Reviews of Toka Leya Camp

"Toka Leya was also exceptional. Very different from both Tafika and Chiawa, our initial thoughts were that it had a feel of a hotel rather than a lodge. It was extremely comfortable, the food was excellent, the wines in particular were delicious and the service was perfect.

We particularly liked the fact that 100% of the team at Toka Leya were true locals. That felt really good. The team were incredibly accommodating – not just in coordinating our game drives, boat safaris and trips to the Falls, Museum and the market – but also in timing these so that we could maximise our time (for example, going direct on a game drive after picking us up from our helicopter trip over the Falls and even squeezing in an early morning second river cruise the morning we left.

We had one guide for all our activities at Toka Leya – game drives, river cruises, Falls, Museum etc. He was utterly fantastic; very gentle style and incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful and kind. This worked really well for us (and we hope for him also !).

Again, we saw amazing game on the drives and the best birdlife in particular on the 2 river cruises/safaris. We were soaked on our trip to the Falls the day we arrived – which was great fun. We had imagined the “spray” you described as exactly that – so being caught in the equivalent of a tropical storm was a great surprise. We loved it ! We did a 30 minute helicopter flight over the falls, down the gorge and over the park on Day 2 which was worth every cent and allowed us to get a perspective from both Zambia and Zimbabwe sides. The Livingstone Museum was excellent and our trip to the market (not the tourist curio market – bit the local produce etc market in Livingstone) was fascinating and humbling.

We have no critical comments in relation to Toka Leya." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"Toka Leya sits on the banks of the Zambezi in an idyllic location but it is quite a strange environment. It appears to be geared up to cater for groups and honeymoon couples.
The room was fantastic apart from the blinds which were a nightmare to operate.
The food was average with limited choice on the lunch and dinner menus.
It was difficult to relax as we were constantly being asked what activity we wanted to go on. It was if if the staff expected you to want to go on every activity offered and could not understand when we refused.
The staff made a big thing of wanting to know what time you wanted a wake up call, what time you wanted breakfast, what time you wanted lunch, make your dinner choice at 3.30pm. It was all too regimented.

However, the staff were excellent and Steven and Helen on the front desk went out of their way to help me when I had an insect in my ear.
One very strange aspect was that we were not given the wifi password but had to give our devices to the staff who entered the password for us.

Also the pool was pretty murky for the duration of our stay.

if we returned to Livingstone I am certain we would look at other hotels/lodges before Toka Leya" See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia

"Our first experience at Wilderness safari's classic camp made us definitely want to try their premier offering in the future! Fabulous location on the banks of the Zambezi - the camp organized many activities around Vic Falls and the day trip to Chobe, very knowledgeably and efficiently. The lodge staff is delightful - friendly but not intrusive. Mosi oa Tunya is not an game rich NP but our knowledgeable ranger made it fun for our children. I would go back - just the idyllic location is worth the trip though most guests there seemed to have combined it with their safari at Kruger or Okavango." See all these reviews: 4n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa

"Crossing the border from Botswana to Zambia, the camp is conveniently located a short distance from Livingstone, and is a perfect addition to any safari. I chose the camp more as a stop-gap between the wildlife-rich areas I was visiting before and afterwards. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of wildlife I saw here. I particularly wanted to see the relocated white rhino which are being closely monitored in Mosi oa Tunya Park. However, the other activities, in particular the boat trips, definitely surpassed my expectations.

I had a great guide in Histon, and I enjoyed both an early morning boat excursion, as well as a sunset cruise. On both occasions we saw much wildlife (and close up), including impala coming down to drink, numerous elephants - bathing, a matriarchal herd with young ones taking a drink, enormous crocodiles, warthogs relaxing on the river bank, plus a large variety of birds, my particular favourite being the nesting bee-eaters. So much more than I expected, and with Histon’s great skill at manoeuvring the boat, I was able to take some fantastic photos.

Breakfast was served from 7-10am. On both mornings I didn’t take breakfast until 9am, and I found the pastries/muffins to be extremely dry, as if they had been left out on the buffet table (uncovered) for the past two hours since service began. Also the range of food offered at breakfast was slightly disappointing given the location; we were not offered anything different to that provided at the remotest of safari camps.

Overall I would rate the camp as very good, not quite excellent on all fronts, so 4.5 stars it is." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia; 7n in Botswana; 5n in Tanzania; 1n in South Africa

"The Chef should be at a 5 star London hotel. Fabulous food.

Lovely staff and great spot covering mini safaris, river and The Falls. Highly recommended." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"Words can't describe what an amazing time we had. Arriving by boat we passed hippos. Staff were so friendly, food was great and the excursions were fantastic.

The accommodation was the best we have ever stayed in." See all these reviews: 3n in Zambia

"Great location, very comfortable rooms, friendly service and good food. As we had hoped, this was a good place to acclimatise to Africa before heading to the bush.

Game drives were comparatively 'tame' although we enjoyed the walking safari to the white rhino project. Boats trips on the Zambezi were fun, and of course Vic Falls was very impressive, even though not much water at this time of year.

Good place to spend a couple of days." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"A very luxurious camp. Our tent had air conditioning and there was a spa offering treatments.

The staff were very friendly. We bought souvenirs from the camp shop because they were reasonably priced. We enjoyed the activities on offer, like fishing, a game drive and a boat trip.

Our highlight was the visit to the Victoria Falls, even though the volume of water was low.

Godfrey and Histon were our guides. Histon gave us a tour of the environmental site that the camp is nurturing; a water re-cycling plant, solar panels and growing indigenous trees from seed and planting them in the area." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"Plane, car and boat from Old Mondoro, small bush camp, to Toka Leya, a large, more sophisticated style of camp with the houses having glass windows and air-conditioning: no doubt necessary as this was our first contact with mosquitoes since arriving in Zambia!

Lovely setting on the Zambezi but the river was busy with tourist steamers. Beautifully laid out sitting and dining areas and first class meals, even breakfast was more leisurely as we didn't have to get up at 5 a.m. but we missed the camp-fire of the more remote camps.

Our visit to the Victoria Falls was an interesting experience as we decided to start on the Zimbawean side which entailed crossing the borders with extra visa costs and form filling in both directions. We were well escorted throughout and had an excellent Wilderness guide to visit the Falls. Even though the water is at its lowest in October the Falls were impressive and we were glad to have viewed them from the Zimbawean side in spite of the extra cost.

We also went to see the rare White Rhino in a protected park near Toka Leya: a family of one male, 2 females and two young calves. We also chose to visit the town of Livingstone and its museum (the best part being at the end of the visit: the political history of Zambia through photos and newspaper cuttings).

The managers were very helpful and the staff and guides excellent." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia; 9n in Botswana

"Toka Leya is a great camp from which to visit Vic Falls (which was why I went to this camp). I tremendously enjoyed the visit to the Falls.

Toka Leya was also very good at arranging different activities organized by the camp, as well as outside activities. I was very impressed by this. They have tremendous knowledge of different activities that tourists can do in Livingstone and around Vic Falls and were very good at organizing days to make sure that guests get the most of their time there. It was a very nice stay." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 8n in Zambia