Botswana

Botswana

How this holiday makes a difference

The safari camps used in this vacation are owned by a citizen of Botswana. It’s reassuring to know that a local of the country is responsible for managing large tracts of Wilderness so well and conserving them for future generations. A citizen owned operation also enables tourism generated income to filter through the local economy. We believe that sensitive and sustainable tourism is an invaluable help to developing the communities and preserving the environments of sub-Saharan Africa. So we encourage more people to visit Africa; promoting the positives through enjoyable and informative trips – whilst maximizing the benefits these generate for the local economies, environments and host communities in Botswana and Africa.

We aim to be a very fair company – to our travellers, to those who work for us and with us, and to the areas and communities which host our travellers.

We actively support areas where our travellers’ visits will help to conserve habitats and develop local communities. We aim to work with suppliers who provide local employment and training and who offer good quality, environmentally and culturally sensitive activities. We encourage local community participation in tourism projects and over the years we have supported a number of successful, small-scale conservation, community and educational projects in Africa.

Responsible tourism is at the heart of what we do and as part of our trips we also encourage our travellers to do their bit with informative suggestions on how to best support the local economy, minimize their footprint on the environment and to be culturally sensitive of the area they are visiting.

Botswana

Reviewed 01 Sep 2010 by Jan Thomas

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

All of it!

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Visit the Delta camps where an important part of the experience is the tracking and searching before Chobe where the game is abundant. We were lucky to have done this but felt that our children benefitted enormously by doing things in this order. Highly recommend Kanana camp, and the guiding at Mapula also deserves a special mention.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Mostly yes. However, electric rather than petrol boats would be better on the Delta if this is practicable?

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Amazing!

Read the operator's response here:

We are thrilled that Mr Thomas enjoyed his trip to Botswana so much. We very much enjoyed helping him and his family plan a tailor-made safari that suited his requirements and lived up to his expectations.

We have noted his comment regarding electric boats for activities on the Okavango Delta. There is currently no safari camp in Botswana that uses an electric boat which is both environmentaly friendly and a lot quieter. Unfortunately, they are not easy to maintain nor obtain in these remote areas so they are not yet common place.

Reviewed 25 May 2008 by Trish Higham

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Too many to mention, the whole trip from beginning to end was both exciting and memorable.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Make sure you have spare batteries to charge whilst away on game drives, makes sure you each have decent binoculars as there is so much to see.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

10 out of 10.

Reviewed 02 Oct 2006 by Katie Southgate

Below should be a photo of a leopard which we saw in Botswana. We actually saw her on 4 separate occasions with 2 cubs.

We had a great time in Botswana. I believe the local people in Maun are benefiting through a Trust which gives money from tourism to local people.

This in turn means they are less likely to poach. I would give the holiday a 4 star rating. The tip I would give people booking a holiday like this is never be afraid to ask your guide to stop for something that you want to see. Also to encourage him to stop for longer. (Obviously bearing in mind the wishes of your fellow travellers.)

Reviewed 04 Nov 2005 by Sara Thwaite

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing both lions hunting (at Deception Valley Lodge) and wild dogs hunting (at Selinda) was an amazing thing! We have literally 1000s of photographs of the amazing wildlife we saw.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Take twice as much film / digital storage as you can ever imagine you need!!!! Botswana lodges use South African power adapters (3 large round pins).

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

All operators were very careful to minimize impact on the environment (water conservation, keeping to marked routes on salt pans, removing all garbage etc). Unfortunately all lodges at present need to import a substantial amount of food from South Africa - which isn't good for 'food-miles' - this is partly due to the climate, and partly because only native plants can be grown in reserve areas - increasing alternative local food supplies would be a good idea long-term. All lodges provided employment opportunities for local people (although for many the remote location of lodges meant working away from home) and a number of lodges were very actively involved with local communities and their concerns / ideas for future development.

4. Any other comments?

I'd rate this holiday as 5* - all the connections worked flawlessly, each lodge knew our itnerary and worked to ensure it fitted, food and service were excellent, this allowed us to focus on seeing the wildlife and relaxing! I would recommend this company without hestation to anyone wanting to visit Southern Africa - they did a superb job arranging this trip!