8 days: Best of Zambia, Botswana (Chobe) and Zimbabwe (Zambezi) Wildlife Safari Tour

Customer Reviews

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  Amanda

  · June 6th, 2025
  Please note: While I can craft a review based on your detailed account, I cannot "do research and Google the company" or verify claims about name changes due to poor reviews, as that falls outside my current capabilities. I will focus on writing a comprehensive and impactful review based solely on the information you have provided, and incorporate your last point about the owner's replies. A Safari Nightmare: Avoid This Company at All Costs (and Expect an AI Reply) If you're considering a safari, please, for your own sake, do your research thoroughly and steer clear of any company with a history of rebranding or similar names to what I'm about to describe. What was promised as a private, luxurious, and authentic wildlife experience turned into an overpriced, uncomfortable, and deeply disturbing ordeal. And don't bother reaching out to the owner with concerns – from what we've seen, you'll only receive a generic, AI-generated reply. From the outset, "private tour" was a misnomer. Our group of six, including two large gentlemen and two elderly ladies, was crammed into a car clearly designed for five, making for an excruciatingly uncomfortable journey. Our first day set the dismal tone. Despite having just arrived, exhausted, and having paid extra for the only decent hotel of the trip (a foreshadowing of things to come), we were rushed out early. The itinerary included a bewildering "banana tour" (which we thankfully canceled) and a series of pointless stops that could have been summarized in moments – a roadside plaque and a distant tree. The true horror began at what was touted as an animal rehabilitation center. It quickly became apparent this was no such thing. Animals, many visibly injured, were held in shockingly small, unkempt enclosures. The man leading us around proudly proclaimed they took animals from the wild to put them there, and then proceeded to torment them – poking crocodiles with sticks and teasing lions with meat. It was sickening. When I suggested this wasn't appropriate, the guide callously remarked it was "somewhere for poor people to see animals." As travelers who had flown across the world for a genuine safari experience, witnessing such blatant animal cruelty was utterly baffling and heartbreaking. The subsequent stop at the Choma Museum, a slow and tedious tour about Zambian leaders, felt like an eternity after such an upsetting experience. Accommodation in Choma was surprisingly decent, a rare bright spot. However, the bizarre insistence on eating dinner a mere 1.5 hours after lunch, at 4 PM, supposedly at a restaurant "on the way," made no sense. Especially when it turned out our hotel had a perfectly good restaurant with an excellent menu, negating the need for another 25-minute bus ride after a 10-hour day. Day two descended into the surreal. We were made to meet a "district commissioner" whose sole purpose seemed to be soliciting millions of dollars in donations for vague tourism projects, relying on colonial landmarks (a dilapidated administrator's house and a plaque marking a former bank in tall grass) as their sole "attractions." It felt like a blatant attempt to exploit a "white group" for funding. The most disturbing part, however, was a visit to a colonial gravesite. Not only did our guides lack any historical knowledge, but they walked directly over the graves. My driver casually dismissed my discomfort with "they've been dead for years," completely ignoring my explanation of Western cultural respect for graves. It was a pathetic display of historical ignorance and disrespect, particularly for a company attempting to leverage colonialism for tourism. Upon reaching Livingstone, I can only recommend starting any tour from there. The journey from Lusaka was arduous, with poor roads and zero points of interest. In Livingstone, our food options were limited to Nomads, which, while decent, became monotonous with repeat visits and wait times up to two hours. Our accommodation in Livingstone was a stark contrast for our group: half of us were subjected to rooms reeking of black mold, with bathrooms completely blanketed in it, while the other half enjoyed spacious, nice apartments. We were told they "didn't have notice," despite booking two years in advance. The actual safaris were equally disappointing. Botswana was average with an unenthusiastic guide, and the Zambian safari was little more than a glorified 4WD ride. Hwange was the only genuinely authentic wildlife experience, offering a range of sightings. However, our "Hwange Logde" accommodation turned out to be a tin shed in someone's backyard, run by a "mafia mum" who brazenly overcharged for drinks. The border crossings were an added ordeal with the driver having to wait for clearance for the van which is something he could have been doing while we were at lunch not sitting 2hrs in the sun. In summary, this tour was ridiculously expensive for what it delivered. The discomfort, the appalling animal cruelty, the bizarre and disrespectful cultural experiences, the deceptive accommodations, and the overall lack of professionalism make this a company to avoid at all costs. Do not use them, and be extremely cautious of any new entities with similar names or itineraries. If you do, prepare for a frustrating experience and a cold, unhelpful AI-generated response if you try to address your concerns with the management.
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Amanda, Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. While we regret that your experience did not meet expectations, your concerns have been duly noted. Wishing you the best in your future travels. Sincerely, Mark
  Trip date: April 2025
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  Stephanie

