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Reviews of Tafika

Wildlife sightings and reviews

344 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Tafika and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in May-2018, 101 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Tafika.
Lion

85% success

Leopard

92% success

Wild dog

40% success

Hippo

100% success

Zebra

99% success

Giraffe

99% success

Elephant

98% success

Buffalo

93% success

Spotted Hyena

90% success

Wildebeest

46% success

Eland

10% success

Roan antelope

3% success

Sable antelope

1% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 344
Duration
Arrival date
Stefano
New York

"Tafika review"

2 nights Arrived 29 May 2025
"Tafika is probably the best camp we have stayed in Africa. Starting with the gorgeous location on the banks of the Luangwa river , then staying in the charming rooms with the pleasing outdoor bathrooms, eating the exquisite food ( different every day) , and finally dealing with the engaging and competent staff, everything is perfect at Tafika.
We were told that South Luangwa is the place to see leopards, but not even in our wildest dreams would we expect to have three different sightings of leopards in one day and to spend more than one hour in daylight with a very relaxed 3 years old Mutima. What a privilege!
My only regret is to not have spent more days at Tafika." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

4 sightings

Giraffe

2 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Zebra

2 sightings

Ronnie
Vegas

"Tafika Our First Camp"

3 nights Arrived 21 May 2025
"I was a little (a lot) disappointed because the reason we picked Tafika was for its Mountain Biking option but John who was the owner and the guide for MTB said it was too dangerous because of the high grass and the elephants yet John rode his MB to and from camp to his hse?

I would rate Tafika as number 3 out of the 3 camps we visited." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 4n in Botswana; 3n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Elephant

7 sightings

Giraffe

5 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Spotted Hyena

3 sightings

Zebra

9 sightings

Mr & Mrs F
Maidstone

"Tafika review"

4 nights Arrived 13 May 2025
"We love Tafika for its location, family feel and great food and service.

The game viewing is fantastic too!" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs P
norway

"Tafika review"

2 nights Arrived 13 Oct 2024
"WOW! Just fantastic! Such a personal and relaxed feel to the place. John and Carol being around the lodge really does add that special touch. All the staff were exceptional but not imposing, knew what you needed without having to say. A very experienced team.

The location, even though technically outside the park, was fantastic. The views are great, game moving around outside the lodge and also inside the lodge, elephants outside our room and hippos and a leopard within the first 5 min drive.

The rooms are unique, open walls to get the sounds and smells of the bush straight into the room. This also allows other guest to access the room, we had frogs and spiders and of course mosquitoes, so this may not be for everyone, but we loved it! The beds are protected with high quality nets, so sleeping was no issue and the fan kept us cool. The showers were some of the best we had on our whole 4 week trip.

The game driving and guides here are second to none! Every drive was phenomenal. You will hardly see another car and feel you are out on your own private reserve.

A real gem of a place, unique and an experience not found in many other places on the African continent." See all these reviews: 5n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mrs & Mr F
BC

"Tafika review"

3 nights Arrived 3 Oct 2024
"One of our favorite camps with very comfortable chalets.

The camp is very welcoming and we especially enjoyed the lively conversations over meals with other guests and the owners and guides.

Wildlife sightings were excellent and elephants frequently came into camp." See all these reviews: 20n in Zambia; 15n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

8 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

U.
Luxembourg

"Tafika review"

1 night Arrived 25 Sep 2024
"Overlooking the Luangwa River.

Elephants frequently visit the camp.

Outside of the national park but still remote and with as much wildlife as inside the park.
Plenty of leopards." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

David
Doha

"Tafika Camp stay"

1 night Arrived 24 Sep 2024
"Tafika is an excellent camp. It benefits from having the owner on site keeping an eye on things.

Game viewing is excellent as well, even with elephants being seen in camp!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
U.
Luxembourg

"Tafika review"

2 nights Arrived 20 Sep 2024
"Good location although outside of the national park.

Well managed lodge.

Plenty of good wildlife sightings on every game drive." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr V
Birmingham

"Tafika review"

4 nights Arrived 1 Sep 2024
"This camp is beautifully situated on the banks of the Luangwa and is carefully and well maintained.

It stands out in Safari terms by being the home of the Coppinger family as well as a camp, and is delightful. Given it is in the Nsafu sector, there is no real competition on game drives, and you are likely to have the animals all to yourself.

It’s a very good experience hence the number of returning guests." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

5 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

5 sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Zebra

6 sightings

Mr & Mrs P
Toronto

"Authentic and beautiful camp "

2 nights Arrived 30 Aug 2024
"We loved the design and comfort of Tafika. It had a very traditional African feel and it was clear that the family who have run Tafika for so many years have been extremely thoughtful in their design, for instance, the toilet was separated from the bedroom area, unlike some other camps. The family who own Tafika are most gracious and generous with their time. The food was excellent and there was so much choice: It is the perfect camp for people who want fruit and vegetables as they have 2 huge gardens with diverse vegetables and papaya trees and everything tastes super-fresh. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t also many choices for meat lovers. We had quite good game sightings, for instance a huge family of lions and lion cubs, but there were periods where sightings were sparce. Part of the reason is that this camp is deliberately and thoughtfully old-school, and decisions were taken not to have loud communication between jeeps. So even if one sometimes does not see as much, the atmosphere is calm, peaceful and authentic." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Showing 1-10 of 344
98%
344 reviews of Tafika by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
317
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0
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Kakuli Bushcamp

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Puku Ridge

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Mfuwe Lodge

Mfuwe Lodge

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