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
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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.
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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!!
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..
Professionally organised trip, good lodges, excellent wildlife guides
Kingfisher Safaris arranged our trip in a very professional manner, with no communication glitches, and with excellent liaison with the local Zambian tour company. We stayed in two lodges in South Luangwa National Park. The lodges were actually situated very close to each other and game drives from each covered the same territory, but we saw different wildlife on each drive, so this was not a serious drawback. The lodges were very well run and the time was organised in a very efficient manner between rest, daytime safaris and night drives. The lodge staff were friendly and professional, and our wildlife guides were excellent.
Email Judith and Barry | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An excellent, well researched, well supported, bespoke safari tour in Botswana
This was the first time that we had been on safari in Africa. Martin at Kingfisher Safaris offers bespoke tours and he has first hand knowledge of the area. He discussed various options in detail so we could easily select an itinerary that suited us. We chose to visit 3 camps in Botswana over a period of 12 days. Communications from Martin were timely and appropriate. Martin provided an excellent service and was always available to answer any questions, offering support as required. Both the safari tour and accommodation at the camps were way beyond our expectations. We would definitely use this company again.
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Email Robert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The guide was knowledgeable and the camping was comfortable.
Charles gave us a very enjoyable and informative safari. He keeps animal guidebooks in the car for the benefit of his customers, but he never had to refer to them. He could identify every mammal and bird species that we saw. He was very good at locating game animals. In one case he saw fresh tire tracks turning off of the road into the bush. He told us, “There is something interesting here,” and followed the tracks to a family of leopards. He single-handedly chased away an enormous male elephant that was eating acacia seed pods in our camp (but not until after we took pictures). Charles is also very personable, and told us stories about growing up in Botswana (his father wanted him to raise cattle).
The tents were comfortable and the food was great. A very nice "glamping" experience.