Botswana Safaris and Tours

Excellent advice and planning This was my first trip to Botswana, a 19-night solo safari encompassing 7 Kwando camps. It was organized at the very last minute (about 3 weeks before it started), while Botswana was open for tourism, but the tourists were still mostly stuck at home due to domestic restrictions (very sad). By chance I had stumbled upon advertised discounts for SADC citizen for some Botswana lodges, while driving myself and camping around Namibia. While not a SADC citizen, it still tickled my curiosity - in "normal" times a safari in Botswana is way over my budget. I sent enquiries to a couple of agents, Safari Lifestyles being one of them. All along the process, from the first exploratory mail to the follow up after the end of the trip, Roger's service was outstanding. He listened to my specific interests and requirements and was able to suggest a fitting itinerary and selection of camps, at a price point I could afford. Roger was extremely reactive and available, answers were always quick, and he was sometimes in touch several times a day, either by mail or on the phone. We had all the time to discuss at lenght any detail of the itinerary. He was very knowledgeable about all aspects of a safari in Botswana, helped me with many practical questions, even adjacent to the trip strictly speaking (flights to and from Maun, PCR testing, etc... ). The wildlife experience and characteristics of each area and camp were very adequately described in advance - unlike what you can get from a more generalist guidebook ! Roger made all the efforts to get me the best available deal from the company (Kwando), and helped with a last minute itinerary change towards the end of the trip, which was arranged seamlessly. All in all, I had a fantastic safari, and can very warmly recommend Safari Lifestyles should one want to organize one's trip there !

Safari Peace of Mind! Planning a Safari from afar can be an intimidating task ... Safari Lifestyles has their boots on the ground, knows all the ropes in Botswana and manages and anticipates all your Safari needs with precise detail ... you can sleep at night knowing that they will do exactly as they promise.

Amazing Safari with Great Prices and Great Planning! I've visited Africa every year for the past few years (6 trips total) and this was my 4th trip to Botswana. I've booked with several different tour operators, and I can't say enough about how great it was to work with Safari Lifestyles. I did all of my planning via email with Roger, and he was incredibly helpful from start to finish. He gave me lots of advice and suggestions on which camps to visit, and being that Safari Lifestyles works with so many camps, there were a lot of options and Roger could give unbiased advice. He listened to what I was most interested in and told me which options he thought would suit me best. We decided on 3 camps - Lebala, Machaba and Splash. Lebala and Splash are both run by the same company, Kwando, and I've been to some of their other camps in the past. When all was done, I compared Safari Lifestyles' prices (averaged out for the whole trip, per person, per night) vs my trip from 2019 booked with another company, and the prices from Safari Lifestyles were significantly better. That was impressive considering that on this trip I had one more flight (camp transfer) than in 2019. If I remember right, Roger did break out the prices for the transfer flights separately, but on my 2019 trip the tour operator bundled everything together so I didn't know much much the transfers cost. So for the sake of comparison I combined everything, and as I said, Safari Lifestyles was better. As far as the safari itself, we had an amazing safari, to the point of being spoiled with sightings. I think it will be a very long time before I have a safari with this many unique sightings. It was unbelievable to pack so many events into the trip. For example we watched male lions competing for territory at Lebala (roaring, chasing, and a brief fight), and there was a couple on the truck with us who has been visiting Botswana 1 - 2 times a year for 19 years, and they said this was the first time they ever saw that from start to finish. Not to mention many leopards and cheetahs. Cheetahs are my favorite, and we saw them on almost every drive at Splash. We also saw two separate packs of African wild dogs, including hunting lechwe and fighting with a hyena. I couldn't have scripted a better safari. At Machaba, the camp manager, Shaun, guided for us. We really enjoyed spending time with him, and he couldn't have been a nicer person. I felt like he loved being out on safari just as much as we did, and that he really wanted us to see as much as possible. He made a really touching video of our sightings and shared it with us on our last morning, it's one of my favorite memories of this safari. Our guides and trackers at Lebala and Splash were also great. I look forward to seeing them all again on a future visit. After this trip I'm confident that Safari Lifestyles is knowledgeable and reputable, and I look forward to working with them next time!

Safari of a Lifetime This holiday was for a special 50th birthday event and after doing some research we are very thankful we chose Roger at Safari Lifestyles who guided us with his expertise on this amazing country of Botswana to arrive at an itinerary which suited our budget and wish list. All details and numerous queries were clearly explained in a very timely manner so we knew what were booking. The holiday went off without a hitch and our very high expectations were smashed by the amazing three Kwando camps we stayed at - Tau Pan, Lagoon and Splash. The accommodation, facilities, food, beverage and especially the friendly staff and guides at each camp was exceptional. Even though this was low season (for the northern camps), the animals we saw at close range was incredible especially as the game drives could go off road which meant some amazing adventures following wild dog and lion hunts. We have secured some spectacular photos which still do not fully capture what lifetime memories we now have. Thank you so much to Kwando and Roger for making this the most memorable birthday holiday ever!

