Travel reviews by Mr G & Ms P from Hampshire

"We very much enjoyed our stay at Fumba. An all-round good lodge is blessed with having a wonderful setting along the beach front with very well tended grounds. We were greeted with a very warm welcome that continued throughout: highlights were the very pleasant musical entertainment at Thursday evening's dinner and a superb snorkelling trip conducted by the attached Dive Centre, whose staff were very friendly, flexible and knowledgeable. Food was always good and occasionally even better, and we enjoyed eating our dinner in different areas, bringing variety to the views and setting. At around US$ 40 the wine was a tad pricey.

Our 'room' was very good - furnished with taste, comfort and style rather than out and out luxury - with the secluded beach-view hammock, private terrace and spacious inside and outside bathroom facilities being much appreciated. Our only minor criticism is that some additional maintenance would be welcome in some areas - such as the outside shower plumbing - and a water bucket would be useful outside to wash sand off feet before entering: we pointed this out around the middle of our stay but sadly one didn't turn up, despite one of the senior staff making some arrangements. Oh and the crashing of the sea close by had a tendency to disrupt our sleep, but such things are forgiven in near paradise!"

"Our one-night stay at the Dhow Palace was pleasant enough: we perhaps needed an extra day to sample more that Stone Town can offer. The hotel was clean and the rooms were stylishly presented, if dated (deliberately, we presume). Staff were generally pleasant although the on-site restaurant (in which we had both lunch and breakfast) was no better than average, in terms of both food and service.

We also took the opportunity to take in a Spice Tour and trip to Prison Island that we had Fisherman Tours organise for us (as they were conducting the transfer to Stone Town from Fumba). These were fine although I didn't feel that at US$ 138 they represented good value for money. As a small example, at the Spice Farm the cost for pouches of spices were 3 times those in one of the smartest Stone Town souvenir shops! That said, it was pleasant to have a dedicated driver and guides. Our Fisherman Tours pick up the following morning was late in arriving although not much - and we made our flight from Zanzibar airport with ample time to spare."

"We would have to try very hard to find any criticism of Selous Impala Camp. From our greeting at the nearby airstrip (and the following boat 'transfer' to the camp) to the time we bade our sad farewells five days later, we were given the warmest of welcomes and the friendlies of high standard service. The staff at Impala camp really impress and contributed greatly to a wonderful safari experience.

Matteo the manager deserves special mention for is personal, relaxed but very friendly and helpful interaction, as well as running a great place so well. Our tented rooms were very comfortable and tasteful, the food consistently excellent (in presentation as well as taste and quality) and facilities such as books to browse at our convenience and a free laundry service were much appreciated.

And then there are the safari activities which we found overall to be really first rate. Game Drives (sometimes with 'Bush Breakfasts'), Boat Safaris, and Fishing trips were highly interesting, professionally conducted and really wonderful experiences. By the end of our second game drive and first boat safari we had seen more than we would have dreamed of, yet the expertise of the guides ensured that we continued to be surprised and excited throughout all trips. This is our first safari experience, but it feels that one doesn't do badly by seeing in just a few days 4 of the 'big five', baboons, other primates, a vast array of beautiful birds, zebra, wilderbeast, crocodiles, elephants and countless hippo, giraffe and impala - overall dozens of species.

If we had one disappointment it would probably be the fly-camping, simply because we didn't feel that the experience made up for the relative lack of the fine creature comforts of the main camp. But that is not to say that it wasn't well organised and guided: our dedicated catering staff rustled up the typical high Impala quality for our remote bush dinner there too.

In a nutshell, we would unhesitatingly give the Selous Impala Camp our strongest possible recommendation and we were very sad indeed when our 5 days in its capable hands came to an end."

"We missed our "tent" at our main camp. ;-)"

"Service and food rating was based only for restaurant staff. Front of the house hotel staff were very gracious."