Reviews of trips to Livingstone & Victoria Falls

"A natural wonder. in the top three greatest family holiday experiences of our lives to date!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We found Lucy to be an excellent support, she is clearly a really lovely person who is so knowlegable and worked so hard to refine our itinerary! She is a real professional too!

I would much prefer the detailed feedback we give to be over the phone or face to face rather than on a feedback form.

With this we will also ring Lucy for a chat with our feedback.

Thank you for all that you do, you we find you to be an excellent organisation with first class knowledge and a clear great passion for Africa.

Thank you so much for all you have done for us x" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"I believe this was as close to a perfect vacation as you can possibly have.

Every detail Freddie put together was amazing from the fishing to the helicopter tour to the hotels and safari camps. The accommodations were just amazing and the game drives were beyond all our expectations. Robin Pope Safaris clearly knows what they are doing and it shows in every detail of their camps and game drives.

The bar has been set so high for us that I don't expect any African vacation to ever surpass this one.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I honestly can't think of anything that could have been better.

Keep up your amazing work and THANK YOU!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"Amazing trip - even better than I expected.

I'm so glad I chose Zambia and specifically South Luangwa National Park for my first safari. I'm a little worried that I may have been spoiled - apparently it's not normal to see so many animals practically at will and sometimes you may have to wait.

I had already decided on Zambia, SLNP and Norman Carr Safaris before booking with Expert Africa. Lucy organised me beautifully and I didn't need much persuading to add a side trip to Victoria Falls. I was glad to have Lucy to fall back on when I managed to miss an internal flight, though fortunately I only needed her help (and reassurance!) to let the camp know my new arrival time.

At Livingstone, I stayed at Waterberry Lodge – loved my chalet with its verandah overlooking the lagoon, lunch on the deck serenaded by hippos grunting in the Zambezi. Had a wonderful helicopter flight over the falls and through the gorge.

Norman Carr Safaris were all they appear to be - truly excellent. I stayed at Kakuli, Mchenja and Nsolo. All three bushcamps were beautifully situated and well laid-out.

All the chalets I stayed in at each bushcamp were superbly comfortable - superking beds (given the full four-poster effect at night with mosquito nets) and hot water bottles if it was slightly chilly; solar-powered lamps and hot water; open air en-suite; inside and outside seating. Stupendously high roof, the beams and thatch are practically works of art themselves. Each room had fresh cold drinking water in a thermos, Peaceful Sleep mosquito spray and toiletries, I managed to resist the temptation to blow the emergency horn or whistle. There's a two-way cupboard in one of the walls where an early morning cup of tea/coffee will be delivered on request.

All the staff attached to the camps were so very welcoming and friendly, accommodating everyone's needs and wishes, and providing great meals. They really do work hard to ensure you are comfortable and get what you want out of your trip. I was unable to do any walking unfortunately, but there was no quibble about arranging an extra guide when needed. Quite often it was me, a guide and jeep and the beauty and bounty of SLNP - bliss.

As far as I'm concerned, the animals practically line up to greet you. It's just a constant parade of lions, hippos, elephants, leopards, giraffe, buffalo, hyena, wild dogs, kudu, puku, impala, mongoose, wildebeest, genets.... I'm terrible with bird names but there were many and often lovely (lilac-breasted roller, bee-eaters, fish eagle, giant eagle owl). Every game drive or walk is an adventure, as you don't know what you'll find but you know it'll be interesting!

My only concern is that safaris might become expensively addictive..." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"This was truly an experience of a lifetime!

The only things I would've changed is to try to have one additional night at Victoria Falls, and nicer accommodations in Lusaka. Overall, given that we were able to book our flights using award miles and had other obligations to work around, we certainly made the most of our time.

I was so impressed with our safari camps, and will definitely recommend them." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"Maruska organized a vacation for my husband and me, and her expert knowledge and prompt, informative communications were invaluable, ensuring a painless and memorable experience from planning to booking to actually embarking on our trip.

The fact that our trip was as seamless and amazing as it was is attributable to Maruska--we cannot thank her enough for such an incredible trip!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"We could not have had a more amazing trip for our first safari! Ten days at three camps in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, followed by 2 days at Victoria Falls, provided incredible wildlife sightings and experiences. Our trip goals were for wildlife and photography, which were absolutely me above and beyond what we hoped fort! We saw every animal on our list, including all of the Big Five except rhinos (since they are not in the region), two leopard kills, and three different packs of wild dogs!

Each camp we stayed at (Flatdogs, Kaingo, and Tafika) was excellent in its own way, and we felt pampered at every stop. We also felt exceptionally comfortable with our dietary restrictions (vegetarian and severe allergies) everywhere which was a huge relief and greatly added to our stress-free vacation.

We could not have planned this trip without the extensive expertise and help of Amanda Bond and Expert Africa - she really took our trip goals and worked with us to build the ideal trip. Everything was perfect from start to finish and we couldn't have asked for a better safari experience. We are so grateful to Amanda and Expert Africa for taking care of every single detail so that we could make the most of our time in Zambia. From the time we stepped off the plane in Zambia everything was smooth sailing.

We would not hesitate to work with Expert Africa again in the future and cannot recommend Amanda Bond enough! Thank you so much!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None, we were extremely impressed with every aspect of our experience." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari

"Great trip, everything went so well. No glitches.

The connections and transfers were all seamless. Chobe River crossings between Zambia and Botswana was easy.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We are so impressed with the trip Lucy put together for us. Even though we just saw a small corner of Africa it was truely amazing.

Lucy really listened to what we wanted to do and made it all happen" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"Expert Africa does it again! Claire is fantastic about listening to what you want and delivering. Our trip went smoothly.

The only complaint is that I never feel it is long enough--I could happily spent a month in the bush. I loved 4 nights at each camp. Shorter stays means that you are constantly packing and moving. The next trip I will look at hiring private air charters rather than using commercial flights between safari camps -- for the extra cost, I think it would be worthwhile.

Freddie Sutton took over during Claire's absence and did a fine job getting all the information to us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

keep doing what you are doing!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Megan arranged a wonderful safari for us in Botswana. She listened carefully to our needs and hopes. With her first hand experience of the country she put to a most enjoyable programme with a variety of camps. She was very friendly and extremely efficient replying speedily to our emails.

From our arrival in Maul tour departure from Livingstone the package, including all Border crossings, flowed seamlessly and without difficulty. The various guides who met us organised tickets and visas speedily.

With hindsight two camps were close together but we appreciate that availability and distance may have been a limiting factor. A camp further up into the the delta would have allowed us to compare the wet areas with the dry areas.

In short a great experience. Thank you." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"6 days on the Zambezi and in South Luangwa were among the most enjoyable and memorable of my lifetime.

I cannot wait to go back!" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari