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
Excellent experience and superior service
Martin helped us to plan a varied two week safari trip in Botswana and Zimbabwe. He constructed a bespoke itinerary that perfectly suited our wants and needs for the trip, patiently tweaking it and answering all our questions until it was exactly right. Once there, we could see that everything had been organised very well and there was excellent communication - all the camps knew that I was a vegetarian for example, and this was easily catered for. When we wanted to change a transfer while out there, Martin helped us with this over email very quickly and efficiently. Pilot was a great source of local help and knowledge and an excellent guide - I hope one day to return for a mobile safari with him!
Martin has excellent first hand knowledge of the area and connections with top notch camps and this really showed - everywhere we stayed was great and exceeded our expectations. Both accommodation and activities were excellent.
Overall, a very professional, friendly and helpful service that delivered a holiday to remember..
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Email Marta Chase | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What an amazing visit to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana!!
We worked with Martin to organize a 4 week trip for us to Zimbabwe (Hwange and Mana Pools), Zambia (South Luangwa) and Botswana (Savuti, Khwai and Moremi). It was a trip of a lifetime.
We started with a lovely boutique guest house in Victoria Falls and headed off to three African Bushcamp sites in Zimbabwe. They were all lovely and the wildlife amazing.
We then headed to Zambia to South Luangwa and spent 8 nights split between two amazingly beautiful Sanctuary camp/lodges. We returned to many of the same spots on our daily drives but each day was a new one when it came to the wildlife. We felt like we knew the area by the time we left.
We finished with a 10 day mobile camping safari in Botswana with Pilot and his excellent staff (Maikano and Brighton). Pilot has the ability to find so many different animals in very difficult to see spots. This part of the trip was the highlight.
Martin did a wonderful job of providing the connections between all our different adventure. Everything went seamlessly. His choice of lodges was excellent.
We hope to return again and use his excellent services.
Thanks for a wonderful trip of a lifetime!!
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 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.
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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!
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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!
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.
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.
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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!
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.