Travel reviews by safari lovers from UK

"Excellent overnight stop in Lusaka . Funky fun and friendly. Comfortable, large rooms and bathroom.

Good staff and food ."

"Loved Mwamba Bushcamp. V well run by enthusiastic and knowledgeable Emma and her team .

The accomdation is being upgraded for next season although it didn’t really need it in our opinion. The outside bathroom /shower area is super .

Food fresh and delicious .

Yoram was our guide here and then at Kaingo so he got to know us well and we learned so much . His ability to find leopard was so good! We walked with him as well as game drives and also walked between camps on transfer day ."

"We loved the relaxed efficiency and comfort of Kaingo .

It felt like an upmarket bush camp but not over the top ! Everyone so friendly and engaging.

Location superb with great views of the river from our room ( and the outside bath)

I must comment on the food here - Cath has been the executive chef for 9 years and the menus she creates are really delicious and fresh .

Shenton Safaris have their own veg plot in Mfuwe so have ready access to fresh veg , herbs etc. This was a real treat and much appreciated. Mwamba also benefits from the plot .

We loved combining this camp with Mwamba - and walking between the two was quite special ."

"Chiawa is seemlessly run by a large team, a number of whom welcome you on arrival by boat .

We were initially a little overwhelmed by the size , ( more hotel feel ) but the staff are so good at remembering everyone’s names that we quickly felt they provided a very personalised service .

Lovely surprises kept happening - I won’t mention them , then future guests can be surprised too .

They guide differently here - depending on what activity you choose , you have a different guide who specialises in certain activities. You don’t therefore build up a relationship with any one guide . Having said that they were all very good and delightful people .

Rooms were fabulous- loved the ‘wallow’ . Helpful to cool down a little in the extremely high temperatures.

Food was good although we felt offering hot soup every evening was not a good choice . A cold soup would have been much better if they feel 4 courses is necessary."

"Arrived by boat from Chiawa , nice welcome by Maddy & Mark who have been managing the camp for 5 years .

Really nice reed / tented rooms right on river edge . Outdoor bathing watching the eles and hippos in Zambezi a real treat .

Maddy obviously takes great pride in the menus - food was delicious.

Elephants wandering through camp very regularly and also wallowing close by in the Zambezi .

Our guide was Luckson , a delightful man gently spoken , full of knowledge, and a very good communicator. We walked with him twice and learned so much .

We had two nights here and would have loved another !"

"Excellent one night stop . Lovely friendly helpful staff, nice spacious rooms and tasty food."

"Mundulea is a truly authentic bush camp

Bruno is the passionate , highly knowledgable , owner and guide who taught us so much about the bush through the guided walks that we did with him .

He also cooked delicious meals from the bush kitchen - the oven is a modified fire extinguisher that sits on hot coals."

"We enjoyed being based at Onguma, just outside Etosha NP. Our rondavel was very comfortable and well equipped.

Minor issue with hot water for the shower which they did try and fix but it remained very sporadic.

Spacious camp with nice variety of seating areas. Pool lovely .

Tasty food. Lovely friendly staff.

We did the evening drive in the reserve which was ok but really not a lot to see."

"Loved this very spacious quite large camp for its gardens and location on the river. Accommodation well spread out - individual large and comfortable rooms.

An excellent one night stop at the western end of the Capriviv strip.

We did the evening sundowner cruise - the guide was not available so the assistant camp manager took us . He knew nothing about the wildlife . The setting sun made for some lovely photos.

Food was self service buffet. Big choice and very tasty."

"We felt this camp was overrated . There was no obvious management in charge - the few staff that we did interact with were seriously multitasking.

The rooms are very nice with a huge floor to ceiling windows facing the river, difficult to actually see the river because of the dense foliage.

The communal areas are cramped. It had a feel of being mildly run down - glasses /plates not very clean etc.

The lunch we had on arrival was a very uninspiring salad. Dinner was considerably better.

Having just been quite critical they did very kindly leave a bottle of sparking wine in our room and also a few candles in the pudding, and sang to me.

We did the sunset and also sunrise boat trip. Guide was pleasant but not necessarily forth coming with his information."

"Loved every aspect of this camp. Couldn't fault it in any way. Management and staff all excellent.

Our guide for 4 days was Alphius- a lovey knowledgable guide.

Fabulous spacious tented room. Loved the high walkways - elephants came through the camp one evening and we were able to observe them silently from above, we were so close to them.

Delicious food - all meals.

We visited The Sijwa Project which I would highly recommend.

Would love to return again one day."

