Reviews

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Sonam   –  
Singapore SG
Visited: October 2023 Reviewed: Oct 16, 2023

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

Trip of a lifetime, hassle free and smooth planning and execution by Cuckoo.
4/5

Trip of a lifetime, hassle free and smooth planning and execution by Cuckoo. I have to admit we only started our process of planning with Tatenda with Cuckoo very late. But he was accommodating and made it all happen for us very quickly. They were honest with the recommendations and also helped make any changes we wanted very effortlessly.

Michael C.   –  
United States US
Visited: October 2023 Reviewed: Oct 13, 2023

Email Michael C.  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Outstanding!
5/5

This tour exceeded our expectations. Victoria Falls was amazing and well informed and the accommodations were very quiet with beautiful grounds and exceptionally friendly and responsive staff. The tour of Hwange National Park was very enjoyable with a sighting of a pride of nine lions just after a kill. Cuckoo also arranged a very nice unplanned private game drive and night dinner with bush meat!

But Simon, our driver and guide, took our tour to a whole different level. He shared his amazing story of how he, against all odds, was determined to make something special of his life and even took us to meet his father. We learned so much about his beloved Zimbabwe and its culture!

The whole experience was amazing!

Jessica L   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Oct 1, 2023

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

More than just a safari
5/5

My husband and I went on the 9 day safari tour through Victoria Falls and Botswana for our honeymoon. It was truly one of the best experiences of our lives and the best choice we could have made!

Starting from the beginning, Tatenda was extremely reliable and responded to all of my emails right away. He answered tons of my questions and helped me customize and add additional days on to the tour so we could make the tour just how we wanted.

Then to the tour itself, many of the other tours on safari bookings only include game drives, we chose this tour because it had a ton of variety and were so glad we did! Not only did we see a ton of animals and natural landscapes we also got a chance to do multiple boat rides, cultural experiences and a helicopter ride! Plus the hotels and food included were excellent! They even set up a special honeymoon poolside dinner for us as a surprise for free! Everything was prompt and reliable and they really went out of their way to do everything we wanted. We definitely got value for our money on this tour.

But now to the best part of our tour was our guide Simon! Simon was more than just a safari guide, he also became a friend and an ambassador to Africa as a whole. He went above and beyond to make us comfortable and explained not only the landscape but the history, culture, politics, and customs of all of Southern Africa. The warmth and humor of Africa totally shines through Simons personality and you can tell his passion for his job. We will remember this trip for the rest of our lives, thank you Tatenda, Simon, and Cuckoo Safaris!

Hernan   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Sep 28, 2023

Email Hernan  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Good and reliable service!
4/5

Our safari with Cuckoo was overall excellent, though there were a few exceptions. Everything was exactly as described. Upon our arrival at Victoria Falls Airport, Simon was there to greet us with a sign bearing my name for easy identification. He then escorted us to our lodge, allowing us some time to check in and refresh ourselves. Afterward, Simon took us on a tour of Victoria National Park, providing informative explanations about the falls.

However, it was disappointing that Simon didn't suggest a visit to the Zambia side of the falls, even though we mentioned having obtained the Kaza visa for multiple entries. Another drawback was the extensive travel the next day, requiring a 6-hour round trip to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe from our lodge. The safari experience itself was good, but the long drive in a small car was uncomfortable. We had hoped for a more suitable vehicle like a van or 4x4.

The highlight of our journey with Cuckoo was undoubtedly our visit to Chobe National Park in Botswana. It was conveniently closer to our lodge, approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes away, and we traveled in a spacious van. The adventure, which encompassed both land and water components, was exceptional.

In conclusion, we were generally satisfied with our safari experience, but the extended journeys in small cars and the missed opportunity to view Victoria Falls from the Zambia side were minor drawbacks.

Oliver   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Sep 26, 2023

Email Oliver

A very customized safari with lots of moving pieces that was executed perfectly by Cuckoo Safaris
5/5

We worked with Cuckoo safaris on a custom itinerary that was exactly what we were looking for. They had a good price, and worked quickly with us to confirm what we were looking for. This safari crossed national borders, and was definitely logistically challenging. Cuckoo Safaris made sure everything went smoothly and all the various transfers and exchanges worked perfectly. I would not hesitate to trust them with something like this in the future.

