Travel reviews by Mr Baobab from Wimborne

"We had a wonderful 2 nights at Tafika, the rooms, the food and the staff were excellent. We had some great game drives and a interesting bush walk to the neraby Chikoko tree camp during which we had a close encounter with a couple of lions, safely managed by our local Scout.

Tafika, Chikoko and Crocodile camps are run by the same company and have breakfast (at 5.30 am) before going out on the morning drive or walk. Frankly my stomach doesn't wake up until much later than I do and after experiencing the after drive breakfasts at Mwamba and Kaingo camps I have to say I prefer the latter, with a light lunch early afternoon."

"As per my comments on Tafika Camp the rooms, food and service were excellent at Chikoko. We spend two days walking around the area of the camp and saw a great deal of wildlife, a lot of it from our balcony.

The Guide who escorted us was extremely competent and very knowledgeable. We especially appreciated the Tea Porter who accompanied us, after a couple of hours walking in the hot and dry bush a cup of tea and a piece of cake takes on a totally different meaning.

On one of the nights at Chikoko and for both of the nights at Crocodile we were the only guests and the poor Guide had sole responsibility for amusing us during meal times. It may have been a cultural thing but he seemed loath to ask us questions so the conversation was somewhat one sided and it must have seemed like we were grilling him. Could I suggest at times like these a professional host might be put to good use."

"Another excellent two days and nights."

"A very comfortable and interesting two days and nights at a camp which is perfectly located for game viewing, even when you are sitting outside your hut or having lunch. I liked the after-drive breakfasts very much.

Although the viewing was very much centred around the lions in the area we saw a great deal of the other wildlife with a wonderful walk to Kaingo Camp through the Fairy Tale Ebony Forest to finish off."

"A great way to finish our safari. We had a house with an outside tub which when filled with cold water - it felt extermely extravagant considering it was the end of the dry season - helped me to cool off on a very hot day."

"A beautiful and peaceful resort but for my tastes a little bland and isolated. The food, apart from the first night which was a swahili orientated buffet, was international and lacked much in the way of alternatives to meat or sea food.

The service was good but the staff seemed a little robotic and disorganised, there seemed to be several waiters for each table and sometimes there was a little confusion.

What lets the accomodation down badly are the bathrooms, they are poorly designed (wrong materials) and a lack of regular cleaning and ventilation led to them being both dirty and smelly."

"An amazingly beatiful and peaceful island run by local people in a sustainable fashion. The food, service and accomodation were excellent. With only 6 guest houses it feels very exclusive but also very cosy.

I would recommend this to anyone. If it wasn't for the distance I would make it a regular visit."

"We only stayed one night at Beyt al Chai and had to leave early to get a flight so missed breafast, so can't comment on the food.

The management gave us a room in spite of it not being "booking in" time, which we obviously appreciated but wondered why we had been booked into this B&B if it was going to be a problem arriving early. We were picked up and driven directly to the B&B from our previous accomodation at Chumbe so didn't have a lot of choice of arrival time.

Although this B&B is rated "Exclusive" in the guide book I would rate it further down the scale, obviously this rating may be relative. It is close to the main attractions of Stone Town (if you can call them attractions). Due to the continual harrassment from street vendors we decided to eat in the restaurant attached to the hotel, which turned out to be a good choice."