Travel reviews by Miss G from Hertfordshire

"We found Ilala a lovely place to stay at Vic Falls. It is just a 10 min walk to the Falls entrance gate and also on the edge of town so very easy to walk to shops, supermarket , cafe etc. The food was excellent at Ilala so we did not eat anywhere else even though we had planned to beforehand.

The room was lovely with wildlife visiting the grounds and it also had a nice pool area to relax. We went on the sunset cruise which was also nice and relaxing and also a chance for some wildlife.

We were extremely pleased with this lodge recommendation from Expert Africa."

"This was our first lodge in Botswana and the view from the lodge general areas and your chalet are amazing.

All the staff are lovely and everything was very well organised. The chalets have everything you could wish for, mosquito nets are prepared while you are on your afternoon game drive and all clothes could be laundered including underwear which I was not expecting. My only negative would be that the rooms were a little hot but we soon found out that everywhere was hot in Botswana in Sept!

Synack, our guide was great, knowledgable and fun, and as well as the usual early morning game drives we went on the full day out which included the river cruise and the afternoon game drive back from the river. Beforehand I had mixed ideas about whether to do this but we thoroughly enjoyed it even though it was a long day. The only downside to this is that it takes approx 1h by road to get to the river at Kasane where the boat leaves from."

"Lebala was absolutely lovely. Rooms were a really good size and design with gauze netted walls so no mosquito nets were required.The camp was run really well and the food was amazing, we always seemed to be eating some delicious homemade cake or dish and you could never go hungry here. All the staff were first class.

Bate and Nalgo were our guide and tracker who were briliant. There are several different types of terrain around Lebala which made for interesting game drives and we really liked having both guide and tracker which not all camps have as their tracking paid off with some lovely sightings."

"Little Kwara has just 5 tents on stilts in a forest clearing and they are really well equipped.The staff and food was excellent again just like its sister camp, Lebala.

We went on the water for our first evening activity where we saw mainly birdlife and even though we are not birders this was very impressive. Do take a scarf though to wrap around your face for this activity as the midges come out on the way back on the river!

Wildlife around little Kwara was great with following wild dogs hunting on our very last game drive very exciting, thank you Wago and Mike."

"Okonjima Bush Camp was a wonderful start to our trip, made even better by us being upgraded to the Bush Suite which is absolutely out of this world. Thank you Okonjima and I can't recommend the suite highly enough.

The journey from the airport was very easy even though we had just flown in, plus had a 90 min delay, as its on tar roads and is well signposted. It was still posiible to arrive in time to settle in and be ready for the afternoon activity at 4pm.

We found the activities very good with a 2 night stay just right for the number of activities on offer. Going to the hide after dinner was well worth it.

Staff were all lovely, overall we could not fault this camp."

"The entrance road to Anderssons Camp was actually next to the gate so within 10-15min you can be inside Etosha which was great but we did not realise the main 'action' and waterholes are a further 17Km inside the gate, near Okaukuego, so if you really want to be inside Etosha as early or late as possible then perhaps bear this in mind.

Having said that we would still probably pick Anderssons as it was a much smaller camp than Okaukuego and it did have its own waterhole too where a pride of lions came to one evening.

Camp was extremely friendly and meals excellent with dining on individual tables which we liked as lots of places have group tables. The rooms were a little basic and the swimming pool was really a plunge pool tank but even taking this into account we thought it was still a good comfortable camp. We knew it was not classed as a luxury camp compared to some of our other choices of accomodation and so it was just as we expected. At this time of the year most of the swimming pools are too cold to use anyway so it was not a problem to us. We drove ourselves so didnt use any of the guided drives."

"Absolutely stunning setting with lovely views from both room and all general areas. Rooms were really spacious.

Only criticism of this lodge was that the excursions were really expensive so we didnt do any of them. We went to the rock drawings by ourselves which was about a 45 min drive."

"We picked this lodge simply to break the drive from Damaraland to Swakopmund and so for a one night stop it was fine. It was basic but clean, everyone was very friendly and very helpful when we needed some help with our car.

The lights in our chalet which were battery fed were temperamental but we did not worry too much as we went straight to bed after dinner (early nights were becoming the norm!)"

"An excellent location as just a couple of min walk to everything. The house has been decorated very stylishly and to the highest quality and so if you like a colonial house but with everything modern then this fits the bill.

We had the Queen room which is upstairs and it was really spacious, we thought the accomodation could not be faulted. Breakfasts were really good and large, garden was a little sun trap when we were there.

Parking is on a driveway to the side but is not actually secure."

"We were only at Lagoon Lodge for 1 night and it was fine for a stop after our Kayak trip but we would definately not have needed longer in Walvis Bay. The bedroom was very cosy as it was cold but the bathroom looked a bit dated.

We were on the ground floor so did not have a balcony to sit out on so I think the upsatirs rooms with this may have been a bit nicer for somewhere sheltered to sit and read. The lodge itself is bright yellow which I thought could be toned down a little to fit in with the rest of the Bay but this is obviously just external appearance.

We happened to be there on a sunday and there is nothing open, we managed to find one italian restaurant for dinner that evening and that was excellent.

Whist staying here, Expert Africa organised a kayaking trip for these travellers. They commented:

Brilliant.

Not to be missed!! even though we had never kayaked before."

"Really liked Rostock Ritz.

The rooms were small but adequate and the view was outstanding. The food here was superb and also the pool and general areas such as bar, lounge, were lovely if you wanted to relax so everthing else about this lodge made up for the room. The lodge has 10 walking trails too, one of which we did."

"Sossus Dune Lodge was better than I expected as it was a NWR property, even though it is their flagship lodge.

The chalets were huge and even had bathrobes, fridge and a hairdyer. The only thing missing was a safe. Downsides were that the rooms got hot in the afternoon (talking to the manager he said he did realise this and that they were hoping to put air-con into the main lounge area in the future so that people could at least go there to read etc in the cool).

I would probably think seriously about this if travelling here in the summer and secondly, that there was no shade at the pool (manager also said this was being done imminently so perhaps worth checking if this bothers you). Staff were all very helpful and friendly and food very good.

Do ask the way across to the dunes if driving yourself rather than go back to the gate as they did not volunteer this info on check-in."

"This lodge is gorgeous! Could not fault anything to do with the lodge itself.

My only comment would be that the full day drive that is included was too long, I would have preferred a couple of hours less, but Italy our guide was great."

"The driveway into ZRL is quite an experience and you really dont want to see another vehicle coming towards you!

We had one of the higher rooms with the nice view and it was totally acceptable but more functional than good looking! , we had not stayed in a guesthouse before so did not really know what quality of accomodation to expect.

The food though at ZRL was superb, all guests sitting out chatting over dinner on the verandah very nice. Mega, the guide, took us on the drive/walk to the spring which was good.

I don't think ZRL should advertise as having a swimming pool though (I Know Expert Africa does not actually state it as such in their brochure which is fairer) as its really just a fish pond and so for somewhere to relax this lets it down if you are expecting this."

"Could not fault Eningu for a relaxing very good quality lodge at the end of our holiday, just an hour from the airport.

Food was some of the best we had all holiday, including the first class places we had stayed.

Would definately stay here again."