"Very glad we booked a couple of nights here. It's the location that is particularly interesting - on Rupara Island . We drove south with the guide through the island to reach the Linyanti Marshes where we hopped on a boat for a really wonderful cruise through the marshes for about 1 1/2 hrs. Eles (from Botswana side) came to drink. many birds etc. Beautiful scenery. We were away from camp about 6 hrs - its called the combo tour. Absolutely worth it.

Simone the manager was very engaging and knowledgable.

Tasty food."

"Fabulous camp in the Selinda Spillway. Very professionally run by an excellent team of friendly knowledgeable people. We were so well looked after -felt like royalty !

Food very good indeed.

We liked the fact that breakfast is taken out on the morning drive to be eaten somewhere special in the bush. This meant we didn't have to come back to camp until 1130/12 depending on sightings.

We had 6 lions walk through camp one morning - a really special sighting.

Tents very comfortable. We were fortunate in having our guide to ourselves for our whole stay. This enabled us to choose our own itinerary ,sit and watch birds at waterholes for unlimited time.

We had a very special bush breakfast cooked by Otti the head chef - memories are made of this. Loved flying in and out of the camp - the scenery from the air is magnificent. You realise how vast the wilderness.

We really hope to return again and see the area at a different time of year, when more of the Spillway is full."

"A really magical place for total relaxation. Arriving by helicopter flying over the stunningly turquoise sea was a wonderful start to 5 days in this very special place. The staff were welcoming friendly professional and kind. I was unsure about having a private butler but he was so kind and appropriate that there was no problem. We ate delicious local food (particularly seafood ) either at the restaurant or at our villa, or on the beach (depending on where your butler chose). A lot of effort went in to the location and setting of your table for dinner.
The accommodation was spacious comfortable and so private, we loved having our own infinity pool and direct access on to the deserted beach.
The tidal range is huge so the beach scenery changes all the time.
We had good snorkelling at three different ;locations - all involving a boat trip which we loved because you got to see more of the area. The 2 Mile reef "Aquarium" was spectacular."

"Great over night stop. Comfy clean, great location and more than adequate restaurant- breakfast buffet good. Added bonus of pool."

"We spent one night at Rhino Post safari lodge then two at the Plains Bush camp form where we did the walking.
The walking was excellent - we were lucky to see rhino, elephant and lion. We also loved spending time in the sandy river bed identifying animal and bird tracks. It was exceedingly hot (42 degrees)
The canvas tents were comfy and well equipped.
The staff were so kind and engaging."

"Loved this small boutique hotel situated in the Hoedspruit Wildlife Reserve.
Large, very comfortable rooms, well equipped. Nice pool , super sundowners tower.
Excellent food, and very nice spa.
Staff all lovely."

"This is such a unique place set right in the vineyards with stunning views of Franschhoek.
The Vineyard Garden Suites have been revamped since we were last there and have been done really beautifully.
Delicious food served either on the terrace or at your suite.
There were various staffing issues going on , which didn't affect us much but was causing concern to other guests.
Staff training seemed to be the problem."

"We self catered in one of the Vlei Cottages. There are lots of accommodation options (mostly without S/C facilities).
We loved having our own space and braii area, rather than eating at the restaurant. The cottage was well equipped and comfortable.Charmingly old fashioned.
You do need to be organised and take all your food with you ( there is nothing to buy on site except firewood)
We tried most of the guided activities, including going to see the endangered Cape Vulture colony, and also the interpretative marine walk . Both of which were excellent.
It's a remote, wild area of fynbos, wildlife, vast sand dunes, beautiful beaches and the brackish Vlei, all of which makes for great birding."

"Very pleasant and comfortable stay.

Pleasant surroundings and helpful staff."

"Would highly recommend staying here because of its location within the National Park, thus allowing access before and after the gates shut. It really is worth the money. We visited Big Daddy with the guide at sunrise before any other tourists arrived. (It takes about an hour from the lodge, and probably an extra 20 mins approx on top of that if you are coming from the gate). The area of Sossusvlei is absolutely stunning particularly when you can see it before the masses arrive, and they do. It looked very different when we left because of the number of cars, minibuses, buses etc.

The lodge itself is spacious with the lovely individual villas really well spaced along walkways. They are very generous in size and all have magnificent views, and were very comfortable. Small pool which was appreciated in the stifling heat.

Food slightly variable. OK but not a highlight.

Staff mostly lovely."

"Excellent two night stay here. We were upgraded to a seaview room on request which we appreciated. Very comfortable, tastefully decorated and nicely equipped.

