Travel reviews by Ms T from San Francisco

"Acorn House was a wonderful place to start my trip. Since I was recovering from my long journey from the US, I loved that I could just pick up food for take-away at the deli on the corner instead of having to go to a restaurant.

Stuart was unfailingly cheerful in the mornings and helpful about making arrangements for activities.

I was very impressed by the immaculate condition of the house, my room, and its tasteful furnishings."

"Ilala Lodge was a great place for me to relax a bit after the Namibia Highlights camping safari.

Great location. I loved that it was easy to walk to the falls and that everything was nearby.

Booking of activities through the in-house operator was quick and efficient.

Great service from everyone on the staff.

The food at breakfast and dinner was delicious."

"I spent 6 nights in the South Luangwa Valley, the first two in Flatdogs and the rest at Tafika. While I felt that the quality of the guiding and night game drives was superior at Tafika, I preferred the atmosphere at Flatdogs. The atmosphere at Tafika was much more formal and orchestrated. In contrast, the staff at Flatdogs seemed to be genuinely warm and enthusiastic - from the night watchmen who was so eager to show me the python outside my tent to Harold, the hospitality manager, who always checked in with me to see how I was doing, and Paul, the waiter who stopped by just to chat.

The luxury safari tents at Flatdogs were absolutely perfect -- all the comforts of home and a fantastic view to boot. The food at the restaurant was delicious and there were always plenty of fresh vegetables on the plate.

I did one walking safari and one night game drive while I was there. It was my first walking safari and I enjoyed it. The night game drive was less enjoyable. I felt that the guide was a bit aggressive when it came to approaching a lone giraffe -- to the point where it felt like we were harassing the animal. Also, due to the fact that the Flatdogs game driving area is close to that of many other lodges, the night game drive was a traffic jam of 7 -10 vehicles trying to corner two leopards. Other guests may have different experiences with other guides. If you are in a private group it may also be possible to request a drive further away from the other lodges.

Overall, I think that Flatdogs is an excellent option, simply for its wonderful staff, excellent accommodations, and flexible options for meals & activities. I would love to go back for a longer stay."

"Tafika was a great place to begin to develop an in-depth understanding of the bush.

The quality of guiding at Tafika was very high. The guides were good about letting us in on their thought process and explaining why we were driving a certain way (e.g., because we were following tracks on the road) or why we were leaving a sighting (e.g., because the leopard seemed very nervous & it was better to come back at night). I think that previous reviews have commented on Tafika's limited driving area. That wasn't an issue for me, as I enjoyed going back to check on earlier sightings to see how things had progressed (e.g., leopard in grass with impala kill in bush, the same leopard in tree with impala kill in tree, impala kill pulled even further up the tree, etc.).

I did two walking safaris while I was there. Both were excellent.

Lloyd the driver did a great job of making the drive to and from Mfuwe enjoyable by pointing out wildlife when present and telling me more about village life such as how difficult transportation was in the rainy season.

One thing that would be nice is if the staff wore name tags. It was hard to keep track of everyone and it felt awkward to not know their names."