Africa Safaris Reviews

Nextgen Safaris offers a variety of safari experiences across Africa, focusing on providing personalized and sustainable travel options. Our Africa Safaris Reviews from safaris designed to showcase the continent’s diverse wildlife and stunning landscapes. Here’s a brief overview of our offerings and what reviewers generally appreciate

Not to be missed!

5/5 Reviewed By: Charlotte Beauvoisin Visited: July

I’d heard such amazing reports about Murchison Falls “the world’s heaviest waterfall” that I was worried whether the famous waterfalls would live up to expectations. Spoiler alert: they did. The light spray from the waterfalls and the force of the River Nile pounding the hard rock beneath…

Get out of the vehicle

4/5 Reviewed By: Charlotte Beauvoisin Visited: September

For a long time viewed by many as just a stopover on the road to the big name destinations of Bwindi (for gorillas) and Queen Elizabeth (for safaris), Lake Mburo has matured as a destination in its own right. Nubian giraffes translocated from Murchison Falls National Park are breeding successfully…

A Tanzanian Ark

4/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

Rubondo Island is not your typical African safari destination. Proclaimed as a game reserve in 1966 and upgraded to national park status in 1977, it protects the hilly 240km²/93mi2 island for which it is named, along with another 11 islets in the southwest corner of Africa’s largest freshwater…

Island Chimps

3/5 Reviewed By: Ariadne van Zandbergen Visited: Multiple times

Rubondo Island National Park is one of a kind. This remote jungle-clad island on Lake Victoria has been a haven for chimpanzees since the 1960s. The founder West African chimps were confiscated from zoos and circuses. Once released on the island they reverted to being totally wild. They reproduced…

Scenery To Die For

4/5 Reviewed By: Dale R Morris Visited: Multiple times

Having a sleepless night next to my campfire in the middle of an ostensibly lifeless desert because I’m afraid of a freshwater crocodile sneaking up on me may seem a little hysterical, but Namibia’s Kaokoland region, despite generally being as dry as a fossil, is full of surprises, not least of…

Elephants Everywhere

4/5 Reviewed By: Dale R Morris Visited: Multiple times

Chobe has lions, and leopards, and tons and tons of wildlife, including elephants – lots and lots of elephants. In fact, there are too many, and conservationists are concerned that they are damaging the delicate ecosystem of the Chobe National Park by eating themselves and everything else out of…

Victoria Falls & the Zambezi

4/5 Reviewed By: Mary Fitzpatrick Visited: October

Almost everyone who visits this park comes to see the mighty Zambezi River plunging more than 100m/320ft downwards at Victoria Falls. The falls are classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site and considered one of the world’s natural wonders for a reason: the roar of the water (Mosi-oa-Tunya means…

Lesotho’s Most Accessible Hiking & Wildlife Destination

3/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Early summer

Although Ts’ehlanyane National Park doesn’t cut it as a conventional safari destination, it makes for a rewarding and comfortable stopover for those travelling through the west of Lesotho. Ts’ehlanyane is far more accessible from the capital Maseru than Lesotho’s other national park. It is…

A compelling volcanic landscape

3/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple visits

Set in the heart of the Rift Valley east of Addis Ababa, Awash National Park protects a starkly magnificent volcanic landscape bisected by the Awash River and an associated ribbon of riparian woodland. It is a very scenic park in its own rather desiccated way, hosting such landmarks as the…

Swimming elephants amid churning cascades

4/5 Reviewed By: Mark Eveleigh Visited: December

Mosi-oa-Tunya, ‘the smoke that thunders’, must be one of the most evocative names in all Africa. The mere idea of a national park that is bathed in the spray of the great Victoria Falls is enough to set the most intrepid heart hammering. This tiny Zambian park lies less than 5km/3mi upriver from…

Easy Access, Great Wildlife, Established Camps

4/5 Reviewed By: Heather Richardson Visited: Multiple times

Just three hours’ drive from Victoria Falls, Hwange is Zimbabwe’s most popular national park. It’s known for its enormous herds of elephants, which you’ll see most of during the dry months of September and October. They’re relaxed enough to come and drink from the pools – I’ve spent…