Trip of a Lifetime We spent 18 days in the bush in a variety of bush camps. From tents to luxury accommodations. All met and exceeded expectations. Great staffing all along the way

Perfect safari! Last year when planning our family (all adults) safari in Botswana I contacted 4 or 5 different safari operators. The others came back with generic and very expensive ideas, but Roger of Safari Lifestyles listened to my specific questions and wishes and worked with me to design a very thoughtful, thorough, and affordable plan. He responded patiently and quickly to all my questions. Also his website is very informative and well organized, giving all the information you could want. We just returned from that experience and everything was flawless! We stayed in 3 different camps (Chobe, Lagoon, and Splash) and all the complicated logistics were organized and executed without any problems. We had absolutely no worries. It was an amazing trip! I highly recommend Safari Lifestyles!!

Wonderful holiday We had the most wonderful holiday in Botswana in August, arranged for us by Safari Lifestyles. We were first attracted to use Safari Lifestyles by the very informative website (the wonderful photos certainly confirmed that we really must go on safari) and having made contact with Roger, his passion for Africa and Botswana in particular and his deep knowledge shone through. He was keen to discover what was important to us from the holiday, our interests and priorities. We went for quite high end places as for us it was a special holiday with my mother (going on safari was on her “bucket list”) and our son, who had just graduated. However, at the first stage Roger gave us a number of carefully selected options covering a range of price points and at no point did we feel he was pushing us towards the most expensive choices. Our holiday was perfect, we saw so many amazing animals, had great guides and were so well looked after. All the travel between camps (we stayed at four) and arrival at each camp worked like clockwork and we loved every minute of our holiday. What was interesting was that each of the camps we stayed at had a different feel and different experiences to offer, so despite the general routine at each camp being similar (ie morning and afternoon safaris), every day was different with new discoveries. This was down to Roger’s careful selection of our camps and made such a difference to our holiday. Roger clearly spends a great deal of time checking all the camps that Safari Lifestyles send clients to so as to ensure they are maintaining standards and he knows exactly what each of them offers. We could not have wished for a better holiday. We are already talking about going back to Africa and will most certainly use Safari Lifestyles again.

Excellent safari I booked a last minute safari and working with Roger from Safari Lifestyles was wonderful! This was my 2nd time to Botswana and I couldn’t have felt better about the whole experience. He was so patient with me as I kept making changes as this trip really was last minute. Initially I had emailed a different company, but they would take too long to respond and when I contacted Safari Lifestyles I got a response right away. After a lot of emails, he got me the BEST itinerary and I will definitely book with him again when I return to Botswana. Thank you, Roger!

Africa's finest Safari Lifestyles is an excellent tour planner! If you decide to go to Botswana, you will be in the safe hands. Everything starting from arriving till end is very well planned and basically you do not need to think about anything, just enjoying vacation and Africa. We visited Kwando Splash&Lagoon, Camp Ocavango and Chobi Game lodge. Honestly it is enough with first 3, since the Chobi is a National park and there are not allowed off-roads. Kwando is amazing! Camp Ocavango is nice, but if you are not bird lower, it will be not for you. But both 3 together gives a perfect insight in Ocavango Delta wildlife.

Excellent in Namibia too Just back from a superb twelve day fly in Safari in Namibia organised by Safari Lifestyles. This is the second time we've worked with Roger and were once again impressed by both all the preparatory contacts and the seamless way in which things worked together when we were on the trip. From a first eMail in March - fairly late for an August safari - I sketched out what we were looking for without knowing the country, give possible travel dates and leave Roger to work his magiv in shaping a possible programme. From our previous Botswana experience I was happy to rely on Roger's judgement of which camps and how to travel, etc and where in a country which offers so much. Always fast reactions, clear answers and practical advice to manage expectations. For example, he was very clear that Namibia would be different in terms of wildlife to Botswana to ensure we wouldn't be disappointed. As it turned out we loved the wide variety of landscapes from arid mountains to near savannah to desert dunes and, though there was less wildlife the quality of the encounters were as good as any we've had in Africa. This reflecting the quality of the guiding in the lodges and company he recommends. All this at a fair price with stunning camps in terms of accommodation, location and food. Payment via electronic transfer from Europe was straightforward and all the necessary info came through in time. He suggested for our earlier safari in Botswana, given the strong interest in photography, to go for a private vehicle, which I wouldn't have thought of myself. Indeed, I first came across Roger on one of the trip advisor forums answering my questions about photography on safari (without realising he also arranged safaris) - typical of his wish to share his knowledge with other travellers. So with Safari Lifestyles you will be in great hands for unforgettable Africa moments. Thanks Roger.