Martin Smith, Managing Director
Kingfisher Safaris
- Office In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- Botswana Guides Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CA
Email Melissa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our expectations! 10/10
Martin who arranged the trip responded quickly to our inquiry. We told him what we were looking for/ budget and he put together an itinerary that was perfect. We did a 9 night mobile safari at 3 different camps in Botswana. As outdoorsy people, we're used to camping but we were pleasantly surprised by well organized it was and the excellent service we received at camp. The food was delicious and they we're happy to accommodate my lactose intolerance and made me separate meals when necessary which I really appreciate. We had the larger tent which was really nice when we had downtime in the middle of the day and to spread out our luggage. Pilot, our guide, went above and beyond to make sure everything and everyone was take care of and his expert knowledge of the area and animals was what made the game drives so special, we saw all the animals we wanted to and more. He was also very respectful of the animals space and made sure we felt safe the whole time. We finished the trip at a hotel in Victoria Falls and they had all the transfers arranged so we didn't have to worry about a thing the whole time. Overall 10/10, great value for the money and we loved our experience in the bush.
PS. it's colder in the mornings in the open vehicle than you might expect so pack some warm clothes, I wore my wool hat almost every morning
CA
Email Rose and Les | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Martin is prompt and efficient; a pleasure to work with.
My partner and I have taken many safaris in East Africa but this was our first time to Botswana and we loved the country and our safari. Sleeping in the tents on the mobile safari was thrilling with the sounds of hippos and lions at night. The food was varied and excellent. We seemed famished after a morning of photography and fell on the skewers of beef and potato salad like hungry leopards. Everything on the tour was well organized. This was our first mobile safari trip and we were astounded at the value and high level of guiding. Pilot, Kingfisher’s chief guide really throws his heart into searching out unusual wildlife sightings. He knows the landscape of the Okavango Delta intimately.
Email Sheila Cosford | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything worked like clockwork
extremely happy with the organisation and the time spent in Botswana.
Organisation was faultless. We can recommend Kingfisher Safaris.
IT
Email Roberto Fattori | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Super mobile camping in Botswana
We have just returned from a no fence mobile camping safari in Botswana organized by Kingfisher Safaris. It was literally a magnificent and fantastic experience, we stayed 3 days in Moremi Game Reserve in Khwai area, 3 days in Chobe National Park in Savuti area, 3 days in Moremi Game Reserve in North Gate area and 2 days in Makgadikgadi National Park. It was a beautiful journey full of incredible sightings. But our experience wouldn't have been so rewarding had it not been for the staff led by our excellent guide Pilot Manga, who made us feel right at home. Exceptional food, always clean tent, very nice staff, very kind and very cordial. Last but not least we would like to thank Martin of Kingfisher Safaris, because he waited for our country to loosen the anticovid ties allowing us to travel abroad and freezing our trip for 2 years. I highly recommend everyone to try the magnificent experience we had with Kingfisher Safaris and the Pilot Manga staff because they are exceptional people who will make you live a true and unique African magic.
Nightmare Honeymoon
So much went wrong in this 15 day trip I don't even know where to start. I am at the point where I think all the other reviews must be fake. It was sketchy from the very beginning and I would have surely cancelled if it weren't for the large deposit we had already paid. This was our honeymoon. The suggestions we were given were poor and provided little to no information. There were huge miscommunications between the travel agent and the local guide - honestly I don't understand how they can do business together. We were supposed to have a full serviced 15 day 'luxury´ camp, but on the last days of the trip WE ENDED UP SETTING CAMP AND THE TENT OURSELVES including cleaning the tent and DIGGING THE TOILET HOLE!! because they just abandoned us in a horrible island without any staff except for a chef. We were told there would be 2 games drives EVERY day, it turns out that on the day we changed camps there was no game drive at all because even though those drives were supposed to be considered game drives, the driver was not even stopping for us to have a look at animals. The evening drives on those days weren't even performed. We ended up having 6 game drives less than promised. We were not served alcohol due to COVID restrictions - which we understand- but the agent didn't provide us with any warning whatsoever beforehand, surely because he didn´t want to loose us as customers. Imagine finding out you won't even be able to have a glass of wine during your 15 day honeymoon once you get to the first camp and are in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go. Additionally, no other activity or extra service to compensate for the price of the alcohol that wasn't bought was offered, so they basically stole 300 USD from us. The guide kept promising 'we will see rhino and wild dogs GUARANTEED in the next few days' and then we never saw them. Really, how unprofessional can you be? We never had the expectations of seeing them in the first place, but we did after his empty promises. When we asked to make some changes to the trip, the guide came with a ridiculous price, which didn´t make sense at all....yet another excuse to steal our money. On a couple of occasions we asked the guide to go check out specific things (like a dead elephant in the area) and he would say no because he just wanted to go chase whatever he felt like, thus we missed out on amazing sights. On more than a couple of occasions we were told to meet at a certain time to leave for the game drive, and they left us hanging for 30 min or more. The guide would sit with us every dinner and wouldn´t even talk to us, he would only talk to his staff in his language. Why even sit with us and ruin our dinner in the first place? All in all, it just felt like they manipulated and lied to us to take our money. And so many things more. Feel free to contact me and I can share more info and or photos of the disastrous camping setup. We felt and we feel robbed.
Reply from Kingfisher Safaris
Posted on Sep 30, 2021Thank you for the review. Unfortunately this review does not reflect the experience our guide and booking agent had with these clients. They were determined from the outset not enjoy their safari and find ways to somehow complain about everything and it started from the moment they arrived in Botswana.
Firstly i communicated with our guide throughout their stay via satellite phone and an internet connection (whatsapp) at the national park gates. I was in constant contact with our guide. At no point did they have to set up their own tent and at no point dig their own toilet, it is simply untrue.
They booked this trip through Safari Bookings and were well aware our mobile safaris are described as 'Budget', and at no point was the word 'luxury' used for these mobile safaris. They are still very nice and comfortable, however.
We decided to have them collected from Zambia in the morning to get them to Botswana as early as we could as we had no idea what the border would be like and how long it would take to cross due to the covid situation. This led to a slight delay in Kasane as the shops only opened late on the Sunday. They sent an immediate email asking for compensation, not the first time this would happen.
To address the alcohol claim that we didn't inform them or compensate them, this is untrue. They were informed prior to departure and made NO complaint. Whilst on safari they wanted 'compensation' for this and we offered a 2 hour Motorboat Cruise on the Xakanaxa Lagoon, which was rejected as they had already been on a boat in Victoria Falls! I have Whatsapp messages and email messages should you wish to see them that prove this.
To address the game drive comments: these clients decided that they wanted to be out in the vehicle ALL DAY and while this is fine, we're happy to compensate, it was they that did not listen to our guide, of 35 years experience in Botswana, and instead effectively forced the guide to follow sightings of others travellers who claimed to see things in other areas, thus chasing sightings, sometimes which were two hours away and the day before. In the end our guide decided that he would just follow their instructions and the result is they still saw lots and lots of wildlife just not the African Wild Dogs they wanted to and were desperate to see, despite their comments. Unfortunately they had unrealistic expectations and no guide in Botswana or anywhere else would GUARANTEE a sighting, that is patently ridiculous and they DID receive all game drives they paid for and were on the vehicle much, much longer than most clients on some days for 12 hours which is 4 hours more than we would normally expect.
I also need to address the 'change in itinerary' which would have meant heading to the Kalahari, a 6 hour drive from the Moremi where they were. Everything in their trip had already been paid for, national park fees, food, campsite fees, fuel, vehicle permits, all of which at that point cannot be refunded or recovered, thus the price we quoted was the same price as booking a new trip as all the same costs are associated. The idea were trying to steal, again, is a malicious attempt to do damage to our business and totally untrue.
Sightings:
The suggestion they had to put up their own tents and dig their own toilet is simply untue, i have no idea where this idea comes from.
They refused to pay a tip, which is fair enough they are not mandatory but decided that it was up to me, the booking agent to pay this instead as they hadn't chosen to do the Motorboat Cruise and have then made threats as follows:
"I'm giving you a last chance to confirm (the Chef) has received her money. I want a confirmation and evidence she has received it.
If I don’t get an answer I will make all in my power to make sure no one books from you again."
As you can see from these comments that the client emailed to us it is her intention to destroy our business, which is premeditated and despite me offering to match the funds if she offered to pay the tip, she has decided instead to try and ruin a business, which is owned by local people in Botswana who have suffered greatly due to the lack of travellers from abroad.
