Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"We had attempted to book a two way stay with a car hire for a good part of it, and the first few either refused or discouraged that idea even though our daughter is serving for two years in Botswana. Maruska was a pleasure to deal with, encouraged and supported what we wanted to do, and pulled together a seamless trip from start to finish.

The transfers by Wild Horizons were spot on and she worked to find the exact vehicle we wanted. All of our accommodation bookings were perfect. The only wrinkle we experienced was the car hire company who claimed they never received a voucher they needed and tried yo charge our card a 1000 deposit, requiring several calls to expertafrica to clear the issue up" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"This was the best organised and most enjoyable trip we have ever experienced! The service from Expert Africa was professional, sympathetic and extremely knowledgeable.

The packed breakfast from Roys Restcamp and indifferent management at Ngepi were the only incidents (and not controllable by EA) which were not perfect in a safari which gave us a range of excellent accommodation, a kaleidoscope of stunning locations and landscapes and an unforgettable selection of activities. Transfers and flights were seamless and on time, all bookings were recognised and honoured. Everything worked better than expected!

We have been extremely impressed with the efficiency of the EA service, the response to queries and information provided and overall knowledge available to us in dealing with Maruska who did a superb job in putting together the package for such a disparate group.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't think of any." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Maruska did an excellent job in putting together a varied itinerary for our mixed group. We had a fantastic trip!! One of the highlights of our seven months away. Such a wonderful balance of comfort and adventure. Highlights included the balloon ride over the Namib desert, game drives in Etosha and Chobe, fishing on the Okavango panhandle and enjoying sundowners as a family each evening.

Although more expensive than other trips we had done, we can confidently say that it was excellent value for money. Simply put, Maruska made everything easy for us - things worked like clockwork!

Namibia is an easy country to do a self drive. The flexibility this gave us was refreshing. Given the long distances, everyone shared the driving. The pacing of the trip was spot on!

We were also pleasantly surprised with how much we loved the Okavango panhandle. It really was the 'Delta' experience we were looking for.

Thank you once again Mush for a great holiday!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Top notch!

Everything was well organised and well planned - a very thorough and professional service by Expert Africa.

Our special thanks must go to Maruska for her individual attention. We will highly recommend this service to our friends." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"It exceeded our expectations for just about everything.

For your adventurist guest, when staying in Victoria falls, take a rafting trip on the Zambezi river and don't forget to do the Gorge swing if you don't have a heart condition! Botswana may be more expensive that other African countries for you Safari, but if you are concerned about the well being of the local people, we have been told that your money actually goes to free health care and education for their people. The Zero tolerance for poaching by the government appears to be working.

Its a very special place and without recommendations from Maruska Adye of Expert Africa, we would have never known what we were missing.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

You need to update the info on laundry. There is no limits on what they wash. Shinde, Okuti and Muchenjie all provided flash lights and had plenty of medical supplies. No need to supplement this when trying to keep baggage to a minimum. Trip itinerary was flawless. All of the connections to and from camps, while "open" went off like clock work.

Thanks Again Maruska!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"This was an incredible trip giving us treasured memories and a desire to visit this fascinating continent again.

The trip was a long time in the planning. I love to research and plan our trips but felt I needed help on this one. Taking into account our budget limit, numerous discussions and e-mail exchanges with Tracy Lederer took place before settling on our final itinerary. Tracy was always enthusiastic, patient and above all knowledgeable. We certainly would not have had the great trip we had without her. All arrangements for the trip went without a hitch but it was reassuring to know that help was just at the end of a phone should the need arise.

Crucial to our enjoyment was the variety which was included in our trip;
We were self driving in Namibia and had our transport organised in Botswana.
We stayed in very different camps/lodges, some humble some much more luxurious and one stay on a boat.
We experienced land based and water based activities.
We had a day trip to Victoria Falls.

The Bradt Guides and all of the detailed information which was sent to us prior to departure was very much appreciated.

Expert Africa will be our choice for our next trip." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"This was a much anticipated and long-awaited trip, and undoubtedly our most expensive holiday to date, but it probably exceeded our expectations. We appreciated the Botswanan approach to tourism (high income, low volume) which we believe preserves the "goose that lays the golden eggs" - the richness of its wildlife and the distinctive personal nature of its camps. We loved the variety of terrain, accommodation and wildlife that we experienced, which was what I had requested when we first started discussing the itinerary.

We chose Expert Africa because of its intimate knowledge of the area, and I appreciated the personal information and advice I received from Lucy, who obviously travels regularly to Botswana and could talk to me about the camps from her personal experience. All the arrangements worked like clockwork and so we could just relax and enjoy the experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

One aspect that we found a little difficult was tipping. Some camps had trackers as well as guides, and others had additional offerings that could be rewarded, e.g. the Bushmen at Camp Kalahari while others did not, and it was difficult to budget as we went along. I did not realise that in most cases the staff managed their gratuity box themselves, without reference to the management, so I think this could be explained more clearly in your information before travelling." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"All of expert Africa's arrangements went to plan very smoothly. Really enjoyed the trip but think we underestimated the amount of travelling we'd undertaken. Maybe 3 countries was one too many!

Zambia and Botswana in particular were great countries and loved getting to know some of the people we met. Had picked camps with a good chance of lion activity but were not lucky in that regard. Did feel at Vumbura that other jeeps seemed to be having a better experience and that our driver - who was lovely - was low down in the pecking order and perhaps being directed to the quieter areas of the reserve.

Didn't help that for the last 3 or 4 drives we had a community overseer on our trips who didn't speak to us really and it cast a bit of an atmosphere. We actually preferred Machaba which was not what I was expecting! Have passed your brochure to my boss as I can't fault your end of things." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Everything was beyond our expectations." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Our trips with Expert Africa are now well into double figures and like all previous holidays this one was planned with care and great expertise.

There was not a single moment of doubt or worry in a busy itinerary and credit must be placed firmly with Megan. We have now reached the stage where we probably need to change our style and perhaps destination but if it is at all possible we will be asking Expert Africa to do the planning as they are simply the best in class. Very may thanks once again." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari