Reviews of safaris to South Luangwa National Park
945 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include South Luangwa.
"My Sep 2021 trip during COVID"
It was a fantastic trip originally planned for 2020, and ended up being a rare experience given the relatively small number of fellow travelers. This resulted in much more personal time and interaction with guides and camp staff, and with the small number of fellow travelers that one did encounter.
There were some offsets - fewer guests and vehicles about meant there were fewer "spotters" to share sightings, and so locating wildlife could be more challenging at times. With fewer guests, and guests dining in their own small bubbles; there was no communal dining and camaraderie with fellow travelers from around the world, which is a more common pleasure of the safari experience.
Expert Africa / Claire Scott did a great job throughout, with excellent information. attention to detail, and enormous patience. They have a great reputation in-country on the ground, based upon the feedback I got from both camps and operators, some of whom are competitors.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep up the good work!
Your web site has always been good, but you have made great improvements over the past couple of years and now it is excellent." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari
"My Aug 2021 trip"
Sightings were varied from camp to camp. I usually visit Zambia in June so I was particularly interested to see the carmine bee-eaters and other migrants as well as so many flowering trees.
This was my ninth visit to South Luangwa. I will continue to return to this fabulous park and all the friends I have made with guides and staff during that time. It is a magical place!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Zambia safari
"My Aug 2021 trip"
coordinating with camps and lending advice and expertise as we booked flights, layovers and reacted to an ever changing international situation we would not have been able to do it." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari
"My Jul 2021 trip"
Robin Pope Safaries were also very accommodating during these difficult times. None of the "outside world" seem to affect the camps , with amazing attentive care and excellent guiding.
wildlife sightings is always partly luck, but with the astonishing guides we had, and a beautiful and diverse park, you can't go wrong! you are almost guaranteed to have luck on your side, so just sit back, relax and let it all sink in" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari
"I have become a big fan of walking safaris !"
Walking safari was something new to me (actually safari as a whole was new to me) and it has surpassed all my expectations. I am convinced that this is the very best way to visit the bush, much much better than driving.
You do see less wildlife, especially the predators seem difficult to meet on a walk, but you learn so much more and each encounter is just so much more emotional.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Not really. I just want to emphasize how important my relationship with Lucy (at Expert Africa) was in the preparation. She has just been fantastic, solving all problems which were being created by constant changes to my flights because of the airlines.
Had it not been for Lucy being so helpful, I may have given up travelling this year and postponed my trip to 2022 or 2023." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
"Thank you again during this time of Covid for a super trip!"
"My Jun 2021 trip"
Deciding to travel so far during the pandemic was daunting, and we had so many questions and thought about postponing this trip again, especially as cases started to rise in Zambia. But now we are so happy that we went. It was truly the trip of a lifetime.
Testing and transiting were my biggest worries. But armed with a negative COVID test and vaccination card, everything was actually very easy. We had no problems transiting in Europe or Ethiopia, and going through the Zambia entry protocol took 15 minutes, and that included getting the visa on arrival. Getting the test in Lusaka was also extremely easy. The PCR test costs $95, and for a small fee ($30 per person), someone from the clinic will come to the hotel to do the swab, and then drop off the result and travel certificate the next day.
We couldn’t have felt safer while on safari, as every minute was spent essentially outdoors naturally socially distanced. All the guides had one shot of Astra Zeneca and most are getting their 2nd dose in July. The few other guests we did meet were all fully vaccinated, and all staff wore masks in camp. While in Lusaka we hunkered down at the gorgeous Latitude 15 hotel which had plenty of lovely outdoor spaces to relax, a nice restaurant, and strict COVID protocol.
So, for anyone reading this who is considering a trip to Zambia, I’d say go for it! The camps need our support, and you will have an amazing time." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
"Zambia June 2021"
And it was worth all the planning. Zambia was wonderful. The birds, the trees, the leopards, the huge number of hippo and crocodiles, the lodges, the people, the food! The Shoebills!! We have been on multiple safaris so the special Zebras, Wildebeest and Giraffe species were fascinating to us. Being almost the only guests in the lodges and parks was priceless. We enjoyed it so much we did not want to leave.
Oh, that is right, we almost did not get to leave. When Emirates suddenly cancelled our return flight from Lusaka in the middle of our trip that is when Expert Africa shone even brighter. Their great relationship with the lodge operators became apparent and with everyone's combined support we figured out an alternative routing, and testing, etc. and we made it home to Montana.
It was such a rewarding experience traveling in these challenging times and we felt so safe in the lodges that we are already planning another safari with Maruska's help for next month
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: Was not clear of how to fill in the wildlife portion of this feedback. Was it number of elephants or sightings of groups of elephants? There you go, some feedback on the feedback. sign of the times!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Zambia safari
"Our trip to Zambia."
Everything went smoothly from beginning to end in spite of having to re-arrange the itinerary numerous times due to factors out of our control. The fact that we managed to go at all was a miracle.
In fact I told Maruska that her name in English meant miracle worker because that was what she did. Perform a miracle." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Zambia safari
"Zambia during Covid-19"
I waited all summer for this pandemic to abate. It was just not happening! One day, feeling a mixture of bravery and self pity, I called Claire. "I know this is short notice, but I need to get to Africa". We looked at a few options and came up with a modest, do-able itinerary. I booked the flights, got a Covid-test and was on my way.
I travelled 24 hours to get to Zambia and more than 34 hours to get home. Overall, I had a great trip. I couldn't have felt safer and more welcome. Few tourists, lots of game, friendly and accommodating hosts.
I would do it again in a heartbeat, and probably will!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
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