Travel reviews by Mr T from Bangkok

"We stayed in Family Cottage and it was a basic room which was good enough for us to rest after long international flights and some hours on the road.

We thought camp area is nice and quiet even though it's the largest camp in the park. We were happy that we can eat in their restaurant after arriving quite late in the afternoon. Food is ok.

The shop has more items than we initially thought."

"We stayed in Riverfront Chalet and really like the room here - it was spacious (considering it's a national park rest camp) with 2 separate bedroom 2 bathrooms.

Our room has the best view of the waterhole I believe and it was a productive one particularly with wildebeest and black backed jackal.

Clearly, we feel more wild here compared to Twee Rivieren and could have stay longer."

"The only wilderness camp we stayed in the park and we had a good time there - recommend as long as you know what to expect. We had some issue with the light bulb in the kitchen / lighting the stove and we found the only staff at the camp to be very helpful in fixing the problem for us.

Nice view from the balcony - there's also waterhole but it is quite far and we didn't see much. Black backed jackals were regular visitors to the camps (we were asked to keep doors locked because of them).

The only inconvenience we found is that we cannot charge our camera in the room and need to go to Mata Mata (5-10 mins drive) to charge."

"This is a pleasant surprise.

We enjoyed our stay at Le Must River Residence very much even though it's just for a 1 night. We were their only guests at the time.

Rooms are spacious with good facilities.

We particularly enjoyed the back garden - beautiful garden next to Orange River where we can watch boats cruised along."

"Everything about La Petite Ferme was great.

We enjoyed spacious rooms with all the facilities we need. Great service. Nice view of vineyard and mountain.

Also enjoyed having dinner at their restaurant and wine tasting in the morning after.

Would love to stay longer."

"We knew what to expect and really enjoyed our stay at De Hoop Opstal.

We are happy with the decision to spend 3 nights here as there are so many different activities we can do and our young boy loved it. With self-catering unit, we drove less than 5 minutes to their only restaurant - limited set menu but we thought the food was excellent and good service too.

Some minor issues:
(i) very dim light in the shower room probably due to load shedding, we were prepared with torch light / headlamps so it wasn't much of a problem and
(ii) we missed nature drive activities due to their miscommunication on the schedule, managed to do it on the last morning before we left."

"Probably our most enjoyable stay in this trip and happy that we spent 4 nights here.

Super-comfortable family rooms, great food and service, we also enjoyed walking in their garden.

Conveniently located between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay with so many areas to visit and different activities on offer, we could have spent a week here and would have no hesitation to stay at Hunters Country House again."

"Least favorite of our stay in this trip.

Room was ok, nice breakfast and it's convenient located about 5-10mins drive to Addo. I thought it's understaffed and the staff who welcomed us brought us to our room wasn't very helpful at all (despite his effort to be) possibly due to lack of training.
Example: we drove straight 4-5 hours to get here, we were expecting and asked for welcome drink. The staff insisted on bringing us straight to the room. Also, we didn't receive any helpful advice on visiting Addo NP when we asked (not that we need much but we expect as it's clearly their main attraction)."

"We are very happy with our 3 nights stay at Flatdogs Camp.

Due to unavailability, we stayed first night in standard tent before moving to luxury tent for the last 2 nights. Although the camp is larger than any other camps we stayed in this trip, we never feel crowded. Dining is private and flexible which we enjoyed. Food and service were excellent.

We informed them that we want to do walking safari and they managed to arrange for us one morning - very nice. We spent 2 full days with Jonathan as our driving guide and Kenneth as walking guide - thought they were both great. On our last night drive, we saw 4 lioness killed a puku - first time we witnessed a kill and it was such a memorable experience. I thought there were too many vehicles for any leopard sightings which is probably understandable staying in this area of the park which is relatively more busy.

Would not hesitate to stay at Flatdogs Camp again next time we visit South Luangwa"

"Not really 'luxury', but Kaingo easily is the most comfortable room we had in this trip.

Room is nicely decorated and spacious with indoor shower and outdoor bath. There is a private balcony with river views - very lovely to sit down and watch hippos, birds, etc during siesta. Food was so delicious and well prepared.

We had Sylvester as our guide (also at Mwamba) for the whole week and we could not have asked for more. He is so good at tracking/spotting wildlife, explaining and telling story. We have seen pretty much everything there is to see except the wild dogs which were not in the area during our visit. We enjoyed his accompany also during lunch/dinner and sundowners.

The only slight disappointment is that some animals such as lions and buffalos were more in-land as there were still plenty of water sources away from the river. But with such a great guide, I don't think it has affected our experience as we still saw so many wildlife. Birds sightings were excellent and we are not even much into birds."

"One of best camp that I have ever stayed and definitely my favorite in this trip. Traditional reed and thatch room with outdoor shower - as close to nature as it comes. Bar and dining area looks wonderful and I wish we have more relaxing time to enjoy the area a little more. Similar to Kaingo, food and service were excellent.

We did a few walking here including a transfer from Kaingo to Mwamba - very enjoyable and informative with Sylvester as our guide. Here, we tasted Baobab fruit and enjoyed a sundowner with Baobab tree in the background - it was magical.

Game drive in-land from Mwamba allows us to see Cooksons wildebeest (endemic to South Luangwa) and eland.

We also spent one night on a starbed sleepout (Numbu) and we love the whole experience."

"Kutali Camp's location is great for game viewing and the view of the Zambezi river from our camp and the dining area is very beautiful. We enjoyed different activities (game drive, walk, canoe, boat) on offer at the camp. We really love doing the canoe both on the main river and through the narrow channels navigating pass the hippos - it was exciting and nervous at times but very rewarding nonetheless. Also, water activities allowed us to enjoy watching so many variety of birds.

On improvement, we experienced a guide that was very inexperienced. Although we think he is a nice person, he was clearly well below what we have experienced with other guides in this trip - communication, animal identification, driving, etc. After we did a transfer drive on arrival and afternoon game drive with him, we informed the co-owners that we want to change the guide. We were asked to give him another chance in the morning drive, as it turned out, our vehicle broke down and we moved to join another guests in another vehicle/guide which saved us from a wasteful morning. Since then, the camp has assigned us another guide which was much better.

It appears to us that Kutali (and Chula) still need more staff and permanent manager to improve overall organization. We experienced the confusion on whether we could do activities that we asked to do (this was also shared by some other guests that we talked to). Service was generally good but a bit off from other camps we stayed in. Food was great."

"We enjoyed the difference location Chula offered after staying 2 nights in Kutali.

On one afternoon game drive, we saw a pack of 25 wild dogs playing and trying to chase down pretty much everything (warthog, guinea fowl, impala, waterbuck) that they came across. Later one of the dog was chased by an elephant not far from a bull buffalo. It was one of the highlight of our trip.

Similar comment for improvement on organization and service as Kutali Camp but nevertheless a very enjoyable stay."

"My family enjoyed our 4 nights stay at Le Sans Souci. Due to personal reason, Jeanine (the owner) was unable to host us at the guesthouse when we were there. I was disappointed as I am aware she can host a very nice local dinner but totally understand her situation which Megan let us know upfront before our trip begins.

Her nephew Slain and his partner Caterina took care of our family during our stay. While we can tell that they are still relatively new, they have tried very hard to ensure we have a great time and have everything we need during our stay. They gave us lots of information where to go and where to eat and we found them very useful. Also, Slain was very quick to support whenever I called/texted him. We had a problem with the air-con in one of the bedroom on the third night (Sat), he offered us an additional room once he learned that it can't be fixed until Mon. Also as it turned out, he gave us a complimentary bottle of red wine on our last night that we cooked and dined in as an apology in which we appreciated.

The location of the guesthouse is in the mountain with very nice view of the city and ocean on the east side. A rental car is needed staying here but it makes a very convenient base to explore Mahe if you don't mind staying away from the beach. It is 5-10 mins drive to Victoria and 15-20 minutes drive to Beau Vallon or Port Launay where we also drive further south to explore the island.

We got an upgrade to a self-catering 2 bedroom unit which is very nice. I thought it is nicely designed, comfortable with spacious room for us to relax after coming back each day. Fresh breakfast is served at the owner house - 2 minutes steep walk up from our unit - and the view is even better from our unit. There is also small pool near where breakfast is served but we didn't use it."

"Our family stayed 4 nights at Coco De Mer Hotel on half-board basis. We got the 2 superior rooms which is beach front and in the far corner which is great for some privacy. I really enjoyed our stay here in every aspects.

They changed their dinner buffet menu daily that we didn't feel too repetitive (although we may if staying longer). Overall breakfast and dinner are quite good with lots of variety. Except one or two staff, the services of the staff are excellent.

The room is standard size and large enough for my family including our 2 year boy to be very comfortable. We had an issue with air-con one night and they quickly came to fix it for us. The hotel also arranged 2 hour nature trail led by a guide (their staff) every other day starting from the hotel lobby. My wife and I joined this walk and thought it was very informative with a great view on top.

Would love to stay longer as we can do more with relaxing in the hotel area and considering many different activities in and around Praslin."