Thamalakane River Lodge

I would give the management, staff, rooms and the food a 10/out of 5! They do more and go above and beyond! Traveling with a group of 18 guests and for our 8th day on the road, fresh from Namibia, we arrived here and stayed for two nights. Best two nights of the trip so far! We will be back with our next groups!

Firstly this is a nice property. The chalets are pleasant if a little tight and dark. The staff (Kelly was a great host) were also great and very friendly. However the main issue is that it is very expensive for what you get. We had stayed in other lodges in Botswana and we realised that when compared with other properties and their offerings (including the extent of the breakfasts), this is an expensive stay. When we were there, the pool was also under refurbishment and we could not use it.

Maun us very hot, it ran 38C - 40C during our 4 days there. The cabins badly need air conditioning.

Spacious lodge on the riverside with resident hippos and plenty of birdlife. Rooms clean and authentic with ensuite facilities. Fan for cooling with balcony overlooking river. Food and service excellent, pool refreshing but a bit small with just 8 sun loungers. A thoroughly enjoyable stay.

We stayed 1 night here as a layover ahead of our trip into the Okavango Delta. We had read very nothingy things about Maun so ensured we just had the one night there. On arrival here though, we said how it would have been nice to have had a couple of nights! The lodge is on the riverside and we had a lovely view of the river from our bedroom and from the restaurant. Sound of hippos and the sunset were a beautiful start to our Botswana trip. The rooms are really nicely presented, have the amenities required and we’re comfortable. There’s no aircon, but this should be expected if you’re spending time in Botswana lodges - they all strive to be eco, and aircon is not eco! It’s set outside of the ‘town’ and is quiet, slightly better signage along the sandy track would be ideal for self driving as we tried to pull into private property initially, but then again, if you’re self-driving any of Africa you’ll come to expect a few wrong turns, and this one was very easily rectified! Food was tasty and plentiful, we enjoyed a couple of alcoholic bevvies which weren’t overly priced. All in all, very happy with our stay. I knocked 1 star off as I felt it was a little more expensive when comparing to alternative similar properties, but we would stay again despite this.

Stayed two nights to sleep in & relax after two weeks on safari. Nice, private bungalos on the river. Perfect choice for kicking back. Be sure to arrange airport shuttle pickup before you arrive or it could be an hour or more wait. We would stay there again.

Lodge was super quaint, food good and view of river amazing … hippos right in front of your lodge … was amazing. The staff did a song and dance after the meal at dinner which was fun … all seemed genuinely happy to be there and were all very helpful. Solid lodge, don’t hesitate to book