Reviews of trips to Livingstone & Victoria Falls

"These comments actually cover the time when we were 'on our own' in Zambia. First, we rented a 4x4 from Limohire that we drove to my daughter's village (she is a Peace Corps volunteer) in a village called Chisebwa about 15km from the Great North Road at an intersection about 50km southwest of Serenje. We also used it to visit some farmers my daughter is working with and to visit Kundalila Falls. Those experiences were off paved roads but were on fairly good single lane trails/roads.

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

"Zambia surpassed all expectations.

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

"This was a lovely trip, we enjoyed every minute of it. Lucy got it absolutely right in the order we did things. It was lovely to chill out at the Zambesi Sun for the first 4 days with the game drives at Chobe and Kafue following. This gave us the chance to get very close to all the animals we had hoped to see and to photograph them. The walking safari following on meant there was no pressure to see and get very close to any of the animals and we could enjoy the walks and savour Africa at a leisurely pace with animals getting close to us when we stayed still.

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; 13 on a Zambia safari

"We have been on 2 safaris before and this was a really fabulous trip with many highlights, tempting us to try another in a few years' time!

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 £2,000 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

"The trip certainly was a grreat experience and we enjoyed the wildlife and the people very much.

What is always difficult is the estimation of a good itinerary - there were some days that we were more in the car than we planned or expected to be, but it's difficult to avoid unless you go again to a place you already know a little bit." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We have brought home wonderful memories and had an amazing trip from start to finish. The whole experience was everything we wanted it to be - and more! As we left the Uk , I was concerned that I had seen so many documentaries and David Attenboroughs that I might be disappointed. How wrong could I have been - it was was above my expectation, there was real wildlife as soon as you left camp and often in it.

The staff were overwhelmingly friendly, nothing was too much trouble and we met some interesting staff and visitors alike.

Suggestions for improvements:

Tipping - this was all a bit difficult. Chris Macintyres book mentioned and I'm glad it did. There were guidelines to suitable amounts in each camp , which were different from camp to camp, which seemed odd. Everything was set based on the average wealthy American family, who live with a culture of tipping. The British don't, the Americans we spoke to said if those were the suggested amounts they felt they should pay more and we just felt mean! I was very glad to have thought this through from home. Maybe its something you could emphasise more in your useful information.

I didn't engage enough with the Wilderness safari culture and ethical stance before I went, due to lack of realisation and time but I'm glad we chose the things we did, given the difference it makes to parts of the country and opportunities it presents. It could be somethign you make more reference to or raise the profile within Expert Africa" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"We had a wonderful trip and hope to repat it again before too long. All was a s expected and even better !

Suggestions for improvements:

Hard to think of improvements." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Chris & Lisa's comments -

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

"The whole trip was excellent in it`s organisation. Every connection was on time with drivers, camp staff etc all waiting for us.
Our highlights were the beautiful location of our tent at Kwara and the off road driving , the boat trip on the Chobe river with Muchenje Lodge and Santantadebi Mobile camp for all sorts of reasons as mentioned previously. [Ed: in the reviews below!]

We did see many wonderful animals but we can`t deny a little disappointment at the minimal sightings of the big cats.

We felt in need of exercise after 2 weeks of doing nothing but sitting in the jeeps and eating!

We had many interesting and fun conversations with the other guests all of which made the holiday memorable.

Suggestions for improvement:

The only negative I have is that the information on prices at Victoria Falls was inaccurate eg we expected the helicopter ride to be $100 but it was $130, similarly the cost of meals had risen sharply." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our honeymoon was amazing.

From initial planning with Lucy, who was very patient, knowledgable and friendly we had high hopes for our trip and all our expectations were exceeded!! Thanks so much" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari