Reviews

Average User Rating
4.6/5

Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 15
  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 1
  • 1 star 1

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 1-10 of 18 Reviews
Derek WU   –  
China CN
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Sep 24, 2023

Email Derek WU  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

We exceeding all our expectations! We saw many aspects of Botswana’s amazing flora and fauna .
5/5

My wife and I travelled as a private tour on a 6 day tour in Okavango Delta ,starting at Maun, through Khwai Concession, Mababe Gate and Savuti National Park, the safari itself was absolutely amazing –

Xaa Safaris provided fabulous service from start to finish. After explaining what I was looking for in a safari trip, and my approximate budget, I receivedcorresponding quotation quickly. In additional, due to issues with airlines (Air Botswana temporarily canceled our flight without warning), we had to communicate with Xaa Safaris and modify the itinerary repeatedly. The owner, Mrs Nobantu, was very patient and efficient in helping us solve everything. We got a private vehicle for 6 days, Our tour guides & driver Range were patient, knowledgeable and planned each safari carefully. Range is the best safari guide we could have imagined – he has a huge knowledge on so many aspects of the safari animals and nature, and his great experience and patience in searching also for the rare animals made us see essentially almost of them!!!
We were fortunate to have spectacular views of the delta for a couple of days. Savuti National Park was magical in its own way with animals wandering past mornings and evenings elephants enjoying their happiness and tranquility by the pond. Kenny and his support team also made a lot effort, They provided us with clean and hygienic food and beverage. While we left camp and started tracking animals, they’d begun to disassemble the tents and equipment, then transported to the new campsite. When we got back to the new camping site at night, everything had been rearranged already... The tents the portable toilet, up to the bucket showers – were nice and convenient.
Our animal sightings also included many elephants, lions , cheetahs, wild dogs, impalas, hippopotamus, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest crocodiles to name a few and many different birds,, and even we saw a hyena in the evening of the last day. We exceeding all our expectations! We saw many aspects of Botswana’s amazing flora and fauna and experienced it.
Communication with Xaa Safaris was extremely friendly and efficient, without complications.

Ryan Wilkinson   –  
Canada CA
Visited: August 2023 Reviewed: Sep 6, 2023

Email Ryan Wilkinson  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Wonderful memories and experiences on well run safari
5/5

Our family (2 adults and an 8 yr old) had a wonderful 9 day safari with Xaa Safaries staring in Victoria Falls for 2 days and Botswana for 7 days. We were immediately met at the Airport and transported to an incredible lodge in Vic Falls (Pamarah Lodge) which had beautiful rooms, garden space nad excellent food. There was a little lack of detail on scheduling over the two days but this did get sorted out and I attribute this to the fact that in Zimbabwe it was an outsourced tour operator as Xaa operates in Botswana. That said our Sunset cruise, Vic Falls tour and time there in general was fantastic. On arrival in Botswana we connected with our guide and safari crew. Everyone was professional, kind and went out of their way to make our experience incredible. Our guide was very knowledgeable and engaging about wildlife adn we were able to see amazing amounts of animals including multiple leaopards, lions, wild dogs, antelope, elephants, etc. Our cook Amos was incredibly kind and engaging and prepared amazing food over the open fire. With each meal being very tasty. We completed game drives in Savuti and Moremi and overnight makoro trip in the delta, with all being incredible and memorable destinations. As noted, they were professional, generally well organized and the cost of the safari was very competitive relative to other quotes that I received in planning the trip. We would not hesitate to recommend Xaa Safaris to friends and family based on our experiences and a very big thank you to Xaa Safaris for a wonderful trip.

Yolanda Lozano   –  
Spain ES
Visited: August 2023 Reviewed: Aug 16, 2023

Email Yolanda Lozano  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Excellent service, excellent experience
5/5

Everything was excellent: organization of the tour, description, value for money, personnel (guide, main organiser, local organiser in Maun, cook, assistants during tour). The tour itself was wonderful, we saw plenty of animals, we were excellently treated, and everything exceeded our expectations.

