Dens Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Member Of:
- Zambia Tourism Board
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,560 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
Email Martine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great people, very well organised, excellent in tailoring to individual needs
We met Denver by coincidence and asked him to organise a 5 day-trip for us to Lower Zambezi and Siavonga very last minute. Last minute as in we wanted to leave the same day. Despite this challenge, Den's Safari organised it all very well and very quickly. What we especially appreciated was that he went out of his way to arrange for us to experience local village life. We visited a small village, got to participate in the day-to-day activities and stayed the night. It was a humbling experience which taught us a lot about local culture and living circumstances. It was fun that Denver and his colleague cooked up a big dinner for many of the people in the village.
We also spent a few nights at the Lower Zambezi, including a 1-day, 1 night canoe trip. It was special to share the river with lots of hippos and crocs so close by.
Overall, Denver and the guides were simply great guys to be around; super friendly, explained a lot about nature and culture and took care of us very well. Highly recommended!
SG
Email Gavin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Service, Amazing Experience
This was my first time in Zambia and on a safari holiday. The package which the team at Dens put together was comprehensive, well thought out, and excellent value for money. The quality, experience, and knowledge of the guides made the trip insightful and personal.
The team at Dens Safari were extremely thoughtful, accommodating, and took perfect care of us - from receiving us at the airport, accompanying us throughout the trip and attending to our needs and questions, all the way to our final goodbyes at the airport. Special mention to the chef which accompanied us on your travels around Zambia, some of the best cooking I've ever tasted!
SG
Email Zhixue | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
14D safari in Zambia (including a 4D canoe safari)
I did a private camping safari with 3 other friends in Zambia from livingstone to Lusaka. From airport to airport, everything was meticulously planned. There were plenty of times where our opinions were asked for, valued and acted upon, which made the holiday very enjoyable and personal.
The team at Dens went the extra mile on a couple of occasions, e.g. Going out in the middle of the night to get pizza for supper, having mattresses in tents, stopping for hungry lion (Zambian equivalent of KFC) whenever we felt like. Food from the chef was of a remarkable standard, always nice after a tiring day out on safari.
I would highly recommend Dens and would definitely look out for them on my next African adventure.
Email Yeong | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
14D Safari
Was from the group that did a private safari across Zambia including the canoe safari. Was a very good and well thought out service with high client to staff ratio. Any issues raised were promptly sorted. Great airport to airport service and highly personalised with any accommodation made for special requests. Special kudos to the chef we had which made the camping experience so much better. Really enjoyed south Luanga national park.
US
Email Arlene | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Denver was efficient & most accomodating. We'd a most wonderful time rivalving the big game safaris
Denver answers e mails, usually minutes after having sent them, even accounting for the considerable time change. The service was efficient and exceptional. The entire two weeks with him Exceeded my expectations. I was wowed with what we experienced. We unexpectedly flew from one park to another because he felt it was too long a drive for us. He is well connected and consequently we were lavishly welcomed wherever we went. My husband and I were in the Big Game parks in Kenya and Tanzania the year before but this gem of a tour took our breath away. The sights, the wildlife were up close and personal. We had never seen a lioness in hunt before and we spent a few hours mesmerized. Muvu game park made us wish we had booked a longer stay. This is a gem of a tour and we would Highly recommend it and Denver as we are ready to repeat this tour again.
US
Email David | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A superbly organized 13 day promotional Zambia expedition
I've just returned from Zambia, where I had my 1st southern African experience. Usually I plan my own itineraries and travel independently but in viewing this tour, it had all the elements that were attractive to me. The expedition included a 2 1/2 days canoeing and camping trip on the Lower Zambezi River. Denver made my experience in Zambia very rewarding. He went well beyond what was in the original itinerary, enabling me to maximize my time at each national park. Although animal sightings were not as numerous during the green season, I liked the lack of crowds at both Kafue and South Luangwa national parks. I'd like to thank Denver for assuring a great experience in Zambia and I hope to return in the future
ES
Email Antonio | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great experience
The experience with Dens Safaris was really good. We went for a 18 days to Zambia, Kafue, South Luangwa, Victoria falls and Chobe National Park in Botswana. All transfers, lodges and safaris he booked for us was excellent. If I came back to Zambia I will contact him again. I'd like to thank Denver for assuring a great experience in Zambia.
IL
Email Anatoly Berman | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great tour operator , guide and driver
Dens Safari have organized for us a 21-day Zambia tour – Zambezi river , Kafue Park, Bussanga Plaints and a South Luangwa.
All transfers and meetings have been perfectly organized. Denver was our great guide and the driver on our trip to Bussanga Plaints - a part of Kafue park. His assistant - the cook Sakret perfectly served us on a trip to Kafue park ,where he provided to us fine food.
Stops in Zambezi river, in South Luangwa park and in Nsefu sector were in fine Lodges and Camp sites with excellent safaris with guides David and Moses.
We highly recommend Dens Safari .
Email Jean | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great value for money but poor organisation and communication
First of al we both had a great time in Zambia and its an amazing country with lovely friendly people and amazing wildlife and stunning landscapes. We organised a 18 day trip with Den of Den's Safaris. He was great at replying to all our queries prior to booking the trip but once we had paid everything communication totally dried up. We had a lot of questions just before we flew to Zambia and despite emailing on several occasions there was no reply from him. At one point we thought the company no longer existed and our money was down the drain!! Luckily my boyfriend was out in Zambia beforehand on a private visit and he was finally able to contact him by telephone. It was very inconvenient for us not being able to find out the name of the lodge we would be using while staying in Lusaka as we wished to leave part of our luggage there. However, many times during the trip neither our local guide / driver knew where we were going to be staying!! Nor did one guide know whether he was flying with us to Livingstone or not as his ticket was booked 10 min. before flight departure!! In fact Den really believes in doing things at the last minute and if you book him you must realise that he has very competitive prices based on the fact that lodges / campsites, etc. are booked totally at the last minute. We travelled in November which is the rainy season and we were incredibly lucky with the weather until we went to the Zambezi River National Park. The road to our lodge was susceptible to flooding and thus when it rained hard part of the road washed away. Den being a safari operator should have known to have that component of the trip at the beginning of November when the weather is more likely to be dry than at the end when the rains come. Unfortunately, we had to leave our lodge a day earlier as otherwise we would have been stranded there. Unfortunately, Den's staff didn't really know what to do and all decisions have to come from Den who as you have probably realised is quite difficult to get hold off All in all everything worked out for us and we had a really great trip, however, it was much more stressful than expected due to the lack of communication and organisation from the operator. On a more positive note it was an amazing trip and ended on a really high note with a houseboat trip on Lake Kariba.
CL
Email Helmut & Jessica | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A great experience in South Luangwa
Our experience with Dens Safaris was quite good. We hired a 5 day and 4 night tour to South Luangwa.
Denver picked us up at our accommodation in Lilongwe (capital of Malawi) and moved us in a private vehicle to the border with Zambia, where we changed to another vehicle that took us to South Luangwa. Denver explained to us that they use their official 4x4 vehicles only if the number of passengers justifies, and as in this case we were only my girlfriend and I chose to mobilize from and to Luangwa in conventional vehicles. In any case, Denver told us that the game drives would be carried out in 4x4 vehicles.
We stayed at Croc Valley Camp as planned by Denver. Initially we had a tent (tent), but we were finally accommodated in larger tents equipped with beds and a safe (a major improvement!). The service at Croc Camp is very good (meals especially), and you have the possibility to see animals roaming freely around the place (at night they even crossed a couple of hippos a few meters from the store).
The game drives were carried out in 4x4 vehicles of Croc Valley Camp, some of which are quite old and require improvement. Even so they never had a panne or problem that prevented us from continuing. In total we had 7 game drives (4 sunset / night and 3 morning), all guided by the same guide that is part of Croc Camp Valley, and shared with other guests of Croc Camp. Denver was present in most of them, showing their interest that everything turned out well in our tour (the rest of the passengers depended only on Croc Camp). The guide that took us to the game drives (Simon) had a lot of knowledge, but often he gave a lot of time to animals or birds that were frequent to find, and little time to others that could be more attractive or unusual (many very showy birds and colorful were ignored, either because the guide did not see them despite being in front of him, or they may not have been attractive to him .. who knows). Despite those details, we saw many species of mammals, reptiles and birds, which confirmed that South Luangwa is one of the places that every lover of safari MUST visit. Especially we highlighted the possibility of spotting leopards hunting during the night, which was repeated during 3 of the 4 night safaris! Wild dogs, many elephants with offspring, thornicroft giraffes, lions, birds, etc.
We recommend Dens Safaris since the price paid is reasonable considering the number of game drives that included the tour and the facilities where we stayed (approx USD 490 per passenger, + tickets to Luangwa for USD 25 per day per person).