Spa was an unexpected surprise. Arranged a treatment at short notice, which was of good quality.

Ate at the seafood restaurant both nights and thoroughly enjoyed both meals. Delicious food and very nice welcoming staff.

Nice location, easy to find."

"This rather unusual looking camp perched on top of a rocky outcrop, has been cleverly designed to make full use of the stunning views. The individual villas/chalets are huge and comfortable and well spaced.
Very welcoming pool set into the rocks.

We were the only people staying so we were wonderfully looked after by the staff who had time to chat to us, which of course gives the tourist a small insight into their lives. We were sung to, both nights by the staff choir who sang beautifully. Actually we were sung to on arrival and departure as well.

On our second night they went to enormous trouble to set up a bush supper for us. We felt like royalty with all the attention.

Our guide was Stephen and we spent three excellent nature drives with him. We spent significant time with a herd of desert elephants who we followed along the riverbed. An absolute highlight for us, so much to learn about them. We then caught up with them again in the later afternoon about 40kms further on. We are interested in birds too so stopped regularly to identify some new ones for us."

"The location of Grootberg Lodge is really magnificent. It must have one of the best views of any lodge we have stayed at anywhere.

The rooms have the same views (being perched on the cliff edge). They are compact but comfortable. No power in room but masses of charging points in a cupboard in the main building.

We had pre-booked the rhino tracking and spent a full bone shaking day with guide Dessie and trackers Joseph & Jacob.

It took serious tracking skills to find a male black rhino. We personally didn't actually have to walk far at all. We also went to the anti-poaching camp and chatted to the policeman which was interesting.
Saw mountain zebra, lots of giraffe, oryx, and large ele herd at end of day.

Good staff all employed from the local community. They sang to us every night which we loved."

"We booked a premium waterhole chalet for its location - being able to watch the floodlit waterhole during the night from our balcony/bed. It is ideal for this, although in fact it was very quiet both nights. The chalet is a large two story building with one bedroom upstairs looking onto balcony and waterhole. Big ensuite shower and loo. Downstairs is second bedroom with ensuite shower. Staircase is totally open and doesn't have a bannister for the first few steps so is not suitable for young children.

It is worth noting that these chalets are not self catering in anyway . They have a fridge, kettle, couple of wine glasses and coffee cups. No utensils. We had mistakingly thought they were so had brought some provisions. The camp shop was very poorly stocked but this may have been more to do with the effects of the impending Covid restrictions.

You can self cater/ braai at the other accommodation types away from the waterhole.

Camp has three nice pools and large restaurant set around it. Meals are all buffet style with good choice and quality. Our chalet booking included breakfast. Staff on the whole were pleasant and helpful. Although they sell WIFI vouchers it rarely worked."

"The highlight of our trip even though we only spent 18 hours there! ( had three nights booked but had to leave after one because of imminent lockdown )

Bruno has huge knowledge and experience of everything Namibian, which he passionately shares. Mundulea is his reserve which he established more than 20 years ago, and has gradually reintroduced native animals and carried out bush restoration.

The camp is a proper bush camp with all food cooked on an open fire by Tommy who is Bruno's right hand man. We plan to return as soon as we can to spend more time walking in the bush with Bruno."

"Delightful camp , feels deep in the delta ! Staff all welcoming and friendly and working well as a team . The cultural evening held on Mondays was a joyous musical memorable time in the boma. They all love singing and dancing . I know they do it every Monday but they really seemed to enjoy doing it .

Tents very comfortable and we enjoyed our walkway to it . Food delicious and again the chefs took pride in their work. Tables all looked so attractive in the evenings with lots of effort put in the the napkin designs which we all loved

Our guide Onks was delightful , patient , knowledge and good fun . We loved our mokoro trips with him and Brendan the poler. We were very lucky with a leopard sighting and also many birds . We knew it was not an area for lots of big mammals.
Re water levels , although we were there in the rainy season the big rains that fall in Angola and take many months to reach the further reaches of the delta had not arrived so water levels were still low . ie the huge lagoon I front of our tent was totally dry .
There was enough for the mokoros but not the boats. We therefore had the majority of the game viewing in the jeeps .
Because Xigera is advertised as a water camp we probably expected more water based activities. Having said that I know water levels /climate can be unpredictable. We chatted lots to the guides about the best times to come for a truly water experience and it's June July time .

Having made the mistake / misunderstanding 2 yrs ago when we stayed at Sandibe and there was no water for mokoros at all then and we were a bit disappointed we had hoped to get it right this time . I think it would be really helpful in your literature if you explained clearly the different seasons and what you can expect in each one . My mistake this time was assuming that the rainy season would mean masses of water, but actually it all fills up later on.
No problem really , we will just have to return later in the season for the really water experience!!"

"Little Kwara is a lovely little camp , well situated and nicely run . Staff welcoming , they don't wear name badges tho ( Kwando policy) which is a shame because it's really not easy to remember everyone's names . I think you can have a better relationship / experience if you know names ( even if you are reading them !!) .

We paid for a private guide and had Duks who was extremely knowledgable on all aspects of flora and fauna of the delta. We learned a huge amount from him . A great sense of humour too. We spent 12 1/2 hrs in the jeep one day tracking a family of cheetah learning to hunt !! . A picnic lunch was brought out to us in the bush which was a real treat while waiting for action from the cheetah. Chester was our tracker and he and Duks made a great team for us. It's the first time in many safaris that we have paid for a private guide and it was absolutely worth it .

My only negative of the camp ( which I said on the Kwando questionnaire) was that there was always a pressure to sit down and get the meal over and done with as quickly as possible . All a bit unrelaxing and unnecessary . We have not experienced this in any other camps. I appreciate the staff want to get finished but actually it was a bit irritating . The pre meal drinks and chat round the bar area really didn't exist and the plates were cleared so quickly from the table. A small point really but I think worth mentioning.

We loved being on the boat and also mokoros , a nice change from the game drives and the opportunity to see other things."

"A magical camp , efficiently run by delightful staff who make the whole experience very personal. Our guide Ezra and his driver Kharida were superb. We had asked for a senior guide and we were not disappointed. Everyday we chose to have our breakfast in the bush so our morning drives were at least 6 hrs. This was obviously a fantastic advantage enabling us to cover large distances to see game and giving us time to sit and watch animal behaviour. We learned a tremendous amount from Ezra and he was a delightful enthusiastic person to spend 8 plus hours a day. We found being on the river a great treat and loved the two boat trips we did. They gave a different perspective and a change from the drives.

The camp staff were so attentive and made such a special effort to help us celebrate our daughters graduations ( reason for trip !) . They arranged surprise sundowners (gave us a bottle of bubbly) at a magical location that we reached by boat. At dinner one evening the waiters sang a traditional Swahili welcome song and brought a cake to the table.

That evening our table location was away from the restaurant down near the water and we were kept company by bush babies and civet cats. It's hard to describe the atmosphere on paper. It was magical."

"We enjoyed 4 very relaxing days here after being in Selous on safari. It is owned and run by the delightful Elise and Ralph who are so welcoming and involved in the day to day running of the lodge. They have a great team who work for them.

There is a dive centre on site which we made good use of - snorkelling , day sailing on a dhow out to a tiny island ( sand spit really !) for lunch and great snorkelling. The visit to the local village was a fascinating insight into real life on Zanzibar ."

"Fabulous place, slightly quirky. Lovely staff, fab accomodation, challenging game viewing because of extremely dry conditions but fantastic guide esp for birding.Geographically a very interesting area of Botswana, well worth a visit."

"Really enjoyed our two nights here, crammed alot in. Well run by Jonothan and Kate.

The time spend with the meerkats was fantatstic as was the Bushman experience. I had thought it might all be a bit touristy but it really is not and infact is so informative.

Being on the Pans was incredible, like nowhere else. Literally miles of nothingness!!"

"A wonderful camping experience in the bush (with a v decent comfy bed !). THe team were excellent in every respect. They clearly work as a team to ensure guest satisfaction. We saw SO much game and Morgan our guide was so patient and knowledgable.

Food was totally delicious considering the oven is a tin box over the camp fire."

"A very special camp on the edge of the Delta. Wondefully knowledgable, attentive staff, nothing was too much trouble. Having elephants pass through the camp within a few feet of your table is v exciting/special.

Only minor disappointment was that because of water levels and v active hippos, mokoros were not possible. Had we understood that this might be an issue , we might have booked a camp deeper in the Delta, where mokoros are always available. We put this down to our lack of knowlwedge of the Delta even though we had done alot of reading. I suggest that ExpertAfrica makes sure potential clients understand this.

Basically Sandibe is not the right camp if you really want mokoro excursions. (which we did!!). We will just have to go back to the Delta one day !!."

"Good recommendation. Excellent location. Actually nicer atmosphere than Vic Falls Hotel which, when we visited for a drink was crammed with bus parties.

Menu also good for two nights dinner"