Mieke   –  
South Africa ZA
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Aug 13, 2023

Email Mieke  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Mieke and not that of SafariBookings.
Either a scam or terrible customer service
1/5

Watch out! I had been discussing our boat safari via email with Xaa Safaris since January of 2023 just to arrive in Maun in July of 2023 to find that my deposit had been stolen and no boat was waiting for us. I accepted a quote, completed the paperwork, signed and sent it through as requested, then on the same email string, banking details were provided for me to pay the deposit. Upon phoning them a day prior to the excursion, they said no payment had been received, and this is when it came to light that right after I emailed the signed contract, the correspondence address changed from info@xaasafaris.com to info@xaasafaris.pw. In the same string replying, this was not noticeable, so the money was paid via EFT and the receiving account was emptied - nothing I can do to have the funds returned. I have no proof that Xaa Safari is the culprit. However, considering the timing at which the fake email address became active and the fact that they never tried to follow up on our booking, despite having (via the legitimate email address) received a signed contract with all our personal details, this is either extremely poor customer service, or more likely an inside job.

Matthijs   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: December 2022 Reviewed: Dec 12, 2022

Email Matthijs  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Unforgettable Chobe River Front, Savuti area and Khwai Concession mobile camping safari
5/5

This safari is one I will never forget. The Botswana scenery and wildlife we experienced in Chobe and the Khwai Concession was amazing. Everything was already green after the first rains. But we didn't have any rain during the trip at all. The green trees, bush and grass made the experience even more delightful. And we still saw huge amounts of wildlife. I really fell in love with the birdlife on this trip too. In just 4 days we saw many lions, leopards on a kill, large herds of elephants, a big variety of birds, hippos, crocs and even painted dogs! And much much more like the beautiful lechwe, many young animals too and the national bird of Botswana the corey bustard. This place is unique on earth.

Our guide, Ranger, was amazing. He really knew what he was talking about. He was a good driver which showed while navigating difficult roads carefully and his approach to wildlife. I've been on quite a few safaris and I can safely say this guy is on top of his game.

The team of Xaa also provided much better tents then I expected, which were large and airy. The addition of a private bathroom was excellent. Our chef really knew what she was doing too. She turned out lovely food in camp every single time. It's amazing how the friendly staff move this full camp and set it up in all new locations deep in the bush every time. Just jump out of the well built Toyota Land Cruiser after an amazing day on safari and grab a cold drink. Take a seat in your private camp under the Botswana sky where the Xaa team takes good care of you. You can't get a better bush experience and still enjoy comfort like this, I think.

On our last night all travel companions gathered around the campfire. We had created so many memories in only four days together, it made me feel very thankful. We shared memories and stories by the fire. Xaa means fire, so a very fitting end.

Wouter Vergeer   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: December 2022 Reviewed: Dec 9, 2022

Email Wouter Vergeer  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Excellent and comfortable mobile camping safari
5/5

We just returned from a mobile camping safari in Chobe National Park and the Khwai Concession which borders Moremi Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta. Being one of the SafariBookings team members I have been privileged to go on quite a few safaris already but this trip was one of my best bush experiences so far. It was the beginning of the wet season but we hardly had any rain. Afternoon temperatures were quite high during the first couple of days, but we were either in the open vehicle while driving and cooled by the wind or in the camp, where we could relax and enjoy cold drinks in a glass with ice. The heat turned out to be quite doable and the nice thing about this time of year was that temperatures during the morning and evening/night time were lovely (unlike in July/August when it gets really cold at night and during the morning).

The scenery was beautiful and green and we saw so much wildlife. An abundance of antelope species, big herds of elephant and buffalo, giraffe, hippo, lion multiple times, two leopards and even four painted dogs on the last day, which was a real treat as encountering those magnificent creatures is quite rare. In addition it was the season where the migratory birds were there and the birding was spectacular. We kept track of the bird species and ended up ticking more than 110 bird species, including beautiful birds of prey and impressive looking storks and egrets. It truly felt like paradise.

Our guide, Ranger, was very knowledgeable about both the animals, birds and trees. He really made our trip. The mobile camping was a lot more comfortable than we expected. Tents were large Meru style tents in which you could comfortably stand and move around. They felt like small hotel rooms in the middle of the wilderness. What a great experience and we felt much closer to the bush when compared to staying in a lodge or a larger tented camp. The mess/lounge tent was also great and the food they served was delicious. The camp staff were great people and took care of all the camp chores, including moving the entire camp to the next location. Quite impressive.

It was a great experience which I am going to remember for a long time.

mario   –  
Botswana BW
Visited: July 2018 Reviewed: Dec 13, 2019

Email mario  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Three days Okavango Trip
5/5

Excellent organised trip, with many activities, bush walk, mokoro boat trips, as well as nice dinners

jane crowley   –  
Germany DE
Visited: August 2018 Reviewed: Aug 29, 2018

Email jane crowley  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Best Moremi Game Reserve Trip with Xaa Safaris
5/5

We booked with the Xaa Safari team we had an excellent service right from the management to the whole team, the chefs, the accommodation was superb and the guides knowledgeable as well.We enjoyed the wetlands and the mokoro trail. We recommend anyone to use their services without hesitation.

