Zambia: reviews from our travellers

"The Zambia vacation was our first trip to Africa, and we couldn't have wished for a better experience.

The trip exceeded any expectations and the wildest imaginations we had about a trip to Africa. We have been married for almost a decade, but we had never gone on a honeymoon, and we decided to plan this trip as a belated version of it. It only took a few conversations with Claire Scott at Expert Africa to narrow down the endless list of choices to an itinerary that would fit our needs and our budget, and in retrospect we can only say that she scored perfect. Everything we had discussed during the planning phase matched what we experienced during the trip. Her experience and suggestions were invaluable, and we would definitely work with her again on another trip.

We picked Zambia as our destination because we wanted to visit the Victoria Falls, and we added a safari in South Luangwa after reading up on the various game parks in Southern Africa and upon recommendation by Claire Scott. Although we learned that it is one of the best known parks in Zambia it never felt crowded. Many times we felt like we had the park to ourselves. The wildlife is impressive, and with an open mind you'll be rewarded with amazing sightings. In conversations with Africa "veterans", many of which had visited several countries or were working in the travel business, we learned that South Luangwa is one of the best destinations in Africa to see wildlife.

We spent all of our time in South Luangwa in camps by the Robin Pope Safari company, and if we ever have the opportunity to return to South Luangwa we will definitely stay at their camps again. The level of organization and professionalism is remarkable, and, most importantly, the camp are located in beautiful areas of the park. All of the Robin Pope guides we met were very experienced and knowledgeable. We highly recommend them!

Seeing the Victoria Falls at the end of our trip was just amazing. The Falls were why we had traveled to Africa in the first place, and they did not disappoint. It is truly one of the natural wonders of the world, and it is definitely worth the trip." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"We spent one week in Zambia (last week of June) & one week in Botswana (the first week of July). The trip was good.

All transfers and reservations organized by Expert Africa went smoothly without any delays or issues. Thank you Maruska for arranging the logistacs of that trip!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"I felt very satisfied with the overall trip. I had an adventure and saw a lot of animals. My only comments is this was a very physical trip. Anyone going needs to be in good health with no physical problems. The weather at night and early in the morning can be very cold so coat, hat and gloves are a must. The camps are tents so there is no heating at night and can be cold, along with open screens the air can blow through. Africa is famous for their beautiful sunsets of red an orange skies, that's from all the dust in the air. So one needs to be aware there is a lot of dirt and dust in the air. Anyone suffering for respiratory problems or asthma might have a real problem. Also camps like Kaingo run on burning wood which is another respiratory problem.

I will always remember my trip to Africa, the kind people, the abundance of animals, and the striking evening sunsets. Thank you for the adventure.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

My only suggestions is to make clients aware of the physical demands and aware of cold and dust problems. For most healthy people this would not be a problem, but anyone with a respiratory condition this might not be the right trip for them." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 on a Zambia safari

"Everything Expert Africa arranged worked like clockwork with one exception when a camp messed up the schedule but Proflight sorted it out.

Our only confusion is where your letter to us said that all Zambian departure taxes had been paid by you but this was not accepted ny the airport or your representative at the airport when we flew to Malawi. Consequently after some hassle we paid the equivalent og USD78 in local currency as they only accepy Visa credit cards and I have Master Card. This was an unnecessary trauma that should have been avoided.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 15 on a Zambia safari

"Well balanced trip, well planned and seamlessly executed. Would do the itinerary again although probably dropping Siankaba." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari

"Old Mondoro was definitely the highlight, followed by the two bush camps (Chicoko and Crocodile). The wildlife highlights were the elephants in camp at Old Mondoro, and the sighting of three honey badgers together on a game drive.

On completion of the holiday, in hindsight I believe we could have been better advised on a couple of points
1. The split of the days between the two parks, especially as we mentioned about water activities.
2. Kaingo - I didn't appreciate it was a serious photographic camp
and 3. There seemed a reluctance to book Flatdogs

The transfers from BA to Proflight was very tight, it took us absolutely ages to pass through immigration even though we had pre-purchased visas. In fact we had to ask if we could queue jump in order to ensure we got through on time.

Coming home the transfer was even tighter and thanks to one of the ground crew of the airport unofficially queue jumped two massive queues. We felt rather embarrassed, but without this I doubt we would have caught the BA flight to LHR." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari

"Excellent" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"This is my third time with Expert Africa, and I wouldn't use anyone else.

Megan was great, and the transfers were seamless. Especially the transfer to Zambezi Sun, from Camp Kalahari. Flight to Kasane, drive to water's edge, boat across river, then drive through border and on to Zambezi Sun. Really smooth and easy. I think it was done by wilderness, who also took us over to Zimbabwe for tea at the Victoria Falls hotel, they were excellent.

This really was the wonderful trip we dreamed about.

Expert Africa have been fantastic all three times I have used them." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"An amazing trip to see one of the last wildlife wildernesses. We feel extremely privileged to have been able to spend time at Liuwa in the company of Jason, Robin, Kanga and the team. The difficulties of the journey to get there are immediately forgotten on arrival; we really hope RPS will restart these trips when the new lodge in the park is built; maybe someone will also construct an airstrip on land firm enough to take planes big enough to get guests and supplies in. The current one can only take the tiny research plane but is otherwise used as a running track as the soil is so soft!

South Luangwa was excellent as usual with some fantastic sightings including a leopard taking her three (!) tiny cubs out for the first time.

All ground arrangements went smoothly as usual though, for us, we found Tours Africa a little too attentive – we really don’t need somebody to shepherd us to the lounge once we’ve passed passport control. And we’re perfectly capable of paying our own departure tax." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zambia safari

"Our trip was so fabulous in every way. It far exceeded our expectations. Not just a holiday we felt that we had been on a big adventure.

The order of the trip was perfect for us. We thought it was a great idea to have a kind of rest at the start of the trip after such a long journey, by visiting Victoria Falls (no early morning calls for Game Drives). and a nice small introduction to wildlife with the game that roamed Zambezi Sun's grounds.

Then Muchenje which can be accessed by road and is more lodge than camp still a wonderful wildlife experience but perhaps a bit less "Bush". Kwara (we felt) had the most "Bush" style atmosphere which really was our favorite place. Finishing at Lagoon with a touch more Luxury setting us up for our long journey home.

We finished our stay with a last Game Drive right to the door of our final Mack Air flight. It was a great end to a wonderful trip." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari