Hosted Journeys to extra ordinary places
Cuckoo Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Fernando | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
reliable and efficient
Cuckoo Safaris prepared and tailored my trip to Victoria Falls at very short notice, with very reliable service and always very responsive to my queries. Both Tatenda and Simon, my guide, delivered a superb trip which allowed me to rest during my trip, with no hassles throughout. Highly recommended.
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Email Shawn | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great tour operators with quick response times and convenient booking process!
Cuckoo was quick to respond to our last minute request for a tour of Victoria Falls and Chobe! They were fairly priced and did a good job setting us up with guides and local operators in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
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Email ndjunke | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Victoria Falls and Chobe trip
Cuckoo Safari was very patient with our group plan changes several times and it was very easy to communicate via email with quick responses
They were very promptly with pickup time
We were very pleased with Tatenda that he followed up with trip daily via whatsApp
The whole trip went smoothly. I would give 5/5 but because the trip to Victoria Falls wasn’t specify the duration and verbally stated that it’ll be at our own pace. Unfortunately we were rushed while the group was having lunch, therefore suggest you need to put the duration in writing and the tour need to mention about the poncho or raincoat to Victoria Falls wasn’t part of the package and need to tell the rental price in advance. When we talked to the other travelers at the lodge and they said their tour provided the poncho so I mentioned it to Simmon our tour guide and he provided the poncho to our group with no extra charge. Thanks Simmon for that
You can pay via credit card
I would use this company again in the future
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Email Hernan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good and reliable service!
Our safari with Cuckoo was overall excellent, though there were a few exceptions. Everything was exactly as described. Upon our arrival at Victoria Falls Airport, Simon was there to greet us with a sign bearing my name for easy identification. He then escorted us to our lodge, allowing us some time to check in and refresh ourselves. Afterward, Simon took us on a tour of Victoria National Park, providing informative explanations about the falls.
However, it was disappointing that Simon didn't suggest a visit to the Zambia side of the falls, even though we mentioned having obtained the Kaza visa for multiple entries. Another drawback was the extensive travel the next day, requiring a 6-hour round trip to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe from our lodge. The safari experience itself was good, but the long drive in a small car was uncomfortable. We had hoped for a more suitable vehicle like a van or 4x4.
The highlight of our journey with Cuckoo was undoubtedly our visit to Chobe National Park in Botswana. It was conveniently closer to our lodge, approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes away, and we traveled in a spacious van. The adventure, which encompassed both land and water components, was exceptional.
In conclusion, we were generally satisfied with our safari experience, but the extended journeys in small cars and the missed opportunity to view Victoria Falls from the Zambia side were minor drawbacks.
SG
Email Sonam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime, hassle free and smooth planning and execution by Cuckoo.
Trip of a lifetime, hassle free and smooth planning and execution by Cuckoo. I have to admit we only started our process of planning with Tatenda with Cuckoo very late. But he was accommodating and made it all happen for us very quickly. They were honest with the recommendations and also helped make any changes we wanted very effortlessly.
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Email Rebecca | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simon was great!
I found cuckoo safaris during my research when starting to plan this trip. They were super responsive and accommodating to making changes in the itinerary that we wanted. I think it’s important to know that cuckoo is not with you the entire time they have partners in different countries such as Botswana. I had no idea that we would be passed off to some other company so it was a bit nerve racking when you are not familiar with the country. We were with cuckoo for 6 nights and 7 days and here are our pros and cons. Pros: everyone is on time for pick ups and drops off, the variety of activities provided is a great mix, AC vehicles for long drives or transfers, bottled water is supplied daily, the price was within our budget compared to different operators, the game drives are very long days but you get to see all the animals which is a very unique experience. Cons: all the hotels except the one we stayed at in Victoria falls were just okay (even with researching prior they were rated 4 and up on Google but just didn’t really fit/meet our expectations) good thing is you can ask for a higher tier, and biggest CON was the food was absolutely terrible. On long game drives they pack you a lunch but it’s a boiled egg, some deli sandwich and randoms snacks that have been sitting in a open door SUV from 5am in the morning not refrigerated or the drivers have food like rice and a meat just chilling in the trunk for long periods of time. You feel bad saying no thank you because these people are working incredible hard but I do not trust food that requires refrigeration at home to just be in the back seat of a car when it’s 100 degrees. I would highly advise bringing a bunch of protein bars, jerky and snacks to get you thru the day. Even at some hotels the breakfast buffets had under cooked eggs or meat or flies swarming a huge bowl of yogurt. I find it better to not have open food buffets in areas with lots of insects.
We did have a good experience and very glad we saw Zimbabwe and Botswana but with the amount of money you pay you would hope that there would be better food during long days. But unfortunately the food goes across the board for many tour operators as you see several different companies throughout your trip.
