Reviews of safaris to Central Kalahari Game Reserve

"This was a very well planned & well thought out trip, Sarah was so helpful in explaining what would work & what wouldn't, she explained she thought some of the drives would be too long in one day, which were the best places to spend more than one night etc. She certainly knew her stuff!

Our mistake perhaps was trying to do so much in 28 days, we could have done with a couple of 3 day breaks as we got very tired with so much chopping & changing.

Also when trying to stipulate & stick to our budget we ended up with a lot of the venues with only B&B & not half board which meant that overall we ended up spending a lot more than we had planned." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 27 on a Namibia trip

"Thank you for an excellent trip! My wife and I traveled for our honeymoon, and this was a wonderful and special way to celebrate. All the booking and logistics were seamless and Justin was very helpful and responsive throughout the planning process." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"The entire trip was excellent and once again we really were so happy with the service and preparation provided by Sabina and her colleagues at Expert Africa.

We also ended the holiday with a self-organised further 3 days in Kruger in South Africa, spending time and seeing incredible animals there too, with our friends from Cape Town, so in its entirety our holiday was by far one of the best we have ever had in this part of the world.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep doing the good job.

And - although more on the joking side - perhaps advise in more detail customers who plan to drive in Botswana about the speed limits and how strictly they are checked (and penalised!) by the Botswana police. Also, worth advising that sometimes the speed limit will be reduced from 120 to 60 in a very short distance which almost can make it impossible to get under 60 - I was done for this although doing only 67, had my licence retained (in Gumari) while I drove to the cash machine to extract Pula to pay the fine. And the potholes on Botswana roads - this was something I have never seen before and so worth tipping off the drivers to pay really close attention to them, as they can be really dangerous if you are not careful!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"We had an excellent time - even with a twisted ankle (and I note the camps could not have been more helpful). The game we saw was so extensive, we had better list what we *didn't* see! We saw brown hyena, pangolin, so many antelope we only missed sable for a full house! If you want the 'big five', we only missed rhino. Every cat except serval and caracal. What can I say? We saw blister beetles hatching!

We saw many birds for the first time , and many we have seen before very close-up (e.g. pearl-spotted owlet 6' away)

We slept out under the stars (and the stars in the Kalahari are awesome).

Every trip brings new things to see and learn. We are very happy to have these moments to remember." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful trip

No hiccups with bookings thanks very much Maruska" Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 23 on a Namibia trip

"This was a varied and always interesting holiday. The camps suggested by Sarah provided contrasting experiences as to the differing types of camp, country and game.

We would certainly recommend anyone who is prepared to accept the relatively basic facilities of a mobile camp to spend some time with Andrew Harkness who was a relaxed, informative and very knowledgeable guide. We felt that nothing that could have been seen was missed.

The bush walk with Scoupe at Tau Pan was the highlight of our stay there.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The out of hours service was excellent when we ran into trouble with our flight from London on the outward journey as it was delayed by three hours putting our connection in Johannesburg at risk. As it happened we made it with seconds to spare. Nevertheless it was very reassuring to be able to speak to someone late at night even though we had made the booking ourselves." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"We were 6 people wanting to avoid the bus tour type trip so that we could control our own schedule and itinerary.

It started with us trying to arrange everything but soon found it difficult to determine which location/accommodation would be "right" for us. Luckily, we came in contact with Expert Africa and the help and recommendations that were given were excellent and in the end, they arranged all the accommodations (save one), the safaris and the air charter. Their guidance on length of stay was very helpful and the resorts, hotels and safaris proved to be excellent and enjoyed by all.

We were guided by Sabina for the Namibia portion and Lucy for the Botswana portion and were rewarded with prompt responses and suggestions to our many questions.

Highly recommend them." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"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

"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

"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