Botswana: reviews from our travellers

"All in all a really fantastic trip pulled together relatively last minute by Tracy.

All the transfers were seamless, which is always really nice when they work.

Exceeded our expectations overall and would highly recommend Tracy and Expert Africa to anyone travelling to Namibia, Botswana. and Victoria Falls.

Her knowledge of the area and what to expect was invaluable.

Wish we had more time." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"This was a marvellous trip, partly because we visited some amazing places which showed completely different aspects of Africa but partly because of the effort put into planning the holiday by Megan at Expert Africa. She was endlessly patient and wanted to get the trip absolutely right for us whilst staying within our budget. We were happy to take Megan's suggestions which proved to be absolutely spot on for us.

Many thanks for helping us to have such a great introduction to Africa. We will be back!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Perhaps you could explain the varied nature of some of the transfers more clearly. We were surprised by the number of different drivers we had going from Livingstone to Muchenje and the transfer to the small boat across the Zambesi seemed somewhat precarious, (and hilarious!) but having said that it did all work! It was not quite what we expected but certainly gave us a feeling of adventure and Africa from the start!

I think that the organisation is to be congratulated on such an efficient and personal service. Many thanks" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"Fantastic. Level of driving was just right. The places we stayed were all quite different to one another which added to the overall experience. They were also quite small which was really good too. All the arrangements worked perfectly.

Tracy Lederer was the person who I dealt with. She was fantastic. Really pleasant, helpful, knowledgeable and quick to respond. Was really impressed.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I was really surprised it was originally suggested that a 'normal car' would suffice. We upgraded to a 2 wheel drive SUV and were glad that we did. While you could have probably done the trip in a 'car' but the chances of damaging it would be quite high due to its low ground clearance. Also, driving along the tracks would have been far from comfortable. I recommend that a 2 wheel drive SUV should be the standard car you suggest." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"It was a trip of a lifetime! The planning was superb, everything just flowed from one place to another. The experience was better than anything we could have imagined.

I am ready to go again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None. Maruska was fantastic, we were so lucky to have her." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Fantastic holiday" Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Everyone enjoyed the trip enormously. We are able to compare with both South Africa (the Kruger National Park) and Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara). The wildlife viewing experiences were hugely more pleasant [Ed: Here in Botswana!] because of the fewer numbers viewing the game. This meant that it was easy to get up close and your enjoyment wasn't impacted by crowding out by others. The standard of accommodation was massively better than we had in Tanzania, but that was down to the budget allocated to the trip.

The organisation of the day (which was the same in each of the camps) seemed good and designed to make the most of potential wildlife sightings.

The density of wildlife is probably not greater [Ed: in Botswana] than Tanzania (especially Ngorngoro) but the viewing much more enjoyable.

Perhaps one small criticism would be a lack of variety between the three different camps, although they were selected to give us a variation, in reality the differences between them were really fairly insignificant. If we were doing something similar in the future we would certainly ensure the different locations all offered something quite different.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really, the organisation and logistics were all excellent.

We met people who had booked with other agencies and then found your website afterwards and said that it was much more informative than what they had seen previously.

A small point, we visited Zambia and i changed some money which i probably didn't really need to do, and now I can't get anyone to change it back. It might be worth drawing this to the attention of customers. Small local tips can all be paid in dollars." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"An excellent itinerary (with the exception of 3 nights at Mazambala being too long).

We loved Namibia and would highly recommend a self drive of this type in this country for a family with similar aged children ( 10 and 14)

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Everything went completely smoothly throughout. There are only a couple of minor constructive suggestions:

Charges at border into Botswana are higher than we were advised ( 140bwp rather than 70, comprised of 40 for road permit, 50 for MV Insurance, 50 Road Fund)

Make people aware of limitations of barbecue facilities at Okaukuejo and that meat cannot be taken into park

Some hesitation with Nkwazi lodge as detailed on our feedback- also note your website is incorrect - no air con, mini bar fridges and no electricity for us after 9.20pm.

Other friends who have done similar trips have had a little itinierary brochure with details of how long it takes to drive to the next lodge and some general infomation about the lodge. This is by no means an essential but would be an extra nicety perhaps.

Overall a really excellent trip. We would thoroughly recommend EA to others" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"My trip couldn't have been better. Nick Hobbs did a superb job of arranging all the logistics so that almost everything went smoothly. I have to send my special thanks to managing director Chris McIntyre for sending me my binoculars after I misplaced them on a flight between Tuba Tree Camp and Lagoon Camps. I received them at City Lodge and Chris even paid for shipping them. I was truly impressed by his kindness and generosity.

This was my second safari with Expert Africa and I'm already going to another one next year. I've already been on five safaris, but I still have along bucket list of locations in Africa I want to either visit or revisit.

I love the fact that unlike it's numerous competitors in Great Britain, the United States, and South Africa Expert Africa places the emphasis as much as possible on visiting unfenced national park or concessions, and staying at lodges which aren't fenced as well. This in my experience and many other safari goers I've met greatly improves gong on safari.

I will undoubtedly take more safaris with ExpertAfrica." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zimbabwe safari

"This was our first time traveling in this part of the world and the first time we spent so much time planning in advance. It paid off - the trip was successful and the travelers happy.

As a family of three with an eight year old child, we valued the planning process and the considerations brought to our attention by Maruska. She helped us through a number of itineraries, patiently making suggestions/changes as our knowledge of the area expanded. Maruska's input was always thorough, professional and thoughtful.

The travel went off as planned and we are happy with the choices made thanks to Maruska's shepherding. I would absolutely use Expert Africa again and have already recommended it to others." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"This was more than anything we could have dreamed or hoped for. Everything was very well organized, professional, and efficiently run by the various camp staffs.

Flight arrangements between the camps and the attention paid by guides and staff was outstanding. Awesome trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Be sure to advise clients on checking through baggage on return from Botswana." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari