We had a great time in Botswana. The Linyanti Camp was amazing. The staff, manager and guide were exceptional. The food was delicious, well above our expectations, and the service was exemplary. I really cannot stress enough how much we enjoyed the camp and how great everyone was there.

The camp is on the river (very nice) but sound carries and I heard the hustle and bustle from the kitchen before I needed to be up. The accommodations were nice with little extras like hot water for tea/coffee at all times. This camp uses mosquito netting which was nice, less for the mosquitoes and more for the other bugs. The food was excellent. Linyanti is known for the birds but also has baboons, hippos, elephants and many other game. Our guide was very good and had experience of the 5-star safari camps. The camp is right on the river where animals must go to get water in the dry season. Since we were on the cusp and there were still watering holes probably not as many animals to the water as during the full dry season. We high recommend the river safaris. Seeing the elephants and hippos was fabulous. Tim did some fishing but didn’t catch anything (he didn’t care – it was a great experience). All the camps offer a night safari. As a whole, our feeling is they are worthless and more a time filler as you can’t really see anything and most animals would be spooked by the light.That said, we have heard that’s were some people saw their leopards or other cats (but we didn’t).

Our next stop was Linyanti Bush Camp. Here too, the highlight for us were the elephants, although we did see the painted dogs twice while here. In comparison to the Sabi Sands area the density of the game from this camp through the rest of our trip was noticeably less. However, at a certain time in the morning the elephants start making their way to the water and we were able to spend long stretches of time just sitting with and being surrounded by elephants which was wonderful. We also very much enjoyed the camp in general. Here too, there is a sense of family and our guide (Wina) was great! He is a delightful person and very knowledgeable and attentive as a guide. The managers, Oliver and Chirstie were also very warm and friendly. The food was very good, the tents quite comfortable and well appointed and we enjoyed several night-time visits from elephants during our stay. We also very much appreciated their commitment to conservation and the local communities.