Reviews of Chiawa Camp

"Chiawa is truly an out of this world experience. The staff, especially Juliet is second to none. The guides are outstanding. The support staff was truly special as well.

This was a family trip for us. The staff was excellent to our children.

Wildlife sightings were amazing and simply can’t be described. They have to be seen to be believed.

We learn so much from our guides. We did some fishing which was great as well.

We all agreed this is our best family trip ever. I’m sure we will be back!

We can’t recommend Chiawa highly enough to anyone else seeking to go to Africa." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"This is a wonderful camp with great management, staff and guiding. Several hosting surprises were also a highlight. The younger guides in particular were extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The landscape was very dry as a result of poor rainfall earlier this year but that didn’t detract from the game viewing, which was excellent.
Our highlight was the canoeing, which is a completely different experience from the game drives - it was very quiet and peaceful and provides an opportunity to see animals from a new perspective. It was also exhilarating being so close to large herds of elephants and the bird life was wonderful with lots of kingfishers and herons.
The Starbed experience (at an additional cost) was excellent with great attention to detail. The night sounds and incredible sunrise made it an unforgettable experience.
The accommodation and food were both excellent.
Overall a wonderful experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"Chiawa is seemlessly run by a large team, a number of whom welcome you on arrival by boat .

We were initially a little overwhelmed by the size , ( more hotel feel ) but the staff are so good at remembering everyone’s names that we quickly felt they provided a very personalised service .

Lovely surprises kept happening - I won’t mention them , then future guests can be surprised too .

They guide differently here - depending on what activity you choose , you have a different guide who specialises in certain activities. You don’t therefore build up a relationship with any one guide . Having said that they were all very good and delightful people .

Rooms were fabulous- loved the ‘wallow’ . Helpful to cool down a little in the extremely high temperatures.

Food was good although we felt offering hot soup every evening was not a good choice . A cold soup would have been much better if they feel 4 courses is necessary." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"One of our favourites." See all these reviews: 20n in Zambia

"Juliet at Chiawa was so kind-for the last 3 x nights that we stayed there, she upgraded us to the Safari Suite, which was magical and hugely welcome, as the heat on this trip was massively high, and having a pool was a Godsend, albeit i only have went in for one minute, due to my injury

The heat was 42 degrees in Tent 8 at Chawa in the afternoons, and that was lying on the bed underneath the fan with everything open!

The wild life was good, but not as exciting as on previous years, but the Leopard sightings were superb: sadly, the Wild Dogs had moved out of the Chiawa area, literally the day before we arrived, which was a shame-interesting to note that Wild Dogs were never seen when we last visited in 2017 and 2019, and we were excited to hear about the fact that they were now seen around Chiawa every now and again-from Grant's Newsletters over the last few months.

I think that the Chiawa guides should "chain them to an area where the clients can see them" !

It's really lovely that we have built up a really good relationship with Nico, our guide at Chiawa, and we are regularly keep in touch by e-mail-the rains have come at last, and he said that in a couple of weeks time, the camps will close for the year.

I think that Juliet and I built up a really good relationship, with discussions on many topics, including Leadership and what it meant!" See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia

"Loved this camp, loved the special touches, loved the staff ( wow, can they sing ) loved every little thing about our stay.

We were very lucky and upgraded to the Safari Suite which was palatial for the 2 of us with our own private pool overlooking the Zambezi we could wallow while watches, Elephant, Hippo and a host of other animals coming to the river.

The little touches that Chiawa offers Glashow how real hospitality should be. They created memories that will last a lifetime." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia

"Comments, ratings and wildlife as previous nights." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia

"Camp personnel, wildlife, accommodation, food and activities all excellent as previous visits." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia

"Chiawa was exceptional. We had a fabulous time from the moment we landed in the Cessna light aircraft at Jeki Airstrip to the time we climbed into the helicopter to take us from Jeki back to Lusaka (for our onward flight to Livingstone).

The short drive from Jeki to the river was packed with excitement. The guide heard and then found a lion which we tracked and watched for over an hour before he took us to the river for our boat trip up the Zambezi to the camp. What a wonderful way to travel and arrive – a safari in its own right.

The accommodation was spectacular in every sense. The food was excellent and the service exceptional. Chaiwa had a real touch of class/style beyond the other 2 camps. Simple things like the table, white tablecloth, candle etc for sundowners when on a drive (and/or on canoe and river cruises) were such a nice touch. Likewise, our surprise lunch banquet floating down the river on our arrival day with a bottle of bubbly. This made it all feel so special. The communal BBQ in the bush was another nice touch and gave us the opportunity to meet other guests.

The guides at Chiawa were exceptional – and were especially good company. Their judgement about what, where, when, how etc was terrific. We were – and remain – in awe at their knowledge and skills, their gentle and kind hospitality and the way they built relationships with us.

We saw the most amazing game whilst at Chiawa – we don’t know if that was the norm or if we were particularly lucky – especially cats. The canoe safari was great fun and was concluded in great style with a transfer to a boat for smart G&Ts on the river at sunset. Very cool.

We really liked the feel of Chiawa. There was far more of a truly local feel to the camp and there was a clear and obvious happy and professional atmosphere.

Our one critical comment relates to the General Manager. Whilst he clearly ran an extremely efficient business and a professional and happy team, we felt that his own people skills were rather lacking. His interaction with us seemed mechanical rather than empathetic. Again, we stress that this was our perception and how we felt - rather than anything concrete." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"Transfer from Busanga Plains to Jeki airstrip via Lusaka delayed so late into Chiawa Camp. Transfer by boat on the Zambezi to Chiawa Camp which is always magical.

Watching the elephants crossing the river feeding on the islands. This is my second visit to Chiawa and it did not disappoint.

Hosted by By Simon and Juliet .I was in room 7 which has great views of the river. The camp has a great atmosphere with communal dining.

Elephants are possibly the main attraction at Chiawa camp, Lots of them ! The food is top notch with an early breakfast before the game drive and Bruch after at 11.30. Lots of choices. Evening meal is a communal affair. Generally on the first morning you have a Bruch boat cruise with bubbly.

I loved the afternoon canoeing on the channels avoiding the aggressive hippos." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia