CA
Email Judy Anderson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding
Our safari experience was amazing! The 7 days were seamless; drivers arrived on time and were extremely knowledgable. The Elephant Eye Lodge was one of the best lodging experience. Our tent/chalet was well equipped, comfortable and the provided a perfect viewing for wildlife. On our last day we watched giraffes walk by as we were drinking our morning coffee. Every day the meals were beautifully presented and delicious. The game park was lush and green which made game viewing difficult. However, we saw lots of wild life including herds of elephants at very close range. On our last night at Elephant Eye we dined under the stars with over 20 elephants coming onto the lodge grounds to drink at the pool. Later that evening a herd of water buffalo found their way to the pool. Amazing!
Email Susan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Restorative Return
I have Zimbabwean heritage, but hadn't visited for many years. I felt welcomed as if I had never been away. It's impossible to place any one of the many rich ingredients which made up this overall immersive and mind-expanding experience ahead of the others, so let me just say this:
- The people were warm and positive and loved their country.
- The experience was authentic, whether on safari in the bush, spending time with old friends or everyday contact in shops.
- Being away from light and noise pollution was a gift
- the birdlife in Mana Pools was exceptional.
I am already planning my next visit!
US
Email Anthony Kim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
June is perfect for Victoria Falls. For safari, Hwange was good but definitely try out Chobe
We did one full day in Hwange and 1 full day in Chobe safari (all within driving distance of Victoria Falls by 1-2 hrs).
The Zambezi sunset cruise and Victoria Falls are clearly the highlights. If I were to choose safari again, I would do Botswana Chobe another day.
NZ
Email Mary | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful wildlife, but poor conditions for its people
Victoria Falls was amazing - the sound and power of the water was incredible. Hwange National Park was a wonderful experience, numbers and variety of animals was fantastic. Elephants, giraffes, impalas, baboons, zebras, lions, spider monkeys, water buffalo, wildebeest, sables, ostriches, crocodiles, hippopotamus etc.
Cresta Spray View Hotel and Hwange Lodge were both amazing, really good hotels, with friendly, helpful staff and very clean and comfortable.
Mmilo Tours and African Safari staff went out of their way to make it a fantastic holiday.
Scenery was good, but the roads were awful, as was the litter and rubbish strewn everywhere.
People were very friendly, but obviously struggling to survive, signs of poverty everywhere.
Email Eunice Sameke | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic place to visit and knowledgeable guides
Zimbabwe is a beautiful and peaceful country. We had an amazing time visiting Victoria falls and Chobe. All guides were very knowledgeable. I would recommend anyone wanting to visit Zimbabwe not to hesitate.
US
Email Caroline Page | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Zimbabwe is a beautiful country with amazing scenery, great animal sightings, & friendly people!
Our family (four adults) had an amazing time on our trip to Zimbabwe. We loved the scenery on our drive from the Vic Falls airport to our first accommodation stop (Robins Camp). We saw so many wild animals just on that drive alone including giraffes, warthogs, baboons, guinea fowls, & impalas. On the game drives we also saw painted dogs, kudu, elephants, female lions, vultures, African red-billed hornbill, more impalas, zebras, buffalo, & mongoose. Victoria Falls is one of the most stunning places we have ever been. The Falls are so large and there were double rainbows shining through the mist. It was such an experience to see these Falls up close, as well as from the air via helicopter, & in the Devil's Pool. The weather was also great during our trip. In Hwange National Park it was cool in the mornings & just right on the drives. Vic Falls was warmer, but there wasn't too much humidity so it felt nice.
Also, as far as the booking/planning, William was great from start to finish helping up set up our itinerary. We wanted to do Devil's Pool and zipline and he coordinated all of that into the preplanned itinerary. We had great drivers & guides on all of our safari drives and our walk to Victoria Falls. We LOVED the helicopter ride over the Falls and the Boma Dinner & Drum Show was such a fun activity on New Year's Eve.
ES
Email Tracey Geyser | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It has a natural beauty, the local people are friendly, the wildlife good but the roads terrible.
We used Serious fun tours for our 4 days in Zim. we wanted to do Victoria falls and a game drive. We got so much more.
What a pleasant experience! They communicated well from the start. They offered the biggest variation of things to do (boat cruise, helicopter ride, safari drive etc, for our age. (62 and 67).
They looked after us so well, were on time, showed us such interesting things, were kind and funny.
We saw everything from hippos and elephants to amazing rainbows and wild orchid's.
