Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"In fact I would go higher than this if the choices allowed and say that it was truely memorable. The key factors were:

1. The initial conversation with Chris and and Anna to help make our choices.
2. The Expert Africa web site is just brilliant at providing information for making informed choices.
3. The way that Anna coomunicated with us and when necessary made changes to accommodate our preferences.
4. The Lodges did just what it says on the tin.
5. The wildlife was beyond our expectations
6. The Delta and Chobe are a good combination

If I could improve on this the only thing I would need is a trip that geared to the needs of a video enthusiast. Guides that don't talk too much and fellow tourists that can avoide asking questions or chating when I am filming. Not many tourists take video so don't understand how much a microphone can pick up. The only answer is to have a truck to yourslef but at $500 a day at Duba is a bit too much on top of the trip cost.

This was our second trip organised with Expert Africa. My comments above reflect the high satisfaction we have with both the individuals and the company. This was also reflected by others whom we met on this trip who had booked with Expert Africa. We particualrly appreciate the care in making selections geared to what we like doing. The two way communication feels more like a partnership than a traditional customer relationship. You have proved that this standard can be maintained so we would have no hesitation in both coming to you again and recommending others to save themselves a lot of trouble and use Expert Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"A most wonderful trip but slightly tainted by a very dissapointing visit to Kings Pool Premier Camp. The pure extravagance and oppulance does not compensate for poor game viewing.

If Wilderness Safaris are moving to towards more and bigger Premier camps I trust they retain some of the Clasics." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful. We have had a short game trip in the Kruger many years ago but this exceeded our expectations. Ian used to live in Zambia as a teenager and this was his first visit back there for 45 years. He now wishes he had returned earlier. Gloria had never seen the Victoria Falls and she thought it was fantastic.

We thought Botswana and its people were delightful and would not hesitate to recommend this trip to our friends.

Thank you everyone.

Suggestions for improvement:

No very happy with the way the trip was organised." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"A well planned itinerary ensured that we had an extremely enjoyable trip with many memorable experiences.

Fifteen days was not long enough to take it all in.

Suggestions for improvement:

We can't think of anything." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"The mark of a top operator is fitting the right trip to the client. This was achieved perfectly. A difficult spec - a mixed party of 8, including youngsters ages 8, 11, 15 and 17 - most of whom had not been to Africa before. We were tight on high season dates too.

Maruska came up with a trip which really fitted the brief, and scored at least 9 out of 10 from the participants.

Particularly excellent was Santantadibe Mobile Camp in the Okavango Delta - all ages (8-51) loved the genuinely African experience, the fact we had it all to ourselves, and the super hosting/guiding of Grant and Daphe. Well done!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"We had a fantastic trip. All the logistics worked out perfectly, our flights from camp to camp were all in the middle of the day so we didn't miss any activities and all the flights except the last one were without any stops and we were the only passengers. The only incident came on the trip back home, when our BA flight from joburg to heathrow had a 4 hour delay, so we missed our connection to Madrid and had to take a later flight. At least they didn't lose our bags!

We really liked the lodges & camps, most of them met or exceeded our expectations, and we will recommend them to friends, except perhaps Jack's Camp, which we didn't like that much: it's too stuffy and snobbish for our taste, the people there need to loosen up a bit. Also, we didn't like that they plan all the activities for you and don't tell you what the plan is when you arrive, it's like they want everything to be a big secret surprise, a bit childish and condescending.

All the rest were fine, our favorite was Duma Tau. I also loved Mapula because of its very relaxed and laid-back atmosphere and its focus on game viewing; my wife also liked it though she found it too rustic and less tidy than the others.

Expert Africa did an excellent job in organizing this trip, keeping us informed of changes (e.g., when NationWide Air went bankrupt and the flight was changed to BA), submitting all the info, etc. I especially liked the "camp availability chart" they sent us so we could figure out how to fit our preferred camps in the itinerary, that was a most useful tool for urs." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"An action packed , superb holiday with plenty of opportunities to see landscapes, plants birds and animals and take loads of photos. Perhaps we should have built in a little more relaxation!

I enjoyed working out availiability with Susannah via email as we didn't book holiday until March and some camps were unavailable.

Our experience was that the vast majority of birds and animals were seen on the game drives and very little seen on the water. We realised how vital good guiding is to the whole experience.

Nambia and Botswana guideline booklets were very useful" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Wonderful trip and would definately go back, The Safari company there really do a professional well orgainized trip. I loved the quiteness of it all, Not hundreds of tourists with radios rushing to see kills. The camps were all fabulous (except King's Pool) and each had a different feel but were well managed, and I think you get the level of luxury that you pay for. Even however the less expensive camps were really comfortable.

The people were universally friendly and helpful - what a wonderful country (Botswana). The game veiwing was serene and comprehensive. Only a max of 4 people to a jeep added to the ambiience and ability to be flexible (like staying 1 hour to watch the hyena cubs play).

Food was excellent, although I would have loved to have tried the local cuisine at some point. The guests seemed to be like minded, so we got on pretty well with everyone. We traveled for 9 nights in 4 different camps, and I would actually recommend that 7 nights, max 8 is enough. It also struck me that there is no need to go to more that 3 camps. I
Please note that if I had not been to Kings c Pool, I would have given my trip 5 "paws

Just also like to say that Susannah was very helpful, and knowledgeabloe

Suggestions for improvements:

Not really - it all ran very smoothly and was better than I expected" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"The trip exceeded our expectations - partly because we did not think our trip to Mala Mala in 1992 could be bettered.

The problem is to combine the reality of searching for wildlife in an uncertain environment with the requirements of people used to very high standards of accommodation etc. It seemed to us that an appropriate balance between the two was achieved. A huge bonus is the friendliness and humour of the Batswana. But the deciding factor for people who are intensely interested in wildlife is the professionalism and knowledge of the guides.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate our Silver wedding anniversary." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Our holiday was fabulous! It all went very smoothly, and exceeded all our expectations.

It was all tremendous fun - we saw amazing things and met lovely people.

We have lots of wonderful memories and enough stories to last us years!

Suggestions for improvement:

No - you did a fantastic job for us!" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip