Reviews of safaris to Lower Zambezi National Park
341 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Lower Zambezi.
THB47
New Zealand
"Trip as a whole"
I visited Zambia between 5 Jul 2011 and 21 Jul 2011
"We probably won't go back to Zambia as we prefer Sabi Sand game and, in particular, the frequency and quality of cat sightings. We enjoyed the walking safaris and the water activities a lot.
As noted earlier, Expert Africa information packs should state that women's underwear will not be laundered by the lodges.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Without wishing to go on about this, tell people women's underwear will not be washed at camps in Zambia." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 15 on a Zambia safari
As noted earlier, Expert Africa information packs should state that women's underwear will not be laundered by the lodges.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Without wishing to go on about this, tell people women's underwear will not be washed at camps in Zambia." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 15 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Good
Mr & Mrs L
USA
"Special Trip"
I visited Zambia and 1 other country between 3 Jul 2011 and 17 Jul 2011
"This trip met and exceeded our expectations. All the arrangements in Africa were perfect, and the selection of where to go and stay made the trip interesting.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
As this was our first trip to Africa, Claire was very helpful in planning our trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
As this was our first trip to Africa, Claire was very helpful in planning our trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Miss L
Scotland
"Our Fantastic Trip"
I visited Zambia between 26 Jun 2011 and 10 Jul 2011
"This is the second trip we have made with Expert Africa. Staff are helpful, patient and knowledgeable.
I like the fact that we can talk to a member of staff with first hand experience of the lodges we planned to visit.
Both trips we have undertaken have exceeded expectation. This last one was absolutely fantastic. Every detail was taken care of and we didn't have to worry about anything. All we had to do was pack our bags, turn up at the airport and have the time of our lives.
All three camps were exceptional - I do believe that we chose the best. Staff were efficient, friendly and did everything they could to make our stay very enjoyable. Meals were comparable to good city restaurants which is remarkable considering the logistics of getting supplies.
Expert Africa is the only company I have ever come across that gives travellers a card with Staff emergency telephone numbers. This reflects the care that the company takes to ensure that clients have the best possible service. I wouldn't travel to Africa with any other company.
Thanks everyone - we had a wonderful time. We hope to return." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari
I like the fact that we can talk to a member of staff with first hand experience of the lodges we planned to visit.
Both trips we have undertaken have exceeded expectation. This last one was absolutely fantastic. Every detail was taken care of and we didn't have to worry about anything. All we had to do was pack our bags, turn up at the airport and have the time of our lives.
All three camps were exceptional - I do believe that we chose the best. Staff were efficient, friendly and did everything they could to make our stay very enjoyable. Meals were comparable to good city restaurants which is remarkable considering the logistics of getting supplies.
Expert Africa is the only company I have ever come across that gives travellers a card with Staff emergency telephone numbers. This reflects the care that the company takes to ensure that clients have the best possible service. I wouldn't travel to Africa with any other company.
Thanks everyone - we had a wonderful time. We hope to return." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr E
Berkeley
"Zambia Safari"
I visited Zambia and 1 other country between 17 Jun 2011 and 3 Jul 2011
"The trip overall was quite good. There were a few bumps, but they were resolved without too much trouble. I think the camps in South Luangwa were uniformly excellent, and I got good value for the time of year that I went (June). Lower Zambezi was excellent - I think this is a truly beautiful area for safari. Unfortunately, my game viewing was as good as I would hope, but I can't fault the camp or the guides for that. The river activities provide an great change of pace.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
My only suggestion would be to perhaps provide an alternate way of contacting Expert Africa while traveling. Perhaps, a skype number? I mention this because I had to use my mobile phone to contact Expert Africa during my travel due to a misconnect at JNB, and the roaming charges and long distance charges can add up rather quickly. My mobile phone contract in the US charges me whether I send or receive unlike many European contracts, so I had to pay for every minute used. In retrospect, I probably should have asked to correspond via e-mail since I had free internet access in the South African Airways business class lounge.
Also, it was great that you provided me the contact information in your packet, but it would also be a good idea to provide instructions on who to call and when if anything should go wrong during the trip. It seems like you've got representatives covering all the time zones, but it would be good to identify particular numbers to call for problems." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
My only suggestion would be to perhaps provide an alternate way of contacting Expert Africa while traveling. Perhaps, a skype number? I mention this because I had to use my mobile phone to contact Expert Africa during my travel due to a misconnect at JNB, and the roaming charges and long distance charges can add up rather quickly. My mobile phone contract in the US charges me whether I send or receive unlike many European contracts, so I had to pay for every minute used. In retrospect, I probably should have asked to correspond via e-mail since I had free internet access in the South African Airways business class lounge.
