Hosted Journeys to extra ordinary places
Cuckoo Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Pilar | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best l ever travel with
A very wonderful tour, good quality hotels and activities, well supported, punctuality, fast answers in every question or request.
I totally recomend Cockoo
Email Kylee | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour was very organised and informative.
Great value and a fantastic variety of experiences to give you an overview of the area, and of course the opportunity to see the big 5 and more.
Email John | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very efficient and Tatenda always very quick to reply to any queries
Just came back from a 9 day trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana and can only say it was better than I could ever have imagined . Hotels , food , people and all trips were very good . All organised very well with no hiccups at all. I cannot remember the names of all the staff we encountered but would like to say a big thank you to Gift and Simon who both ensured we had a trouble free and enjoyable trip . Well done Cuckoo
MY
Email Azmeer | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent and Fantastic
The overall tour was fantastic. It was good from the start to the end. Good safari adventure.
Excellent planning
We saw Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe and Zambian side. They included a visit to Livingstone museum that was quite informative. The combination of land and river Safari of Chobe National Park was spectacular. Finally the visit to Monde Village was us a whole different perspective about life in Zimbabwe. Our guides, Shelton, Mike, Figo, Simon among others, we're phenomenal.
US
Email Mike from Kentucky | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding Tour of Chobe, Victoria Falls, Hwange and Matobo. Highly Recommend!
From the moment we arrived in Victoria Falls to our final day of the Safari, our guide for Cuckoo Safari, Simon was always on time, extremely communicative and set my wife and I up for our best vacation ever.
Our opening Dinner Cruise on the Zambezi River, was a great enticement of what was to come. The food was presented elegantly, and the quality phenomenal!
The accommodations provided exceeded expectations, and the service and staff at the lodges that Cuckoo Safari selected for our trip was also above expectations. From the rooms to the meals provided, we never had to worry about a thing and were never disappointed.
Transportation provided between each of the parks was well communicated and was always on time. The stories and information about African Culture, about the parks and animals and about food that Simon told, were thought provoking and entertaining and will be moments that will stay with us forever.
The guides that toured us at the National Parks that Cuckoo Safari connected with, also went above and beyond to give the best experience to what you wanted to see. Knowing that no animal interaction is guaranteed and is by chance only, our guides at all the parks were knowledgeable, connected with other guides in the parks and professional at all times. Chatting with other travelers on safaris, not with Cuckoo Safari, I summarized that we had better interactions in the parks with animals because our guides took us further and deeper in areas that got us more interactions. This made our trips to Chobe, Hwange and Matobo legendary! We saw the "Big 5" Lion, Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard and Rhino. But we also saw, Jackal, Cheetah, African Wild Painted Dog, Black Mamba, Banded Mongoose, Kudu, Antelopes, Wildebeest, Giraffes, Hippopotamus, Baboons, Monkeys, Zebra, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Warthog, Water Monitor, Nile Crocodile, so many birds and many more that I cannot recount. Many of these were not just a one time but multiple time interaction. The closeness we got to the animals was also, very unexpected. We were a long shadows length away for Lions, Elephants, Rhino, Crocs, Cheetah and many more. It was incredible!
When looking to book a safari group in Africa, I highly recommend you put Cuckoo Safari at the top of your list.
IT
Email Maurizio | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Africa at its best!
Excellent experience. Perfect organization of the tour. A special thank to Tatenda, Shelton & Simon
Email Jack C | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
More than what we bargained for!
My wife and I went on the 12 day package for our honeymoon. If you like seeing amazing wild animals, experiencing all different types of safari, staying in varied traditional and luxurious accomodation, sampling delicious African cuisine (we're now addicted to malva pudding), and immersing yourself in Zimbabwean and Botswanan culture, then this is the tour for you.
But don't expect any big lie-ins! Activities are absolutely crammed into this tour, each with their own unique aspects, largely increasing the variety and amount of wildlife you see. We were very happy to see the Big 5 during our trip. Every day was well curated, from the pick ups to the food provided, and Simon was always available on WhatsApp to answer any schedule questions we had.
All of the staff involved were professional and helpful. Simon and Pebbles were particularly knowledgeable and friendly, and we felt at home with them. We also loved hearing their really interesting insights and entertaining stories about Zimbabwean and Botswanan culture as we drove between locations.
TR
Email Bulent | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well planned, nice tour in Botswana.
We had a private tour wirh Cuckoo Safaries in Botswana. Starting from Maun airport until Kasane it was great. All guides (Lee in Maun, Figo in Chobe) were polite, helpful and knowledgeabe. Hotels were good. Thanks to Tatenda and Simon for their support.
Action-packed, well organized itinerary!
This was a trip for my 22 year-old, myself, and a friend. When planning an adventure so far from home, it’s so important to have great organization. From the very beginning, from the moment I started making inquiries, Cuckoo Safari was very responsive with messages. They made me feel very comfortable before even arriving in the country. Their organization and proficiency continued throughout our entire stay. Our guides and the office used WhatsApp to stay in touch, so we could always ask questions when needed.
To mention a few of the staff we met: Simon was a stand-out, we met him the first day and he also drove us from Vic Falls to the border of Botswana and gave us a very good understanding of the area, sharing information the entire ride! Felix, from the company booked to transport us for our sunset dinner cruise was a friendly and informative driver. And Figo, from the sister company of Puku Safari in Botswana was a wonderful guide for our first game drive in Chobe. Everyone at the entrance to Chobe and other 4 x 4s knew him and shared information when game-spotting.
Regarding the activities: we had an amazing variety of activities in our itinerary, and it allowed us to experience so much in a short time. The sunset cruise on the Zambezi with drinks and snacks was wonderful. We really enjoyed being on the river that first night, it was very relaxing. For those of you who enjoy gin, there are some craft-flavored varieties that are made locally that were delicious. It was awesome to walk up to the boat landing, and have warthogs there to greet us! The game drive in Zimbabwe and bush dinner at the Livingstone reserve was absolutely wonderful. It was so fun to stop for happy hour in the bush, with a bar right on the grill of our vehicle! And, dinner under the many stars was amazing with a wide variety of food choices. We were also very happy to have the opportunity to see rhinos on this game drive. Our tours of both sides of Vic Falls were very nice. Be prepared to get wet! We wore our sandals that had rubber grips on the bottom, and that was a better choice than sneakers and fine to walk in. Our friend had to wear sneakers and they were soaked through during the first few minutes! So, if you only bring one pair of shoes, they are going to need to dry out before wearing them again! Our time in Botswana was great. We truly enjoyed being on the river and on the game drives in Chobe. When staying at the Chobe Safari Lodge, the activities of the river game drive and bush game drives are organized through the resort. Of note, we had a much better experience with Puku and with our final driver Sammy (organized through the resort). One question to ask the Guide you are assigned to when the hotel is organizing the game drive is does he use the radio to communicate with other drivers while on the game drive. It’s really important that they share information, because then we had a much better chance of seeing animals. When one driver had located something, and shared that information, then the rest of us were able to take advantage of it. The second driver that we had (from the resort) did not communicate with anyone, and it was the experience where we saw the least in the park. The walk on Impalila Island was very informative, although Namibia has just raised the cost of an entry visa to US$90! And, the immigration service was not well organized at all, taking us more than 30 minutes to enter the country, even though there was no one else in line. We saw that there is the opportunity for an online E Visa in a sign at the little immigration office, so would recommend that anyone doing this part of the itinerary takes advantage of that. You will be approached by children, most likely, during the village walk. If I had known this, I would have brought items like school supplies to hand out. At the central baobab tree, there are women selling handicrafts. You can buy from them in US dollars, and you can also give a donation that supports the entire village.
As for the accommodations: both Pioneers Lodge in Zimbabwe and Chobe Safari Lodge in Botswana were wonderful places to stay. If you were interested in any spa services, we would recommend having those in Zimbabwe, as the prices in Botswana were even more than I would pay back home in the USA!
Other notes: bring USD. You can use them just like home In Zimbabwe and for tourist shopping in Botswana and Impalila Island.
Feedback: one thing that would’ve been helpful, on our very organized day by day itinerary would be to note which company was providing our transport or activity. For example, if we knew when Puku was picking us up, and when Chobe Safari lodge was organizing the activity, it would have been very helpful.
Our sincere gratitude, and thank you to Cuckoo Safari such a wonderful experience! We would be happy to come back again and use your services!