Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"An excellent holiday. We greatly appreciated the help and advice you gave us before we booked the trip - everything went very well indeed. A holiday to remember! We met some lovely people on our travels, both fellow travellers, and the staff at the camps along the way. Everyone we met seemed genuinely keen to be helpful and ensure we had a good time in their country. The wildlife and landscapes we saw were wonderful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Everything went smoothly and according to plan. The only glitch was having to leave Nduvo a day early in order to get to Maun on time." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful month and intend to return to Namibia with a longer trip into Botswana." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"March is a non-traditional time to visit Botswana, but we found it awesome. The central Kalahari is bursting with life. And the Okavango Delta was awesome too - though the grass was tall, and many of the roads were muddy.

Expert Africa did a great job at putting together a diverse itinerary; in every camp we saw different types of game and landscapes. Their description of the camps and game likely to be seen was very accurate. All the camps were great - well above our expectations. And the off-season rates were very good for the quality of the experience.

This was our first safari, and we were mesmerized by the experience. It is amazing how close the game is willing to come, and how much there is to see. It's like driving into the middle of a Natural Geographic documentary. One of the peak experiences of our lives." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"This trip was the middle portion of a longer African holiday which we planned ourselves.

We were delighted with the personal touch and attention to detail that Maruska provided. We had enough information from telephone calls, emails, books by Bradt and your web site to approach this section of our trip with confidence. We did not have to do the planning and make reservations as Maruska, arranged everything. We made some accommodation changes a few days before we left for our holiday and a last minute reversal on our Car Hire, (which involved a new company and an eventual refund) and were relieved at how efficiently those changes were handled.

Maruska's response of making sure we were first and foremost satisfied with our itinerary and happy with all arrangements was most refreshing and reassuring.

We have spoken very highly about your service with friends and family highlighting the ethos of your company. Thank you for everything. Marg and Phil Crosby-Jones" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was a big success. Everything worked as planned. Expert Africa was shown to be knowledgeable and competent. I would now recommend them without hesitation, and will in fact do so to individuals who might be good prospects for something similar.

My only period of trepidation occurred after I had transferred a vast amount of money to Expert Africa prior to the trip, and had received no assurance or proof that everything was on the up and up. I don't know what the solution is, but maybe you might consider some sort of escrow or something to reassure new customers that they had not been scammed. I know that I was worried for a few days and actually made some telephone calls to your competitors to make sure that you were for real. You will be happy to know that you passed the test." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our Africa trip was brilliant - a trip of a lifetime. We thouroughly enjoyed the experience meeting all our expectations.

Everything ran smoothly without problems.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Carry on the good work.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your company to others wanting a similar Africa experience. Thank you very much!!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Mark Hitchcock took on the task of organising this trip for us. He did a great job and says he could not have done it without Nick Hobbs input.

This was an outstanding trip and my first visit to Botswana. We knew we were taking a risk going towards the end of the rainy season but that we would also see more birds at that time. In the event we had great weather throughout and our drivers also coped with the consequence of the previous flooding. We never got stuck!
In my opinion, with Nick Hobbs input, Mark put together the perfect trip for us. We are very experienced travellers, with a keen and developed interest in the natural world, natural sciences, the environment and exploring new places. We were not there to see the "Big Five" (we did see four of them anyway). We had an unforgettable experience and many, many laughs along the way.

Having been on about 6 weeks of safaris in the past since 1991, i thought this off season trip was also good value for money.

When a problem arose, once we were able to contact you, Chris resolved our issues with an acceptable solution. You cannot ask for more. Well done to him and his team and organisation. I am happy to recommend Expert Africa to others." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Fantastic!

In the following section, the team member who put our trip together was actually Nick Hobbs; Lucy Copson took over from Nick after he left Expert Africa. My ratings below refer to Nick. Lucy was very helpful and professional in transacting the safari and in dealing with an issue encountered while in Botswana.

Thanks Lucy!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"When booking a safari for the first time you really have to rely on a good travel service. We felt that Maruska understood our priorities and budget and prepared a good itinerary.

The choice of facilities was perfect. The ground transportation between airports and lodges all went smoothly and the rides were comfortable. The description of the itinerary from Victoria Falls to Botswana was slightly inaccurate but it was actually easier than described (no river crossing between Zimbabwe and Botswana) so that was fine.

It was great how the drivers also helped navigate the exit and entry processes and we never felt unsure about what to do. The itinerary allowed for an independent visit but with the logistics all covered, which was just what we wanted.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
A more detailed brochure with photos of the properties and description of services would have been nice in advance, just to whet our appetite for the experience. I felt a little unsure about what it would really be like, but fortunately everything was great." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari