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
Email Warren and Emma | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour and fantastic service from start to finish
My girlfriend and I recently did a 7 day camping safari in the Delta which we organised through Martin at Kingfisher Safaris. When booking some months ago, we found Martin online and were immediately impressed by his responsiveness and helpful and accommodating service in planning our trip. Once we booked our safari, Martin also assisted us in booking our own self drive camping trip in Namibia beforehand, providing some great tips and knowledge for our planning, but also making arrangements for us on the ground which meant we had the piece of mind and backup of his 'on the ground' support network. This was invaluable in making our trip efficient, practical and safe.
Our Delta safari was run by guides Charles (for 3 days) and then Pilot for the remainder. Both of them are fantastic, super knowledgeable and experienced (which you can tell by the way they are respected by other guides in the park) and are perfectionists in making the safari experience as perfect as possible. Right up to the day we started our safari, Martin was available by email to answer any question. The assistants on tour are equally helpful and friendly. We had an amazing and unforgettable experience through Kingfisher and highly recommend it. We look forward to one day hopefully being able to do it again.
Email David | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb
My girlfriend and I booked the 3 night tamarind canoe safari with Martin from Kingfisher Safaris and we absolutely loved it. We started at Chirundu and canoed around 70km to Mana Pools (only an average level of fitness is required) with nights spent on sand islands in the middle of the Zambezi river. As soon as we set off we were greeted with a large pod of hippos and then a herd of elephants on a sand bank ahead of us. That was the start of an incredible experience viewing so much wildlife including gliding just 5 yards away from a 14ft crocodile sun bathing on the bank! There were hundreds of hippos, many crocodiles, elephants, birdlife and also zebras, impala and waterbuck viewed on the banks to name a few. The feeling of being in a canoe sat 6 inches above the water and feeling so close to the animals was amazing and something we’ll never forget.
Since I booked the trip Martin has been first class in his rapid response to emails (mostly within an hour/couple of hours) and arranging extras not even part of our canoe trip such as charter flights and transfers. His fast and helpful replies really put my mind at ease, he is so well organised and always contactable if you have any problems or questions so right away the stress of waiting for a response is removed.
We certainly recommend people do the tamarind canoe trip as we had an unforgettable experience, and without doubt I would advise people to book with Martin of Kingfisher Safaris, I can’t recommend him enough.
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 Grace Chen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent! Service and Great Safari Experience!
We booked our very first mobile camping safari trip to Khwai and Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana with Kingfisher Safaris. Everything went well from start to finish. We spent a total of 3.5 weeks in the Southern Africa and this camping trip was the highlight and so unforgettable. Martin was very easy to communicate with at the planning stage. He replied to all my emails very quickly with detailed answers. You can tell he is very knowledgeable and experienced about Botswana. Our mobile camping guide/driver, Pilot, was very friendly with tons of humors! He has more than 30 years experience and knows the area really well. Our chef, Peggy Sue, cooked very delicious food every day and she has tons of humors as well! The waitress and the camper hand were both very nice people as well and made sure hot water was ready when we came back from game drive and also made our room multiple times dueing the day. The camping experience was way beyond our expectations. Plus all the wildlife we encountered during the tour. We loved it! Thank you Martin, Pilot, and the team for making our Safari in Okavango Delta so memorable and unforgettable!
BR
Email Marcus Alencar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Always Online
After my &Beyond operator let me down I contacted some operators to schedule a 15 day trip to Botswana, Simbabwe, Zambia..my 4th experience in Africa. Martin was the one chosen and after some talking designed a Safari for me. Everything met my expectations and I’m taking this time to write this because I lost my first flight to Harare and a Sharter to the Lodge in my first day of the trip ( I tnx Latam for that - never trust them) and as soon as I contacted Martin in Johannesburg he managed to help me promptly. I’m so glad I choose him. Don’t think twice. It’s in the bad times that you can see what kind of service you are getting and he was amazing.
ES
Email Federico | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great experience, unforgetable safari.
I visited South Luangwa National Park with Kingfisher safaris and it was gorgeous. Lodge was amazing and all pre safari issues were sorted out very profesionally with Kingfisher staff. Will definetely repeat with them (doing Uganda in a few weeks ) in the future, since they are very good experts in Africa.
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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!
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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!
Email Anuradha and Rajesh | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent customised service
We worked with Martin at Kingfisher to plan and book our customised tour /itinerary and then on the ground in Botswana, Pilot Manga was our tour leader and safari guide. Martin is very knowledgeable about Botswana having spent several years there and was able to hit just the right spot for us in terms of both luxury and adventure. He was always responsive and worked through all of our questions patiently and gave us good information and advice throughout.
On the ground, Pilot was absolutely brilliant. He one of Botswana's great guides (Every camp we were at, the staff in the camp knew/had heard about Pilot.) He was able to make our trip an absolute delight with his incredible intuition and tracking skills in the bush. We had fantastic sightings and opportunities to watch the behaviours of several of the Big 5 at close quarters and a lot of this we owe to Pilot's great skills. But more critically, Pilot is a humble individual despite his enormous abilities and his sense of humor and storytelling kept us regaled throughout our 13 day trip.
As and when we plan our next Botswana trip , we will reach out to Kingfisher Safaris again.
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.