Also, it was great that you provided me the contact information in your packet, but it would also be a good idea to provide instructions on who to call and when if anything should go wrong during the trip. It seems like you've got representatives covering all the time zones, but it would be good to identify particular numbers to call for problems." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Dr M & Dr Y
Richmond
"Another great trip with Expert Africa"
I visited Zambia and 1 other country between 15 Jun 2011 and 30 Jun 2011
"We have been lucky enough to travel with expert Africa on four occasions and the service we have received has always been exceptional.
We enjoyed the trip to Malawi and Zambia even more than our previous trips and think the two countries combine very well. A great factor in the success of the holiday was the choice of lodges/camps. The thing that we particularly appreciate is the fact that you can typically deal with one person in the organisation to discuss and plan a trip. The personal knowledge of all the various camps and lodges that the Expert Africa staff have is essential. This was very much the case for this holiday where we were unsure where to stay in the Lower Zambezi and were given specific advice which led us to change the choice of camp to Old Mondoro and we were delighted we did that.
Likewise we were unsure about whether Pumulani was right for us but again specific knowledge of the Lodge within the Expert Africa team reassured us and again this was spot on. As a consequence we stayed in 4 different camps all of which were excellent and complemented each other perfectly.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
As before the connections, pick ups etc all worked perfectly and the only minor difficulty we had was connecting to the flight to Jeki in Lusaka airport as the flight was not on the Proflight list or display board as it was a charter and they did not seem to know exactly where we should go but this was resolved very quickly by another member of staff. I am afraid I cannot add anything more constructive as all went so well - thanks for another excellent trip.
Particular thanks to Maruska who was great." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
We enjoyed the trip to Malawi and Zambia even more than our previous trips and think the two countries combine very well. A great factor in the success of the holiday was the choice of lodges/camps. The thing that we particularly appreciate is the fact that you can typically deal with one person in the organisation to discuss and plan a trip. The personal knowledge of all the various camps and lodges that the Expert Africa staff have is essential. This was very much the case for this holiday where we were unsure where to stay in the Lower Zambezi and were given specific advice which led us to change the choice of camp to Old Mondoro and we were delighted we did that.
Likewise we were unsure about whether Pumulani was right for us but again specific knowledge of the Lodge within the Expert Africa team reassured us and again this was spot on. As a consequence we stayed in 4 different camps all of which were excellent and complemented each other perfectly.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
As before the connections, pick ups etc all worked perfectly and the only minor difficulty we had was connecting to the flight to Jeki in Lusaka airport as the flight was not on the Proflight list or display board as it was a charter and they did not seem to know exactly where we should go but this was resolved very quickly by another member of staff. I am afraid I cannot add anything more constructive as all went so well - thanks for another excellent trip.
Particular thanks to Maruska who was great." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
G & G
Glasgow
"Double 40th birthday trip to Zambia"
I visited Zambia between 6 May 2011 and 16 May 2011
"We were aware that May can sometimes be a bit early in the dry season as the wildlife can still be spread-out and the bush lush but you can't shift your birthdays!
Zambia though offers a wide range of National Parks and spread of activities so the plan was to visit Lower Zambezi NP for the first time, South Luangwa which we'd really enjoyed before and finally get to Vic Falls. It turned out better than we hoped - camps great with wonderful views over the rivers, excellent knowledgeable guides and some really good sightings.
A few game drives were pretty quiet but more than made up for by some of the boat/canoeing outings. The camps set up some lovely touches for our birthdays too. The whole holiday including logistics between Parks went seamlessly and Claire Scott organised another great trip for us.
Looking forward to planning the next one!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
no" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
Zambia though offers a wide range of National Parks and spread of activities so the plan was to visit Lower Zambezi NP for the first time, South Luangwa which we'd really enjoyed before and finally get to Vic Falls. It turned out better than we hoped - camps great with wonderful views over the rivers, excellent knowledgeable guides and some really good sightings.
A few game drives were pretty quiet but more than made up for by some of the boat/canoeing outings. The camps set up some lovely touches for our birthdays too. The whole holiday including logistics between Parks went seamlessly and Claire Scott organised another great trip for us.
Looking forward to planning the next one!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
no" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr H & Ms Y
UK
"Trip"
I visited Zambia between 22 Oct 2010 and 30 Oct 2010
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs G
Northants
"Fantastic trip!"
I visited Zambia between 13 Oct 2010 and 24 Oct 2010
"Everything ran very smoothly – we were very well looked after and didn't have to worry about any of the transfers at all. However the transfer from Lusaka to Royal Airstrip was a bit confusing as you arrive in Lusaka after overnight flight to near chaos in Lusaka airport. But we had been in the area before.
