Zambia: reviews from our travellers

"We had an amazing trip to Zambia and Botswana, in no small part thanks to Anna and Expert Africa. I don't think that we made Anna's life easy because we did not know where exactly we wanted to go but she really listened to the things that we said we did/didn't want and came up with 3 suggestions for places to stay that were perfect for us. When we had questions about booking a particular camp, Anna answered our questions honestly and we really felt that we knew what we were getting.

This was our second trip with Expert Africa and the things that most impress us are the fact that the people you speak to at Expert Africa really know the reserves and camps and can tell you what they are like and the fact that all of the logistics (flights/transfers etc) work so smoothly. This is not the kind of trip that we would want to organise independently and it is so nice to just be able to turn up and have everything arranged for you.

Thanks Anna for a great holiday!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We very much enjoyed our trip to Africa organized by Expert Africa. I was just trying to be honest with the different places in remarking on observations, but overall we had a great time.

Thank you Claire very much for organizing this memoriable trip for us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions - we had a great time. All of our questions were answered before we left and we were very well prepared. Thank you." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Our safari was efficiently and thoughtfully organised by Anna and the whole trip worked very smoothly. We were particularly impressed by Joseph and his colleague who met us at Lusaka as soon as we were off the plane. He saw us through visa control and security and stayed with us until we boarded for Mfuwe. He was there again for the return journey. This made such a difference to us when trying to negotiate an unfamiliar airport.

We perhaps would not choose to go to Zambia again at this time of year, due to the extreme heat and humidity. Tsetse flies were a problem, however the locations, the people and the animals more than made up for any discomfort.

Thank you to Anna for all her hard work and best wishes to the team at Expert Africa. See you at Destinations!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

You are EXPERT Africa - we are unable to think of anything you could do to improve your service - apart from perhaps covering Kenya?!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"Overall our trip was excellent.

Once again the advice and recommendations from Expert Africa allowed us to plan a trip that met our needs and expectations. No doubt other camps in South Luangwa are also very good but Kaingo Camp met or exceeded our goals and expectations for this trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The Expert Africa website remains one of the most thorough and informative websites I have encountered and the staff we worked with on this trip and our previous trip to Botswana were superb.

I will use Expert Africa again when we next have an opportunity to travel to Africa." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"We had an absolutely amazing trip to Zambia and Namibia and a lot of this was thanks to the excellent advice and recommendations from the Expert Africa Staff and the reviews of previous customers on the website.

Everything worked like clockwork and we would definitely use Expert Africa again. Indeed we have already recommended you to a couple of our friends planning Africa holidays....

Suggestions for improvements:

We were very impressed with the service - cannot fault it. It was especially helpful getting notes on the trip, maps etc prior to departure." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"excellent" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"I think we could have done with only 3 locations in Botswana as Chitabe Lediba and Selinda in many ways were quite similar. We will know for next time!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

All went extremely well and efficiently.

Afterwards we spent 2 weeks on our own in South Africa and I felt the difference straight away, in terms of organisation and things going wrong. We had to bribe a policeman to get off a speeding fine, hit a stray tyre on the road, etc etc." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Overall, this trip fulfilled our wishes.

We got to see a lot of leopards and we returned to one of the best places we've stayed at in Africa - Chiawa." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"There aren't enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe how good this holiday was. we've never done anything like it before, but sincereley hope we will again, and if we do will come straight back to Expert Africa.

Everything worked like clockwork, the people were friendly and efficient, and we were treated like royalty everywhere we went. Thank you so much.

Suggestions for improvements:

Not really! As close to a perfect holiday as we've ever experienced." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"Unbelievable! This trip exceeded our expectations by a long way, and we can't wait to go back.

One tiny comment: As a keen photographer making maximum use of the "sweet" light a couple of hours after sunrise, and an hour or two before sunset, is crucial to getting good photos. If there was any way in which the guides could be given basic training in this, and how to best position the vehicle for the best light angle, this would make a difference between an "excellent" and a "superb" drive.

For us, it's not so much seeing the big cats on every drive, but the opportunity to take those "once in a lifetime" photos, even if it is"just" a family of baboons doing what baboons do but in the superb early morning or late afternoon light. Some guides were superb at this - both Patrick and Freya at Kaingo and Mwamba, for example, and Alex and Bryan at Tafika, and all guides were more than willing to try to get the best position when requetsed.

We didn't quite feel that the guide at Sausage Tree had the same intrinsic sensitivity, although this is a minor comment on a truly expert and experienced guide. We appreciate it can be difficult when there are several couples on the same vehicle, and compromises may need to be made to meet the objectives and expectations of everybody involved. This feedback is given in a psotive spirit with the objective of making a superb experience even better.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nothing specific. Everything was extremely well organised and went superbly smoothly. Claire was incredibly helpful in arranging our preferences, with excellent communications all round." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari