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Africa Zim Travel & Tours , Victoria Falls
Africa Zim Travel & Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- Zimbabwe Tourism Authority
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
-
BWNAZAZMZW
- Price Range:
- $1,979 to $7,746 ppper person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Nancy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari in Zimbabwe and Botswana!
Where to begin?! Our adventure with AfricaZim was an absolute whirlwind, and of the best kind. Everything from the booking process to the safari itself was efficient, organized, and customized to every one of our points of interest and budget.
My husband and I booked an 8-day, 7-night tour (27 March to 3 April, 2016) with two nights in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, two nights in Kasane/Chobe, one night at Elephants Sands, and two nights in Maun, all in Botswana. Breakfast and dinner were included every day, and lunch was included on the two travel days. Not only were they kind and professional through all communications, but were extremely accommodating to changing the number of guests in our party from two to three when we decided invite our daughter who has been studying in Cape Town, a decision we made less than a month before the start of the trip. We had fully expected her to have to sleep on a pull-away bed during the week since it was such a last-minute change, but Sheila, the booking agent we worked with throughout most of the process, worked her magic and found our daughter a separate hotel room at each of our accommodations. Thank you, Sheila!
Our guide was Blessing, a wonderfully friendly, easy-going, and experienced tour guide and native Zimbabwean. From pick-up on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border, to drop off at Maun's airport a week later, Blessing was an outstanding host, driving us many hours across the bush and veld in a private minivan, with only Sheila accompanying us (she tagged along as a training session to learn more through experience about the trips she books). Besides the game drive, all transportation was organized and performed by Blessing - he would even get up early in the mornings to fill up on petrol and replenish our stock of drinks and snacks so that the long drives were made as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Scheduled activities included a sunset cruise on the Zambezi, a visit to Victoria Falls (we understand why it’s a wonder of the world - and got soaked to prove it!), dinner at The Boma in Victoria Falls, which is a must-try for African cuisine - the warthog was especially delicious, an early morning game drive in Chobe National Park and sunset cruise along the Chobe River, elephant viewing at Elephant Sands (which isn't technically an activity but sure is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!), and a Mokoro boat ride and game walk in the Okavango Delta. They went above and beyond to accommodate some last minute (the day we arrived - booked for the following day) requests for my husband and daughter to go whitewater rafting along the Zambezi and for me to do a “lion walk”. The rafting company chosen by Blessing (there seem to be many outfitters) was excellent - great guys and lots of thrills, though my daughter was disappointed the boat didn’t flip. My lion walk was amazing, though I’d never heard of the activity before - it was recommended by Blessing amongst a list of other potential activities to do while the other two were out rafting. I was able to walk with and even pet wild lions for about an hour! While reviews of these two experiences are not relevant to our interactions with AfricaZim, the flexibility and promptness shown by Blessing and Sheila to accommodate all of our needs was fabulous.
The accommodations organized by AfricaZim were wonderful, and any issues we had with them were the fault of the hotels themselves, not AfricaZim. For example, one of our rooms was clearly a smoking room, but that was quickly rectified when Blessing spoke to the front desk for us and we were promptly moved to a different room. Other than that, the localities and rooms of all of the hotels were beautiful and clean. One of the hotels had vervet monkeys climbing on tree branches outside our rooms and amazing sunset views over the Chobe River, while Elephant Sands of course meant elephants trampling past our tented cabins at all hours of the night, an exhilarating, fun, and unique experience. Service at our Victoria Falls hotel, Guest Paradise, was especially outstanding, and we were warmly welcomed by all of the staff. Food throughout the trip was excellent, and we tried lots of different kinds of game meat (though there were always more traditional and vegetarian options for those who are so inclined).
Overall, we could not have asked for a better experience. A huge thank you to Blessing and Sheila and the rest of the AfricaZim team who made this experience possible, as it is not one we will soon forget. The people and places made it the experience of a lifetime.
Email Willem | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The accommodation provided (charged by operator at 13 X lodge rate) was an absolute disgrace.
I recently participated in a tour by this operator. It was tented camps. The accommodation was appalling. The operator charged us 13 times the amount a "walk in" customer from the street would have paid for the same accommodation. We were paying top dollar for the most basic old tents, broken beds, thin matresses, mouse droppings, broken zips, dirty toilets, no hot water, pigeons in the roof, no towels, filthy showers, etc etc. Never again. For the same amount of money you can get much, much better. The operator is a classic rip-off of foreigners who have no idea of prices and what is available.
Disclaimer
- All corporate and/or tour info is provided by Africa Zim Travel & Tours, not SafariBookings
- The tours offered by Africa Zim Travel & Tours are subject to their terms & conditions