Reviews of safaris to South Luangwa National Park
944 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include South Luangwa.
"Overall trip"
Based on the Guide book I must admit I was fairly concerned about driving in Zambia, and seriously considered the use of a driver. However, I found the roads to be in excellent condition, except for the Great North Road north of the turnoff to Mansa, at which point one had to carefully watch for potholes. I realize the Guide book does need to be cautious (and certainly I never considered any serious off-track adventures) but it ended up being quite a bit easier to get around than I originally expected.
Second, I emailed three car rental agencies in Zambia (Limohire (who responded immediately), Livingstone 4x4 Hire (who also responded immediately but had no vehicles), and Voyagers (who never responded). So I went with Limohire. The cost for a Nissan Safari was $140/day (500km) plus fuel. We handled everything by email and, when in Zambia, by phone, and I was completely satisfied (in other words we never met in person). He did not accept credit cards so I had to wire transfer half the rental fee as deposit before the trip, and then pay the remainder plus a $1000 deposit when I received the car at the airport upon arrival. Hans, the owner, is an honest individual. Because of logistical problems I had to leave the vehicle for him to pick it up at Pioneer Camp (without getting back my deposit) so he arranged for one of his employees to meet us at the airport upon our return from Livingstone, and he was there with our deposit. Were I to visit Zambia again (and I may since my daughter may extend for another year) I would definitely do business with Hans.
Finally, just a couple comments regarding the Guide. The Sweetwater Guesthouse near Mkushi is 'no more'. The owner, Vernon Cantlay (not sure about spelling) is the father of friends of my daughter and we happened to meet him at a barbecue when we were there. He continues to own and farm the property but does not run a guesthouse any more. Also, you might want to consider checking out the Shaolom Takeaway as a funky, friendly little cafe in Mkushi. I understand the Peace Corps volunteers like it because it serves more chicken with its nshima than other cafes/restaurants in town. By the way, we enjoyed our meal there!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari
"Third visit to the Valley"
Suggestions for improvements:
Your service is excellent. We always recommend you when asked about our trips to Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari
"Zambia 30 years on!"
I wanted to go back to Zambia where I grew up and give my family a positive snapshot of the country. The Victoria Falls is indeed a natural wonder of the world and the helicopter flight along the gorges was thrilling.
Robin Pope Safaris were exceptional to the point that nothing else measured up! We saw all the game we had hoped to see and discovered the magnificent birds of Southern Africa. It was a pleasure to be in the company of such wonderful guides and staff.
My husband and youngest daughter are now converts to river fishing, having enjoyed it so much on the "Mighty Zambezi!"
Mozambique, Bazuruto Island was disappointing because of the activity staff's failure to engage with us. I would not recommend the resort to people who are not going to sunbathe all day." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
"What an amazing experience"
From the moment I contacted your Office and spoke to Anna and then was attend to by Lucy Copson I was hugely impressed. Actually it was because of Lucy's care and attention that I went to Tafika etc
Thank you to all involved with Remote Africa
Suggestions for improvements:
I can't think of anything required." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari
"Zambia trip."
All the places we stayed in were very special and was just the sort of safari we had hoped for. There was a bit of pressure on animals in Chobe with 4 cars watching lions at one point but there was fantastic amounts of game there. The boat trip was particularly lovely and we watched elephants drinking from the river and 100's of birds.
It was very easy to move from one part of the holiday to the next and all links and transfers were perfect. Hard to imagine that so many links and transfers and border crossings could go without a hitch!
At the planning stage, Lucy listened carefully to me and made absolutely the right recommendations. She remained cheerful through 2 sets of reboookings caused by BA changing flight days. She and Anna are obviously well known and respected in Zambia. Lucy's service was so good that I have booked my next holiday to Equador and Galapagos through Sunvil, and hope to book Namibia in the future. Pity that Expert Africa didn't organise the weather!
Suggestions for improvements:
It was the quality of your service before booking that made us book with you, irrespective of price. We could easily have done this trip cheaper by making our own arrangements - but I wouldn't like to be in Africa without Expert Africa! Just the thought of the Zambia|Botswana border without Expert Africa makes me go cold. What other firm gives clients their consultants mobile numbers in case of emergencies?
Matchless service and nothing could have been improved." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari
"Exploring Zambia"
"Another Magical stay in Africa"
Most people we met were going or had been to Botswana so maybe we should try that destination.
Suggestions for improvements:
Lucy pointed out that we would save the enormous sum of ÂŁ2,000 between us if we cut our trip by one day, eg into and out of the same airport, Lusaka. We felt this was a very valuable point and it made us book through Expert Africa" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari
"Overall view of holiday."
The aftermath of the gastro-enteritis, which included a broken ankle bone and a thrombosis, will continue to Feb 2010 at least. The gastro-enteritis bug was never identified as DSM was admitted to the Infectious Diseases Unit at Newcastle General Hospital only three weeks after the incident and ten days after we returned home." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari
"African adventure of a lifetime."
We felt Expert Africa organised the safari overall very effectively. Staff at Expert Africa, especially Lucy, were always helpful and informative. The overall operation of the safari by Norman Carr was exceptional, everything went like clockwork.
Thank you Expert Africa for an experience of a lifetime!!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
"We LOVE Zambia!"
This was our third trip to Africa with Expert Africa and we would not travel with anyone else! We went to Namibia in 2004 (our honeymoon) and to Zambia for the first time in 2007.
Anna had organized our previous trip to Zambia and was so helpful & enthusiastic we felt we had to ask her to help us to arrange a return trip. Her knowledge was invaluable in helping us to decide when we wanted to return and where we were to stay. The fact that Anna returns to Zambia for her own holidays shows just how much she loves the country and this is evident whenever you talk to her. Her passion for Zambia is infectious!
After talking to Anna so many times (I am sure she must be fed up with me by now!) and booking two trips with her I feel as though I am talking to a friend even though we have never met.
We fell in love with Zambia on our first trip & knew we had to return. We chose to go back at a different time of year (our previous trip was in October) to see the Luangwa Valley at the beginning of the dry season rather than at the end, and to see the Victoria falls at high water. It was lovely to experience this beautiful country in another season, the valley was as wonderful as last time and the falls were certainly different - there was water coming over them (a LOT of water!).
We hope to return to Zambia and will certainly be back in touch with Anna. Thank you for helping us to arrange another amazing trip!
John & Uschi's comments -
We are very grateful that Chris and Lisa asked us to come along. We had been to Africa a lot before (more than 10 times), but this was our first time to Zambia. And we were not disappointed. It is a wonderful country full of great wildlife and scenery and extremely friendly people.
We have loved some African countries for a long time and have put Zambia on that list." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
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