Reviews

Average User Rating
4.6/5

Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 20
  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 3
  • 1 star 0

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 1-10 of 24 Reviews
Jurij Modic   –  
Slovenia SI
Visited: August 2023 Reviewed: Sep 20, 2023

Email Jurij Modic  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

E very reliable and well organized company to rent 4x4 vehicle for self-drive tour
5/5

We got a hint about Land&Lake Safaris rental service from our friend, who rented from them last year. The communication with them was excellent from the very start. The only glitch was a bank transfer payment for a car deposit - the money didn't arrive to their bank account for almost a month. But I guess this was not their fault, it was a problem in the banking communication system. In the end, the money appeared in their account after all.
We got a Toyota Hilux, with full camping equipment. The car was an older one, with quite a lot of history, but it was in perfect condition. Very clean (including the engine bay), with excellent tires, and all necessary roadworthy and recovery equipment. The camping equipment was also in excellent condition, including the roof-top tent. The car had a double fuel tank installed, which is a very important factor, due to frequent fuel shortages in Malawi. The car handover and the return procedure were fast, and executed very professionally.

We didn't have any single problem with the car or its equipment during our three-week trip all over Malawi, so we will certainly rent from them again. I would warmly recommend Land&Lake Safaris to anyone looking for 4x4 rentals in that region.

Marco   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: August 2023 Reviewed: Aug 26, 2023

Email Marco  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Very supportive organisation
5/5

Land and Lake were very supportive in assisting us organising our own trip. All questions we asked were answered within a day and we were always invited to ask more. Our stay in their Dzalanyama Forest lodge was excellent, again with very helpful staff. I would recommend anyone planning to travel to Malawi contacting Land and Lake and will certainly do so myself for future visits.

Katie   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2022 Reviewed: Jul 2, 2023

Email Katie  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Fantastic and full of wonderful people. Jim is a wonderful guide!
5/5

I went on the Kuti and the Lake tour and the Dedza pottery tour with Jim. I went solo because I was there on business, but Jim made it completely amazing! He knows so much about the area and is an expert birder. He is also quite good at spotting wildlife. I went in winter and it was quite nice. The grasses dried out and had either been burned or cut down making it easier to see the wildlife. I also loved the rock painting area and it was definitely a highlight of my trip! Thanks Land & Lake and Jim!

Amar   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: October 2022 Reviewed: Oct 8, 2022

Email Amar  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Great tour and amazing team!
5/5

Memory and her team were absolutely fantastic throughout the tour. Escorting 40 of us cycling from Lilongwe to Mulanje. Extremely knowledgeable, helpful and welcoming. Thanks for all the beautiful experiences!

Juergen   –  
Malawi MW
Visited: April 2022 Reviewed: May 21, 2022

Email Juergen  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The tour operator did a very good job in organizing a wonderful tour through Soutern Malawi for us
5/5

The organization of our tour through Southern Malawi was excellent and we enjoyed the journey very much. The communication with the office of Land & Lake Safaris was always good. We also made a very good experience with Vasco who turned out to be a reliable driver, competent guide and a kind person.

Jürgen   –  
Germany DE
Visited: November 2019 Reviewed: Dec 26, 2019

Email Jürgen  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Very varied journey in original Malawi
4/5

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!

Jitka Havlova   –  
Czech Republic CZ
Visited: August 2019 Reviewed: Sep 11, 2019

Email Jitka Havlova

2 weeks Zambia-Malawi
5/5

We did a self drive journey Lilongwe-South Luangwa NP - Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve - Zomba plateau - Liwonde NP - CapMaclear - Lilongwe. Rented car was comfortable, we didn't have any technical problem. All selected lodges were nice with kindly staff and excellent food. The only one mistake was recommended route to Zomba Forest Lodge which was wrong and took us to almost not-drivable road. Luckily we passed it! But we recommend for next travelers not to choose the route according to Google because it exist a much more comfortable road to this lodge which Google doesn't know.
We thank Land Lake for its good job on preparing our journey.We can heartily recommend their service to other travelers. Thank You !

Carol   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2019 Reviewed: Aug 28, 2019

Email Carol  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Carol and not that of SafariBookings.
What a disappointment!!!!
2/5

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.

fam Oosterom   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: August 2019 Reviewed: Aug 23, 2019

Email fam Oosterom

A beautifull stay at Malawi thans to Land and Lake Safaris
5/5

We booked a 4x4 car with rooftoptents and camping gear after consulting Land and Lake Safaris, for our trip in the beautiful Northen Parth of Malawi. We had a lovely stay.
They provided everything in detail. We were very pleased with there thorough information and help. They thought of everything even a phone with airtime etc etc.

Thanks!

Fam Oosterom
The Netherlands.

Marion   –  
Germany DE
Visited: July 2019 Reviewed: Jul 26, 2019

Email Marion  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Excellent Organisation
5/5

We get our car from Eric ,who pigged our up at the airport .
Very nice and good communication and introductions,also the information about the tour and the time we need to travel from one lodge to the next was excellent .
The lodges were all good , very bad was Dedza ,poetries lodge ,we did not get towels ,nevertheless we asked for .
The electricity war down , it was very cold ,but nobody told us anything about .
We know that this can happen ,but I prefer some information and help ,
On the other hand bua river lodge owners are very unprofessional ,the employees try to do their best.
It wasn’t allowed to go alone but it wasn’t also no possibility to call someone .
Flat dogs ,livonde and Majete were much better organized

Average User Rating
4.6/5
Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 20
  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 3
  • 1 star 0
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