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
IL
Email Shlomit | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great trip to the Okavango delta with Pilot and his team
We did a 7 day mobile safary with Kingfisher/Pilot and the quality of everything was excellent. Pilot, who is the local provider, is a hugely experienced and excellent guide. He knows where the animals will go next... We had some amazing sightings of wild dogs and lions that we will never forget. The rest of the team, the camping, the food etc were all of an excellent quality. The vehicle was in good shape and comfortable.
US
Email Jim S | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extraordinary Tour by Kingfisher Safaris
Martin at Kingfisher Safaris developed a fantastic 3 camp Botswana safari for us on relatively short notice. Each of the three camps (Delta, Linyanti Expedition, and Khwai Leadwood) were different, enjoyable and unique in their own ways. All three were relatively small with warm, hospitable staff and superb safari guides.
What impressed us about this overall experience was the excellent and prompt communication with Martin. He responded with choices in the itineraries and once formulated proceeded to completion quickly and efficiently. I hope to travel in the future on a trip organized by Kingfisher.
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.
DE
Email Lo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Honest and very helpful
Martin is the guy who you will write emails with. He responded very quickly and gave us an answer to a lot of questions we had. He was also very open and honest about the rainy season and our concerns.
He works together with the tour guide Pilot which we really really can recommand to everybody. Pilot is very friendly and eager to show you all the animals out there. We even sometimes had to tell him that we were very happy with the day and that it is fine that we leave now. He once got the tip that there are lion babys and we went to the same place 3 times and than the last time he really found them in the bushes.
Email Marilyn and Kathy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding. Far exceeded our expectations in every aspect. Staff, helpful, friendly, food amazing.
Everything amazing. Cannot fault. Value for money.
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.
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
Email Paul | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent organisation delivering exactly what was promised
Martin understood immediately what we were looking for from both a budget and experience. The trip he suggested exceeded our expectations and was very good value. We went firstly to the Okavango Delta - the camp was a very authentic Safari Camp and the game viewing was brilliant- we even saw a very rare Pangolin and also our guide took us for a night drive and found a Aardvark!
The other 6 nights were Mobile Safari with a wonderful guide Pilot together with his team who could not do enough to make the trip so enjoyable! 2 different locations the Mababe and Moremi Parks. Pilot managed to find us 20 Lions who killed 7 Buffalo and 29 Wild Dogs together will numerous other excellent viewings. A perfect Safari!
SG
Email Hui Ping | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trusting and Reliable Tour Operator that provides us a Once-a lifetime Experience in Botswana!
It is Martin's words of assurance, his knowledgeable background about Botswana and his active communication that ends my months of searching for the right operator for our trip to Botswana. We told him what we hope to see during our 9 days 8 nights stay at Botswana and he crafted out 5 nights at Moremi and Khwai, followed by 3 nights at Mababe campsite. He took into consideration of my husband's medical concerns and suggested us flying into Xakanaxa and exit by Khwai and we were glad to be given the opportunity of our live time to ride the 5 seater plane by Mackair and we were simply thrilled. We even spotted a troop of elephants from the plane.
Once there, we were greeted by Pilot, an experienced guide and tracker who came personally to pick us and we started our game drive immediately. During our stay, his crew, namely Elena, Pauline (the talented chef) and Sruu took good care of us, ensuring that we were kept warm during winter times, making sure we have warm and delicious food and keeping our tent clean and neat whenever we returned from our game drives.
We listed what we hope to see at Botswana and Pilot gave us more than we wanted. His active communications with the other trackers as well as his years of experience of tracking animals made it possible to see more animals. His driving, to others, might seemed too fast and reckless but we knew that he did not want us to miss seeing the animals in action. That is what game drive is all about. He always checked on our safety during the rides.
We saw wild dogs, cheetahs and lions attempting to hunt, abeit failed, leopard cautioning us to stay away as he had an impala up on the tree, close encounter with herds of eleplants, cape buffaloes, impalas and visited a den of hyenas with a gamily of at least 11 living there. The list goes on. As we were staying in the tent, we had lion, elephant and hyenas visitations at night but that added further excitement to our experience. Over at Mababe, it was quieter as the animals spotted were fewer but Mababe gave us a totally different experience. The wide, vast plains were unique, raw and so remote that we felt we were the only humans walking on this side of the Earth. Over at Mababe, it was our first sightings of the African wild cat and Genet too.
Pilot and his crew gave us a treat on our last night, whipping out their local dishes, dancing and singing around the campfire.
Thank you for the unforgettable memories and excellent services.
US
Email Nate | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Second Safari Just At Memorable As The First
When booking my July 2024 Botswana mobile safari with Kingfisher Safaris, I knew it would be great. I didn’t think it would rival my October 2021 mobile safari with the same operator, though. The guide, staff, and fantastic wildlife sightings made that trip incredibly memorable. Sometimes, things we do the second time are better and more valuable.
For the July 2024 trip, my 11-night itinerary included:
-Two nights at Discovery Bed & Breakfast in Maun
-Three nights in the Chobe National Park’s Mababe region
-Three nights in the Khwai Concession
-Three nights in the Moremi Game Reserve’s Xini area
Discovery had a friendly, community-oriented vibe. Communal meals were served in an open-air dining area, and I saw bushbabies both nights. My safari accommodation was a 3x3 dome tent with an ensuite bathroom. The camp staff was terrific, cooking fabulous meals and providing superior service.
I was rewarded with many, many wildlife sightings on safari. The most striking were serval, genet, lions at sunset, honey badgers, leopard with kill in a tree at sunrise, four-cheetah coalition at sunset, malachite kingfisher from a mokoro, giraffe tower at sunset, hyenas with pups in the den at sunset, and wild dogs hunting at sunset.
For me, the wild dog hunt highlights why Kingfisher excels as a Botswana mobile safari operator. The dogs were denning in Xini, but a lion attack forced them to mobilize. They hadn’t been seen in over a week in Moremi, we were told. Kingfisher guide Pilot, who has three-plus decades of experience, found the dogs stalking an impala. Two other guides arrived shortly after that. When the dogs gave pursuit, the impala skirted a large hill. The hill caused the vehicle track to split, with one road going left and the other right. Both other guides – one representing a prominent mobile safari operator and the second a luxury lodge – rushed to follow the chase. Pilot took the opposite track, going away from the action. It was a split-second decision, which may appear to be a poor choice for the novice. After rounding the hill, we had a private viewing of a large wild dog pack feeding on the impala at sunset! The other guides arrived about a half hour later, but it was virtually nightfall. Their guests saw dogs, but in virtual darkness. Later, Pilot said he saw one dog on the opposite side of the hill -- the way we went -- a sign the larger dog pack may attempt to drive the prey that way.
Like my 2021 safari with Kingfisher, I was lucky to see wild dogs in camp on this safari. During the night, there was a sudden bang and the bathroom section of my tent shook. Wild dog noises were heard all around. At sunrise, the pole supporting the bucket shower at the tent’s rear was knocked over. It was concluded that an impala attempting to outrun wild dogs may have struck the pole. The impala’s remains were meters away.
I found Kingfisher Safaris by happenstance years ago on a safari-centric message board. I’m grateful because trips with them have been my favorite holidays to date. Martin is incredibly prompt, and Pilot is a superior guide.
