Reviews of San Camp

"Beautiful setting and camp lovely.

At present the tent accom is lit by lamps, which is romantic and charming. However it is difficult to see clearly when sorting out possessions. There is a discussion whether they should have electricity installed. If they do, then we would like to think it would be minimal and just enough to get by, but NOT with a lot of lights/switches. We say this because we arrived late at the camp at dusk and by the time we got into the tent we could hardly see what we were doing.

The cuisine at the camp is worthy of a Michelin star. Staff charming. We had a great time with Alejandra (camp manager)
Miss B, Danica and Lego. Harold our guide was first class." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana

"Wow, what can I say. Amazing landscape & fabulous game (in late August). Ostrich, antelope we hadn't seen anywhere else, gorgeous lions, huge herds of zebra & wildebeest, spring hare (like little kangaroo!), meerkats and lots of birdlife too. Having just come from the Delta where our game viewing was very poor this was a real treat. The salt pans were incredible, you really feel very small and remote here looking at the endless horizon. The quad biking was great fun, but freezing cold so please go prepared! It's hard to believe how cold it gets at night when it's 40 degrees in the heat of the day. Our guide was fantastic. Very friendly and hugely knowledgeable. We had booked private drives but met up with others for a few of the "experiences" and evening drinks on the pans.

The tents were lovely, no electricity but absolutely gorgeous with plenty of kerosene lamps at night (could be a bit smelly though) and the common areas beautifully decorated and comfortable. The "yoga tent" was a bit of a strange thing though. It's huge but pretty much unusable if it's windy (mat kept blowing away) and I incorrectly assumed there would be some yoga classes given but no, it's just there for guests to do their own thing if they wish. This is a shame as it we would be great to have an afternoon class available on request as the siestas are so long and there's not much else to do.

The staff were friendly and welcoming, apart from the new manageress. We had a couple of teething problems and she was very defensive. She did apologise at the end though which made me think she just has a lot to learn about managing guests. Unlike most camps laundry takes 2 days so make sure you come with enough clean clothes.

Overall I'd say a trip to Bots isn't complete without visiting the Salt Pans and I think you couldn't do better than San (although tempted to try Jacks next time just so I can compare!)." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 6n in Zambia

"The atmosphere, accommodation and our treatment more than lived up to our expectations of a very special place. Luxurious tents lit by oil lamps created a wonderful atmosphere; evening drinks around the fire and excellent food completed a wonderful experience.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and sensitive to what we wanted to see and do - seeing the brown hyena and meerkats but also experiencing the vastness of the pan, its unique environment and the wonderful Chapman's Baobab.

All the staff were welcoming, friendly and helpful. We were there to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and were given a wonderful romantic dinner in our own pavilion." See all these reviews: 23n in Namibia; 9n in Botswana

"San Camp was breathtakingly beautiful, like a mirage! The location and decor are storybook romantic. It felt like being transported to another more elegant era.

The managers are lovely people- knowledgeable intellectuals who are interesting and informative. I learned a great deal from our conversations over meals.

The tents are fabulous, luxurious and I would like to have the same decor at home, especially the furniture (specifically the small elephant table in the mess area, and the chairs, trays) - everything was picture perfect. I adored the Moroccan tea room, and the yoga tent was so picturesque I asked to be photographed in front of it. The view was spectacular and we could see zebras, wildebeest and spring bok from the main tent.

The guide is interesting, knowledgeable and fun- and handsome! The highlights were the meerkats, of course, and especially meeting the Zu/'Hoasi Bushmen tribe.

And Charlie, the young, beautiful manager even had a real Pims Cup with cucumber and mint waiting for me after our activities, which happens to be my favorite!

PS- We were not offered the quad bike activity, but we didn't miss it- even forgot all about it until much later!" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana

"Accurately described in brochure.

Plans to update mess-tent, but the current accommodation is true safari experience.

Guides have encyclodaedic knowledge and lead you through a variety of stimulating experiences.

The camp is for desert devotees but we did see game, notably aardvark, brown hyena and aardwolf!" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"One surprise after another, and we just can't reveal some of them or they won't be surprises for any other travellers to this fantastic area. We have never had such a great start to a holiday - and after plane delays, takiing 30 hours to arrive, minus one lost bag, this is not said lightly.

The remoteness of the location, the stars at night, the sightings of some unusual creatures, very close encounters with meercats and the equally unusual activities meant that we had a wonderful time at San Camp.

We had an excellent guide, aptly named Super, whose depth of knowledge was matched by the care he took in finding what we were interested in and making sure he gave plenty of time to those interests. Brilliant food, the most sophisticated of all bucket showers and walking with a bushman named Cobra...it far exceeded our expectations." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"The most amazing place to stay - we loved it here and have wonderful memories.

Beautiful, relaxing, idyllic and very, very comfortable. Despite being the most basic place we stayed during out entire trip - we felt very pampered indeed!

Best camp staff of our trip - they were all so lovely and went to such efforts to ensure that everything went well. Cook (Sylvia) was amazing, preparing the most wonderful food. Everyone worked so hard to make our stay memorable, and we really appreciated all their efforts.

Wonderful guide (Chaba) ensured that we got the most out of our time there - unexpected sightings of ardwolf and caracal. were a bonus.

You need three nights here (at least!). Would recommend it at the end of a trip to the Delta to unwind." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"We really loved San camp, it was as special as we had been told.

I had been concerned it would be extremely hot in October but the breeze made a lot of difference. There weren't any detectable mosquitoes! Obviously the tents are fairly basic but that was fun and we coped OK with the bucket showers.

All the activities were as hoped, well organised and very enjoyable." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"We were delighted to be the only guests during our three night stay but with only six tents it would never have been overcrowded. We had the undivided attention of the staff though they prefer things to be a little busier! We could not believe our eyes to see coffee served in silver pots outside our tents at wake up time.

Our guide Kevin was excellent - and he catered for our needs and wishes completely. It was impressive how we never got combined with a group from neighbouring Jack's camp which would have made life easier for the staff but less enjoyable for us.

We saw much more than expected, having been led to believe there was not a lot of game to see. Good birds - and different from elsewhere - too. The bushman walk was also very interesting - we have done something similar before in Namibia but this one was better.

The visit to the pans was very memorable but we can't mention that!

My husband who sometimes suffers from back problems found the vehicles here the least comfortable." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 10n in Mozambique; 2n in Zambia