Overall we expected a repeat of our last trip which had been amazing – we were not disappointed
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
SmaIl comment - I think pictures depicting the rooms at the lodges should include all standards to avoid disappointment on arrival – all brochures and lodge websites show the honeymoon suite! And all tents at Chiawa [except the honeymoon tent] were superior, superior to what?" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
Overall we expected a repeat of our last trip which had been amazing – we were not disappointed
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
SmaIl comment - I think pictures depicting the rooms at the lodges should include all standards to avoid disappointment on arrival – all brochures and lodge websites show the honeymoon suite! And all tents at Chiawa [except the honeymoon tent] were superior, superior to what?" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs B.
Cambridge
"A thoroughly enjoyable holiday"
I visited Zambia between 10 Oct 2010 and 21 Oct 2010
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs B
Luxborough
""
I visited Zambia between 3 Oct 2010 and 14 Oct 2010
"From the research we had done beforehand, we had high expectations of both Shenton Safaris and Chiawa camp. Both exceeded our expectations.
The locations were spectacular, the wildlife encounters outstanding and the standard of accommodation, service and hospitality first class.
The abiding memory of this holiday will, of course, be the wildlife. We were fortunate enough to see many memorable things including: several successful hunts by lions, 2 prides of lions disputing territory and a kill, leopards, large herds of buffalo and elephants at (very) close quarters, etc, etc. Due to the locations of the camps being deep within the National Park(s), none of these sightings were shared with large numbers of tourists. At no time were the lions outnumbered by the tourists and on the vast majority of occasions ours, with 6 guests, was the only vehicle present; there were never more than 2 vehicles at any sighting at the same time.
This was a truly memorable experience, our thanks go to all who made it possible.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We really can't fault it, many thanks for your help." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
The locations were spectacular, the wildlife encounters outstanding and the standard of accommodation, service and hospitality first class.
The abiding memory of this holiday will, of course, be the wildlife. We were fortunate enough to see many memorable things including: several successful hunts by lions, 2 prides of lions disputing territory and a kill, leopards, large herds of buffalo and elephants at (very) close quarters, etc, etc. Due to the locations of the camps being deep within the National Park(s), none of these sightings were shared with large numbers of tourists. At no time were the lions outnumbered by the tourists and on the vast majority of occasions ours, with 6 guests, was the only vehicle present; there were never more than 2 vehicles at any sighting at the same time.
This was a truly memorable experience, our thanks go to all who made it possible.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We really can't fault it, many thanks for your help." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
341
reviews of Lower Zambezi by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
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Where to stay in Lower Zambezi
Our suggestions for safari camps in Lower Zambezi National Park
Chongwe River Camp
A blend of the stylish and traditional in a most picturesque site in the Zambezi Valley, Chongwe River Camp offers an excellent safari experience and real value for money.
Old Mondoro Bushcamp
For an intimate safari in the Lower Zambezi, with superb guiding, Old Mondoro is up there with the best.
Chiawa Camp
One of Zambia's top safari camps, Chiawa is family owned and run, offering superb service and a flexible approach from a location well inside the Lower Zambezi National Park.
Sausage Tree Camp
Sausage Tree is a high-quality safari camp offering a luxurious stay and excellent personal service deep inside Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park.
Potato Bush Camp
Potato Bush is located right in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park, with privately guided activities taking you on game drives, walks, boat trips and canoeing.
Anabezi Luxury Camp
Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp offers a high degree of understated luxury in a very lovely, quiet part of the Lower Zambezi with outstanding wildlife.
Amanzi
Opened in 2015, Amanzi is an intimate and rustic yet luxury camp in a very quiet area of the Lower Zambezi, with plenty of wildlife and good birding.
Kutali Camp
Kutali Fly-Camp offers the opportunity to experience the wilderness of Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, in this simple fly-camp located on Kulefu Island.
Chongwe River House
Chongwe River House is a stylish four-bedroom house designed for the exclusive use of families and small groups, affording the ultimate in flexibility on safari.
Kasaka River Lodge
Kasaka River Lodge is a relatively simple, family-friendly camp. It's outside the Lower Zambezi National Park and, with a recent change of ownership for the better, it offers a great-value safari destination.
Chula Island Camp
Chula Island Camp offers the opportunity to experience the wilderness of Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, in this simple fly-camp located in a natal mahogany grove on a small island on the Zambezi River.
Tafara Springs
Tarafa Springs offers the opportunity to experience the wilderness of the Lower Zambezi National Park, in this rustic bushcamp located next to the main Zambezi escarpment.
Lolebezi
A chic safari spot, luxurious Lolelbezi is the Lower Zambezi’s newest camp and offers a mix of walking, canoeing and game drives led by excellent guides.