  · May 24th, 2025
  Wow....loved our safari trip! It was an amazing adventure though 3 countries. The most memorable part of the trip was our guide Fines and our driver Alex. Fines is an amazing guide, he is deeply knowledgeable, passionate, kind and funny, couldn't ask for a better guide. Alex is a great driver, we always felt safe with him behind the wheel, and I loved our chats, he's a lovely guy. We visited 3 safari parks which were great, and loved the days we visited the museums and met locals and even met the district commissioner (what a privilege) There were some hotels that didn't always have electricity because of the drought which can happen in this region but as travellers it gives you an insight of the daily life of this culture/community. Some members of our group had concerns about one of the hotels, and our guides handled the situation seamlessly by arranging a smooth transition to new accommodations. While we were personally comfortable, we were happy to move with the rest of the group Our safari holiday was lots of fun and a perfect blend of adventure and authentic African wilderness. We had an unforgettable and a one in a lifetime experience with Lochinvar Safaris. I don't think it would have been such an amazing adventure without Fines and Alex. A credit to both of them and the work they do :) ❤️
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Stephie, WOW!!! ???????????????????? What a joy it is to read your heartfelt review! Your words absolutely radiate the spirit of adventure, gratitude, and understanding—and we couldn’t be more thankful for your beautiful energy throughout the... Show more
  Trip date: April 2025
• JS

  Jan

  · May 11th, 2025
  Tour of 6 people. We didn’t get the same itinerary so wasn't sure what was happening each day and then what was said was lost in translation. So frustrating as personal items that was needed for certain days wasn’t taken. We had a vehicle that only had 5 seats so was very cramped and believe not legal. Especially on 3-4 hour trips. Accommodation was hit and miss. Some were fine but a couple were questionable. Black mould on the ceiling of three bathrooms so was transferred to another hotel that was new but out of the 3 nights there didn’t have electricity only a solar light on most days then on the last day had no water. I had asked for the names of the accommodation for ratings and reviews but was never sent it. The tour guides did their best but not fully trained for the daily situations that arose.
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Jan, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. First and foremost, we sincerely appreciate you choosing to travel with Lochinvar Safaris. We’re truly sorry to hear that parts of your safari did not meet your... Show more
  Trip date: March 2025
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  Patrick

  · April 30th, 2025
  Overall great experience seeing the culture of Zambia and getting to see Botswana and Zimbabwe. Our tour guides fines and Alec where both great lads, nice as,quality sense of humor and had great knowledge of the history of zambi. Both lads definitely need a promotion 🤙Once in a lifetime opportunity and glad I got experience it. although we missed out on seeing lions on our tour, they were just probably on vacation we got to see a lot of everything else and cannot complain about that. 5 stars , highly recommend, ask for the dynamic duo of fines and Alec. Cheers!
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Patrick, Wow—what an incredible review! We’re absolutely thrilled to hear you had a once-in-a-lifetime experience on our “8 Days: Best of Zambia, Botswana (Chobe), and Zimbabwe (Zambezi)” safari tour. Your kind words and 5-star rating mean the... Show more
  Trip date: April 2025
• WW

  Wei Min

  · March 26th, 2025
  8 days and 7 nights, but it can be completed in 5 days and 4 nights. The first and second days were just to rush to the starting point of the tour. The so-called attractions were just small tombstones and a small iron bridge. There was no lighting in the small local history museum. The self-funded project on the seventh day was not suitable for us. We stayed in the hotel and could not go anywhere. We just waited for the tour guide to pick us up for lunch and dinner. Helplessly, we chose "Walking with Lions" for 15 minutes at US$150 per person, an average of US$10 per minute! We went to three game drives for the five big animals, but we could not see lions. If we stated before joining the group that we could not guarantee to see them, I would not be so disappointed. The food and drinks were monotonous with only a few choices. There were only three or four staple foods to choose from in seven days. The accommodation was poor and shabby, with power outages every morning and midnight, and we could not access the Internet. We found cockroaches on the bed several times. There was no mention of tipping when we signed up for the group, but when we got there, the tour guide told us to tip. The itinerary was very exciting, but I was very disappointed after going there! I strongly recommend that your company understand it well before recommending it, wasting time and money, and letting tourists come back from a long journey with disappointment.
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Wei Min Wang, Thank you for your feedback. It was a pleasure hosting you and your wife on our flagship safari tour, which many of our tourists have enjoyed immensely. We are glad to hear that you found the safari experience exciting. However, from... Show more
  Trip date: March 2025
• DR

  Denise

  · December 28th, 2024
  We just completed our Safari in Zambia Botswana and Zimbabwe… it far exceeded our expectations mostly because our tour guide Rachel was outstanding, knowledgeable and very helpful and Lucky our driver was exceptionally patient and both of these young people made our trip unbelievably fun! We also loved the game drives and stops at local villages… absolutely LOVED this trip and will definitely return to Zambia for a repeat trip!
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Denise and Family, Thank you so much for sharing such a heartfelt and glowing review of your recent safari adventure with us at Lochinvar Safaris! We are absolutely thrilled to hear that your experience far exceeded your expectations. Your kind... Show more
  Trip date: December 2024
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  Cindy

  · November 12th, 2024
  I suggest customers thoroughly research safaris and confirm where you are staying and the costs that are not included in the trip. There may be a lot of surprises. I have to say the employees are wonderful. Fines, Cynthia, Lucky. I had a lot of questions and all were answered. My only issue is how Lochinvar handled the lady, demanding $420 CASH for the trip that she and we booked way in advance. This was only the beginning of my 3 separate bad experiences.(the other 2 were Kenya, julimas safaris (demanding cash for park entry fees). I googled and called the park and confirmed they accept credit cards)and Sabilom Kenya tours. (They canceled the balloon option after collecting $900, then offered, only after asking, $675. I didn’t have to pay extra for Hwange Park because I chose not to agree with the “change. ” there was supposed to be a waiver. I never saw a waiver. Unfortunately, a lady on our budget trip was charged extra to go to hWange Park(according to her). I was told, She was advised to cancel that Hwange park game Drive and go to Zambizi Park instead. I was told they cited dangerous roads as the reason for the “change”She said she wasn’t granted any partial refund for the lesser Park, but says she felt intimidated in to canceling the hwange park. We went anyway( my partner and I refused to cancel Hwange) and she had to pay $420 extra cash or they would not take her, but we were going anyway . How can that cost $420 extra when it was included initially? . I feel bad for her and for all the other travelers that may have done the same thing and canceled that hWange Park. It was lovely. So many animals and the roads were the usual bumpy dirt roads but nothing serious. In the future, I would spend a little more money and get better hotels and be much more aware of the itinerary and reconfirm in writing. Dealing with her problems($420) for the entire 8 days was avoidable. Mark( the owner I think) even asked my partner to write up a release for her and us to sign!!! I was there on vacation! By the way Victoria Falls was dried up on the Zambia side. I also want to say the The best company I’ve ever used for booking tours is: “Get Your Guide” they care, and have assisted in getting my refunds. The lady says tour radar has not helped yet to recover her $420 , that she feels was an over payment. I’ve been reading a lot of reviews about Zambia. This is not the only tour company that has disappointed guests. I know there’s a drough and all, but i think tour providers should try to do things as promised and exceed expectations. I will continue to use “Get Your Guide” as my go to for tour providers.
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Cindy and John, On behalf of Lochinvar Safaris, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for choosing to spend eight days with us on the “8 days: Best of Zambia, Botswana (Chobe), and Zimbabwe (Zambezi) Wildlife Safari Tour” in October 2024. It was... Show more
  Trip date: October 2024
• 

  Carol

  · November 11th, 2024
  I give this tour an “okay” just because of the people on the ground such as Cynthia and what I ended up seeing. The company itself is run by liars and cheaters and I came away shaking my head wondering why they had to be so mean. The tour called “8 days: Best of Zambia, Botswana (Chobe) and Zimbabwe (Hwange) Wildlife Safari Tour” was confirmed on March 15. On May 10, I got a message through Tour Radar that there had been “minor changes to the itinerary”. MINOR for them was substituting a lesser park Zambezi National Park for Hwange National Park. This company thinks it is MINOR to take out a park that consistently ranks in the top 10 of African safari parks for a park that does not even make the top 50. The reason they gave was the “bad condition of 400 Kms of road heading to and from Hwange National Park Zimbabwe from Livingstone Zambia.” They claimed the road had “…deteriorated to dangerous and unsafe levels..deep across the road potholes making it extremely risky to travel.” This was to take 2 days so they substituted a much lesser park experience for one day and an “open and free day”. How nice for them; a day where instead of providing the activities I paid for they don’t have to provide them, they keep the money and I have to pay for something else to doe I was not happy at all and I did not want to agree but they kept at me until I did and then checked again to verify that I was really okay with it. That should have really made me suspicious. I should have realized I had been baited and switched. But I envisioned vehicles on 400 km of unpaved rocky roads with sheer cliffs and no guard rails. I had driven around 8 African countries including Ethiopia where some roads were quite rocky and steep, so I stupidly believed them. It must be even worse than than I had previously experienced. I became even more suspicious when I found other companies were still going to Hwange. And, when I met another participant of the tour in the meeting hotel in Lusaka. She felt the same as me, but stood her ground. After speaking with her, and knowing they were going on the tour I had paid for, I asked to be added back into the Hwange portion of the tour. They said it would cost MORE money, although I had already PAID for it. They charged me over $400 USD. I was shocked, but figured I had no choice. The other tourists brought up that Lochinvar may have paid some cost for admission to Zambezi National Park (the substitute) so I asked how much they had paid for the alternate park and was willing to lose that amount, since it was my stupidity for falling for the scheme. Four people from the company sat down with me at the hotel and just stared at me not answering my questions. They would not tell me how much had been paid out in advance. There was already a car going and I had already paid the full cost of the trip. They totally ignored me and said they “wanted me to be happy” which to them meant a greatly lesser park experience and a day of nothing (the hotel had no working WI-FI and there was rarely electricity). So I had no choice but to pay them the $420 AGAIN. Most of the road to Hwange was paved and straight (no steep shoulders to topple over). There were a few kilometers of construction where we had to drive on a bumpy sandy shoulder. There was very little traffic and definitely no dangers. Going back and looking at the email I was sent to fool me into accepting the lesser activities, I was told that a great general from Zimbabwe had recently been killed on the road. I just looked up the news story and the driver pulled out to pass when he should not have, thus it had nothing to do with the condition of the road, rather driver error. They totally schemed to take my money and then alter the tour to take out the best part and keep the money. I went back to check the exact words of the tourradar messages to convince me to agree and my reluctant agreement, but they had been deleted. It was important to them that I agree, which makes it odd they deleted that. What was seen especially in Chobe and Hwange was really good and the Hwange guide, Ethan was exceptional as was the woman running the lodge near Hwange called National Park Guest House. However, the staff of Lochinvar are not be trusted. Be very careful to get what they advertise, i.e. what you paid for.
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Carol, I hope you’re well. Reflecting on your recent tour, I wanted to extend my gratitude for the unique and memorable journey we shared, marked by our many engaging conversations and your discerning attention to detail. Despite the challenges... Show more
  Trip date: September 2024
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  David

  · October 8th, 2024
  Fabulous. The game drives exceeded my...
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear David, I am extremely excited to hear from you! I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for your fantastic review of your safari tour with Lochinvar Safaris. Your kind words truly mean the world to us! It’s wonderful to... Show more
  Trip date: September 2024
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  Ilene

  · September 29th, 2024
  Trip of a lifetime! 5 🌟 Going on an African...
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  Lochinvar Safaris commented on this review

  Dear Ilene, Thank you so much for your beautiful review and for choosing Lochinvar Safaris for your dream African safari! We're absolutely thrilled to hear that your experience was everything you had hoped for—and more. It warms our hearts to know that... Show more
  Trip date: September 2024