Ann D.   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Sep 22, 2023

Email Ann D.  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Cuckoo Safari provided a perfect adventure for us!
5/5

Our adventure from beginning to end was spectacular! We chose the 8 day Tour arriving in Harare, traveling on to Ancient City of Zimbabwe, then onto Hwange and finishing in Victoria Falls. Each day we saw and learned interesting, wondrous things and information. Our guide Simon Peter Dube attended to every detail & ensured a seamless and happy trip. Our time included historical, archaeological and cultural aspects as well as multiple game drives. We saw so many animals living their daily lives, even now reviewing our photos I am awed. Our accommodations were lovely and the food tasty. The only improvement for us would have been to stay at a lodge in Victoria Falls instead of the elegant hotel closest to the falls as the guests seemed reticent to interact unlike those staying at our previous locations. Thank you Simon and Cuckoo Safaris for the trip of a lifetime!

Julia   –  
Switzerland CH
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Sep 18, 2023

Email Julia  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Great guides and a very enjoyable week in Botswana.
5/5

We really enjoyed our trip with Cuckoo Safaris! Our booking process was smooth and the office staff we dealt with were very responsive, enabling us to book a trip that met all our needs with relatively short notice. All the guides we had during the trip were great, very friendly and helpful - local tour guides ran most of the activities during the day in each place which meant we had people who were local to and/or knew the area well which was good. We loved the itinerary of the tour we did also - a really good mix of different safari days (drives, mokoro trip, river cruise, walking, etc) as well as other activities/sights (like seeing baobabs, salt pans, etc) which was what we were looking for. Overall we had a great week trip in Botswana and would recommend Cuckoo Safaris to other travellers.

Tony   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Sep 10, 2023

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

Seamless & Spectacular Safari!
5/5

My family and I absolutely loved our extended day tour to Chobe National Park with Cuckoo! To be fully transparent, though we booked with Cuckoo and they drove us to the Botswana border, the tour was actually provided by Puku Safaris - as I understand it, they have some partnership and work together. Either way, it was a marvelous experience and I highly recommend the extended day - yes it means getting up before the crack of dawn and it's a marathon of a day - but it's so worth it for the wildlife experience. We lucked out by seeing not only one lion but an entire pride. There must have been close to 20 lions! It seemed like we were able to stay twice as long as the other tours there because we had more time to spare. We also got up close with giraffes, elephants - SO MANY ELEPHANTS - and on the river cruise, crocodiles. Our guide Cobra was fabulous - he seemed to be a local celebrity the way everyone knew him. He was funny and informative. The buffet lunch was delicious. Cuckoo/Puku made the experience - including crossing over into Botswana - seamless. The staff at Cuckoo was very communicative and answered my (many) questions prior to the trip. I could not have imagined a better day trip safari!

Eyad ( Eddie )   –  
Canada CA
Visited: August 2023 Reviewed: Sep 1, 2023

Email Eyad ( Eddie )  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Excellent very accommodating great customer service and knowledge
5/5

I took my 13 year old son for his birthday to a safari in Zimbabwe and Botswana organized by Cuckoo Safari we had a long list of wishes including:
Seeing the lions that kill elephants in Hwange and Chobe, seeing wild dogs cheetahs and leopards , rare antelopes like sable roan and tsessebe , flying over the Okavango delta and watching elephants swim… they made all that happen while staying in great accommodations and for a reasonable price. I highly recommend them

Michael and Tami   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Aug 4, 2023

Email Michael and Tami  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Would definitely use Cuckoo Safaris again!
5/5

We only had a week so reached out to Cuckoo to create an itinerary so see as much variety as possible. Tatenda Tarzan was excellent! Communication was very fast and knowledgeable. He suggested a couple changes that worked perfectly for us. We wanted to go to church while visiting and he even went the extra mile and contacted a church member to pick us up for the service and was able to communicate with them before going which was very helpful. They offer airport pick up and return and the groups are smaller than most. That was one of the main reasons I chose them initially.
Having Cuckoo for the entire week was great. We had the same driver most of the days and Luwis is THE BEST! He is now a forever friend and went beyond so many times not only for us but other clients we had a safari with.
We enjoyed all the tours and safaris, the Safari guides are so knowledgable its amazing how much they know. TK at Hwange National Park catered to our interests and we learned so much. Also a shout out to Cedric at Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve; he used old-fashioned tracking to guide us, and was a pleasure to visit with.
I could go on, but won’t. We would go back in a heartbeat and highly recommend Cuckoo Safaris.

Average User Rating
4.9/5
Rating Breakdown
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