistics worked efficiently and all our accommodation was excellent. We always seemed to be in the best rooms at the best lodges and again we were lucky with our game viewing.

Yet again Expert Africa exceeded our expectations. Thanks to Tracy

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

A warning about the problems that people with UK mobile phones with service suspended on outgoing calls.

A lot of people are having this problem" Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 24 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa managed the arrangements for our trip very efficiently and they were all delivered without a hitch. The information we received before our trip was very detailed and is likely to inspire confidence in any traveller. This information can be supplemented by your very informative website.

Josh was very helpful when we needed to contact him and in his communications with us.

We feel that EA delivered a trip experience that was just what we had requested. We are very pleased with the service we received." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"This was our fourth trip to Namibia, first to Botswana, and we think it was the best trip of all. We have used Expert Africa for every trip, along routes that we have chosen and planned ourselves. We will definitely continue to do so. Their staff's professionalism, knowledge and understanding of the country and the visitor's needs are second to none; we would not contemplate looking at another company.

The route, which Claire advised us on, was excellent, taking in a variety of landscapes from these beautiful countries. She took our initial wish-list and turned it into an affordable and practical trip. Perhaps a couple of the drives between destinations were a little too long, but certainly they were achievable in a day.

We have not visited the north of Namibia before and this, along with Botswana, provided a very different, water-based experience. The lodges were all excellent; all very different, but provided amazing experiences. We are always stunned at the quality of food, service and accommodation that are produced in the middle of nowhere!

The Namibian peoples are so friendly and eager to please their visitors. The guides are always professional, knowledgeable and well-educated. They manage to provide a personal experience to each and every visitor.

It was a bonus to be greeted at Windhoek airport by a member of Wilderness safaris and helped through the car hire process. Also, the use of their lounge upon our return was good, as was the help to bypass a long queue for the baggage check.

The only trouble is - we want to go back again now!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, it's all just great." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"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.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
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

"Awesome trip, ready to go back.

Everyone was friendly. Seen lots of animals.

And Victoria Falls are beautiful." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 3 on a Namibia trip

"This was our 5th and best trip." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip