Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris
Kwando Reserve Maun, Kwando Concession NG14 Botswana
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#1 of 2 Specialty lodging in Kwando Concession NG14
Location
4.8
Cleanliness
4.7
Service
4.6
Value
4.5
Lagoon is perched on the banks of the wild Kwando River, nestled beneath towering ebony and marula trees. The heavily forested site is home to a wide variety of birds and mammals, while elephant and hippo are normally visible from the camp. The stunning views and close proximity of wildlife all contribute to the pervading sense of calm at Lagoon. The Kwando Reserve has a well-earned reputation for big game and large herds of elephant and buffalo, especially in the winter months, when herds of up to a thousand are not uncommon. This vast concentration of game attracts the attention of large predators. The Lagoon wild dog pack regularly den close to the camp and the excellent viewing opportunities have led to Lagoon's reputation as the place to see wild dog in Botswana. Seasonally large herds of elephant drink at the river bank near to the camp in full view of the main deck, while playful spotted - necked otters are commonly seen performing in the water.
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Property amenities
Pool
Outdoor pool
Free breakfast
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Free airport transportation
Airport transportation
Laundry service
Breakfast buffet
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Non-smoking rooms
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We had been waiting to go to Lagoon Camp for over 2 years due to Covid delays and it was everything I had ever dreamed of during all that wait. Lagoon was the first stop of a three stop trip to Botswana and Victoria Falls and it was the perfect introduction to this magical part of the world. From the moment of arrival the staff is welcoming and kind and I love the moist towels for cleaning up that appear at every return to camp. The camp is sited right on the river and hippo and antelope and elephants can be watched right from camp - one of my requests in setting up the trip. The rooms are really luxurious and well appointed. We loved hearing the hippos call to each other in the night, and the elephants chomping the grass nearby. Kwando's guide and tracker system is truly excellent and makes sure that you can see everything and anything that is going on. Our guide Matt was so knowledgeable and willing to share it all with us and, together with our tracker Kern, did an amazing job including finding lions in the night and tracking leopard and making sure we had an amazing time. The kit they pull out for coffee stops in the morning and for sun downers at night is amazingly well designed and made us feel so wonderfully lucky to be in this truly amazing spot. Matt was excellent at pulling around so that the best photos could be taken in the wonderful early and late light, with the amazing December clouds we had heard about. The meals at the camp, including breakfast around the fire, brunch, tea and dinner were all really good - much better than I had maybe thought, with great variety and nice local twists. And we loved that the guides sit with the guests at meals. We learned so much! Thank you to everyone there. I wish we had had more nights at Lagoon, as I really loved the river setting and would have loved to try some of the boating and fishing that were offered, but we could not resist the game drives. I really cannot fault anything about Lagoon and just now need to try to figure out how and when I can go back!…
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Date of stay: December 2022
Value
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Room Tip: The schedule at Kwando camps is full - be prepared and make the most of your rest time. Using...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Safari camps are like cars, there is a make and model for everyone. Lagoon is more of a basic, closer to the old fashioned outposts. They will do laundry but not socks or underwear, what you probably need most. They provide laundry detergent by the basin to do your own. No AC but room safes. There were more insects than encountered elsewhere especially first day. No mosquito nets on the beds. Food is served family style at a long table under a roof. The bar is self serve if no staff is handy. The people at every level were nice, accommodating and friendly. It is a part of the Kalahari so the roads are a bit rough and the temperatures can be high. But the landscape is varied and beautiful. The sightings are plentiful. The river adds an element you don’t get everywhere. They also have a river boat cruise which passes lots of hippos. Very restful compared to the roads.…
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
+1
This was the last of the 3 camps we stayed in on this trip, and was our favourite . We drove from another camp and swapped vehicles to join our guide Matt and spotter Kelbi and within 2 minutes they spotted a Martial Eagle that we had wanted to see and this set the stage for the rest of the trip. We loved the setting of lagoon camp far more rustic than the others and with all the lodges set by the river with outdoor balconies. We were in lodge 9 the last in the line which had great views across the river and grasslands. Had an amazing outdoor shower where we watched so much wildlife from hippos, elephants to our first ever sighting of a cerval. Breakfast is taken around a campfire, lunch and dinner around a big table in a dining area , and afternoon tea around the bar area. This was also a popular spot in the evening where guests met before dinner to talk about the day. The camp offers game drives in the morning and afternoon/ early evening . Like the other camps vehicles can go off road which meant we could track big cats and follow the actions of a hunt. There was a wide range of wildlife here , from birds, mammals and reptiles. Our guide was very knowledgable and also told us a lot about Botswana and its history. Kjbi was an expert guide both from the vehicle and on foot tracking cats. The most incredible moment was watching a pride of 19 lions hunting a warthog, where our hearts were in our mouths, before we watched a group of sleeping pussycats turn into killers in an instant. It was exciting , horrific but so compelling to watch at such close contact . They also offer a boat trip on the river , where we got a close up view of carmine bee-eaters feeding their young. On another day the camp provided us with a lovely lunch on the boat as we returned to the camp. The camp had a lovely friendly relaxed vibe, great staff , and the food was the best that we had on our trip , good quality and very varied menu. Highly recommend this camp…
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Date of stay: November 2022
Rooms
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Service
Room Tip: Chalet 9 , Furthest from the main camps but amazing wildlife views from the outdoor shower
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Beautiful setting right on the Zambezi river. We could hear the hippos chatting all night. First class accomodations. Guides rico and James found us so much to see and experience. I liked my first camp spalsh camp but the land at this one blew me away
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Date of stay: September 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
We stayed at Lagoon Camp for 4 nights. What an spectacular experience between the game drives, the location (right on the river), the staff, the food--all top of the line. Our guide was G, who was knowledgeable, clear, calm and went out of his way to ensure our safety and enjoyment. And we saw a lot of game! Amazing! Thank you Kay and AT for your help; hope we can visit again! We so appreciate your professionalism & hospitality.
