The Land & Lake Team
Land & Lake Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 1986)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,472 to $34,718 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Personal, professional, very flexible and accommodating to ensure exactly the holiday we wanted,
From the very first email contact, through to the holiday itself; I received very personal attention from one advisor; who as a result; really understood what we were looking for from our travel.
The communications were always prompt and I was kept very well advised on the status of my bookings. Numerous enquiries and requests for itinerary adjustments were dealt with professionally and courteously.
I would not hesitate to recommend Land and Lake to others looking for a personalised service combined with expert understanding of Malawi.
CH
Email Andrea & André | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great journey with a big diversity in an original african country
The tour was very well organized by our professional and very competent guide Saidi.
We loved the tents in Dzalanyama Forest, The Thornicroftlodge in Zambia and Chembe''s Eagles Nest. All people who cooked for us were very friendly and offered a good standard.
The Southluangwa-Nationalpark was just amazing.
Since there was still raining season the vegetation was lovely green.
Thank you Saidi for this great experience!
CA
Email Travis | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Land and Lakes Safari organized an absolutely amazing, unforgettable weekend for me.
Land and Lakes Safari exceeded my expectations on this trip. It was my very first ever safari and I will recommend them to anyone looking for a trip to South Luangwa. They put me up in a fantastic lodge and made everything so easy and enjoyable. They took care of it all! I am very pleased and will definitely use their services again.
Perfect safari destination
Everything was great. The food was excellent and everyone was very friendly. The park was incredible and I got to see everything I wanted to.
FR
Email Guy Sparrow | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon
We had the luck in contacting Land and Lake regarding our honeymoon. Their service was impeccable throughout. We had a twin centre holiday and the transfers throughout went without a hitch.
We whole heartedly recommend them if you want a professional and personal service . Five star.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, informative, helpful
Land and Lake Safaris did an excellent job of finding a safari to fit our family and our budget. We went to Mvuu Camp for 2 nights. We saw all the animals they offered with the exception of the rhino being preserved in the sanctuary (closed during rainy season). On our return, one of us became very ill with a bacterial infection. It has taken 2 hospital visits and more than 2 weeks to cover from the illness. I would strongly recommend that Land & Lakes encourage internationals to not drink the water deemed as filtered and safe by Mvuu Camp. They can bring their own water or buy bottled water instead. Thanks.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 day safari to South Luangwa staying at Thornicroft
We couldn't have wished for more friendly tour guides and lodge staff. Land and Lake were very helpful and responsive to all our queries when we were planning our holiday. The drive from Lilongwe to South Luangwa was comfortable and our guides were both fun and interesting - there was never a dull moment in the car. Thornicroft is a very attractive lodge with a very friendly owner and staff. The rooms were comfortable and clean. The game drives were wonderful and were all the more special for having such a knowledgable and friendly safari guide who was very keen to show us as much as possible with a great sense of humour.
DE
Email Jürgen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very varied journey in original Malawi
The service and accomodations were good. Malawi is not that touristic as other African countries.
Unfortunately one of our interpreters (Andreas) was not very helpful.
However the second interpreter (Patrick) did a great job and we had some nice conversations.
Guide Saidi was very experienced and well known in the country and the people. Great!
Email Carol | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
What a disappointment!!!!
I booked through African Budget Safari and they contracted with Land and Lakes Safaris ( L&L) in Malawi. I had a good experience with African Budget Safari. I would use them again in a heartbeat. But I would never use Land and Lakes again.
We had one major issue occurred 3 days into our 7 day tour. We are seasoned travelers having visited over 140 countries and we often travel up to 4 months a year. The major issue we encountered was unique but strange things happen while traveling. We had driven from Malawi to Zambia and arrived at Thornicroft Lodge ( which is wonderful). After checking emails we received 2 of significance. One from African Budget Safari saying that our tour might get screwed up because of civil unrest and demonstrations which were expected to block flights out of Malawi the following week including the day of our departure. An email from the US State Department strongly suggested not flying in or out that week. This major event was beyond anyone’s control, which we understand, but what we don’t understand is why Land and Lakes did nothing to assist us in making alternative arrangements.
I asked our guide, Eric, to check into the situation at dinner that night. He was already aware of the situation but seemed nonplussed. I asked him to follow up with the L&L home office and get back to me after our game drive the next morning.
I also sent the email from the state department to the (L&L) home office saying we may need to change our itinerary to fly out of Lusaka, Zambia instead of Llongwe 4 days later ( airport closures were suppose to start the day before our departure). We were flying on to Uganda so we could not afford to be delayed 3 extra days.
When we got back from the game drive the next morning our guide had no suggestions for what to do, no alternatives, and the home office took until 12:30 to speak to me and say basically “ we know this is serious but you are on your own. You either follow the itinerary and see what happens or you lose what you have already paid plus all costs and inconveniences and changes in hotels, flights and transportation are your responsibility. File with your insurance.”
This was not about insurance! This was about being in a remote place with very spotty internet, trying to book lodges, book a new flight, change an existing flight and arrange transportation! Thank goodness for Thornicroft Lodge ( Nadia and Dylan). They could not accommodate us but they called another lodge and got us a room. They loaned me their phone to call South African Air. They helped me book a flight from the local airport to Lusaka. Are you getting the picture? They did everything over 5 hours that Land and Lakes,which had better phones and constant internet at the home office, should have done. We understand it was our financial responsibility and we will deal with the insurance when we get home but where was Land and Lakes, our tour company?
Why no suggestion such as stay one more night nearby and your guide will drive you to Lusaka and see sights along the way? It is no further than Lake Malawi. Or suggest another itinerary of sights within Zambia? Again Thornicroft got info on driving to Lusaka $80 US pp versus flying $300pp so all the options were provided by them and not Land and Lakes.
Our guide was not allowed to accompany us into the game park and he had meals with us but otherwise was unoccupied. After we reworked our schedule, he informed us he was going back to LLongwe.
I asked our guide what would have happen if we had followed the original itinerary and the airports did shut down - would his company have left us to our own devices? His answer was of course not. So why did they leave us to our own devices in a remote location ? Malawi has been experiencing turmoil since the election in May and I believe any responsible tour company would have an emergency plan in place to assist when problem occurs. If not, they have the resources and should have offered to rework our schedule, at our cost, and see us safely on out way,
As I am writing this it is still a day away from the planned demonstrations and for Malawi’s sake I hope they do not happen. But whatever occurs, safety is first and and L & L let us down on that
front.
A loveless performance of the tour with poor information
The tour has a great potential for a very good safari, but it's not used! For example: 3 hole-day-trips by bus occur on 4 succesive days (10 of the 12 participiants were mostly reading, sleeping oder gaming with smartphone during the bus-trips). Therefore the order of events should be changed. The information about land and people was poor.
The highlights of the trip were performed from other business-men (lodges, guides), not from land and lake safaris!