Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs H from Finsbury

"Mdonya provided a perfect start to our holiday, by way of a very authentic feeling safari experience. There was tonnes of game around the camp - and sometimes in the camp - with elephants, giraffe and impala all making an appearance around our tent during our stay. The standard of guiding was very good, so we got to see and experience a lot in our three days here.

The food and service was also very good and the tented accommodation comfortable. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would recommend Mdonya to anyone looking for a very real safari experience with lots of animal sightings."

"What can we say about Sands Rivers, other than that it was perfect in every way! A breathtaking location overlooking the river, with hippos and crocs in the waters below. A beautiful lodge, tastefully decorated, with individual, luxurious open fronted safari cabins all with stunning river views. It was a joy waking up to that view every morning!

We also thoroughly enjoyed the range of activities available at Sand Rivers, with walking safaris, river safaris, fishing trips and more available alongside the classic game drive. There was less game here in comparison to the other camp we stayed in (Mdonya in Ruaha), but that didn't matter to us at all, and we still saw lots of animals and birdlife. Our guide here was excellent - his eagle-eyes and knowledge of the birdlife in the area was astonishing. Because of the lower levels of game though, we think our itinerary of staying in another, game heavy park first, followed by Sands River was a great combination.

The food and service at Sands River was excellent - first class every step of the way. The managers, Kate and Cameron, were also incredibly welcoming, professional and friendly, going out of their way to ensure guests enjoyed their stay.

We cant recommend this place highly enough - stay here and you won't be disappointed."

"Esquee Zalu is in a beautiful spot on the northern tip of the island. It is certainly impressive to look at, with a gorgeous pool area and a jetty which extends out in to the ocean, providing the perfect spot from which to watch the beautiful sunsets in the evening.

Our ocean front suite was spacious and comfortable, the staff friendly and the food good. However, there wasn't much atmosphere in the hotel - it was fairly empty whilst we were there, and each of the three bars in the evening were normally empty, which made the repetitive playlist stick out a little! The service wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't fantastic either.

Overall though, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. The pool area is one of the nicest I have ever seen at a hotel, with stunning views out to the turquoise ocean. It was also a short walk along the beach (at low tide) to Nungwi town which provided a change of scenery, and the hotel spa was very good too."

"We loved our stay at Next Paradise. It is in a beautiful setting, the accommodation was clean, comfortable and spacious (and ours had a lovely beach front view). The food was excellent, with plenty of fresh fish on the ever changing daily menu, and the service was excellent.

The manager and owners went out of their way to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable, and were a great help when it came to arranging excursions and trips.

The only negative comment we have is that there were quite a lot of beach hawkers in the surrounding area, so a short stroll along the beach involved a lot of unwanted attention. The Zanzibar beach hawkers do get the message fairly quickly, but it was still an annoyance.

On the whole though, Next Paradise comes highly recommended."