Juliet Commissaris   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: August 2018 Reviewed: Aug 28, 2018

Email Juliet Commissaris  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Fabulous Fun, our Guide was extraordinary and knowledgeable... Don’t hestitate, worth every penny!!!
5/5

Everything was better than expected... hugely better! We loved the day, roaring around the bushland chasing each photograph! We will be back.... really great fun... thank you!!!

Reply from Xaa Safaris
Reply from Xaa Safaris
Posted on Sep 9, 2018

Hi Juliet, thank you very much for your feedback. It was a great pleasure hosting you in Moremi Game Reserve. We look forward to hosting you in future this time on a longer stay.

Once again thank you for the feedback. It was an honor to share a piece of our heritage with you and to know you as well.

From all of us at Xaa Safaris

Alice T   –  
Malta MT
Visited: August 2018 Reviewed: Aug 26, 2018

Email Alice T  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Alice T and not that of SafariBookings.
Perfect service and management on the steps of booking; nothing to see and to do on place.
2/5

I booked 3-day-2-night mokoro trip, and it was the most expensive and the most disappointing part of my 16-day-travel. To start from good, the manager, Nobantu, was nice and helpful, she replied to my emails fast and for details. Also, the camp was designed in a wise and nice manner: every tent is spacious and equipped with en-suite portable shower, bio-lavatory, bed, and blanket. The food was good, and the cook did his best to please us. But this is where good points end.

On the first day, we were sailing on a motorboat for about one hour and then on a mokoro, the little canoes, for about three hours. Under the baking sun. But all of that would be fine enough if we could see at least something except a couple of birds...

Then we came to the camp and spent the afternoon doing nothing. After we had a 'Nature walk' seeing a lot of excrements of different animals and some insects. The local guides could tell 3-4 sentences as maximum about each species, and we were lucky to have a professor of zoology in our group. From him, we received 90% of information about the Delta and its wildlife.

During the night, in the camp (or village, I don't know) that was not far from us they had a kind of party till 3-4 AM and they make such a bad noise, that if I would have been an animal I would run away as far as I could.

Next day we had a 'safari walk' on another island, where we saw a herd of zebras and a heard of antelopes. It was early in the morning and from 10 AM to 4 PM we were just sitting in the camp. We were not allowed to walk around because of the 'dangerous wildlife'. I walked a bit at my own risk and saw heaps of rubbish and plastic. Probably that was why it is not allowed to walk around because there is simply NO wildlife in this area, I didn't see there even one simple impala. And I don't think that any wildlife will come there if they won't stop night orgies and pollution.

Coming back I found that my bio-toilet is not working. I asked the staff to do something.

In the evening, we had a mokoro cruise to the lake with the hippos. They were far away to make good photos, but at least we've seen something - I thought. But at that moment people from this camp/village came on their mokoros shouting so loudly that my group mates started to worry about our lives since hippos are not so tolerated to that crazy sounds as people are.

When I came back to my tent I found my toilet clean, but it was still not working.

Next day after the breakfast we just went back to Maun, without any morning activity.

Honestly, I was expected from Okavango Delta much more. Before that safari, I went to Chobe National Park, for the 3-days-2-nights tour, too. But there we had two safaris every day and just a couple of hours to rest, the staff was experienced and did their best to make us see as much as possible, and we've seen a great number of different animals. In comparison with that, this trip was just for wasting time and money. For this amount, I'd better book a flight and I'm sure I would be impressed much more.

Reply from Xaa Safaris
Reply from Xaa Safaris
Posted on Sep 9, 2018

Good day Alice, thank you very much for your feedback. We will certainly do our utmost best to improve on our service especially relating to the Boro community whose concession we conduct Mokoro activities. Your feedback and part of your investment will certainly assist in ensuring a sustainable tourism operation for us and especially the Boro community.

We look forward to hosting you again in future this time in Moremi Game Reserve which has a larger concentration of animals including the big cats compared to the Okavango Delta which is predominantly aquatic and bird lovers paradise.

Thank you once again for your feedback.

Average User Rating
4.6/5
Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 15
  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 1
  • 1 star 1
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