Reviews of holidays to Shore of Lake Malawi

"A brilliant holiday.

We wanted a mix of safari and relaxation which was exactly what we got. The choice of Kaingo and Mwawba was perfect given my interest in photography and really is a top quality location. On reflection we should have spent more time there - 4 days at each would have been good but that was our fault as we only wanted 6 days on safari we will know better next time.

Pumulani was lovely but 7 nights was a bit long, 4 would have been ideal.

All the connections and transfers worked well and the level of service in both locations was really good.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not that I can think of." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari

"Great holiday in that Pam knew what to expect.

The last two Lodges might have disappointed others who expected more and had researched less.

Malawi was disturbingly poverty stricken and food aid was obvious everywhere.

Lake Malawi is dropping alarmingly and one good rainy season will not be enough to restore the lake. What happens to the tourist business if the lake drops another metre from the September 2016 level does not bear thinking about." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Malawi trip

"Expert Africa is truly expert and the organisation was exemplary. Everything ran like clockwork with no glitches and the attention to detail was astounding - at no time were we left unsupported throughout the entire booking process and the trip itself.

We were also very impressed with Robin Pope Safaris - each of their lodges was very different tin feel but shared the same ethos and attention to detail. The guiding was particularly good in all the camps." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari

"Claire Scott arranged our second trip to Malawi. She organised all that we had wished for.

How fortunate to see three leopards while visiting Chelinda, the trip was made!! A challenging first week walking the Livingstonia Trail. Great fun, wilderness & sense of achievement. Cannot praise the staff enough.

My heart is lost in Tongole a very special place. Enjoyed all our other accommodations too. A real comfort to see Abasie our driver from our previous trip, we were right at home! All in all another very successful trip. Thank you." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Malawi trip

"Excellent" Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 4 on a Malawi trip

"We thought "one more trip to Africa", then we can cross this destination off the "bucket list"

Expert Africa offered a personalised service and thorough knowledge of the areas we visited. All the arrangements went smoothly and the recommendation we were given turned out to be very suitable. The game viewing more than met our expectations, and we surprised ourselves by how much insight we gained into the lives of the locals in both Zambia and Malawi.

This will NOT be our last visit to Africa!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"We very much appreciated being helped by travel agents who have intimate knowledge of the regions they are supporting. Thank you to Ellie for her always good advice on picking locations for the family and having a good sense on when, where and for how long to travel.

It is amazing how all the pieces nicely worked together without us having to inquire." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"An amazing two week journey round Malawi. City, lake, wilderness & missions. Thanks to Expert Africa - Not Mission Impossible but Mission Achievable!!

A very great big thanks goes to Claire Scott, my contact who took on board what I thought was a massive ask & querie into what I was aiming to achieve. Having explained four of five main locations I wanted to visit in Malawi & why, Claire set about making & suggesting a plan for me. My quest was to visit locations in Malawi that my great grandfather had pursued over a hundred & thirty years ago in the late eighteen hundreds.

In 1888 William Murray had set out as a young man of 22, from the Highlands of Scotland, to pursue a vocation of working in the Mission field in Central Africa. The first location that I was aware he worked at was Bandawe. Others included Livingstonia, Kota Kota, Kasunga & Mombera to name a few.

Claire set about making a plan suggesting flights, airports, accommodation and transportation. Within a few days she returned to me with a plan that certainly encompassed as much as I could fit in with the time available.
The trip was set in motion! As we reached nearer our departure date Claire contacted me regarding seeking information from Malawiean sources. Sources in Malawi had offered to help me find information on the Hisotrical Missions, if I was interested. I was over the moon. This proved very worth while. I met with Dora & Mike from Mandala House, in Blantyre (the Society of Malawi) I spent a morning with them and shared photos & information. This was a positive start to our Mission adventure.

All our accommodation on our trip was unique to their locations and varied in style & facilities. Frank & I enjoy meeting people and try to accommodate all activities where possible when we travel. Was it luck or what?? Everywhere we visited we met new & interesting people - staff & guests. Had fun, enjoyment and companionship in all activities.

Our driver from Central African Wilderness Safaris - Abassie was a real gentleman. Patient, attentive to our needs & wishes. He delivered us to all locations on the schedule & squeezed a few more in, while en route to destinations. We valued his local knowledge & connections with people. Although we learned loads from him, I do believe he also learned from the 'journey' & information we had taken along.

Our 'journey' took in all the locations we aimed to cover. Arriving in Livingstonia was the end of our journey but also the most important to me. We met with the librarian & estate manager of Livingstonia Mission(arranged by Abassie I asume). Both provided us with a guided tour, history lesson & a hilariously enjoyable morning. Finding a photo of my Great grandfather with Dr Robert Laws in one of the museum displays in the Stone House was the height of happiness for me. The rounding up of a long, searching journey. Ah!

Now, I have a lot of correspondence to catch up with everyone in Malawi who assisted with my search.

Our trip also provided some holiday time too. The treat part was to visit Tongole Wilderness Lodge and what a treat. Aswel as enjoying the visit from the local elephants, everyone & everything about Tongole was just brilliant.

Expert Africa provided well organised travel information, assistance with my specific reason to travel & a very caring, helpful Claire Scott - thank you so much!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Malawi trip

"All arrangements worked as clockwork (except one seat reservation of one leg of the flights but that was soon sorted out).

Lovely to be met at all stages of the journey, and thank you Ellie and Martha for all your help." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Very good - excellent game drives and walks, superb and knowledgeable guiding, excellent accommodation in wonderful situations with efficient and attentive staff. Combining a visit to spectacular Victoria Falls with two safari locations worked very well for us. The overall trip went without a hitch and we were very impressed with the way all our internal transfers were handled seamlessly by RPS's support staff on the ground. It has left us with lots of great memories." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari