Duba Explorers Camp — Hotel in North-West District

Unlike the other camps on my Botswana trip, I have no mixed feelings about Duba Explorers camp owned by Great Plains Conservation - IT WAS MISERABLE!!! Trust me…DO NOT give this company your business!!||||After my trip, I found out that right before I arrived, another person had so many issues at Duba, she asked to leave. But unlike me, she was allowed to return to Selinda Explorers (at no additional cost). Unfortunately, I was not allowed to leave despite repeatedly requesting after issues were repeatedly unresolved. The camp managers (there were two) never fixed any of the constant number of issues and harassment at Duba’s, and they refused to let me leave early with a refund, or go to another camp like they did for another dissatisfied guest just days before I arrived, they refused to provide me any refund or compensation for the camp’s repeated failure to provide the basic services for which I paid $12,220 for 4 days (just like the miserable Asilia Africa lodges I stayed at Mar 2023).||||This company is clearly too big to care about their clients - Great Plains Conservation has the worst employees and service out there - well, tied with Asilia Africa…. I’m still hopeful I’ll find a good one in Botswana - when I do, I’ll let you know. Until then, I can only recommend Kicheche (Kenya).||||Note: during my stay, I was only one of two other guests at the camp with 5 available tents; and Duba Explorers camp owned by Great Plains Conservation couldn’t get anything right… imagine how horrible things get during the busy season.||||Food:||every day was a horrible meal experience, they:||||- they ignored my dietary requests day 1- 4 and served me food I couldn’t eat or didn’t like to eat, or the opposite of what I ordered. These camps ask for a list of specific ingredients (can’t eat or don’t like) when I booked, then they completely ignored my list, and ignored in-person requests even after I repeatedly pointed out issues in their service.||||- couldn’t even manage eggs: I’d order 2 eggs over medium, and one would be over easy and slimy, the other over hard and rubbery - oddly, the two eggs were never cooked the same, and they couldn't get a single egg right, as I ordered my entire stay... I can cook better eggs, and I'm no chef.||||- served me the wrong items, minutes after I placed the order: on day 4 for breakfast, (note, I’m the ONLY guest at the camp) I asked the server for eggs, bacon, side of fruit, and a bowl of cereal with cold milk. 15mins later, I got a completely different order - eggs and bacon, and a parfait of yogurt, fruit and granola - even though yogurt’s on my ‘do not eat/serve’ list -- and despite having just ordered it directly from the incompetent server who didn’t quality control it before leaving the kitchen, besides that, the chef should have known by day 4 my list by heart - but they clearly didn’t care… again, imagine if you had a food allergy… this place can’t be bothered…they don’t care about their guests.||||- served me spoiled chocolate milk 2 days in a row -- they admitted they purposefully took it out of the refrigerator for hours before my safari and left it in the Botswana heat, knowing I had asked for ‘cold’ chocolate milk (vs hot cocoa)||||- packed hot milk in the thermos 2 days in a row for my cereal (safari breakfast) instead of cold milk, in addition to additional hot chocolate they packed in a thermos (which I prefer cold…see above…)||||- chef would fail to properly describe meals: every day chef would announce the dinner menu, based on the description, I’d pick something, but later they'd serve me something not as described - like with a different main ingredient that I wouldn’t have picked had I known. For instance one night, the chef rattled off two meat dishes and a vegetarian dish... but after a few nights of horrible meat mains, I went with the 'pea risotto' which sounded good, but it was actually 'coconut risotto, but green, and tasted nothing like farm fresh peas... it was like eating coconut curry without the sauce, which I wouldn't have ordered had he named/described it properly. The rice wasn't cooked right either... so big fail all around... I ordered eggs instead... and I had to do that almost every night....||||- despite being beautifully plated and visually appealing, dinners were awful - flavors were off, to the point of being unenjoyable/inedible||||- meat not properly cooked (meat, eggs), one night my steak was served practically raw (see pic) - not as ordered, but even if cooked properly it was such a bad cut of meat.. it was squishy = really cheap steak!!!)||||Sad when your best service and food while on vacation was on the plane ride to and from the camp...||||Guides:||- the managers refused my request, before I arrived, to give me a guide other than the girlfriend of the guide who harassed me at Selinda camp (see that review for more info). I was told that she was the best guide for me (so the other male guide there a jerk or an impatient guide? That could be the only reason…)||||- female was nice the first day then got passive aggressive - same issues as her boyfriend, surprise, surprise…||||- Day 3, I finally got a new guide at my travel agent’s insistence (though I had actually asked to leave the camp and be fully refunded). This guide was just off vacation and was much better than the female the first safari, but the next 3 safaris he kept falling asleep during at a lot of the stops||||- he didn’t care about the wildlife and would run them down, especially if they were in the shade. I had to repeatedly tell him that I wanted to film them where they stood/laid, not scared and scattered - idiot||||- he also repeatedly ignored my requests regarding areas (asked to go south to specific waterholes, he went east, far east; I had asked to stay on the reserve and he still tried to take me outside of it)||||- and as I was setting up my tripod outside of the jeep, he reached over and started manhandling and adjusting my tripod height without even asking - unbelievable!! As if he knows better than me what height to film at?! - and you don’t ever touch someone’s gear!||||Tents:||- inadequate bug netting; my bed covers, and inside the sheets were filled with live bugs, had to spray before bed, and try to air out before getting (very little) sleep, felt bugs crawling on me all night||||- nasty room attendant twice failed to replenish washcloths and instead just rehung my dirty washcloths on a hook after I left them on floor to be removed and cleaned - ones that I had used on my private bits! Ick!!||||- she also failed to clean dead bugs from general area in plain view my entire stay||||- they put me in the worst tent closest to the kitchen - the staff was soooo noisy for hours between safari (3 out of 5 tents are very close it)||||- broken fan, had to repeatedly ask the female manager to fix it - it was a small fan and completely inadequate since it was super hot there||||- not all outlets worked, hard to charge batteries in time for safaris||||Jeeps:||- Great Plains Conservation Duba’s Camp lied and said they “were fully booked” and I would have to pay $3,400 to get a private jeep, when I got there I was the only guest and obviously would have received my own jeep. Day 2, a pair arrived and we were the only guests my entire 4 days - so only 2 ‘groups’ for the 5 available tents||||- I asked the manager if I would have received my own jeep by default, and she said yes, because they always keep 2 jeeps in the camp, so they would have allowed each group to have a private jeep for free. Despite this and having recorded her saying this, Great Plains Conservation refused to refund me the $3,400 they charged me for a private jeep for 4 days (where as Selinda didn’t lie and didn’t charge me for the jeep)||||- electric outlets in jeep didn’t work||||Managers:||- a married passive aggressive couple, completely incompetent; failed to resolve any of the issues I brought to their attention||||- my guide told the male manager I had an issue with her taking me outside of the reserve, so he interrupted my dinner and mansplained the concept of safaris to me without even asking why I (politely) asked her not to take me outside of the reserve again. When I asked him to leave me to my dinner and we could discuss it later, he got pissed off, was verbally abusive and stormed off - I never saw him again||||- despite that, his wife repeatedly interrupted my meals to talk with me, even after I repeatedly asked her to wait until I was done dining. One lunch, between courses, she stopped by because “you’re done with lunch” and started talking to me again as I’m being served dessert…are you kidding me?! -- she kept disturbing what little peace I had to myself during that trip, and she never fixed anything… just harassed me further.||||- on my way out, I had a show time for the helicopter and had arranged a time 15mins prior to have someone pick up my bags. When they didn’t show, I radioed the female manager 2x and she said ‘they’re coming!’..so after 15mins longer of waiting, I had no choice and had to carry a total of 23kg from my tent to the main area. I passed by the manager and she just gave me a cold smile. Only the helo pilot offered to help me with them. I thought Aslia Africa was bad…I was so glad to leave this horrible camp and company… WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY AND VACATION TIME!!!||||So all I can do is warn all of you - avoid or go at your own risk - but there’s nothing so unique about this camp/company/travel agent and there are so many others to choose from, it's just not worth the risk to give them your business. Happy and...

We spent 3 wonderful nights at Duba Explorers Camp and we think it was our favorite. We awoke to lions roaring nearby, baboons howling and hippos splashing in the water below. From the porch of our lovely tented room, we could watch antelopes, warthogs and many storks and other birds close by. We saw so many animals- leopards, buffalo, lions, giraffes, hyenas, elephants, zebras, owls... The list goes on and on! Our guide, Paul, made every effort to see that our safari experience was a full one, took pains to help us get the best photos, share information about the animals' habits and was always conscious of our safety. He and Gift took us in the mokoro through the waterway which allowed us to experience the delta from a completely different viewpoint . Their soft conversations in Setswana, aided by the sounds of frogs and insects, created a lovely soundtrack for spectacular views of reeds, waterlilies, water birds and a full moon rise juxtaposed with the sunset. Everyone at Duba Explorers made us feel welcome, make sure we had the food we wanted (and did we!), and worked to create a memorable experience for us. We really appreciated Justin's efforts to bring people together during meals and encourage conversation without cell phones and other technologic interference. There is so much more I could say. Just going through the huge number of pictures and videos I have brings back so many wonderful memories. And I proudly wear my 111 Club hat -...

We had the most amazing stay at the Duba Explorers Camp. We booked for 7 nights but extended for another night. We were made to feel so welcome by the entire staff. A big shout out to Mots our magnificent guide who took us on fantastic adventures every time we left the camp. Every meal was a delight and beautifully presented on the plate. Thanks François and your wonderful staff. Thanks also for arranging our meals at different locations in camp. Always a delightful surprise and stunningly set up. The front of house staff were very attentive to our every need (thanks for always having my lemon ready for my water). The tents themselves are beautifully appointed and the huge bed was so comfortable. Waking up to the views and sounds of the animals in front of our tent was so relaxing. It was wonderful to have our laundry done daily and the tent was always clean and set up wonderfully. We absolutely enjoyed our evening drinks around the fire chatting with Ron, Alexandra, Michelle and Gerhard. Your managers are a credit to your company. Their passion for the camp, their staff and their guests was exemplary. A shout out to the staff at the office in Maun who also helped us with the next leg of our trip. We truly cannot recommend Duba Explorers highly enough. Put it on your...