Travel reviews by Flying Dutchmen from NL

"We were picked up from the Kwara airstrip and immediately joined the afternoon drive with our guide Joziah and a nice Canadian couple. We already saw several animals. Although we have been in Africa before and have done many many game drives, watching the animals in their natural environment is always special. It never get's bored. The welcome at the camp was very warm and enthusiastic.

The rooms are spacious with a very good bed. The fan beside the bed was a life saver during the hot nights. From the main building you follow a sandy path to your room. If it's dark you are always accompanied to/from your room by your guide because the camp is not fenced. From your room you cannot see your neighbors, which we liked, because privacy is important to us. The pool is small but clean; although we didn't use it we know how refreshing it can be on hot days. Since you are in a wet part of the wilderness keep in mind that there are a lot of insects.

The food was very tasteful and we admire the creativity of the kitchen. We liked the concept of 1 long table with all the guests; the best way to share experiences, photo's and to get to know people. We also loved the singing and dancing of the staff. The curio shop is small but very complete. The also sell good safari clothes, might you need anything.

There is NO Wifi in the camp. Perfect for a digital detox!"

"Tau Pan has 1 huge unique selling point: the magnificent view from the main deck. Absolute stunning! The rooms ('tent' > canvas walls) are spacious and have thatched roofs which looks nice but also house a lot of 'life': we had a bat in our room and also very large creatures with 8 legs.... :-/

We missed the fan in our room. The windows and doors have mesh which is perfect against insects.

During the drives we unfortunately did not see many animals. The staff uses abbreviations for their names: OP, PK, MP, etc. Food was good.

This camp has NO Wifi; perfect for a digital detox! The airstrip is close buy."

"Ilala Lodge is a very LARGE lodge with many rooms. If you seek an intimate boutique atmosphere: this is NOT your accommodation. Ilala welcomes touring cars full of guests.

A nice garden, 2 small pools, very nice food, good Wifi. Postoffice next door.

One thing to take into consideration: during the day you constantly hear the helicopters fly over. Luckily they don't fly at night."

"This was just what we needed after a long day of traveling: this tranquil place with lovely people. We had a late arrival (+/- 20.15 hrs) but the kitchen had waited for us!!! Many many thanks to chef Gail and her staff for that and the wonderful meal she prepared for us.

Anita is a wonderful host, she told us a lot about the environment, and other interesting things. Our room was a very spacious bungalow. Absolutely high end materials, a very good bed, a wonderful shower and the largest and softest towels we have ever had. The airconditioning was working but for us it was insufficient. For my 80 year mother Anita arranged the bungalow with a smooth pathway instead of stepping stones. That is very sweet en considerate. @Anita: thank you again!!

My mother enjoyed the main pool (with magnificent view!), we enjoyed the excellent wines on the main deck and our plunge pool outside our bungalow. We will definitely return to this wonderful place some day; 2 nights was too short. Next time we will just relax, read our books, enjoy a glass of wine, and just be there.

Lazarus is a friendly and helpful guide. We enjoyed the drives with him. Especially our very last drive, on the morning we left, when we saw the beautiful rhino's."

"In 2019 this was our first stop after Windhoek. The chalets have had a major upgrade since on the inside; much more a 'safari' feeling (e.g. canvas walls). Very good bed, nice decorations and interior.

Food during diner was a bit disappointing. My fish took ages to prepare and when it finally was served it was awful: cold and even a bit frozen. Terrible."

"The ONLY reason to visit this lodge is the magnificent view on the canyon and the location of the bungalows right on the edge. We were here before (2019) and nothing has changed. You don't come here for the food (poor), the staff (uninterested, they do not understand what true hospitality means) or the animals (none).

Our welcome was not friendly or warm at all; it was merely a standard ('cold') explanation. The bungalow is nice. We loved the wind which comes every day at the end of the afternoon/beginning of the evening. It literally blows your mind empty and your coffee out of your cup. No airco needed.

Wifi only in the main building and not very reliable.

Drives/excursions are quite expensive.

We truly hope that there will be a decent alternative for this accommodation."

"The Nest Hotel is an outdated hotel (inside and outside) with a beautiful location and view and with a very friendly and helpful staff. The rooms are nothing special. The restaurant has a nice menu with enough choice and with one amazing dish (my guilty pleasure): crêpes Suzette, which are flambéed at your table. Nom nom nom!!

The days were very hot but the pool looked closed."

"Actually, we don't want to review Sonop. We just want to keep this place all to ourselves.

Truly a hidden gem where everything comes together: the food, the people, the interior, the view, the desert wind, the sky....just everything.

We just LOVED it here and we definitely will return here some day for our 2nd or 3rd honeymoon. All staff members are extremely well trained. Our hearts go to Lazarus, Elizabeth, David, Benny, Victor, George, Frans, Gideon and all the others. Thank you again for your friendliness, kindness and hospitality. Especially towards my 80 year old mother.

The food is the best of the best we had during our entire holiday. Amazing how the chef and his brigade use their magic to make these wonderful dishes; and most of them also 'low carb', YESSSSS! Everything is so fresh and tasteful, so delicious.

We enjoyed every second of our stay and we will return some day to Sonop and stay longer.

Just 1 point for improvement: more and more comfortable daybeds at the pool, and more shade."

"We were in Little Kuala before and at that time it was a place full of magic. It is still a wonderful place but the magic has...changed. We miss the opportunity to sleep on the roof. Nothing can beat that, not even a bed outside on your private deck.

We had a very lovely reunion with our guide Alfred. He took really good care of us and especially of my 80 year old mother. Alfred is the BEST. He has a lot of knowledge and he learned us a lot about his tribe, the San. He helped me picking fresh bitter bush which I have dried at home, and I am using it to steam with. He also showed us an old San cave with very very old paintings. And he taught us a game with holes and little stones. We really had fun together and beautiful conversations.

The food is tasteful. We enjoyed it, and we really appreciated diner in the desert on our last evening. The staff makes sure that you really keep hydrated by constantly topping up your water.

You don't come to Little Kulala for the animals. You come here to feel the desert wind and to visit the dunes. That is why we give 'activities' an average score.

As we stayed here, the main building of Kulala Desert Lodge burned down. We checked the website on our return but there is not a word about the fire. Also not a word about the other lodge, somewhere in there north, that was also burned down."

"Our whole experience with this Asilia camp was excellent. From the moment you arrive at the airstrip you feel welcome as a family member. Because of COVID we almost had the whole camp for ourselves and free private safari drives during our stay. We dont know why so few people decide to visit Tanzania now, we found the testing and procedures easy. Coming into Tanzania we needed half an hour to show all the forms and buying the visa, going out nobody asked us anything.

Felix was a very skilful guide, we saw every animal we could imagine. There were magnificent sunsets and a nice pool to cool down in the afternoon. One morning on our way from our tent to the main area we encountered an elephant. He of course was just eating and didnt mind us walking by. At night we once woke to see the huge silhouettes of three elephants eating one meter from our tent! Later that night the same happened with a giraffe..

In anticipation of the rains almost all the animals had babies. Small playful lions, hippos, elephants and all the other animals were abundant. Only thing is to select the nicest pictures when you are at home!"

"Ikuka is located at a hilltop in the vast national park of Ruaha. The views are breathtaking and all the staff do really give you the feeling you are more than welcome.

We were very lucky to have the whole camp available for ourselves during our stay of four nights, a private safari experience for free! Thanks to Covid, but actually we didn't understand because going to Tanzania and filling in the forms, complying to a PCR-test and all the rest turned out to be very easy! So go now before the rest of the world finds out...

Anyway, life in the camp and the safari drives turned out to be more than excellent. We were very very lucky to be the first in almost a year to spot a whole pack of around 30 wild dogs! Including very young ones. It is estimated that only 2500 wild dogs may still exist in the world so everybody was really excited about this. But also the leopard we saw from close distance lying in the tree and the many other big and small animals we will not easy forget!"

"The combination of a bush safari week and the beach at Zanzibar turned out to be an excellent decision.

At Matemwe we just relaxed, read some books, drank a cocktail, had a wonderful private dining at our rooftop or at the beach, took a dip in our private pool and let Jems, our wonderful butler, take care of us! He even learned us to play Bao. So thanks to Jems and the rest of the staff (especially the chef for the wonderful food!) we felt really spoiled. Only thing is of course to turn back to normal when you are at home again... Maybe we should return more often...

By the way, you can go diving, kayaking, snorkeling, visiting the village and more. We were most of the time just happy relaxing in our home and twice took an excellent massage in the spa, but more active travellers also will not be bored."