Reviews of trips to Livingstone & Victoria Falls
567 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Livingstone.
Mr R
Somerset
"My May 2014 trip"
I visited Zimbabwe and 1 other country between 23 May 2014 and 2 Jun 2014
"Thanks to Claire. Claire provided us with the holiday we asked for and it went without a hitch.
As we went through our itinerary we came to understand the background work and knowledge she had put in to our holiday from the connecting flights, boarder crossing to the plane seating and hotel room overlooking the Victoria falls bridge.
She has first hand knowledge and had suggested the Livingstone instead of the Zambezi Sun and she was right I was wrong. Only those of us that have experienced how Africa operates will understand fully how all those involved made this holiday so memorable thanks again Claire.
Bob and Ann Gallop" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari
As we went through our itinerary we came to understand the background work and knowledge she had put in to our holiday from the connecting flights, boarder crossing to the plane seating and hotel room overlooking the Victoria falls bridge.
She has first hand knowledge and had suggested the Livingstone instead of the Zambezi Sun and she was right I was wrong. Only those of us that have experienced how Africa operates will understand fully how all those involved made this holiday so memorable thanks again Claire.
Bob and Ann Gallop" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr Z
USA
"Zigler's 45th Anniversary Safari"
I visited Botswana and 2 other countries between 15 May 2014 and 26 May 2014
"A great once in a lifetime trip. Far exceeded our expectations.
Thank you very much Maruska for putting it all together and your patience in answering our never ending questions.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Recommend that:
- travelers be forewarned about the transfer between Zambia and the Kasane airport.
- travelers mark their battery chargers with highly visible markings so that they are not confused with other charges in a central charging station.
The trip turned out to be fantastic and would highly recommend the use of Expert Safaris for planning and organizing a safari in Botswana." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari
Thank you very much Maruska for putting it all together and your patience in answering our never ending questions.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Recommend that:
- travelers be forewarned about the transfer between Zambia and the Kasane airport.
- travelers mark their battery chargers with highly visible markings so that they are not confused with other charges in a central charging station.
The trip turned out to be fantastic and would highly recommend the use of Expert Safaris for planning and organizing a safari in Botswana." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Dr D
Parker
"Southern Africa trip"
I visited Botswana and 3 other countries between 25 Apr 2014 and 10 May 2014
"Overall our trip was excellent. Only glitches were a missing extra spare tire in Namibib and they guy in Livingstone who was to meet us ran off with another couple. Thanks to a great airport travel desk guy, he sorted it out and matched us with the person we needed.
The Expert Africa folks we dealt with were uniformly very good to excellent. There were some delays in feedback during the planning process which we noted but overall very good. Quick feedback during the planning process is critical to us as we are comparing ideas and proposals from more than one company and we need to hear from everyone.
For this trip we spoke to three different folks--Nick, Sabina and one other. Next time I would spend more time in conversation with each of them and would better understand our itinerary options. There is only so much I retain from web sites and travel books.
We also want to find places in Botswana with animals. That was the big surprise for this trip. Our East Africa trips have spoiled us and shaped our expectations for game viewing." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari
The Expert Africa folks we dealt with were uniformly very good to excellent. There were some delays in feedback during the planning process which we noted but overall very good. Quick feedback during the planning process is critical to us as we are comparing ideas and proposals from more than one company and we need to hear from everyone.
For this trip we spoke to three different folks--Nick, Sabina and one other. Next time I would spend more time in conversation with each of them and would better understand our itinerary options. There is only so much I retain from web sites and travel books.
We also want to find places in Botswana with animals. That was the big surprise for this trip. Our East Africa trips have spoiled us and shaped our expectations for game viewing." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
Alaska
"Amazing Trip"
I visited Namibia and 3 other countries between 17 Apr 2014 and 6 May 2014
"This was a wonderful trip. We would work with Expert Africa again and recommend them to family and friends.
The team member who dealt with most of our trip was Gwynneth -- who I know is no longer working at Expert Africa -- but she deserves recognition for all her efforts. I am evaluating Gwynneth below, even though I have to choose a different team member from the drop-down menu" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip
The team member who dealt with most of our trip was Gwynneth -- who I know is no longer working at Expert Africa -- but she deserves recognition for all her efforts. I am evaluating Gwynneth below, even though I have to choose a different team member from the drop-down menu" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs SA
Norfolk
"My April 2014 trip"
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 6 Apr 2014 and 20 Apr 2014
"Nick was straight back to us on the text when he knew we would be late and showed great forethought in reserving us a room at the Airport Hotel. The A380 had a lot of passengers who missed their flights and the hotel soon became fully booked.
As a comment if Expert Africa has customers who are "time rich" as we are [though not necessarily "cash rich" ] it might be a good idea to suggest a day's stopover after a long-haul flight. Because we had to stay over a day we started our holiday fit and refreshed and enjoyed it all. If we had arrived at Nxia Pan Camp as planned I think we would have been exhausted and it could have taken a few days to recover............the tourist schedule for retirees is pretty demanding !" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
As a comment if Expert Africa has customers who are "time rich" as we are [though not necessarily "cash rich" ] it might be a good idea to suggest a day's stopover after a long-haul flight. Because we had to stay over a day we started our holiday fit and refreshed and enjoyed it all. If we had arrived at Nxia Pan Camp as planned I think we would have been exhausted and it could have taken a few days to recover............the tourist schedule for retirees is pretty demanding !" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Family L
Lagos
"Wonderful Safari in Botswana and Zambia"
I visited Zambia between 21 Mar 2014 and 31 Mar 2014
"This trip went extremely well.
All the details were attended to, flights were met, transfers occurred as expected and memories were made. We've lived in Nigeria for the past 8 months and so did not have extremely high expectations for successful logistics. This trip proved us wrong in the most wonderful way.
We loved this trip so much that we are planning a similar trip for next year's spring break.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Expert Africa delivered exactly what they promised and we were very happy with our experience. We have and will continue to recommend Expert Africa to friends who are planning trips to Africa." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari
All the details were attended to, flights were met, transfers occurred as expected and memories were made. We've lived in Nigeria for the past 8 months and so did not have extremely high expectations for successful logistics. This trip proved us wrong in the most wonderful way.
We loved this trip so much that we are planning a similar trip for next year's spring break.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Expert Africa delivered exactly what they promised and we were very happy with our experience. We have and will continue to recommend Expert Africa to friends who are planning trips to Africa." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Miss P & Mr L
Surrey
"Feb 2014"
I visited Zambia between 8 Feb 2014 and 16 Feb 2014
"Great trip, lots of variety, went without a hitch so thanks to expert africa for all the organisation"
Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 3 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr D
Ontario
"My 11 day, 4 camp safari in Dec, 2013"
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 7 Dec 2013 and 20 Dec 2013
"My trip was expertly organized, to say the very least and was a truly amazing experience.
I have already commented on all the camps, so I'll just comment on the overall organization. I think the selection of camps for me was just perfect. I had a river camp, a desert camp, a jungle camp and a combination river/bush camp. This allowed me to never get tired of what I was seeing and always experience something new. I also think Maruska gave me great advice in suggesting that I do 11 days rather than 7, because the game viewing is trickier in the rainy season, so you see less, so you need more time. So because of my timing, I traded off game viewing for privacy, but because I made a longer trip, I still saw all the game. The advantage to safaris in December is privacy. On 8 of my 20 game drives, I was the only person in my safari vehicle! For 24 hours at Tubu and 8 hours at Savuti, I was the only guest in camp!
But the most impressive thing for my were the transfers. My first day, I left Lusaka and flew to Livingstone where I was met at the airport and whisked away. At the border between Zambia and Botswana, I was met by a boat, which had been waiting for me, was zipped across the river and met by a safari vehicle. This vehicle then whisked to a rendez-vous with the safari camp's vehicle, with then met the afternoon game drive from Mucheje camp part way and I was on a game drive! So I left Lusaka and noon and 5 transfers later, all done seamlessly, and I was on a game drive at 4pm!
Another example is: at Tau Pan in the Kalahari, I went on a morning game drive, came back to camp to have brunch and pack and then had a one hour game drive to the air strip. 5 minutes after arriving, the plane landed and 5 minutes later we were airborne. After a 1 hour flight where I was co-pilot, I landed at Little Tubu and was on a game drive 10 minutes later! So, I was on a game drive in the Kalahari at 2pm and on another in the Okavango Delta at 4pm. What amazing logistics!
Really, really, really well organized trip all in all. It's a rare trip that I leave all the logistics to someone else, but I am very glad to have left it to Expert Africa!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only thing I can think of is for you to probe a little more into what exactly we are hoping to experience. For me, this was my first safari, so I really wanted to see big cats. I'm not sure the camps chosen for me were the absolute best for this (I'm not sure they were not either), but I would have benefitted from some more info as to why those particular camps were best for me in that particular area. I had no idea there were so many options to choose from.
All in all, you guys are awesome and I will certainly recommend you and use you again. I was referred to you by a good friend who has used you a couple of times." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari
I have already commented on all the camps, so I'll just comment on the overall organization. I think the selection of camps for me was just perfect. I had a river camp, a desert camp, a jungle camp and a combination river/bush camp. This allowed me to never get tired of what I was seeing and always experience something new. I also think Maruska gave me great advice in suggesting that I do 11 days rather than 7, because the game viewing is trickier in the rainy season, so you see less, so you need more time. So because of my timing, I traded off game viewing for privacy, but because I made a longer trip, I still saw all the game. The advantage to safaris in December is privacy. On 8 of my 20 game drives, I was the only person in my safari vehicle! For 24 hours at Tubu and 8 hours at Savuti, I was the only guest in camp!
But the most impressive thing for my were the transfers. My first day, I left Lusaka and flew to Livingstone where I was met at the airport and whisked away. At the border between Zambia and Botswana, I was met by a boat, which had been waiting for me, was zipped across the river and met by a safari vehicle. This vehicle then whisked to a rendez-vous with the safari camp's vehicle, with then met the afternoon game drive from Mucheje camp part way and I was on a game drive! So I left Lusaka and noon and 5 transfers later, all done seamlessly, and I was on a game drive at 4pm!
Another example is: at Tau Pan in the Kalahari, I went on a morning game drive, came back to camp to have brunch and pack and then had a one hour game drive to the air strip. 5 minutes after arriving, the plane landed and 5 minutes later we were airborne. After a 1 hour flight where I was co-pilot, I landed at Little Tubu and was on a game drive 10 minutes later! So, I was on a game drive in the Kalahari at 2pm and on another in the Okavango Delta at 4pm. What amazing logistics!
Really, really, really well organized trip all in all. It's a rare trip that I leave all the logistics to someone else, but I am very glad to have left it to Expert Africa!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only thing I can think of is for you to probe a little more into what exactly we are hoping to experience. For me, this was my first safari, so I really wanted to see big cats. I'm not sure the camps chosen for me were the absolute best for this (I'm not sure they were not either), but I would have benefitted from some more info as to why those particular camps were best for me in that particular area. I had no idea there were so many options to choose from.
All in all, you guys are awesome and I will certainly recommend you and use you again. I was referred to you by a good friend who has used you a couple of times." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr M & Ms T
Ongar
"Our best safari so far."
I visited Zambia and 1 other country between 2 Nov 2013 and 13 Nov 2013
"The whole trip went very well. We enjoyed the hotels, camps and the game drives. The animals were varied and plentiful. The gudiling to a very high standard. Loved it.
Before the trip when BA changed our flights, Ellie was extremely helpful and diligent in ensuring that the itinerary (that had to be completely revamped) was fine tuned to meet our expectations despite us changing our minds a few times on the routings and camps!. Definitely an 'exceeded expectations' experience." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Before the trip when BA changed our flights, Ellie was extremely helpful and diligent in ensuring that the itinerary (that had to be completely revamped) was fine tuned to meet our expectations despite us changing our minds a few times on the routings and camps!. Definitely an 'exceeded expectations' experience." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs M
Warwick
"Our safari trip"
I visited Botswana and 1 other country between 31 Oct 2013 and 12 Nov 2013
"Overall a highly successful trip.
We travelled with my sister and her husband, who booked with a different agent. Although this meant that our connecting travel was different, we felt that in the event our timings were better, and the advice which we were given always seemed superior. We were for example advised to book international flights ourselves to save money (unlike my sister) which added to an already highly significant price difference between the two otherwise identical holidays.
We were highly impressed by the knowledge and advice given by Expert Africa, not only on the safari part but also in the remainder of our holiday in the Cape Town area." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari
We travelled with my sister and her husband, who booked with a different agent. Although this meant that our connecting travel was different, we felt that in the event our timings were better, and the advice which we were given always seemed superior. We were for example advised to book international flights ourselves to save money (unlike my sister) which added to an already highly significant price difference between the two otherwise identical holidays.
We were highly impressed by the knowledge and advice given by Expert Africa, not only on the safari part but also in the remainder of our holiday in the Cape Town area." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
567
reviews of Livingstone by travellers since August 2007
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