Zimbabwe: reviews from our travellers

"An amazing safari experience. Surpassed all expectations.

The expanse of the Botswana wilderness and the African sky is impressive as were the number and variety of wildlife.

An experience of a lifetime and would go back for more!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"A holiday of a lifetime - so many different experiences on a variety of levels.

Beautiful country, lovely people

Overall - amazing!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"All as planned. Transfers etc like clockwork

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not one of your more-challenging itineraries, but it all worked. Thanks Nick." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zambia safari

"We had such a super trip! Having just spent a week at Kruger Park, I was worried the kids would be 'safari-ed" out, but it turns out that each location had a special charm and offered us something new and exciting.

Though we 'saw' a sleeping lion in Kruger, we saw a whole pride of lions walk by our car in Chobe. Thought we 'saw' a leopard in Kruger, we saw a leopard in a tree trying to protect a kill from hyenas underneath. We loved the sounds of the Delta - the natural heartbeat of birds and frogs and so on that greeted us every morning and night. We loved the service of our lodges -- we felt very taken care of.

Mostly, I really appreciated that all the logistics were so smooth -- the pick-ups (and, in particular, border transfers) were on time and professional. The shuttle services (Wilderness safaris, African Odyssey, etc) were excellent. Having meals and inclusive private safaris added to the trip cost, of course, but were essential for traveling with a family and making it care-free.

Our favorite part of the trip was assuredly Machaba Camp -- my youngest son (age 3) hit it off with our guide (Moreri) and we are still missing him! Mostly, they were so accommodating with times and meals, that we relaxed into our vacation in a very real way. Thanks for making all these logistics so smooth!!!

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Honestly, it was excellent and I would recommend your services again -- worth the pennies to have all those logistics sorted out. We had a great time!

I might just add two small things - I might have missed the part about Ilala being in USD, and USD prices. Since we were coming from South Africa, this obviously seemed more pricey to us than we were expecting (and the only part of our trip that was not all-inclusive) and we could only get USD from the ATMs. Not a huge problem, but might be good to have included that in the trip info (perhaps I missed it - if so, sorry).

Also, we were essentially bribed at the VFAirport...the guys asked us if we wanted to upgrade to business class for $200 and when I agreed, he said it had to be in cash. Ugh -- by this point, he had already booked the tickets so we had no real choice, but it was clear I was not going to be getting a receipt for that one. I am sure he saw our American passports. I felt very duped, but since everyone else had been so honest and helpful our entire trip (and since the VFA airport is so beautifully new and professional!), this took me by surprise. Folks should be on the lookout for scams like this (especially as Americans).

Otherwise, super duper trip!!! Happy to answer any other questions." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"Amazing. A trip of a life time" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Great trip and definatly worth to visit during the Green Season!

Wonderfull Hwange NP and Zimbabwe!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"The combination of the friendly staffs and spirit of Africa and just being in the safari mode was wonderful and trumps all the small quibbles.

Seeing a leopard mother and her cub playing a small distance away and seeing a cheetah close up in the wild are hard experiences to match. Thus, we had a fabulous experience overall.

If the ceiling fans can be added at Little Kwara and the flights can be adjusted to take vacationers directly to their spots (instead of flying them more than 90 minutes out of the way), the review could have been even more positive." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We save up for a few years to go on this trip and and with all the hype on the internet I was concerned the real thing could be a bit of an anticlimax. Suffice to say it was
anything but. It was truly outstanding in all aspects from the arrangements to Victoria Falls hotel and on to the lodges in Botswana.

A holiday that will live with us forever.
And I have 2'600 photographs to prove it!!

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Cannot fault anything." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"We had the best time, totally exceeded our expectations and continued to amaze us throughout. W

e wouldn't hesitate to recommend Botswana to anyone looking for a really special trip and all the camps we stayed at were excellent." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"The combination of Mana Pools, Lake Kariba and Hwange gave us a varied and interesting view of Zimbabwe safaris - it felt like 3 different safaris rolled into one! We thoroughly enjoyed the trip which went totally without hiccup from start to finish.

We were a little surprised that the dining arrangements at the Wilderness camps were not automatically communal - indeed the default was separate tables (although Ruckomechi did ask our preference on arrival). But this was quickly changed when the camp managers realised that the majority of their guests welcomed dining with their fellow travellers. We totally understand that some may not wish to share a table but in our experience this is part of the overall safari experience." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zimbabwe safari