Vic Falls and the Mighty Zambezi

4/5 Reviewed By: Sue Watt Visited: May

Zambezi National Park is slowly recovering from years of poaching, and wildlife numbers are improving. We saw plenty of elephants, hippos and crocs along with ever-present impalas and waterbucks, but it’s fair to say the wildlife viewing isn’t on a par with Hwange or Mana. In its favor, however,…

A River Runs Through It

4/5 Reviewed By: Mike Unwin Visited: September

This highly rewarding national park – which lies some six hours’ drive northwest of the capital Kampala – is both Uganda’s largest and oldest conservation area, occupying just under 4,000 square kilometres in the far west of the country. It is named for the impressive cataract formed where…

Spectacular Falls & Diverse Wildlife

4/5 Reviewed By: Alan Murphy Visited: May

While the boat trip to the base of the magnificent Murchison Falls is touted as the best way to see them, in fact the falls are better viewed from on top. Roaring through a narrow cleft in the rock, it is the best waterfall I’ve seen in East Africa. You can drive to the top of the falls, or catch…

Waterfalls and arid wilderness

3/5 Reviewed By: Christopher Clark Visited: July

Found in South Africa’s Northern Cape on the fringes of the Kalahari Desert, Augrabies Falls National Park is a starkly beautiful and desolate wilderness which centres around the impressive cataract that gives it its name. From the park’s main reception area, it’s an easy walk down to the…

Kaokoland

4/5 Reviewed By: Anthony Ham Visited: September-October

Namibia’s northwestern corner is one of the country’s gems. It’s a familiar Namibian story here of barren and beautiful rocky mountains, sweeping sand valleys and some iconic local inhabitants. The Himba, one of Africa’s most soulful people, inhabit the Kaokoveld, and an encounter with the…

The smoke which thunders

4/5 Reviewed By: Kim Wildman Visited: Multiple times

Located along the upper Zambezi River, this small park provides sanctuary to elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and a variety of antelope. Taking a game drive around the park’s circular route is a relaxing way to spend a few hours, however, the main reason to come here of course is the Victoria…

Chobe’s charms and challenges

4/5 Reviewed By: Sue Watt Visited: February

I’ve only been to Chobe once and my visit was limited to one night (the result of a very hectic itinerary) in the busiest area of the park near the Chobe River. It’s easily accessible from Vic Falls and has plenty of wildlife (particularly huge herds of elephants), so much so that you simply…

Chimpanzees en Route to Murchison Falls

3/5 Reviewed By: Ariadne van Zandbergen Visited: Multiple times

Budongo Forest can easily be visited en route to Murchison Falls National Park. In fact, the main road to Murchison runs through the forest. The main activity here is chimp tracking. We were lucky enough to see a chimp cross the road before we even reached the lodge from where chimp tracking is…

A Neat Small Park Good for a Stopover on the Way to Primate Country

2/5 Reviewed By: Lizzie Williams Visited: February

One of Uganda’s few savannah parks, Lake Mburo is easily accessible thanks to its central location off the main road that crosses between Kampala and the forested reserves and parks in the west. You can even reach it by public transport – combined with a boda-boda (motorbike), taxi or lodge…

Uganda’s Forgotten Savannah Reserve

4/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Dry season

Nestled up against the remote South Sudanese border in the far northeast of Uganda, Kidepo Valley National Park has long been a byword for inaccessibility and remoteness. This is partly due to geographical distance from Kampala and the southwest safari circuit, an isolation exacerbated by the risk…

It Should be on your bucket list

4/5 Reviewed By: Dale R Morris Visited: June

Like many, I once associated Zimbabwe solely with tales of corruption, a downtrodden populace, and unchecked wildlife destruction. Yet, my repeated visits to the country have shattered these assumptions. Zimbabwe is a paradoxical gem, where the warmth of its people contrasts sharply with its…

Bush and Beach

3/5 Reviewed By: Stuart Butler Visited: June

This very underrated reserve is less than an hours drive from Diani Beach, the biggest beach resort in Kenya, and is ideal for an easy morning game drive. True the wildlife variety and concentrations don’t come close to Kenya’s big name parks and reserves but for a break from the beach and a…

Remote and Rewarding Park

2/5 Reviewed By: Stuart Butler Visited: Multiple times

I should start this review by saying that I went to Ruma National Park, close to Lake Victoria in beautiful western Kenya, immediately following a full month in the magnificent private and community conservancies surrounding the Masai Mara. Ruma is a very little visited park and most people (few of…

Classic Africa

5/5 Reviewed By: Stuart Butler Visited: Multiple times

What can be said about the Serengeti that hasn’t already been said? This is simply Africa as you always imagined it. Endless rolling bleached grasslands with scattered flat-topped acacia trees and animals everywhere. This is the Tanzania’ mirror image of Kenya’s Masai Mara and it’s…

A Pleasant Surprise on the Periphery of Vic Falls

4/5 Reviewed By: Christopher Clark Visited: September

My only visit to this very scenic park adjoining the majestic Victoria Falls was pretty much an accident. I was due to conduct a quick site visit at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge for a Fodor’s update on the Vic Falls chapter of one of its books, before returning to the town centre. As soon as I…

A staggering natural wonder and some easy Zambezi game viewing

4/5 Reviewed By: Christopher Clark Visited: June

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is the gateway to the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. Over the years this incredible natural wonder has exhausted all the superlatives in the dictionary in attempts to describe it, but none manage to do it justice. You have to see the Falls for yourself. Once your jaw…

Land of the giants

5/5 Reviewed By: Christopher Clark Visited: Multiple times

Close to the Zimbabwean, Zambian and Namibian borders and an easy day trip away from the unmissable Victoria Falls, Chobe is Botswana’s flagship park and not without good cause. The wide and life-giving Chobe River draws incredible numbers of hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, waterbuck and a plethora…

Waterfalls and wildlife

4/5 Reviewed By: Lucy Corne Visited: Multiple times

The main attraction of this arid park is of course the waterfall for which it is named. The main falls thunder 56m into a narrow, rocky chasm and are easily accessed by wooden walkways leading from the main rest camp. Look out for vervet monkeys and scurrying dassies – small furry animals that…

Behold nature’s raw power

4/5 Reviewed By: James Bainbridge Visited: September

The centrepiece of this park in South Africa’s wild Northern Cape is the world’s sixth-highest waterfall, which plunges 56m between towering cliffs. Looking down on the thundering spectacle from the viewing platforms, which are periodically destroyed by floods, gives an awe-inspiring glimpse of…

Kingdom in the sky

3/5 Reviewed By: Ariadne van Zandbergen Visited: Multiple times

The Kingdom of Lesotho is surrounded entirely by South Africa. It is nothing like its more industrialized neighbor though. When you cross the border, you feel like you go back in time. The small country is refreshingly undeveloped, and most people still live a very traditional lifestyle. What’s…

Safari Along the Wild Nile River

3/5 Reviewed By: Tim Bewer Visited: August

Uganda’s largest national park features on most safari itineraries because of its mix of beauty and wildlife. Four of the Big Five are here (only rhinos are absent, but they can be seen at the Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch on the drive from Kampala), and lion and leopard sightings are pretty…

Home to Habituated Chimpanzees, This Is an Excellent Murchison Falls Add-On

2/5 Reviewed By: Tim Bewer Visited: August

Though the Budongo Forest is rarely a destination on its own, it makes an excellent add-on to Murchison Falls National Park. You probably won’t see any safari species on a forest walk here; rather people come to track its community of habituated chimpanzees. There are no big hills to climb here,…

Huge concentrations of large animals, all easily spotted along the Chobe River

4/5 Reviewed By: Tim Bewer Visited: July

Its location near the incomparable and unmissable Victoria Falls (about an hour away) has made Chobe one of the busiest and most famous parks in Southern Africa, but it’s the abundant wildlife and ease of seeing it (in both the rainy and dry seasons) that makes it one of the best. Except for…

Well Worth a Visit From Vic Falls

3/5 Reviewed By: Stephen Cunliffe Visited: Multiple times

Although this park can be a bit hit-and-miss, I would still unreservedly encourage tourists to visit. Traditionally, most people have accessed the park on day-trip game drives from the neighboring town of Vic Falls, and this is still a good way to do it, despite a recent surge in accommodation…

Thundering Waterfalls and Decent Wildlife

4/5 Reviewed By: Stephen Cunliffe Visited: Multiple times

Like Kidepo, this park in northwest Uganda is a beautiful and wild place with plenty of wildlife still remaining. In my opinion the ultimate highlight must surely be the boat cruise up Africa’s longest river to view the mighty Nile as it thunders through a narrow cleft in the rock and tumbles down…

Big Skies and an Impressive Waterfall

2/5 Reviewed By: Stephen Cunliffe Visited: September

The name Augrabies actually comes from a corruption of the Khoi-San word meaning ‘Place of Great Noise’: an apt description for the deafening roar produced by the water as it thunders down the 56m high Augrabies Waterfall, especially when the Orange River is in full flood. Wildlife is sparsely…

The Southern Side of Victoria Falls:

3/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

Extending westwards from Victoria Falls towards the border with Botswana, this relatively small park functions largely as an annexe to the nearby waterfall, and is difficult to discuss outside that context. Almost all safari itineraries to Zimbabwe incorporate the mile-wide waterfall, which lies on…

Zimbabwe’s Top All-round Safari Destination

5/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

Long regarded to be one of the largest and best national parks in southern Africa, the 14,650km2 Hwange has fallen off the tourist map slightly under the present regime in Zimbabwe, but it remains a very special place. Hwange is most memorable for its large herds of elephants, which are ubiquitous…

The Smoke That Thunders

4/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

Named after the local name for Victoria Falls – Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning ‘the Smoke That Thunders’ – this small park is a fixture on almost all safari itineraries through Zambia since it protects the Zambian half of the waterfall that justifiably made a recent National Geographic list of the…

Africa’s largest national park

4/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple visits

Extending over 22,500km², and with more mammal species recorded than any other African reserve, much of this vast park is covered in monotonous miombo woodland, where we found wildlife to be quite sparse. However, it is almost impossible to overstate the quality of Dry season game viewing on the…

The Forgotten Chimpanzee Reserve

3/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

The vast Budongo Forest is Uganda’s most important refuge for chimpanzees, supporting a population currently estimated at around 800, including a community that has been habituated for research purposes since the 1970s. It is also one of the most extensive and ecologically diverse forests in East…

Hilly Gateway to the Western Safari Circuit

3/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

Lake Mburo’s billing as a stronghold for the impala – a handsome antelope that’s otherwise absent from Uganda but abundant elsewhere in southern Africa – smacks slightly of desperation. But while this low-key national park has no lion or elephant, and doesn’t really bear comparison to the…

Thundering Waters and Smirking Shoebills

4/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple times

I don’t recall who it was that described Murchison Falls as the most spectacular thing to happen to the world’s longest river en route from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean, but I’d have to agree with them. This truly spectacular waterfall sees the Nile funnelled explosively through a narrow…

Place of great noise

4/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Multiple visits

This would rank high on my list of South Africa’s most-underrated gems, despite its rather remote location and limited game viewing opportunities, and a visit is strongly recommended as an addendum to any safari to the Northern Cape’s game-viewing showpiece, Kgalagadi. The park is named after…

A little visited wilderness

2/5 Reviewed By: Philip Briggs Visited: Dry season

Unpromisingly, Kora is best known as the place where the lion-loving conservationist George Adamson (of Born Free fame) was murdered in 1989, during the height of the poaching war. Otherwise it is basically just an eastern extension of Meru National Park, harbouring a similar selection of wildlife,…

A Park of Two Halves

3/5 Reviewed By: Paul Murray Visited: Multiple times

Zambezi National Park, one of the most beautiful parks you’ll find, is on the doorstep of Victoria Falls. There are two distinctly different sections of this park. The most popular section has a lengthy (50km/31mi) river frontage with photogenic reed islands and bubbling rapids, making it…

Birds or Bats?

2/5 Reviewed By: Paul Murray Visited: April/September

The clue to this park is in its name as the main focus here is the magnificent 56-metre waterfall and the gorge carved out by the Orange River. In full flood it’s a tremendous, thundering experience and in the dry season you can peer right down into the abyss to the river below. Despite the…

The Insider Favourite

4/5 Reviewed By: Heather Richardson Visited: Multiple times

If ever there was an underappreciated destination, it’s Zimbabwe – something every safari expert will tell you. The country continues to experience tough times. The 2018 election promised a new chapter – but resulted in a slide backwards. The economy is in the bin and the country needs…

Above the Falls

2/5 Reviewed By: Mike Unwin Visited: Multiple times

Zambezi National Park adjoins the much greater attraction of Victoria Falls. I have enjoyed many nights in the inexpensive National Parks chalets, which are beautifully situated along the river upstream of the falls. Sable antelope still occur in decent numbers in the southern grasslands, and lion.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: All visitors to Zambia must have a valid passport with at least 4 consecutive blanks pages. Any applicable visa and/or relevant documentation are the responsibility of the traveler. For further information on Visa requirements visitors are advised to contact their nearest Zambia Embassy or Consulate.

Check here for Visa info

LANGUAGE: English

TIME: GMT +3

VOLTAGE: 220 Volts/AC50Hz. Sockets are UK style, 3 pin square plugs. Power is from the government in the city/major towns and generator with inverter back up in the Safari Lodges and Camps.

CURRENCY: Foreign currency must be changed at the Bank, Bureau de Change, and Hotel/Safari lodge/Camp/Resort. Major Credit Cards, Master card, Visa, American Express, are usually accepted throughout the country. Where credit cards are accepted, the payment will normally be recorded in US$ regardless of the card’s default currency.

CLOTHING: Dress is mainly informal and should be comfortable as well as practical. Something warm should be brought along for early morning and evenings. Safari clothes are available from hotels/lodges/camps.

BAGGAGE: Where possible, travel light. Baggage space on safari is limited to medium suitcase or soft bag per person plus reasonable amount of hand luggage. There is 15 Kilogram per person limit on all flights to the wildlife sanctuaries. Excess luggage must be stored in your arrival hotel.

WATER: You will find many different of opinion of what is safe and what is not. We recommend for peace of mind, to drink local Bottled Mineral water. It is important to drink plenty of water especially during the hotter months. We would recommend that guests drink at least 2 to 3 liters of water per day to limit the effects of dehydration.

HEALTH: Africa is a safe and secure destination; however, it is a good idea to take a few precautions. Kindly consult your GP or local doctor at least 6 weeks before you travel, with regards: Malaria prophylactics. East Africa is a known malaria area and preventive measures are essential. You are advised to take one of the recommended anti-malarial drugs. Be sure to wear long sleeved shorts and trousers after sunset and spray the exposed parts of your body with a mosquito repellent spray Remember to protect yourself from direct sun rays with sunscreen cream or safari hat.

DIETARY REQUIREMENTS: For those guests with specific dietary requirement, please ensure we are notified prior to travel

GRATUITIES: As a guideline and dependent on how happy you are, we would suggest the following: The General Hotel/Lodge/Camp Staff – Approximately U$ 10.00 per person per day Driver Guides – Approximately US$ 15.00 to US$ 20.00 per person per day.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Please be careful when photographing public buildings, airports, bridges, the national flag and people in uniform. Ensure that you have sought permission before photographing local people and their villages. If in doubt, please check with your guide.

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