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Date of stay: September 2022
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
+1
Just returned from our stay at Lagoon. There are no words that properly describe our experience. Our Guide "G" and Tracker James were expertly trained in tracking all of the majestic animals we encountered. "G" was so knowledgable of the habitat and nature of these animals. We loved these guys. The Staff were so accommodating and graciously made us feel welcomed. Our tent overlooked the magnificent lagoon. We were welcomed by a hippo just offer deck. The animal & bird sounds during the evening created a wonderful relaxing feeling through the night. The food was delicious and they were very kind to cater to my husbands dietary needs at each meal. August -Sept was a perfect time to visit. The temps were cool in the morning for our 6:30am drives (55 that warmed to 85 ). The evening drives 4:30pm started our warm (80 and ended around 75 degrees). No bugs or mosquitos Animal Sighting: elephants, giraffes, leopards, impalas, kudos, antelopes, water buffalo, zebras, warthogs, baboons, jackal, wildebeest, steenbok, lions & colorful African birds Our Sundowners (Botswana Happy Hour) took place in the bush during sunset. Truly amazing evening experience Victoria Falls to Botswana - it was a 1 hr drive to the border where we met another drive who took us to Kasane Airport (about 20 mins) for our Bush Flight. What an amazing experience as we flew over the delta. It was an exciting 50 min flight to the Kwando air strip. Cue the herd of elephants!!!on the road to the camp. On our last night in camp the entire staff entertained us after dinner with music & song. It was awesome. Random thoughts: Don't obsess about wearing/buying "safari" clothing but definitely be prepared to dress in layers. Laundry daily if you need it. I brought a portable clothes line as they do not was underwear or socks. NO WIFI which was WONDERFUL. Electric was Type M We moved on to Kwando Splash Camp which we found to be a "little" less accommodating. See my review DO NOT hesitate to book this Kwando camp. We highly recommend it.…
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Date of stay: August 2022
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Room Tip: We specifically asked for a tent close to the main lodge which was really helpful.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Lovely stay at Lagoon Camp. We were made to feel so welcome by everyone who worked at the camp. Stunning views with amazing sun rises and sunsets. Spencer our guide was so knowledgeable about the area and we had fantastic game drives especially the one following the wild dogs. Quite an experience. Spencer is highly recommended and a credit to Kwando, also our tracker Kern deserves a special mention as he spotted some amazing animals. We would definitely return here.
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Date of stay: July 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
This was our first camp on our trip around Botswana & it far exceeded our expectations. Everything was excellent - our guide G & tracker/spotter James, accommodation, food, service & welcoming & friendliness of all the staff. The boat trip on the river was a lovely change to the normal sundowner evening game drive.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Right from your bath, bed and balcony you've got a great lagoon view with hippos.elephants,lechwe...passing by. This was the most authentic camp and safari experience and the " real African feeling". What a gift to have Rico as our guide ! Together with Vinny he showed us wildlife beyond expectations. The shy sabelantilope up close, aardwolf, African kangaroo, all the big cats and of course the more common species. Every time Rico goes all the way to be sure you've got the best picture. The second evening we saw 2 cheethas . When everyone went back to camp Rico decided to stay, he predicted us they would go hunting. The wild and spectacular jeepride following them through the water and actually see them catching a lechwe was like being in a National Geographic docu. Highlight of our 7 travels in Africa !! We want to thank all the friendly people at Lagoon (also the ones behind the scenes). Food was great. One thing we missed was our wake up coffee and biscuits as we got in all other camps. Thanks for the memorable stay !!…
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Date of stay: July 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Versus our other Kwando experiences this camp failed to hit the mark on a number of levels. The rooms are of a good standard, well appointed and overlooking the river which makes for a wonderful setting. The staff and service, however, were not near the high standards of the other camps - to us it all seemed a bit off and unprofessional. I am also afraid to say that our guide was the worst we have had in 15 years of travelling to Africa. Lagoon was not his home turf and it showed, but it ran beyond that into attitude and interest in us as guests. "Birds and other stuff" is not a good answer to a question about what we might see if we go to a particular area! Since we had also paid a significant premium for a private vehicle we found this doubly unforgivable. The list of unnecessary niggles goes on and they simply shouldn't happen in a lodge like this. Somebody needs to come in and give this camp a wake up call and a serious refresh imo. The viewing here is pretty challenging with dense thicket that makes tracking and spotting more difficult, although more guests arriving helped with eyes on the lookout. A leopard sighting was the highlight. We could not recommend based upon our experience.…
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Date of stay: July 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
ALSO KNOWN AS
kwando lagoon camp hotel chobe national park
LOCATION
BotswanaNorth-West DistrictKwando Concession NG14
NUMBER OF ROOMS
8
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Frequently Asked Questions about Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris
What are some of the property amenities at Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free breakfast, a pool, and an on-site restaurant.
What food & drink options are available at Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Does Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris have airport transportation?
Yes, Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris offers airport transportation for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Does Lagoon Camp - Kwando Safaris have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the river view available here.