Reviews

Average User Rating
4.6/5

Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 19
  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 1
  • 1 star 1

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 1-10 of 22 Reviews
Manfred   –  
Switzerland CH
Visited: September 2024 Reviewed: Sep 26, 2024

Email Manfred  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Incredible once in a lifetime experience
5/5

I enquired about this 9-day-tour on a short term notice, just one week before it started, and the detailed offer came instantly and well prepared, so I booked. And everything worked out to my absolute satisfaction, starting with the airport pick-up and transfer to the first lodge, and then all the way to the last day.
I was stunned to find out that I was the only guest, and instead of cancelling the tour, Xaa Safaris realized the trip just with me! So I found myself with a safari car, a driver/ranger, 3 wonderful camp hands - one of them a chef, who each day miraculously produced the most wonderful food in the midst of the bush - and a local guide in the Okavango-Delta for spectacular walking safaris. Wherever we arrived, the tents (with open-air shower and toilet), the kitchen and the eating canopy were put up in no time, while I was taken on a sunset-safari-drive. When we returned, the fire in the middle of the camp was burning, tea and dinner was ready and we had the most wonderful chats together.
Each day began with an overwhelming sunrise drive at around 6am, which was followed by a rich breakfast/lunch and a siesta during the hot hours, and ended with a sunset-safari at around 4pm, when most animals are out from their hiding spots. And not to forget the tasty dinners at nightfall. The driver was an experienced track reader and had no problems to find ALL the animals, even twice a leopard absolutely close to us. My emotions soared into the sky.
Spending 6 nights (2 nights per park) in tents in the bush, with a giraffe feeding nearby and being surrounded with all the sounds of night animals is so different to staying in a lodge, if you are the adventurous character. I can honestly say that not 1 second did I feel endangered, because I was in such competent hands, who, for example, surrounded the camp each night with a circle of candles.
Driving on sandy roads for the transfer from one park to the other was the most strenuous part and is not recommended if you suffer from car sickness. But this is what Botswanan road are - nature tracks and you might encounter elephant crossings more than once. It was a fantastic journey I will not forget all my life - thank you so much, Xaa Safaris, I am very grateful!

Reply from Xaa Safaris
Reply from Xaa Safaris
Posted on Sep 27, 2024

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed and heartfelt review of your 9-day tour with us. We are absolutely thrilled to hear that your last-minute booking worked out to your complete satisfaction and that you had such a memorable experience with Xaa Safaris.

We are incredibly proud that our team was able to make your solo safari not only possible but enjoyable and unforgettable. It is our goal to ensure that each guest feels cared for, and your kind words about the team, including our driver/ranger, camp hands, chef, and local guide, truly mean the world to us. We're delighted that you enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise and sunset drives, the delicious bush meals, and the close encounters with the incredible wildlife.

Your adventurous spirit really shone through as you embraced camping in the bush, and we’re glad you felt safe and well looked after, even with nature’s sounds all around. We appreciate your understanding of the terrain, and you’re absolutely right—Botswana’s wild and raw roads are all part of the adventure!

Thank you again for trusting us with your safari experience, and for your wonderful review. We are grateful to have been a part of such a fantastic journey for you, and we look forward to welcoming you back for another adventure in the future.

Esther   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2024 Reviewed: Sep 24, 2024

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

Wonderful Experienced Caring Guides and Staff provided an amazing Safari adventure
5/5

This was my first trip to Botswana for work and I extended my time so i could take a Safari. Xaa Safaris came highly recommended. I was a woman traveling by myself so safety and attentive staff were important along with seeing the natural beauty of the landscape and of course seeing the animals up close in the wild was an awe inspiring experience. The Guides were first rate and it was a source of pride to them make sure I saw and experienced as much as possible. The chef did an outstanding job of preparing delicious meals with a simple camping setup. I was so impressed by each member. The memories they helped to create are embedded in my mind and heart forever. I would highly recommend Xaa Safaris

Reply from Xaa Safaris
Reply from Xaa Safaris
Posted on Sep 27, 2024

Thank you for sharing such a heartfelt review of your experience with Xaa Safaris. It was our absolute pleasure to host you on your first trip to Botswana, and we are delighted to know that you felt safe, well-cared for, and fully immersed in the beauty of the landscape and wildlife.

We take great pride in ensuring that every guest enjoys a personalized and memorable adventure, and it’s wonderful to hear that our guides, chef, and staff were able to exceed your expectations. We’re especially pleased that the attention to detail and passion of our team left a lasting impression on you.

Your recommendation means the world to us, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of your unforgettable journey. Should you decide to return to Botswana in the future, we would love to welcome you back for another adventure!

Jen Ussi   –  
Australia AU
Visited: June 2024 Reviewed: Jun 17, 2024

Email Jen Ussi  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Professional, exceptional service and an amazing campsite.
5/5

We had the most amazing 2 night trip on the banks of the river in the Delta. The campsite was perfect clamping. Food by Amos the chef was exceptional. All the staff were friendly and professional. Our guide, Oros, was knowledgeable and we saw everything from hippos to lions and elephants. We learnt a lot about both the flora and fauna from him. The mokoro cruises were fab. Definitely worth doing this trip with this company, we absolutely over it.

Reply from Xaa Safaris
Reply from Xaa Safaris
Posted on Sep 27, 2024

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are thrilled to hear that you had an amazing two-night trip with us along the river in the Delta. It's fantastic to know that you enjoyed the "glamping" experience and that Amos, our chef, provided exceptional meals. We are also pleased that our staff's friendliness and professionalism stood out during your stay.

Oros will be delighted to hear your kind words about his guiding expertise. It's always a joy for us when guests leave with not just memories of wildlife like hippos, lions, and elephants, but also a deeper understanding of the flora and fauna in the Delta. We're glad you had a great time on the mokoro cruises, and we're grateful for your recommendation.

Raul   –  
Botswana BW
Visited: April 2024 Reviewed: May 16, 2024

Email Raul  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Excellent Xaa Safari Experience.
5/5

I embarked on a five-day journey, they picked me up from Kasene and proceeding to Savuti, where I explored rock paintings and encountered abundant birdlife and wildlife. The food, tents, and vehicles were all superb, and our ranger was an excellent storyteller. This guy receptor had a knack for humor in storytelling.

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 [email protected] to [email protected]. 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.

Average User Rating
4.6/5
Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 19
  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 1
  • 1 star 1
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