Travel reviews by Sds & Kss from London

"Location is excellent as others have mentioned, only 10 minutes walk from the falls which is why we selected this option.

Hotel itself is very nice, bar/pool area is very good for drinks and snacks. We stayed 2 nights as first day we arrived late afternoon after the long flight from UK, Town is not far, 10-12 minutes walk down the main road in the town. We even walked one evening to a well known Pizza place, no problems.

Rooms were very comfortable, clean. Bathroom was large with a tub and shower. The showers were very good power showers. Free bottles of water were provided in the rooms. Service was erractic, some were attentive and others were not as much.

Food is very good but expensive. The restaurant is highly rated which we did not know until after. Breakfast was very good."

"I booked this with a little trepidation as I was not sure living in a mobile tents would mean, but I should not have, it was an amazing experience and the best.

The tents are large luxurious tents with double beds and bathroom and shower area attached. There is a communal tent area for breakfast or brunch, tea and dinner. Food was excellent as the cook specially made delicious vegetarian options for us. Thank you Bee and team for the lovely flavours in the bush. The camp is set in the bush, at night we could hear distant lion roars and hyena calls and elephant rustling. First night there was even an owl who decided to hoot from 2-4am. There were no concerns from a danger point but made it a bit edgy the first night as you wonder how far are the animals making the noise.

Staying within Chobe National Park meant our safari started within minutes of driving. We specially wanted to see elephants and we saw many familiy groups. When asked one day what we wanted to see, my son replied, hundreds of elephants. Guess what we saw, groups of 100s. As it is national park, off roading is not allowed but this did not hinder us seeing a wide range of animals and some did not that others did eg leopard. But we did not feel we missed out. The Chobe river area is a magnet for animals and birds.

The best ever excursion was the Pangolin photography boat trip on the Chobe one afternoon. We were on a small 6 person boat where each person is on a swivel chair with a professional level Nikon camera, large lens and a moveable gimble to hold it. Janine from Pangolin was great both with photographers were she could be technical and non where she made it fun. Every one then gets to keep the memory card with their photos.

What made this an exceptional experience were the people and our amazing guide, KD. He has incredible knowledge and passion for flora and fauna and conservation. He would explain interesting items during the drives and meal times. We all learnt where to look to see certain stars and planets in the night sky. KD was very widely read and one evening we even had a fun discussion on US politics given there was a couple from US.

With hindsight, I wish I had booked 3 nights here instead of 2. It was one of the best overall experience. Well done &beyond, Daniel the camp manager and his very friendly and nothing was too much trouble team and the amazing KD. A great option recommended by Expert Africa."

"The camp is based on the edge of the delta and has a large lagoon for many rooms but not all. Both our 2 rooms were a walk away towards the back of the camp and did not have lagoon views. More on this below.

The Kwara concession is a large area with mixed sightings for us. We had some drives where we saw good range of animals and others where it was much quieter and not even many impalas. When asked when we arrived we asked to see the large cats. The guide and tracker mostly talked with each other and occasionally we would get explanations from the guide. When we asked question the answers were factual but not elaborate. This meant we were not always sure what they were tracking and sometimes it led to nothing which we understand is the nature of a drive but the guide could have still made the drive more engaging and interesting. During dinner another jeep guests were openly discussing asking for their guide to be changed for the next day.

For a fairly expensive camp the service was average or sometimes below. No one asked us what type of food we like and drinks was self service from a fridge. At other camps, we only had to look and someone would be there to ask what we would like. The tents are on stilts and made of canvas. The facilities are dated. There were holes in the canvas where clearly insects could get in.

After one night, another couple who arrived on the same flight as us were moved to lagoon room as a number of guests had departed. We were not asked if we wished to move.

The makoro (wooden canoe) morning across the lagoon to an island was a lovely experience and this was the only time we felt the guide was engaging and explained many interesting things about plants, animal droppings and termite mounds.

2 days would have been sufficient at this camp."

"On the edge of the delta, after a short flight from our previous camp, Kwara.

The Camp is not a water based camp but there are areas of water close by, shallow waters.

A truly luxurious experience in the wild. The lodges are on stilts as are all the walk ways, The amazing experience starts when you are collected from the airstrip. The person explains who they are, how long it will take to get to the camp and although he is not a guide will point out animals as we drive towards the camp.

All staff are friendly, courteous and welcoming. At the bar, Jay and his team were always smiling and made us lovely mocktails. Food was lovely not always our choice of vegetarian meal but we could see the effort made with limited bush ingredients to make it interesting for us.

The sightings were truly amazing, we saw 4 lionesses on a kill just outside the camp one evening. the same lionesses on other days with 10 cubs and another day where 2 male lions had joined the group in eating another buffalo carcass. Ebs our guide was very knowledgeable and passionate. On some morning drives ,as it led to interesting sightings. we were out from 6 to 12. Ebs would always ask if everyone was ok to extend as it was an exciting sighting. We saw most of what we had on our wish list and even more but it was truly a great experience because of the guide's engagement with everyone on the jeep. Even having a flat tyre became an experience where we helped.

As one of the higher cost camps, we had high expectations. I can say they were met and exceeded. All managers talked to all the guests, welcomed back after each drive and joined the dinners. Well done Chitabe and thank you Expert Africa for the recommendation. We will be back one day!"