The Hwange Game reserve is beautiful. the road to get there is terrible and my suggestion would be to fly there, not drive.
The Boma night was nothing like you will ever experience again. Extraordinary food, fun and music.
it was the perfect start to our four week holiday .
DE
Email Karen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our Zimbabwe trip was fantastic and unforgettable
I wanted to go to Zimbabwe to see the Victoria Waterfalls. My friend didn't have Africa on his to-do list at all but decided to come along. I convinced him that he should experience at least one game drive while we were there. I organized the trip direct with a Hotel (Livingstone Lodge) and a travel company (Cultural Vibes Travel and Tours), both located in Victoria Falls. We stayed at Livingstone Lodge for 5 nights and all the activities we undertook at Victoria Falls were arranged for us by the very friendly and helpful Livingstone Lodge staff. Most organized tours only spend a day or two at the Falls but we were glad we stayed longer. We did a 2-hour guided tour of the Falls in the morning and then stayed on in the Park by ourselves into the afternoon. It's easy to walk around the 16 lookout points on the Zimbabwe side by yourself but it's interesting to also get the history from the guide beforehand. The advantage of staying on, was that in the morning, the mist from the Falls was a lot less, so we got good pictures of the Falls themselves. In the afternoon, there was a lot of mist, so we got great photos with rainbows in them but the Falls were often completely hidden behind the wall of mist. The next day, we did the 30 minute helicopter ride over the Falls - stunning - and we could identify some of the lookout points we'd been at the day before. The Falls are simply a must-see! Another highlight for us were having lunch at the Victoria Falls Hotel, which is a luxury Hotel built in colonial style - very elegant! - with a patio that looks towards the Falls. The meal prices were reasonable even for our more budget-oriented finances and the view of the clouds of mist rising above the Falls was absolutely beautiful. We also spontaneously decided to walk across the bridge over the Zambesi river. It is very easy and unbeaurocratic to get a (free) ticket from the Zimbabwean border post allowing you to walk across the bridge and back. There are some great photo opportunities of the Falls from there as well.
The absolute highlight of the trip for both my friend and I turned out to be the game drive part of the trip. We had no idea where to go for that, so we chose a 2-night trip offered by the company Cultural Vibes Travel and Tours. That was the best decision we ever made! The staff were very professional, trustworthy, knowledgeable and organized a totally unforgettable experience for us. They booked us into the Iganyana Luxury Tented Camp which is located next to the Hwange Game Park. We were blown away - everything was just wonderful from the people, to the accommodation, food, the bush atmosphere, the game drives (we ended up going on 2 half-day and 1 whole-day drives). It was magic sitting having dinner in the open-air while a herd of elephants came to drink from the swimming pool (pure water from a bore), and we were lucky to see a herd of hundreds of buffalo wandering past as we sat there having breakfast. The temperature was mainly around 28°C or so but it was a dry heat, so easy to tolerate. We hardly saw any flies or mosquitoes, so that was very comfortable too. Although it was obvious that many of the locals didn't have much money, we felt safe walking around on our own during the day. We were advised not to walk around after dark though, not even in the town of Victoria Falls, because wild animals, especially elephants and lions, often wandered around the outskirts then. Getting around was no problem though, as taxis were reasonably priced and the Hotel also had a driver they organised for us. My friend is now also a huge Zimbabwe fan and is already talking about us going back again at some stage.
US
Email Marcy Ferretti | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Victoria Falls was spectacular!
We spent 2 days Victoria Falls after a 12-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. It was a nice change from the more rural park settings. Zimbabwe was clean and the scenery was spectacular. We had dinner on a Zambezi River Cruise while we were there. The food was well prepared, and the service was great. Our guide for the tour of Victoria Falls was so friendly and knowlegeable; we really enjoyed our visit. The 12-minute helicopter ride was just the right amount of time to take in all the views of both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides of the falls. We had lunch at the overlook cafe. The food was local and delicious, and our server was so sweet and helpful. The views at the cafe really helped round out our visit. We enjoyed watching the elephants meandering around as we drove down the main road.
AMAZING
We spent 3 nights and 4 days at Camp Hwange and it truly couldn't have gone better. An incredible NP, private concession and the team at Camp Hwange was excellent. Everyone from the GMs to the entire staff were just great. Extremely inviting, hospitable, outgoing and just good all around people. Our guide, Kan (sp?) was nothing short of excellent as well. Very knowledgeable and truly seemed to love what he was doing. The park itself was great. Plenty of wildlife to be seen and different terrain throughout the areas that we explored. 10/10 for the entire experience.
