Africa Zim Travel & Tours , Victoria Falls
Africa Zim Travel & Tours
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- Zimbabwe Tourism Authority
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $115 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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.
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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.
ES
Email Joana Colomer | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best agency to visit Zimbabwe and Botswana
Africa Zim is a very professional and reliable agency. We did a 9 day trip around Zimbabwe and Botswana and the whole experience was amazing. Our guide, Pamela, was our driver, bringing us everywhere, stopping at the best places and we had very interesting and funny conversations with her, we are missing her a lot!! We truly recommend this agency as everything was very well organized, Blessing was very helpful from the first contact through email and speak with us by phone to solve all our doubts before the trip.
I hope many people can enjoy this experience as we did and you get to visit these amazing countries. We get to see all the animals during the safaris and excursions, including lions, hippos, elephants, giraffe, zebra, croco, buffalo, etc etc...
Very good value for money!
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Email Oscar | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely the Best Trip Ever!
I booked the 8 day Vic Falls-Okavango Delta tour with Africa Zim to celebrate our 38th Anniversary and it was absolutely the best trip ever. Muto, our guide, was pleasant and courteous and exercised extreme care in making sure that every detail was taken care of along the way, from beginning to end, with even a few celebratory surprises at each stop.
Having traveled extensively on business as well as leisure over the years, visiting more than 70 countries, I tend to spend a great deal of time doing research, reading reviews on destinations and the hotels and comparing tour packages before booking. Africa Zim's 8 day tour seemed to include all the things we wanted to do with accommodations at reasonably priced hotels. Fortunately, they didn't disappoint.
Muto was a wealth of knowledge throughout the trip and was on time for pickups and drop-offs at all venues. At the end of each day he asked for a critique of that days activities and also provided information regarding the itinerary for the next day. He could not have been more attentive. All of the hotels were better than average in terms of accommodation and the food was unbelievably good at all of them, especially the Chobe Safari Lodge.
One of our biggest concerns (if you want to call it that) was the overnight at Elephant Walk since we had never done camping and wasn't quite sure of what to expect. Fortunately, we tried to reserve judgment and hoped it would be better than what we were thinking and fortunately, it was. In fact, it was all good and made us feel as though we had actually experienced "the real Africa." The tents were comfortable, although unheated but we had enough cover to bundle up against the elements and be able to sleep through the night. There is no internet or TV so sitting on the porch watching the elephants and reading gave us a chance to decompress for at least one day of our lives.
The most amazing aspect of the trip was that we were fortunate to see lions and the elusive leopard during our game drives through Chobe and it goes without saying that the Okavango Delta is just phenomenal. We had done Vic Falls during a previous trip, but even though it wasn't new, there were aspects that Muto pointed out that we weren't aware of and didn't know, so even that was good. Bottom line, it's a great tour package and you won't regret booking with these guys.
Many thanks to Blessing and Pam for their assistance, as well, during the booking process. My only complaint would be improving the line of communication and keeping in touch with the client after the booking has been made until the actual date of the tour. We booked in November and didn't hear anything until I initiated contact just a few weeks before the tour in July, so we obviously had some concerns. Fortunately, those concerns were alleviated once we got there and Muto took over. It was great!
CA
Email Bob | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just wonderful service and an excellent tour
Africa Zim Travel arranged a great tour of Victoria Falls and Chobe and the Okavango in Botswana at the last minute after we had been let down by another operator.
Their service was first rate, the tour was as per the descriptions and their communication with us was excellent. They helped a great deal in processing our payment at very short notice and even confirmed the accommodations before payment was finalized.
They also liaised with another operator so we could seamlessly continue onto Namibia.
It’s a shame I can’t give them more than five stars. I’d be happy to answer any questions if I’m contacted.
CA
Email Terry and Darrel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour, safari, and guides !
We travelled this past August from Canada with our 3 teenage sons and 76 year old Dad. We were also accompanied by another Canadian family and their 3 sons. From beginning to end we had an amazing tour with our guide, Blessing, and our van driver, Innocent. Blessing and Inncocent picked us up at Vic Falls and brought us to our campground. I will not forget the huge smile Blessing had when he picked us up. It was comforting and it set the tone for the tour. We booked a camping tour as it was both economical and we wanted a vacation that we could truly experience Zimbabwe and Botswana. Along the way, Blessing upgraded our Dad to a cabin. The tents were large enough to hold two small cots with linen on top. All cabins were within close proximity to showers, toilets, and the restaurant/bar. Three of the campsites also included generous size pools which were great for the kids. Our tour included a trip to Elephant Sands in Botswana. This was a great area. Not only were we treated to incredible views of elephants, our tent had a washroom ! It was awesome having Blessing with us along the way. He was very accomodating to our families needs, knowledgeable about local customs in both countries, and knew where bank machines and commercial areas were. It is to be noted that this is NOT a five star resort. While our guide and driver were "5 star", the tour and camping were more rugged. If what you want for your family is an experience of a life time where you really get to know the people and their communities, then this is for you. I highly recommend Africa Zim Travel and Tour.
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Email Sandy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect 8 days!
My husband and I took the 8 day Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, Elelphant Sands, and Okavango Delta trip in July 2016. It exceeded our expectations in every way. We knew we wanted to visit those places, but we had no idea what would do at each location or how many days to stay. Andrew and Zim Travel arranged every detail. They were so knowledgeable about each destination, the culture, places to eat, where to take the best pictures, border crossings, sightseeing-----you name it and they knew where and what to do.
Andrew picked us up and delivered us to each event. He either personally guided us or arranged for an excellent guide.
As we drove from place to place, he filled us in on so many interesting details. He informed us of the currency to bring, where to exchange the currency and drove us there.
At Chobe, we sat in a boat 30 feet from a herd of elephants and watched them drink, play, eat and "wrestle". It was unforgettable. On the safaris we so many animals! Each day was amazing and different! Vic Falls was incredible. We walked the entire length of the falls and viewed each lookout point. Andrew guided us personally and it made a difference to hear his commentary.
Andrew took care of every possible detail. We wholeheartedly recommend Zim Travel!!!!
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Email Parker | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
3Dqay/2Night Safari in Chobe NP
Very pleased with Africa Zim travel. They made arrangements for the two of us to be picked up in Livingstone and transferred to Botswana for the safari. Logistics were superb with the hand off from shuttle to boat (to cross the border) to the safari leader seamless. Africa Zim was even able to accommodate a last minute change from us to be returned to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe instead of the originally agreed upon Livingstone, Zambia at the end of the safari at no additional charge.
The safari itself was sub-contracted out to Cape Fig Safaris based out of Kasane/Chobe in Botswana and they were excellent. I would 100% recommend that you request that Africa Zim books your trip to Chobe with this operator.
Three small notes:
1) The itinerary provided by Africa Zim mentions time to stop in Kasane to shop for some last minute supplies or curios. We did not get this chance. Wasn't a problem for us, but probably something Africa Zim should communicate to their sub contractors or remove that item from the itinerary.
2) I paid 25% upfront using PayNow (kind of the Zimbabwe version of PayPal), which does assess a fee for making payment, just something to keep in mind.
3) The final 75% was requested in cash, which may be a lot for people to be carrying on there person (and difficult to obtain in Zimbabwe currently). You may want to ask to make other payment arrangements.
Email Antoinette Parker | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
What an awesome experience!!
Wow from beginning to end! The thing that really stood out for me was the personal service we received. My partner and I were collected by the most warm and friendly tour guide Blessing. We had the kombi all to ourselves - no squashing and trying to fit in with others. The tour really was all about us and what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it. Africa Zim Travel are focussed on being flexible and accommodating and prefer to take small or well acquainted groups - that really does make for a far more enjoyable trip. This really was a trip to remember and I would highly recommend using Africa Zim Travel to plan your next memorable experience.
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Email Mary-Anna | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderfully accommodating tour guide!
I am most grateful that we found Africa Zim. Traveling with a group of friends, each with different date requirements and all with very specific locations we wanted to explore, we appreciated how accommodating Africa Zim was. Our guide, Blessing, was responsive by email during our trip planning and very flexible during the tour when changes needed to be made. He found wonderful guides for us on our game drives and river cruises. It was clear that we were getting a much better experience than the other groups we would meet and talk with during breaks. Best of all for any birders out there, all the guides were excellent at identifying and pointing out the local birds. Be sure to ask the river people to tell their creation stories - I especially liked the explanation story for why hippos leave the river to take care of their business ;-)