Travel reviews by Mr A from St Albans
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
3
Lodges stayed in
5
Excursions taken
0
My Oct 2021 trip
Botswana and 1 other country between 30 Oct 2021 and 14 Nov 2021
"A really excellent trip. We had a fantastic time. We were very lucky to be in an early wave of visitors following the removal of Botswana and S Africa from the UK's red list about a month ago. There were very few other tourists there - which made the trip an even bigger "treat".
The stand out thing about safari on a fly-in/out to a private concession (vs fly drive which we have done previously) is that the guides and trackers are dedicated to finding the best vantage point for viewing game and will go off road to do so. We had some amazing sightings which we simply would not have seen if we had been driving ourselves.
The S African leg of the trip was very different from that in the Botswanan bush but still very enjoyable. The strength of the Rand vs GBP made eating out very affordable."
The stand out thing about safari on a fly-in/out to a private concession (vs fly drive which we have done previously) is that the guides and trackers are dedicated to finding the best vantage point for viewing game and will go off road to do so. We had some amazing sightings which we simply would not have seen if we had been driving ourselves.
The S African leg of the trip was very different from that in the Botswanan bush but still very enjoyable. The strength of the Rand vs GBP made eating out very affordable."
Arranged By Lucy Copson
Lagoon Camp
"Lagoon Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
31 Oct 2021
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
1 sighting
Elephant
3 sightings
Giraffe
2 sightings
Hippo
5 sightings
Leopard
2 sightings
Lion
3 sightings
Sable antelope
1 sighting
Wild dog
1 sighting
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Kwara Camp
"Kwara Camp review"
4 nights
Arrived
3 Nov 2021
"Kwara camp is lovely. Our "tented" accommodation was more like a small house than a tent: very comfortable. It was very hot when we were at Kwara so the pool was a very welcome addition to help cool down. The (discreet) outside showers were also a nice feature.
There is no wifi or mobile/cell coverage. I had been concerned that this would be a problem but in fact ended up really enjoying the ability to detox from our "always on" connected lives.
The staff were very keen to help and could not do enough for us. Our guide Dave and tracker George were very knowledgeable and went out of their way to find us great game to see and let us know about life in the bush.
The mekoro and boat trips are great additional activities and should not be missed."
There is no wifi or mobile/cell coverage. I had been concerned that this would be a problem but in fact ended up really enjoying the ability to detox from our "always on" connected lives.
The staff were very keen to help and could not do enough for us. Our guide Dave and tracker George were very knowledgeable and went out of their way to find us great game to see and let us know about life in the bush.
The mekoro and boat trips are great additional activities and should not be missed."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
3 sightings
Cheetah
3 sightings
Elephant
4 sightings
Giraffe
3 sightings
Hippo
6 sightings
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
4 sightings
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
Wildebeest
5 sightings
Zebra
3 sightings
Cape Grace
"Cape Grace review"
2 nights
Arrived
7 Nov 2021
"Cape Grace was very comfortable (as you'd expect from an international 5* hotel in a major city). Generally the staff were all very helpful and provided good service. Only minor issues were: swimming pool was not open and there were a couple of local power outages (although this was not really the hotel's fault).
We were upgraded to a "Table Mountain" view room which was nice (and we suspect that looking out over the marina towards Table Mountain/Signal Hill is an improvement over the harbour view).
The location of the hotel is great for the waterfront and is well connected by road."
We were upgraded to a "Table Mountain" view room which was nice (and we suspect that looking out over the marina towards Table Mountain/Signal Hill is an improvement over the harbour view).
The location of the hotel is great for the waterfront and is well connected by road."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Average
Activities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Galenia Estate
"Galenia Estate review"
4 nights
Arrived
9 Nov 2021
"Galenia is very nicely appointed and comfortable. The pool and pool area were a great place to relax (although the jacuzzi wasn't working while we were there).
The walking trails were enjoyable (once we had worked out they needed to be followed in a clockwise direction - otherwise picking up the trail markers is very difficult), not particularly taxing and with some lovely views. We did not use the mountain bikes however.
The evening meals at Galenia were all very good but at 5 courses you needed to be hungry to do them justice!
We found Galenia a good location from which to visit other parts of the Western Cape including Hermanus and the vineyards near Paarl and Franschhoek."
The walking trails were enjoyable (once we had worked out they needed to be followed in a clockwise direction - otherwise picking up the trail markers is very difficult), not particularly taxing and with some lovely views. We did not use the mountain bikes however.
The evening meals at Galenia were all very good but at 5 courses you needed to be hungry to do them justice!
We found Galenia a good location from which to visit other parts of the Western Cape including Hermanus and the vineyards near Paarl and Franschhoek."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Trip feedback
Zimbabwe between 17 Sep 2015 and 21 Sep 2015
"Great trip which shows that Victoria Falls for the weekend is entirely possible!
Only slight frustration was the transfer arrangements from the Victoria Falls Hotel to Livingstone Airport. I appreciate that there is no benefit to the transfer operator in "cutting it fine" but it was entirely unnecessary to leave as early as the transfer operator wanted (even after the time was negotiated down). It was a shame (given the length of our trip) as an extra hour or so at VFH would have been much preferable to spending that time waiting at Livingstone airport.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Very pleased with the service received from all involved - a great break!"
Only slight frustration was the transfer arrangements from the Victoria Falls Hotel to Livingstone Airport. I appreciate that there is no benefit to the transfer operator in "cutting it fine" but it was entirely unnecessary to leave as early as the transfer operator wanted (even after the time was negotiated down). It was a shame (given the length of our trip) as an extra hour or so at VFH would have been much preferable to spending that time waiting at Livingstone airport.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Very pleased with the service received from all involved - a great break!"
Arranged By Megan Green
Victoria Falls Hotel
"VFH feedback"
2 nights
Arrived
18 Sep 2015
"Very attentive service and fabulous colonial hotel. Very hard to fault. Rooms comfortable but aircon units quite noisy (so turned off at night).
Information about the wifi being limited to 3 devices but being able to get additional codes at Service Counter would have been helpful at the start of our stay (as I had problems in logging onto work for a call on the Friday night)."
Information about the wifi being limited to 3 devices but being able to get additional codes at Service Counter would have been helpful at the start of our stay (as I had problems in logging onto work for a call on the Friday night)."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
The activities kept us busy most of the day. The boat trip is very worthwhile for a change of scenery but remember your hat!
The staff were helpful and our guide, Poster Rico, and tracker, KD, very knowledgeable and successful in tracking animals, including leopard and wild dogs."