Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana
Shipungo Safari & Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $360 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Simon B. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The value for money and service at Shipungo is good to very good. The staff is a big plus.
As a family of four, we took a private 5-day/4-night safari from Maun through Moremi, Khwai, Savuti, and Chobe to Vic Falls and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Our guide and driver was Kem, and the other crew members were Voice, Shine, and Keff. They took great care of our well-being. Special mention goes to Kem, who brought us safely and sometimes Schuhmacher-like at the right time to the right place and in the right position to get a perfect view of the animals (f. ex. 2 leopards and 1 lioness with three cubs). He has a keen sense of when to hurry up, when to stay and how the animals move. The food that Shine prepared for us was delicious and plentiful. We would especially like to thank Voice for his patience with us on the day of our arrival, and Keff for his cheerfulness and the warm water he brought to our tents.
We booked the medium package with slightly larger tents, better beds and food and a bathroom behind each tent. A good choice for slightly older people and two teenagers.
Booking: We booked directly with Shipungo and paid via PayPal. No problems at all. The contact person was Oarabile (Mark). He looked after us very well and answered our emails and questions promptly.
The safari as a whole: Not all went like planned on the papers, but that is part of the game when travelling in Africa. The value for money and service at Shipungo is good to very good. The staff is a big plus.
AT
Email Clemens Salomon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The team was deeply engaged, highly motivated, genuinely passionate, and impressively professional
Our guide Voice went above and beyond to fulfill our wildlife sighting wishes – his appreciation for guests and genuine passion for his work were truly remarkable. The camp team was friendly, attentive, and helpful, and the food exceeded expectations, especially given the limitations of a mobile safari. Communication with the administration was fast and responsive, and they accommodated our needs to tailor the trip perfectly. I can wholeheartedly recommend Shipungo Safari.
DE
Email Elke | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Camp Safari Adventure and Wildlife Experience
Our 6-days safari experience was truly extraordinary! Our guide, Voice, made it very special; his knowledge of and enthusiasm for wildlife and nature left us very impressed and we always felt safe and well cared for under his guidance.
The camp accommodation was very comfortable, and the camp team was awesome. They took excellent care of us and the camp, ensuring we always stayed in scenic locations. Evalino amazed us every day with delicious meals prepared in the camp kitchen. Thanks Oarabile for the excellent communication; everything went smoothly from the booking process to our arrival in Livingstone. A big thank you to the entire team!
We highly recommend Shipungo Safari to anyone looking for an unforgettable safari adventure.
Email Amanda Overy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tailored budget safari done well.
If you would prefer to spend your money on a longer safari experience instead of high end luxury glamping, this company may tick your boxes!
The company - quick to respond. Flexible arrangements. Tailored to our needs with no fuss.
The camping - Basic, clean, comfortable, well maintained, everything you need, with great service from the set up/pack up crew. Hot showers, comfortable bed. Simple camping done well.
The food - Shein, chef extrodinare! Home style cooking over fire done to perfection. Fresh bread, cake, stews, stir fry’s and more. We could never have complained of hunger as we were very well fed!
The guide - Kem. If you were considering a self drive safari, forget about it. We saw so many self drive tourists miss out on seeing extraordinary moments as they weren’t with an experienced tracker. Kem was able to put us into positions to capture the moments we came to see, and we saw it all.
Our overall experience was exactly what we were looking for. They delivered it all and more, and we would not hesitate to use them again.
PL
Email Rafal Woda | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfectl safari (6D5N Northern Botswana)
Absolutely top company, in all aspects. Starting from communication point of view - all our questions were quickly responded too and through whole process we felt welcome. Even made suggestions to our plans that made us rearrange the trip and worked out perfectly.
Safari itself was amazing. Our guide - Voice - had an incredible knowledge about all wildlife and nature around us, on top of that was an amazing driver, greatly contributing to comfort of viewing scenes in front of us.
It was a budget tented safari and I could be praising this for hours - being this close to nature, right in the middle of it, yet eating amazing food cooked by staff on fire, and staying in very nice tent. 10/10.
Overall, the trip was perfect value for money, and if really don't need to look for your safari anywhere else.
FI
Email Mauri | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional, reliable and knowledgeful.
Our guide Kem knew area, fauna and flora very well. He was doing huge efforts to show us as much as possible, but he also lessened our wishes - did not only drive after big 5. We saw 3/5 (lions several times, plenty of elephants and big herd of buffalos) and also several times cheetah, hippos, lot of giraffes etc. We have 11 & 15 old kids with us and Kem did have good communication with them also. Shine (the cook) did prepare very tasty meals - even kids did strongly agree.
In hindsight we should have booked 3 nights instead of two. Moving to Moremi and back consumed time in first and last day.
It looked like, Kem had not our correspondence with office available. He did check us what was included and did organize everything included and more wonderfully "on run". Huge thanks for that.
One improvement suggestion: We moved from Maun to Moremi (and back) in open safari car through gravel roads. Because wind and sand irritate eyes, cheap plastic construction safety glasses would be nice to be available.
We highly recommend Shipungo Safari & Tours and thank Kem, Shine & rest of team for wonderful experience!
US
Email John Hitchings | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great operator, but much of the experience hinges on local guides, not the tour company.
Very responsive operator...we texted and figured out details over the weekend just before the safari. The pickup service was prompt and friendly, and the vehicle was comfortable. Meals were as expected for the price—basic but tasty. The tent was also as expected.
One thing to be aware of is that the “polers” and guide are part of the village community and they are assigned from a rotating list. Thus, as I understood, the boat operators and tour guides (who also help with camp requirements) can be hit-or-miss. Ours were very friendly and knew what they were doing (good empirical / local knowledge) but not stellar on technical knowledge and customer experience. The Shipungo staff was great, though. Overall it was an amazing experience.
US
Email Tony & Marissa | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply Amazing
My fiancée and I booked a two night, three day tour w/ Shipungo and were happy we did. Jack was an amazing tour guide. He had an intimate understanding of Moremi and its flora and fauna. He indulged my nascent interest in birding with patience, and had in-depth answers to all our questions. The support staff (Simon and KG) were talented, responsive, and kind. Simon was an excellent cook and went above and beyond with food presentation, flavoring, excellent portion sizes. We were never hungry nor thirsty. We saw 4 of the Big 5 and so many other animals. It was truly a visual buffet. Not sure we would've seen so much if it had not been for these gentlemen. If you go to Moremi, book with Shipungo and ask for Jack. And if you're a foodie, make sure to request Simon. We'd hire him to cater our wedding if we could.
NL
Email An | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good daySafari in Moremi Botswana
A fullday tour incluse breakfast en lunch to Moremi wildlife , is was a good price !
The guide looks also “off-road” for the animals and that’s why we saw 3 male Lions en 1 female Lion en a lot of other animals. It was our best not self driven daytrip in the 5 weeks that we cross by 4x4 cars in Namibië en Botswana.
Email Kieran McPherson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic, well organized, professional , knowledgeable and extremely friendly.
We originally booked this trip over three years ago pre covid and Mark from Shipungo kept in touch and updated during this time.
It has been well worth the wait it was an absolutely amazing experience. The four Shipungo staff that accompanied us were very knowledgeable helpful and fun. The food wasn’t good, it was amazing!
Would highly recommend Shipungo to anyone and would definitely use them again
Thank You Mark and your team.