Zambia Travel Guide

South Lwange was amazing in May, Kafue had good wildlife sightings, but far fewer

I traveled via Cross Country Safaris to Zambia in May 2017. I visited 3 camps in Kafue and South Lwange. Cross Country chose beautiful camps in Chichele Lodge and Flatdogs Camp. Amazing wildlife sightings and great service and comfort at these two camps. I've been on about 6-7 wildlife safaris, and this ranked first or 2nd best. I wish Cross Country had told me more about Kafue, despite the fact that I read it had less wildlife. We did see typically one good game sighting each drive, but far less density of sightings than at South Lwange. If I went back to Kafue, it would be in September. Tseste flies were quite noticeable in Kafue. I found camp staff a little less well trained at Kafue than at South Lwange, and thought it was wierd that they have live shooting practice for rangers inside the park, rather than in the Game Management Area.

1) Highly accessible (English is the main language), prices are affordable, the local transit (while a little chaotic) is easily utilized, locals are generally friendly and helpful
2) Safe, there was never any sense of risk that I experienced in Lusaka, Livingstone, Kasanka or Mfuwe. Police are corrupt but not so much so that I had to pay for, or herd of people being harassed for bribes.
3) Amazing sights and activities, my personal highlights included swimming at the edge of Victoria Falls, while little fish nibbled the dead skin off my body like some Vietnamese spa, watching up to 10,000,000 fruits bats take off from the canopy in Kasanka National Park, rafting down the Zambezi and a seemingly endless number of great sights in South Luangwa.

I can only base this on our experience in South Luangwa, but from what we heard from other guests, the other parks in Zambia are extremely good too.

I have lived in Zambia for over four years now, and everything from the wildlife, to the local people is an amazing experience. Zambia is a beautiful country, rich in wildlife. It is much more 'real' compared to other places in Africa as not as many people visit.

This is based on South Luangwa.

Five stars for most boxes. And 'only' four for birding because I didn't encounter much that I hadn't seen on previous safaris, despite South Luangwa's abundant bird life.

Zambia is a destination that has everything for everyone. From the novice safari goer to the experienced. The wealth of biodiversity and the level of knowledge from the guides is exceptional.

Relatively few tourists compared to other African countries
Game viewing easily matches the best parks on the African continent

Zambia for me is one of the best safari destination overall. Few tourists, great accommodations, wonderful wildlife, very well trained guides, wonderful nature. Only the infrastructure (moving between the national parks) is a bit complicated. There are no direct flight options between the parks (as there are in Tansania for example). You have always to return to Lusaka which is less fun...

Somewhere a bit different to the usual areas. Just that bit wilder and less developed.