I am hooked on Africa. My first trip was to S.A. and Botswana. Last year it was Namibia and now I am considering a trip to Zambia. I've done some reading and would like to have some input from Fodorites who have been there.

How about this itinerary:

3 nights in Kafue
3 nights in S.Luangwa
2 nights in N.Luangwa
3 nights in Lower Zambezi
2 nights in Livingston(maybe-have been there before)
Big splurge: 3 nights at Mombo

Please give me your thoughts. Should I omit N.Luangwa and add more time to the other parks? Can you recommend deluxe lodges/camps? I want to stay at a bush camp for a night or two, go on boating as well as walking safaris.

Your comments will be much appreciated.

Hi Molly,

I think Zambia would be a fantastic choice!

However, I do think you are underestimating the distance between each of the parks and that you should cut out a location or two in order to get the very best Zambian experience.

With 16 nights in total, I would really suggest that you stick with Livingstone, Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa.

What I will do, so I hopefully don't ruffle any feathers are list the camps that I would suggest but then afterward I will also list competing camps so at least you have the information and can check out the other camps, as well.

I would start in Livingstone for two nights so that you can get over your jetlag before going on safari with those early morning wake-up calls and late nights around the campfire.

Sample suggested itinerary:

Livingstone/Victoria Falls (2)
Stanley & Livingstone (a Rani Resorts property) or Kwando Songwe Village

From there I would head up to Lower Zambezi. To experience the very best and to be in a very exclusive part of the park, I would suggest that you do a combination of Chiawa and Old Mondoro, 3 nights a piece would be great.

Chiawa (3)

Old Mondoro (3)

That leaves you 8 nights for South Luangwa. I would definitely go with this:

Kaingo (4) or Tafika (4)

Finishing with:

Luangwa River Lodge (4)

They are far enough apart that you will not be in the same area.

I just fear that with your itinerary that you are going to be exhausted and you will surely miss some game drives due to the travel distances.

By finishing with those 8 nights in South Luangwa, you are really immersing yourself...there will be no flights during that stay except arriving/departing...same story with Lower Zambezi. Just doesn't make sense to spend big money to fly up to Kafue, the largest national park in Africa, if I am not mistaken, and then only to see a small part of the park, likely leaving on the final morning before a game drive in order to get all the way to South Luangwa.

The Mombo Concession is fantastic (I was just at Chiefs Camp) but I would suggest that you really experience the best that Zambia's two premier parks have to offer.

Now, for some other choices in Zambia:

www.bushcampcompany.com
www.luangwa.com (Kafunta)
www.starofafrica.com (Puku Ridge, Chichele, Kulefu and more)
www.kasakariverlodge.com
www.chongwe-river.com (Chongwe River Camp)
www.robinpopesafaris.com
www.normancarrsafaris.com

(I am only suggesting camps that operate within South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi rather than including camps that operate in North Luangwa and Kafue)

One thing you will really come to love about Zambia, if you take advantage of the right camps, is being at owner operated camps. Another thing to treasure is the variety of activities that is really not found anywhere else, except maybe in Mana Pools, Zimbabwe.

The months I would most suggest are August or September. In order to still have Victoria Falls at a respectable level, perhaps early August would work well...be forewarned, however, that August may be the busiest month and availability for 2007 is already very tight. If it proves too tight, then even late July may work well, if available.

Places like Old Mondoro, Kaingo and Tafika will only be available starting in June, so it would really not be possible to take advantage of low season pricing for these camps.

Should you only go to Zambia, it would make sense to fly direct from London to Lusaka. This will shave plenty of time off your travel time compared to if you were to go from your starting point to Johannesburg to Lusaka.

Now, for the websites for the camps I recommended:

www.chiawa.com (there is a link to Old Mondoro on this site...Old Mondoro is jointly owned by Chiawa and Sausage Tree Camp)

www.luangwariverlodge.com

www.kaingo.com

www.remoteafrica.com (Tafika)

For your information, Remote Africa is also the operator of Mwaleshi in North Luangwa, so if you were absolutely committed to adding another park, North Luangwa may make sense and by combining Mwaleshi with Tafika, you would receive pricing benefits for a long stay discount.

Hope this helps and I know you will have the time of your life in Zambia!!!

Molly,

Rocco makes a lot of sense. The first thing that struck me about your itinerary was 'too much travel'. I haven't yet been to Zambia, but it's my next destination, and I plan to stay a full week in just one area...that's all I can afford, and my days of hopping from place to place were over long ago. I'd rather immerse myself properly in one location and learn about it in some depth.

I approve of your proposed choice of N. Luangwa, however, because it should provide a different experience. I would add it to my trip if I could.

John

One thing to consider when moving around camps is the transfer time and time of transfer. The transfer can easily cause you to miss a game drive at either the old or new camp. I hate when that happens.
regards - tom

Also too much shuttling adds to the costs....and you dont do full justice to the destination either....

Hari

I'm certainly no expert having only been on one trip; however, when my husband and I were at Tafika last July the people who combined Tafika with Mwaleshi were extremely happy. Since the Cottingers flew their guests from one park to the other, that saved a bit of time. We loved Tafika and would be packed and ready in 20 minutes if we could return. The only other camp we've stayed in is Vundu in Mana Pools, Zimbabwe directly across the river, and we feel the same way about our experience there.

Agree with all of the above posters that most likely you would enhance your experience by cutting down on the travel.

Personally, I would rather spend my time in the bush/or on safari than in Livingstone, but assuming you keep Mombo and Livingstone, I would divide the remaining 11 days to 2 of the 4 locations you listed and I would not spend less than 3 nights at any one camp, & if given the option I would suggest at least 4 nights.

If air charter costs are an issue, Kafue combined with any of the above will be the most expensive and involve the most travel time.

I would not want to do only 2 nights in North Luangwa. Three would be my minimum and I bet when you left you wished you had booked 4 nights. My recent trip included 3 nights in the North Luangwa and I easily could have stayed a week. FYI, if you are considering N.Luangwa the air charter one way ~$1,000 total for a plane that seated 4 people. I know Tafika also has their own plane that they use to take their guests up to Mwaleshi & I am not sure what they charge for their air transfer.

Here is one more in agreement with the advice being given. Having been to all of your possible stops, except Livingston, I'd cut out N. Lunagwa unless you could extend the stay at least one more night, or even stay 4-5 nights.

When are you planning on going? There are some months during the rains when walking is not done because the grass is too high.

There are many good S Luangwa camps where you can do lots of walking.

For walking, a bush camp and boating, I'd recommend a Chiawa or Sausage Tree (both luxury camps) combo with Old Mondoro (bush camp). You can walk at all these camps. Since you mentioned "boat", I took that as meaning not a canoe. You can take a small motor boat safari at Chiawa or Sausage Tree or you can canoe there. You can boat on the Zambezi from Chiawa to Old Mondoro. You can boat on the Zambezi or canoe on the Chifungulu Channel from Sausage Tree to Old Mondoro.

I did the canoe trip from Sausage Tree to Old Mondoro and it was highlight of my African travels.

With Mombo in the mix, I'd get that booked ASAP. 2007 is tight and even 2008 is filling up at Mombo and a few Wilderness camps during high season.

Please post again as your itinerary develops.

Thanks for all your comments.

Rocco, I checked out the airlines, and it makes the most sense for us to fly on SAA for 2 reasons; we can use mileage,and the trip from JFK has been reduced to about 15 1/2 hours. (We live in NJ.)

I think we'll omit Livingstone. We did go there last August.

It's hard to eliminate places that seem so wonderful. I know I want to go to Lower Zambezi and South Lwangwa. It seems there is a great deal to do in these areas. My husband and I are on the move people. We like to relax interspersed with activity and it seems that a combination of camps would be good for us. I'm just not sure about the length of time to spend in LZ and SL.

I have mixed feelings about eliminating Kafue and NL. Has anyone been to Kafue? If so, what kind of connections are involved?

We could eliminate Mombo, but everyone just raves about it so much; it seems like a rare experience.

We are thinking of going around July 22 and returning around Aug. 13th. This gives us about 17-18 days.

Happy New Year everyone and look forward to hearing from you.

I don't think you can go to Mombo in July/August next year. It will be already fully booked.

Kafue, can be reached by plane or helicopter I think. Wilderness safaris is running some camps there now.

Although Kafue is a great park to visit, I am sure that it's not everyone's cup of tea.

In the woodlands, there are lots of tse-tse flies. On the busanga plains (best gameviewing area in Kafue), there is lots of dust and at that time of year you are planning to go, you can still easily get stuck in the black cotton soil. Also general game is still recovering from poaching that has been gone on in the past.

I loved it last year in September because of the following reasons:

- good chances to see sable and roan antelope;
- lion sightings are quite good;
- chances to see cheetah and wild dogs.
- quite remote and not many cars around.

What I would do if I was in your place is the following, either extending the trip with a couple of days and visit three areas (South Luangwa/Kafue/Lower Zambezi) or stick to two areas (Lower Zambezi/South Luangwa) and visit them extensively.

Best regards,

Johan

Maybe something different might be appealing. On the last weekend of July is the Mutombuku Traditional Tribal Ceremony in the village of Mwansabombwe at the Palace of Senior Chief Mwata Kazembe. There is a Tracks4Africa marker on it in Google Earth.

From there you can fly to Shiwa N'gandu on Ishiba N'gandu. The book Africa House was written about this English Estate and the Harvey Family.

Then its an short hop to NLNP where you can stay at one of the 3 popular Mwaleshi River bush camps or one of the new Spanish camps or its Lodge-Delia Camp-all 4 on the Luangwa River. I have never been to the Spanish camps, so I can't say what the game viewing is like. Although the operator has been enthusiastic(of course) about it.

Then its on to SLNP and then LZNP.

So if you are coming through Jo'burg, you could stop in Livingstone on the way.

If you are omitting Livingston, then you can add North Luangwa and put the extra 2 days there for a total of 4.

I really enjoyed Kutandala in N. Luangwa. I know Robin Pope works with Kutandala for a north-south combo. A Tafika (S Luangwa)-Mwaleshi (N Luangwa) combination would be smooth too.

When I went to Kafue for a 5 night stay, I spent a night at Lunga River Camp on the way in and then again on the way out. (So 2 at Lunga and 3 at Busanga Plains) From the airstrip at Lunga to the Busanga Plains Bushcamp, where Wilderness has taken over, it is a 3-hour drive. I flew from LZ to Kafue and recall I went through Lusaka so it was a long day.

My comments would echo Skimmers on Kafue. Later in the season, such as September, is better than earlier, such as July when I was there. But it was good in July too and I saw lions, 4 cheetah, 3 serval, with roan and sable at a distance.

Whether you can find room at Mombo or not, may influence whether you spend more time in Zambia or not.

The length of time in SL and LZ should be a minimum of 3 nights in each. I did 4 each in SL, NL, and LZ, then 5 in Kafue for an all-Zambia trip.

Happy New Year.

Agree almost entirely with everything written already. Just wanted to make a comment about spending some time doing--nothing. Just kicking back a bit.

I can't imagine a better place to do that than Old Mondoro. Yes, it is a bush camp, and the accommodations are rustic, but oh my... To sit in your tent with the canvas rolled up as the resident pod of hippos ho, ho, ho's in the river in front, a croc suns just across the channel to the right, an old solitary buffalo wanders by, or a pair of ellies saunters through snarfling up winterthorn pods, their tusks festooned with hyacinths.

We were lucky to be there three nights (we cancelled a second night at Sausage Tree to get the 3rd night at Mondoro we fell so immediately and totally in love with it--and with the wonderful managers, Helen and Roelof).

We took advantage of every wonderful game walk, drive and boat trip offered. And, when it was time to leave, we promised ourselves that when we come back we will stay longer so we could spend a day or two doing just what you want to do--nothing but taking in all those wonderful sights and sounds.

Jim