Please see all our other, independently verified, reviews as these are a true reflection of the level of service we offer. To be clear they received exactly what they paid for and got much more than that besides but they were determined to be unhappy right from the start and it's sad to see this kind of response when our guide did everything he could to make sure they had a great safari.
Here is part of the sightings report from our guide and you'll see they saw plenty:
Morning drive 10/08/2021 we saw:
African serval, kudus, impalas, gnus, zebras,
Afternoon drive we saw:
hyaenas with pups by the den, ostrich, steenboks, dwarf mongooses, Banded mongooses, white tailed mongooses, lots of birds,
Morning drive 11/08/2021 we saw:
15 lions on the kill gnu, I big male lion on the road, one female lion with 2 young cubs 2 months old, Black baked jackals, Giraffes, Ostrich, warthogs,
Email Sue | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great!
What a fantastic trip to Namibia … what a country, what land, what a fabulous experience.
The tour was superb. The guide was a dream - knowledgeable, enthusiastic, a great ambassador for his country - a joy to be with. The places we stayed were great … some glamping, a hotel and an upgrade to a safari lodge (altho we would have prefered the tented camp as per the itinerary). The food was excellent, prepared by excellent cooks. The service was superb and the absolute pinnacle was finding hot water bottles in our beds in the bitterly cold desert nights. In Damarland, we tracked desert elephants and came across a herd of eleven; we tracked a rhino and baby for about 90 minutes - very exciting - but didn’t find them; we saw desert giraffes … again very exciting. And it was brilliant to be in remote, empty places with no phone connection, no internet and just be consumed by the land and the here and now. At the lodge when we were having an early breakfast, a male lion appeared at the waterhole … and when he’d finished we could hear him roaring in the bush.
I would book through Kingfisher Safaris again - Martin was always at the end of the email, always helpful and knoweldgeable. I would also go on a trip with Wilderness Safaris again - thorougly recommend Diverse Namibia tour.
US
Email Dave & Jennifer Sutherland | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Helpful and knowlegeable - and went extra mile!
Early in 2018, Kingfisher helped us set up a trip to Kwando safari camps in Botswana. Martin, our agent at Kingfisher, was extremely helpful and provided a wealth of information and suggestions. And - without going into details - Kingfisher was wiling to go to extra lengths to make sure our trip worked out (beyond what we expected). At every step of the process we felt supported. We set up many aspects of the trip on our own, but Martin still provided thoughts and sage advice about those portions of our trip that were not booked through Kingfisher. Communication was prompt despite the time zone difference and we appreciated the travel tips document he sent us before we packed. We would happily use Kingfisher again if we are fortunate enough to go back to Africa!
US
Email Sabra House | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Adventure that Exceeded Expectations
Working with Martin Smith of Kingfisher Safaris was a delight. The planning was a joint effort with his expertise and my enthusiasm. He added so much to the planning in the way of knowledge, experience, familiarity, and travel wisdom. Everything he planned happened - we were met on time, drivers were polite and helpful, we were expected at each camp, and every detail was attended to. We were two senior women, traveling alone for eleven days in Namibia. We felt safe and secure, with a back-up in Martin if we needed one. Which we didn't. I will definitely plan my next safari adventure with Kingfisher Safaris!
Superb journey in Zambia and Botswana
Martin at Kingfisher created a wonderful journey through some of the iconic game parks in Zambia and Botswana. Once we decided on our itinerary, he arranged the travel between countries and provided excellent information to guide our preparation. Our guides and the lodge staffs were knowledgeable, friendly and made us want to return. We experienced the creature comforts of the lodges and the wonder of elephants walking through our camp during the mobile safari part of our trip. It was a wonderful combination and I couldn't have been more pleased with all aspects of this trip.
Email Chris Greaves | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
excellent service with frequent contact and advice
I found kingfisher safaris to be excellent in providing help and advice prior to booking. The fact it is a UK based company also helped in avoiding money transfers which can be awkward in Zimbabwe. Very personal follow up was received with Martin even making sure we had arrived at our various destinations. I had never used a tour company before for trips to Africa but with the number of transfers needed (air and road) used one this time and wasn't disappointecd with the service. Everything was on time andof a v high standard. The recommended accommodation provided an excellent holiday experience. Would definitely recommend Kingfisher and will be using them again in the future