Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"It was a fabulous experience and, as honeymoons should be, unforgettable. We felt really spoilt and didn't have to think about anything which was great after weeks of detailed wedding planning. Although we only had 8 nights in total; it felt much longer.

We were wined, dined and given a wealth of memorable experiences to recount to friends. Although most of these are about the animals (such as being stuck between a leopard, her baby and a pack of hungry wild dogs), we were also charmed by many of the local people we met.

We also felt the combination of our 3 camps was good - the intimate rustic charm of the Kwando-run Little Kwara, the outstanding quality of Wilderness-run Duma Tau and the Wilderness marketed 'franchised' Tubu Tree which probably had the best balance in terms of intimacy and quality but sadly lacked animals.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We are very happy with the service we got from Expert Africa and Megan in particular. Can't be faulted. In a good way, there were no real surprises to our trip - the picture was as she had painted it. We appreciated this. Thanks Megan.

On this feedback form when I pressed 'back to previous page' for the first time (when I was on page 3) I lost all of the comments on page 3. I may be wrong but I don't think I was warned about this. Perhaps below the 'back to previous page' button you could say please save first." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"As long-time travellers to Southern Africa, we are amazed that each trip seems to be more incredible than the last and keep thinking that our good fortune must end at some time.

Not yet - this was our most enjoyable safari in every way.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nothing - our experience with Expert Africa is always excellent" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Out trip was great and met all our overall expectations. The wildlife everywhere was abundant.

The only thing I would ahve changed was not to stay at Muchenji. It was my preference that we stay away from Kasane in a more remote environment but I hadn't fully appreciated the distances and the amount of travel time involved to visit the NP and river.

It was fortunate that we had fleeces with us and I would certainly recommend that all visitors take warm clothing with them for the morning and evening game drives. In my view this should be emphasised more strongly.

Please warn guests that the G&T's served are really, really strong" Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"This was another excellent trip to Southern Africa organised for us by Expert Africa. Thank you Gwynneth. The advice from EA concerning 2WD versus 4WD vehicles for this trip was appropriate. The lodges were of a standard equal to or better than our expectations, especially the Garden Lodge in Kasane where our guides John and Innocent provided expert advice and guidance. The section of the trip after leaving the hire car in Kasane progessed smoothly and the cross border transfer into Zambia was effected efficiently. The transport arrived on time in Kasane as did the transfer from the Zambezi Sun to Livingstone airport., As noted earlier, at no stage were we asked for the Yellow Fever Certificates." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"Altogether we had a wonderful trip and generally loved every moment of it (some minor exceptions, will be forgotten).

In spite of (in our opinion) generally less animals and smaller herds, we had many good sightings, very good photography.

Many thanks for organising it and the camps we asked for in spite of rather short notice.

Thank you again for a great safari vacation!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Your trips, service and help are excellent (we got used to that).

One minor thing - maybe update your Botswana brochure re.: tips. We took US cash as per recommendation, found that the local (camp) brochures raised tips to $15/day. Your brochure is the same as 6 years ago." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Hard work. Not as rewarding as our first trip to Namibia but still fun.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Advice on where to buy pulas was not good. Windhoek airport does not stock pulas in any of the three exchanges. Bank in Namibia (4 tried) also don't sell pulas. Finally bought them in Botswana at Barclays. Other point is that Windhoek airport exhanges do not take travellers cheques." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was wonderful from start to finish and thank you to Maruska for her brilliant organisation and in depth knowledge of the region.

The combination of Zambia with Namibia worked very well, as we were able to spend time in one of the prime game viewing areas of Africa as well as have the freedom to see things for ourselves once we had the use of our vehicle. We will be back as soon as we can!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The only suggestion we would have for improving our itinerary would be to spend 2 days driving across Etosha national park rather than one, and staying in the intermediate camp. This would allow more time for game viewing while making the transit on what were quite rough roads.

On the other hand, the gravel road to Waterberg plateau was much better than expected and only took about 20 minutes to transit.

Overall, we were very glad that we had upgraded from a standard car to a SUV." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"It was a special trip - not the cheapest, but something we'd always wanted to do, and it didn't disappoint." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Our itinerary was so well thought out. Driving times in the Self -Drive part were manageable. Definitely a key point. The folder with notes for travellers was priceless. It really contributed to the success of our excellent holiday. It was most appreciated to have all the bases covered in such exacting detail.

Maruska really helped walk us through the initial planning stages, pointing out practicalities in her most diplomatic way. Her suggestions always held true, yet she listened to our ideas as well. She showed great patience and carefully dealt with our concerns. Her knowledge and expertise enabled us to experience a great adventure.

It was truly a unique experience. We were so very fortunate to have had Maruska as our contact.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

At this time, I can't think of any way our experience could be improved upon." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"I can't say enough about how well this trip was arranged. Everything came off without a hitch.

No delays, no misunderstandings, no confusion about anything.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This was a comprehensive, professional job from start to finish. Megan understood exactly what we were looking for in a trip and delivered exactly what we hoped for on all fronts.

I travel for a living and know how things can sometimes go wrong. But everything was simply perfect." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari