Reviews of safaris to Kwando-Linyanti area

"This was our second time travelling with Expert Africa and, again, they did not disappoint. Our specialist, Lucy, listened to our requirements and put together an itinerary which delivered on every aspect. She listened to our requirements, made thoughtful recommendations and answered all our communications efficiently and effectively.

As a result our trip was everything we could have wished for and more, from the 2 excellent camps that we stayed at, the efficiency with which our internal transfers were carried out and the abundance of wildlife that we were able to see. I don't think there was anything on which we missed out.

Thank you Expert Africa! We hope to travel with you again.

Keep on doing what you are doing!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"A fantastic trip. It was so good that it will be almost impossible to better or even equal it in future (we will try though and you will have a very hard job!)

Tracy was great at arranging everything and we really can't think how they could have been better.

All of the holiday arrangements and documentation were correct and complete. Many thanks to all of the Expert Africa team involved but especially Tracy." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"We planned for one safari and had an absolutely amazing trip. There were too may reasons why this trip was exceptional to write down. There is nothing we would have changed and the memories will last a lifetime!

When planning this trip, we had specific countries we wanted to visit and called a number of tour agencies. No other agency was as responsive as Expert Africa (and Megan).

We will highly recommend Expert Africa to friends and colleagues and will use them again if we travel back to Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Anton Walker really nailed everything for me. Just the right camps, accommodated my myriad of questions with great patience, and provided me with a trip beyond my wildest dreams. He was always available and listened well. Unbelievably smooth transitions from airport to camps.

Botswana was surreal. Like entering the world before development, where the animals lived as they were meant to and people leave a very small footprint. And they were everywhere! In addition to the animals listed on your spotting chart, there were impala and red lechwe and warthogs. I never imagined being able to watch a leopard and its cub eating an impala way up in a tree, or following a cheetah and watching it settle down for a nap. All was spectacular.

Anton also arranged for me to visit the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, where I got a private introduction to all the great work they are doing both with the animals and the community. Fascinating!

Also - wanted to mention how great the other people on safari were. As a solo traveler, it made it an even more rewarding experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Every detail was spot on.

I found the elephant encounter a bit contrived, but others were thrilled, so might just be me. As beautiful as the rooms were at The Elephant Camp, I would definitely opt for Old Drift over that every time. And probably should have done Old Drift at the end to enjoy the pampering and the food after Botswana (I think Anton would have agreed, but I was set on Zimbabwe first)" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"This was a very enjoyable bucket list trip. It was thoughtfully planned, and everything went smoothly.

My special thanks to Maruska for sharing her breadth of detailed knowledge, for considerable patience, good listening, clear communication, good recommendations, and kind encouragement." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Our safari in Botswana was incredible from start to finish. Maruska really listened to my initial inquiries, helped us figure out if Botswana was the right destination for us, and then worked to find three different camps that would give us a variety of experiences and locales. I felt like Maruska understood what we were looking for in the trip & personalized her recommendations. That made all the difference!

From the moment we landed at the Maun airport until the moment we returned there, someone was always watching out for us. When one member of our party became ill, the camp contacted Maruska. With Expert Africa on our side, we knew we were in good hands. Fortunately, he recovered quickly, but it was worth every penny to know Expert Africa would have taken care of us if things had gone differently.

Meanwhile, the Botswana safari was everything we hoped for and more. Despite everything going on in the wilderness, because there are not many people, there is a serenity to the experience -- a pace of taking what comes next, of being immersed in the balance of nature's day-to-day existence. We awoke to lions roaring, watched a mother leopard supervise her cub, followed wild dogs on a hunt, shared a watering hole with herd after herd of elephants, and so much more. But it's the overall experience that has stayed with me the most -- just the being there, a visitor is another world.

Thank you to Expert Africa and Maruska for an incredible trip!

I've already recommended Expert Africa and Maruska to two friends! Thank you so much for everything." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"An amazing trip and we are already trying to book a similar trip again next year.

We also met another couple who also booked with Expert Africa (Lucy) and had nothing but praise.

Overall, everything worked out fantastic.

Only negative is cost of BA airfare buying through Expert Africa, to get the ABTA cover. And then BA wanting quite a bit extra to book seats." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We had a great time in Botswana, again!!

Despite us leaving the decision until almost too late (September 2023 for a June 2024 trip), Lucy Copson managed to arrange a wonderful range of camps in the Okavango for us. She managed to book the last available accommodation at the camps despite recovering from a major operation, for which we are immensely grateful.

Lucy has been unfailingly helpful and effective in arranging and communicating with us, despite her illness in the leadup to this 2024 trip. She was equally helpful and effective during the rapidly-changing Covid requirements in the planning and leadup to the 2022 trip.

Our travel documents arrived on time, both times, and had a lot of reassuring details about managing health, travel and other possible difficulties while on safari. We have never needed them, but were very glad to have the details and know that backup plans were in place.

The Expert Africa website is an excellent resource, especially for those of us who like to read about where we are going in great detail. The toll-free number has been a great resource for urgent questions when email is inadequate.

We would recommend Expert Africa and Lucy Copson without hesitation to our friends, and are dreaming already of another safari somewhere in Africa!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Overall we were very pleased with our trip and had an amazing experience. Maruska was extremely helpful and responsive in both planning the trip and in addressing any questions that came up during our trip. She was very patient and thoughtful in answering every question, no matter how minor, and helped craft an itinerary that ended up being exactly what we were looking for." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"We absolutely loved our Botswana safari. The organization was flawless and everything went smoothly and without a glitch.

The combination of the 4 camps worked to make it possible to see everything we'd hoped to see, with each giving us unique and wonderful moments. We really appreciated the trackers at the Kwando camps.

Our guides at Lagoon (Spencer/Gee) and Camp Kalahari (KG) were great, very dedicated. We could tell that for them, guiding and wildlife sightings were a passion, not just a job. As photographers themselves, both Spencer and KG knew how to position the vehicled perfectly, too.

Our guide/tracker team at Lebala (Thabo/KB) were very good, but needed a bit of prodding before they gave us their best effort - but boy, did they come through with the leopard!

We were least impressed with Rogers/Chris at Kwara. Instead of really tracking predators on their own, they took us on 'scenic' drives, showing us the animals that happend to cross our path. Rogers also managed to get us stuck in sand on our first night drive on the way back to camp. After unsuccessfully trying for at least 30 minutes, he had to call the camp for help and we had to be towed out. However, once sightings were called in by other guides, he turned into a combination race driver/hunter and managed to get us to sightings of lions, a cheetah and best of all, Wild dogs - once tracking a pack of three through dense bush and the same evening, a pack of 3 feeding just before the light went.

The helicopter transfers were comfortable and very enjoyable, done in helicopters that seated just 4 including the pilot. Interesting fact: Since there was no room for our luggage, our bags got their own helicopter flights! As soon as we were dropped of at the camps, the pilots flew back, picked up the bags and brought them to us.

We were also very, very glad we had private vehicles for all our game drives, as it allowed my Mum to sit up front in the passenger seat and my Dad in the 1st row." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari