Travel reviews by Peter LeVine from USA

"Everything runs like clockwork at Machaba Camp. The guides are very good, the staff excellent, and accommodations and food first rate. Compared, however, to lodges and camps I have stayed at in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and elsewhere in West/Central Africa the camp is very commercial. The ambiance is very much like that of a very efficient, high end five star hotel. At times I felt like we were staying at a Serena Hotel or a Ritz Carlton - which undermines the sense of a being in an exotic region. This is not meant to be a criticism but rather a comment on the experience. You will not, I suspect, find many well traveled independent guests at Machaba Camp. Rather, you will find like travelers who are visiting Botswana for the first time and want an excellent introduction and overview of the Okavango Delta. For a first time visit to Botswana I recommend Machaba Camp. If, however, you want a place that is less commercial I would recommend somewhere else."

"This is a commercial hotel which is borderline acceptable for one night in Nairobi. The front desk staff was unfriendly and the rooms are two to three stars. Whoever designed the rooms must have failed Architecture I. Bathrooms have no doors and the mirror makes anyone visible to the entire room - not a great place to stay with your adult children. I had to change our room twice to avoid being in a depressing room on the lower floor of the hotel that felt like a basement. In contrast to the unfriendly front desk/reception staff and drab rooms, the restaurant is first rate - excellent Indian food."

"Serian Nkorombo has a tremendous location and, as with all Serian Camps, truly exceptional guides - the best in Africa. Serian Maasai Mara is pure luxury with great food and exceptional management. We stayed at each camp for two nights. This is the second year in a row I have stayed at Serian. Last year I stayed at the Serian Camp in Tanzania. There is an extraordinary quality about all Serian Camps I have stayed at that is real but difficult to describe - the ambiance. Unlike other places I have stayed at in Africa, there is a free spirit non-commercial quality about these camps and yet the highest levels of professionalism. At Serian, you have complete freedom to do whatever you want to see and do whenever you wish. We always found interesting, independent, and well traveled individuals at Serian camps who felt the same way. I have been traveling to Africa for nearly forty years - Serian Camps are unique and exceptional offering real adventure and independence with exceptional management, guides, staff, and facilities. If you want the very best wildlife experience with complete freedom - stay at Serian!"

"Serian Maasai Mara Camp has everything imaginable and more. We stayed at this camp in September, 2017 - our third Serian Camp. The guides are the very best - friendly, extremely well educated, knowledgeable, and accommodating. As with all Serian Camps, we had own guides and vehicle and had complete freedom to see whatever we wanted to see whenever we wanted to do so. Management is extremely generous and allows its guests to travel any distance and for as many hours as you wish each day and night. And, there is the extra bonus of staying in real luxury. This camp is magnificent - beautiful guest tents/rooms, great good, and a brilliant management team. Very importantly, the camp atmosphere is relaxed and non commercial. Not surprisingly, Serian consistently attracts independent, well traveled individuals who want a real sense of freedom and adventure. With over forty years of travel throughout Africa, Serian Camps are my favorite places to stay."

"Alex Walker's Serengeti South Camp exceeded my very high and hopeful expectations as I had visited the Serengeti on five prior occasions. The Great Migration is an experience that I never tire of. Alex Walker is an expert's expert on the Serengeti and much of East and South Africa. He is an extremely kind, unassuming, and generous man who sets the tone and high standards for the entire experience.

His guides are first rate. There are no limitations on each guest's use of his/her car and guides. If you wish to be away from the camp for twelve hours and drive 200 miles every day, you can do so. All of the guests who stayed at the camp were, without exception, interesting, adventurous, and well traveled individuals who chose Alex Walker's camp for the same reason I did - a place where you find the best guides and are, very importantly, away from all of the camp, lodges, and tourists near Ndutu.

Alex Walker is personally responsible for making every visitor's stay special. He matches each guest/guests with the guides which he believes will be most suitable. His senior managers and staff are highly experienced experts on wildlife and masters of hospitality. It would very difficult to have an equal experience anywhere else in the Serengeti and, impossible, to have a better experience. When you leave Alex Walker's Serian Serengeti South Camp after four nights, you are leaving new and special friends who you very much hope to see again.

While I do not profess to be an expert on Africa, I have been traveling to the African continent on a regular basis since 1974. I have visited most countries on the continent, often more than once, as Africa is a magnet that keeps drawing me back. Alex Walker and his extraordinary management team and staff made my January, 2016 visit to the Great Migration the best I have ever experienced. I will return."