Serious safari enthusiasts and wildlife watchers absolutely love Zambia. For remote, low key, original and authentic style accommodation with incredible wildlife action, it doesn't get much better than this. Zambia has brilliant and beautiful, fabulously remote National Parks, spectacular walking, the best guiding, and great value small, owner-run lodges.
Zambia is the ultimate go-to for a complete and diverse safari package. Unrivalled game viewing in parks such as the hippopotamus and leopard jam-packed South Luangwa Valley, also home to the majestic carmine bee-eater, makes for excellent open sided safaris for all interests. Add on to this dream-like sunrise boat cruises on the Lower Zambezi, or even some adrenaline pumping kayaking, and end your trip with the magnificent Victoria Falls… you have everything you could possibly need from an African safari. Activity, romance, action, unbeatable walking, beautiful sunsets and some really amazing accommodation options – Zambia is where it is at.
1. Zambia is both luxurious and authentic. There’s no mucking about here, this is the real deal; a safari in Zambia is raw African bush and top class allround, with the best guides in the business. The owner-run feel to the lodges set it apart from its competing countries – Zambia will make you feel very at home.
Why choose Zambia for your safari?
1. Zambia is both luxurious and authentic. There’s no mucking about here, this is the real deal; a safari in Zambia is raw African bush and top class allround, with the best guides in the business. The owner-run feel to the lodges set it apart from its competing countries – Zambia will make you feel very at home.
2. The wildlife! Zambia has absolutely unbelievable game, and wild dogs are sometimes spotted in the South Luangwa Valley, as well as fantastic lion prides, a huge amount of leopard and fantastic herds of elephant. It is hard to ignore the persistent grunting of hippos which lounge around in their hundreds on the bed of the Luangwa river.
3. Victoria Falls. Ok, it’s not strictly a safari destination but it combines so beautifully with a wild Zambia safari and is so spectacular that we had to include it…
4. Zambia offers the most up-close-and-personal-with-nature activities. It is the home of the walking safari. While other countries do offer walking safaris as an add-on to a conventional driving safari, in Zambia walking comes out on top.
5. You can escape any sign of tourism in Kafue National Park whilst enjoying a healthy amount of predators, which frequent an array of interesting landscapes in search for the widest range of antelope dinner on the continent. For twitches, this park is also unbeatable. The activities on offer here are also so special, as you probably won’t see another soul while fishing, or even when bouncing through the wilderness with the starry sky above on a night drive.
What are the best safari lodges in Zambia?
Tongabezi is the original top end lodge in the area, and has not decreased in quality since it opened. It is wooden, atmospheric and really extremely comfortable. It makes for an excellent waterside safari, as it sits on the shores of the dramatic and hippo-heavy Zambezi River. From Tongabezi, you can enjoy really beautiful boating safaris and all sorts of activities to appease any keen safari buff. The service is absolutely immaculate too – here you will not only have an animal safari, but a food one too!
Perhaps an anomaly amongst the more rustic Zambian offerings, Chinzombo screams uber-luxury. It has a really glossy and over-the-top style, and all the mod-cons you could need whilst on your Zambia safari. It has really set a bar for Zambia, which the rest of the country has not quite cleared yet!
Nsolo is a Norman Carr camp; a really historic 1980’s bush camp safari style. Do not be fooled though; although it is a bush camp, it lacks no luxuries of surrounding South Luangwa lodges. It’s guiding is really phenomenal, which for any keen safari guest is of the utmost importance. The reason it is one of our absolute favourites in the Luangwa Valley is that is has a certain indescribable charisma about it, which I guess you can only know if you have stayed there!
Set right on the river, with many opportunities to sip on a cold Mosi whilst watching the passing game, Kaingo is a real find and offers everything you could ever need for an unbelievable Zambian safari experience. The hostess Lorraine is also very friendly and will make you feel extremely welcome!