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Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by Mr B St Mary from UK

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

1

Countries visited

2

Lodges stayed in

4

Excursions taken

1

We all loved it and can't wait to get back

Zambia and 1 other country between 3 Aug 2007 and 19 Aug 2007

Trip rating: Excellent
"Expert Africa helped tailor this trip to our requirements exactly. The first half (Zambia) was our best holiday ever. The second half (Zanzibar) was a bit of an anti-climax and very disappointed with inability to scuba dive.

Anna Devereux is the best travel agent I have ever dealt with. I am quite demanding/ pernickety but she was always more than glad to answer any query with alarming efficiency. As I told her - sometimes it seemed she was working for us and noone else. Her recommendations were spot on. Anna was also willing to get involved when issues came up during the holiday (Zambian airways flight overbooking/ disasterours last-minute trip to Ngorongoro (not booked through Expert)). Real value-added travel agency."

Avani Victoria Falls

Avani Victoria Falls

"Nice place to stay for a couple of days. "

2 nights Arrived 4 Aug 2007
"This hotel is fine, though in need of a lick of paint in some places. Good location for visiting the falls themselves, but without the "class" and setting of the Royal Livingstone."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kapani Lodge

Kapani Lodge

"Simply perfect safari experience"

5 nights Arrived 6 Aug 2007
"The Lodge: great setting, food, staff, rooms. We and the kids were totally comfortable from start to finish. A special place with a special history.

The Guide (Willie Shuma) is simply the best. 360 degree, heat-seeking, infra-red vision with a perfect understanding and knowledge of the wildlife (including our kids) and the patience of a saint. A big personality who we missed from the moment we said goodbye.

The Park: blend of East African savannah and South African scrub. We saw pretty much all we could hope to see at close quarters and in good numbers. Memories and photographs to die for. Also the low number of guests per car is a huge bonus - everyone sees everything with no "waiting your turn" evident with cars from other lodges."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Livingstone Island & Devil's Pool

Livingstone Island & Devil's Pool

"Very Good - Recommended"

6 Aug 2007 • Morning excursion

The Zambian side of the falls can be a lot drier than the Zimbabwe side. This is the nearest you can get to the Zimbabe side and it does give a different viewpoint. Rainbows appeared everywhere, which gives great photo opportunities. We did not tell the kids that the island was on the lip of the falls and they got a real kick out of it.
Excellent
Image alt

Bluebay Beach Resort, Zanzibar (this camp has since closed)

"Good but not special"

7 nights Arrived 11 Aug 2007
"There is nothing wrong with this hotel. The staff are friendly and attentive. The beach and shallow sea is terrific. The rooms are big and clean and the facilities are good. The details on the website are accurate enough. The gardens are terrific (but you wonder about the amount of scarce water being used to keep them that way). The manager, who is French, is good professional manager.

The problem is that - unless this is your first visit to an exotic location - Bluebay it is not special. The nightly themed buffets and "international music" (I don't think I can stomach the Lady in Red one more time) quickly become monotonous. It doesn't feel like you are in Zanzibar, and there is nowhere else to escape to in the evening. To be fair, I would guess that is common of all the east coast resorts. But Breezes (which we could not get into) may have been a better bet.

The huge disappointment for us as a family was the scuba diving. One reason we chose this hotel was for scuba diving, but the operator at the hotel (One Ocean) is seemingly the only PADI dive centre in the world that won't take children under 12 (PADI rules say 10 years) - and they did not have equipment for our (big) 12 year old in any event. There was no other dive centre within commuting distance.

If we had our time again, and Breezes was still unavailable, it might have been better to go to Fumba. Less idyllic beach maybe, but probably more personal an easier commute to Stonetown which is where the real Zanzibar experience is."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Tembo Hotel

Tembo Hotel

"Charming- should have spent more time here"

1 night Arrived 18 Aug 2007
"This hotel has a very nice colonial feel and is in a great location. It is clean and very quaint - the fixtures, fittings, electrics and plubing all seem to be 50/6s vintage but they work fine (the room aircon units are modern). It is a good location to tour Stonetown which is a very interesting place that we should have spent more time exploring.

We woud not risk swimming on Stonetown beaches. They look nice enough but the water must be very polluted.

Only complaint would be that the mosquite nets were 3+ inches off the ground and we did pick up 1 or 2 bites."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Good
Facilities
Average

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