Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs B from Maryland

"Ilala Lodge is a wonderful small hotel just a short walk away from the falls.

Rooms are very comfortable, service and food were excellent. The Ra-Ikane sunset cruise was delightful.

We had to leave very early our last morning and the lodge packed us a very ample breakfast."

"Kafunta has a good location overlooking the flood plain with lots of wildlife always in view, and sometimes elephants right in the camp. The bungalow was very nice.

We had lots of wildlife sightings on the drive to and from the pontoon crossing, and the crossing itself was fun.

Game viewing in the park was good, with a fabulous leopard sighting on our first night drive. We also enjoyed seeing the Mfuwe lion pride by daylight. Our guide Jabes was excellent, but unfortunately became ill our last morning at Kafunta and was unable to accompany us to Island Bush Camp."

"It was about a 2 hour drive to island Bush Camp from Kafunta, and we arrived in time for a game drive. We would have preferred to walk but because our guide at Kafunta had been unable to go with us to Island they were short one guide. Sitting in the safari vehicle for a game drive following the drive to camp was not ideal but we enjoyed it nonetheless with sightings of hyenas and genets.

The next morning we had a very interesting walk, and we felt that walking at Island was better than driving because the dense woodlands limited views. That afternoon we wanted to walk but were unable to because no scout was available. The camp is extremely simple in comparison to the other camps we visited, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

We did see impala, baboons, waterbuck, bushbuck, puku, warthogs, and many different types of birds."

"The walk from Island Bush Camp to Three Rivers Camp was outstanding. We were very fortunate to see a leopard and 2 hyenas on the walk, as well as elephants and other game. We attempted to track a lion but never found it. Our guide Andrew, who we had at Island Bush Camp, Three Rivers Camp, and on our return to Kafunta, was excellent, informative, and good company.

Three Rivers Camp was our favorite of the camps at South Luangwa and we loved the star bed. There were lots of elephants in the camp and hippos grazing at night. The area immediately around the camp is very open, making for good driving safari, but further away it is all dense woodland. However, one night we had good sightings of 2 different leopards by spotlight.

The manager TJ was very welcoming, attentive to all details including giving rides from bungalows to the dining area when elephants were in the camp, and a great host. On our last morning we wanted to walk but Andrew told us no scout was available. TJ asked what we had planned and when we reported that no scout was available he found one for us so we had a good walk before driving back to Kafunta."

"We reviewed Kafunta previously. [Ed: see below]

The highlight of our 1-night stay following the bush camps was seeing 2 leopards on the afternoon/evening game drive and 1 of those leopards on the next morning drive. We also watched a very large herd of buffalo drinking at the river, rolling in the mud, and heading back into the bush.

Kafunta packed us a lunch to go and drove us to South Luangwa Women's Project and Tribal Textiles on the way to the airport for our flight to Lower Zambezi."

"We especially enjoyed the boating and canoeing activities at Chongwe.

The camp is very comfortable, and staff was very friendly and helpful. We were surprised with a bush lunch along the river one day.

We had 2 guides here, Stephen and Bright, and they were both excellent. We particularly appreciated their awareness of photographer's needs, always working to position us properly and giving warning when they expected a good photographic opportunity to develop.

Activities at Chongwe seemed to be very flexible, with enough guides that they were able to accommodate every guest's wishes. We arrived late afternoon yet they were able to take us on a short sunset river cruise. When we canoed the next day we had 2 guides for the 2 of us so we each had our own canoe."

"We went to Tsika primarily to canoe back to Chongwe the next day, but unfortunately there was too much wind for safe canoeing on the Zambezi. However, we had a wonderful sighting of elephants playing in the river and a very interesting walk through the nearby village.

Tsika is a very small and basic camp, but our bungalow was comfortable and the food was superb.

We were accompanied on the trip by 2 guides, a boatman, and a chef, and there were 3 staff members stationed at Tsika, for a staff:guest ratio of 7:2, so we were very well taken care of."

"We previously reviewed Chongwe. [Ed: see below]

We had a one-night stay here before flying home, and the highlight was an afternoon canoe trip followed by a night drive on which we saw 2 leopards. The next morning our guide took one of us on a short walk before going to the airport.

As we commented previously, their flexibility and willingness to accommodate everyone's requests was greatly appreciated."