Travel reviews by Mr J from San Diego

"The City Lodge OR Tambo was a very convenient stop over for the family and I as we were out to Zambia, Africa early the next morning.

The hotel is located within the airport property requiring only a short walk from baggage claim. The rooms are comfortable and the service at the hotel restaurant and food are quite good.

We managed to recover a bit from our 15 hour inbound flight from Atlanta, Georgia."

"Kaingo is a beautiful bush camp overlooking the Luangwa River. Our group consisted of two families, four adults and four teenage children. My wife and I stayed in the family chalet with our two children and our nephew. The wife and I had a separate room with a comfortable queen bed and the children all had individual beds in the main room. All of the beds were very comfortable; there was plenty of room for all of us. I especially enjoyed the outdoor (but private) shower while my wife enjoyed the outdoor bath tub. The chalet also had a private porch overlooking the river. It was very relaxing to sit out on the porch during our down time and listen to the grunts and groans of the Hippos.

Kaingo is a well-run bush camp. Agatha and Gerard run the daily operation and are extremely welcoming. Catherine the chef prepared us excellent meals every day. We were served delicious breakfasts, tea time snacks, and dinners. One morning we were surprised with a breakfast on the banks of the Luangwa. While we ate, an elephant appeared and wandered down to the river to cross right in front of us. The culinary excellence of the camp was an added bonus to our safari experience. Also, I had neglected to mention that my daughter was vegetarian but once the staff learned of this, they went out of their way to have a vegetarian dish on the menu. The wait staff were all very friendly and enjoyed teaching the children some of the local language. Zikomo Joseph, Misa, and Loban!

Patrick was our guide for the entire week that we spent in South Luangwa National Park. The first four days Patrick guided our two families. He did an excellent job with all eight of us, keeping everyone fully engaged on the drives and walk ins. Patrick is not only extremely knowledgeable about the animals found in the park but also knowledgeable about the birds and plants. He has an amazing ability to transfer his enthusiasm and love for the wild life to the people he guides. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning from Patrick. With each drive or walking safari, there were new things to see. It almost seemed that Patrick could summon animals and birds that we previously had not seen. After a week, we saw lions, leopards, wild dogs, elephants, giraffe, zebras, and countless impala and puku among other animals.

On our last night Patrick took us to the Mopani forest. He told us previously that we would probably not see that many animals but it turned out to be one of the most memorable drives of the trip. It was beautiful to be among the trees with the setting sun in the background. We were truly blessed to have Patrick as our guide, there was never a dull moment."

"The Mwamba Camp-out was awesome! My wife and I and our two teenage children spent the night near a watering hole in the South Luangwa National Park.

We had a fantastic meal, sat around the fire chatting, and even witnessed a territorial spat between two leopards. The tented beds were really comfortable, I had a great night of sleep that night. Even though a pride of lions nearby spent the night producing low frequency roars, knowing that they had just devoured a buffalo kept our minds at ease. Also, we were well protected with our guide and armed scout standing guard.

The camp-out is well worth it and I highly recommend it."

"Mwamba is a bit more remote than its sister camp Kaingo but I loved the sense of being right in the middle of the mix. From the breakfast table you can watch Elephants, Giraffes, and even a lion one morning going about their business. Craig and Lindi are excellent managers and have a wealth of knowledge regarding the park and surrounding area. Just as with Kaingo, the service and food are excellent. The staff is top notch at Mwamba.

The reed and thatch chalets are very comfortable and come with beautiful outdoor bathrooms. The beds would be turned down at night with the netting set in place. We did not have any issues with mosquitos. A pail of hot water would be raised each morning for a shower or you could order the hot water at any other time of the day. The nearby hide was a great place to go and observe the resident hippo and bee eater birds on down time.

The game drives and walking safaris are different from those of Kaingo so it's not more of the same. The family and I got up close and personal with the Mwamba Kaingo pride of lions, this was definitely a highlight of the Mwamba leg of our safari. Of course, we were still with our guide Patrick from Kaingo and he brought along the same tremendous enthusiasm that he had at Kaingo. I highly recommend Mwamba for a more off the beaten path kind of safari."

"The Islands of Siankaba was an excellent way to end our trip to Zambia. The lodge is in the middle of the Zambezi River so you hear the calming and relaxing rush of water everywhere you go. After seven days on safari, this was a perfect place to unwind.

The highlight of our stay at the Islands of Siankaba was, of course, the Victoria Falls. The lodge organized a magnificent trip to the falls and set up some additional activities for our group of four adults and four children. Hillary our guide made sure we saw the falls from every viewpoint, organized our lunch, and made sure we were on time for our microlight flight over the falls.

Back at the lodge, you can go for a river cruise or just relax on the patio. The meals at the Islands of Siankaba are excellent and Ryan the manager keeps everything rolling along smoothly. Ryan was instrumental in organizing our return to the microlights for one more flight before heading to the airport. The video for our son did not turn out so Ryan organized a morning flight for us and made sure we were out and down to the airfield on time."