Reviews of safaris to Kalahari's Salt Pans

"This was to be the trip of a lifetime. It was something I had dreamed of since I was about 7 years old, and hours went into planning and information gathering. We looked at other travel companies, famous and expensive ones. Expert Africa had the most informative website that seemed unbiased. As long as the expectations are clear in advance, there are only positive experiences.

Maruska, the Expert who booked our trip gave all of the information that I requested, which was extensive! Maruska was patient and gave us the benefit of having spent years in Botswana. She was empathic, realizing that not having been there before, I was not certain what precautions were needed. She assuaged my fears with accurate information and patience. She explained all aspects of the travel and elicited confidence. She accommodated a very custom tailored, complicated itinerary, and was indefatigable! I must say that all of her hard work paid off for us. The Botswana experience was far better than I could have hoped or imagined. Everything was perfect would be an understatement. The trip was beyond my wildest dreams.

Bostwana is a spectacular part of the world. The ecosystems are unique, the beauty is unreal, the wildlife was up close and the people are the loveliest of all.

Our trip was wonderful in every way. The people who lived and worked at the camps were filled with humor and kindness, and loved a good surprise. I would like to thank every one.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Please keep doing exactly what you do!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"Nick was straight back to us on the text when he knew we would be late and showed great forethought in reserving us a room at the Airport Hotel. The A380 had a lot of passengers who missed their flights and the hotel soon became fully booked.

As a comment if Expert Africa has customers who are "time rich" as we are [though not necessarily "cash rich" ] it might be a good idea to suggest a day's stopover after a long-haul flight. Because we had to stay over a day we started our holiday fit and refreshed and enjoyed it all. If we had arrived at Nxia Pan Camp as planned I think we would have been exhausted and it could have taken a few days to recover............the tourist schedule for retirees is pretty demanding !" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"An excellent and very enjoyable trip. Everything was extremely well organised and went without any hitches. Mack Air was efficient and always arrived on time, the only scary moment being on our last flight to Maun when the pilot had to take very rapid avoiding action to prevent us from hitting a stork flying at 4,500 ft! All the Guides were attuned to the requirements of photographers and did their utmost to position their vehicles in the best position. The green season is a wonderful time to go but made their jobs all the harder so their efforts were very much appreciated." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Generally satisfactory. Some game drives were interrupted by rain, but that was to be expected. As previously noted I feel that Kwando is losing its competitive edge, despite having such top concessions. Perhaps the present rotation of camp managers will wake some up. Charles to Little Kwara should get that camp up to where it belongs" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"fantastic" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"This was one of the best holidays we have ever had. We do not spend a huge amount of money (at least compared to what you could spend in Botswana), but nonetheless had a great time, saw and experienced lots!.

We had highlights (Nxamaseri, Chobe, Vic Falls,) and lowlights (bald tyres, Camp Kalahari), but overall enjoyed the trip

The wildlife, birds and animals, is great. The landscape outside the delta a little dull (say compared to the desert in Namibia), but OK. The delta is really interesting as are the salt pans.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

a difficult one. we had several phone calls and lots of emails, and a few iterations of the itinerary before agreeing everything. my main concerns were about driving

on the driving, i think a 4wd is essential even if using camp drives in the parks. there are too many places where one can get stuck in sand. also, there are roadworks in Namibia and Botswana that caused some delay. i realise this is difficult to factor in when booking a year in advance - we did not think to check.

one other point - when discussing where we could drive and how to get into Zimbabwe I was told that Budget would not let us take the car across the border. instead we paid for a driver and van to take us to and from Vic Falls. however, when picking up the car Budget asked us if we wanted the paperwork to cater for crossing into Z. I don't know how much money we spent on the two taxis, but it would appear that this was an unnecessary expense" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This is my third time with Expert Africa, and I wouldn't use anyone else.

Megan was great, and the transfers were seamless. Especially the transfer to Zambezi Sun, from Camp Kalahari. Flight to Kasane, drive to water's edge, boat across river, then drive through border and on to Zambezi Sun. Really smooth and easy. I think it was done by wilderness, who also took us over to Zimbabwe for tea at the Victoria Falls hotel, they were excellent.

This really was the wonderful trip we dreamed about.

Expert Africa have been fantastic all three times I have used them." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

""Very satisfactory" hardly does our trip to Botswana justice. It was truly an amazing adventure and the trip of a lifetime. Of course, the wildlife was amazing, but the safari camps were equally fantastic. We were so well looked after from start to finish. The food was superb in all 3 camps and the staff always polite, professional but also genuinely friendly.

Our activities, accommodation and plane transfers between camps were seamlessly organised.

Megan at Expert Africa was excellent at keeping us informed about all aspects of our safari before we went and always answered any queries promptly, efficiently and professionally. I will recommend Expert Africa wholeheartedly to anyone I meet who is thinking of going on a safari. Thank you so much for organising all aspects of our trip so brilliantly." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"When asked we would, and have recommended Expert Africa. Nick, Chris and Megan have all been very responsive, knowledgable and gave considerable guidance and listened quite carefully to our needs and expectations.

As you are very much aware this being our third try, I must admit my expectations were not as high as they were two years ago, thus the joy way that they were exceeded by a significant margin.

The extraordinary Wildlife, both birds and Mammals and the different eco Systems that we encountered them in throughout the journey. The people of Botswana were most helpful, polite, knowledgable and carried a fine sense of humour. They realise that the protection of their lands and wildlife are key to the sustainable Safari trade and defend these traits with great passion. There were some exceptions, which I have mentioned per camp.

The planning was good, now that we have been, we might have more input, should we be going again. I think that the areas need to be visited in a different season to obtain a proper perspective. We did expect a greener, wet time, but Mother Nature stopped the rains in Mid March.

The overall quality of the Camps did vary more than we expected, in that we presumed that they were of equal value/cost. This I believe is more an issue with the management of such as opposed to the actual staff.

All areas

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Face to face meeting prior to and after for follow-up, if possible with contact.

This is not intended as a criticism, as I was going to suggest it and like most got lazy and distracted. Will come up to see you all soon.

Donald and Susan" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We really loved every minute of our holiday in Botswana!! From the places we saw, the quality of the camps and the services they offered, the food, all the incredible experiences ...

Not only the safaris were awesome but we met fantastic people and fell in love with the country. It was very sad when the holiday came to an end but we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to go. It has been one of our best holidays and we will never forget it!!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thank you Megan for having organised an amazing holiday for us! We went in occasion of our 10th wedding anniversary and in all the years to come we will always remember what a fantastic time we have had and how special our celebration has been." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari