Reviews from our Guests

We stayed at Msandile River Lodge for 4 days (3 nights), and it was absolutely amazing! I 100% recommend this place to anyone planning to visit Zambia.

I stayed in a two-person tent with a friend, and it was stunning! The tent was clean, spacious, and came with an adorable outdoor bathroom. Watching the sunrise while brushing your teeth or spotting animals from the shower is something truly special.

The entire crew is fantastic! The food was delicious, fresh, and varied, and the housekeeping was great—everything was clean and organized. The guides were outstanding, incredibly knowledgeable, and always had answers to our questions. We went on several game drives, and each one was different/a learning experience. We even had an amazing (bush) breakfast in the middle of the park! The guides were also funny, open for conversations, and super friendly.

Since the lodge is located in the heart of the park, you're constantly surrounded by wildlife. We saw it all—elephants crossing near the pool and hippos walking around our tent. Thanks to the well-trained staff, I never felt unsafe, and we could fully enjoy the moment.

Special thanks to Sabine, Frank, Feline (and Chloe) for letting us experience this - I will definitely be back! :)
Rooms: 5
Service: 5
Location: 5

This was one of the most fantastic stays in Africa, where we spend 6 month every year. Msandile lodge is to be recommended 100 times for your Africa/safari experience. Gracious hosts, helpful staff, superb Chef and comfortable glamps. Don't go anywhere else.

This is hands down the best wildlife lodge experience we’ve had in a long time. This low key simple lodge is situated deep in the bush, perched on the southern bank of the Luangwa. It’s right on an elephant crossing point with animals passing through the river in front of
the rooms all day. This morning wild dog killed an impala right in front of the lodge eating area. Elephants pass between the buildings all day.
The lodge itself is simple and has all the essentials to make it a fabulous experience. Lovely staff, delicious food (vegetarian friendly), comfortable beds, hot water, rooms with gorgeous views directly overlooking the river. Their attention to detail is really slick.
At night you’re immersed in hippo calls, elephants eating by the door, lions roaring.
Another feature I love is that you go by boat across the river every morning and evening for your game drives. No waiting by the gates in dusty queues. You’re first to get into the depth of the reserve. Daily leopard and lion sightings.
I’m always reluctant to be too nice on reviews or they’ll push their prices too high that I can’t come back but this is really a place worth seeing! Thank you Msandile team! See you next year.

Ps. Get a Starlink next time please!!
That’s my ONLY bugbear and easily remediable.

Show less
Date of stay: September 2024
Trip type: Traveled with family

Only the croc-infested river keeps the animals from straying - but the elephants and hippos still wander freely into the lodge camp. Msandile offers lovely accommodation overlooking the Luangwe river - and arriving and leaving involves a boat trip across! The outdoor communal and dining areas are lovely and give views of the regularly passing giraffes, elephants, impala, hippos etc. The days breaks down nicely into early morning drive, breakfast, lunch, late afternoon drive and dinner. The food was excellent - one evening, the fillet of beef was about the best beef I've ever had. The only slight criticism we had was that a game drive was spoilt by being called back to base an hour in to pick up two eejits who seemed to feel no embarrassment or shame at having wrecked everyone's afternoon. Well, not wrecked - just being there was a privilege and a joy. And we'd already seen plenty of leopards...

My sister and I spent 3 days in this beautiful lodge! The team, the place, the food, the safaris everything was exceptional. We lived an unforgettable experience, they have so much attention to details, you feel very safe with the day and night guards securing our way while animals pass by the camp.

• Family Chalet
• Double Chalet

I just had to share how AMAZING our experience was at Msandile River Lodge! From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by the lovely Chloe, who made us feel so welcome. We kicked things off with a delicious late lunch that was just perfect.

After that, we got a fantastic tour of the property, and let me tell you, the accommodations were absolutely beautiful. This place is ideal for family gatherings, trips with friends, or even solo adventures—seriously, you do not want to miss out on this gem! ✨

What really blew us away was their flexibility in planning our game drives. They went above and beyond to ensure we ticked off everything on our animal bucket list! 🐾 On our very first game drive, we were lucky enough to see wild dogs! Can you believe it? And watching elephants cross the river from the nearby villages in search of food was just breathtaking. It felt surreal to enjoy such incredible wildlife right from the comfort of our sitting area! 🐘🌊

Chloe even joined us on our evening drive, sharing her experiences and giving us fantastic tips. We had so much fun together—lots of laughs! 😂 Huge shoutout to the entire team at Msandile for their wonderful hospitality. You guys made our trip unforgettable! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to go back! 🌟❤️

It was a great stay at Msandile 05-08 July 2024! The staff was fantastic and the food great. My thanks to Chloe for being so helpful and organized. Special thanks to George The Magician for his great guide and tracking skills and Ellis for his assistance. 

Thanks!

We stayed for 3 nights at Msandile just before Christmas and had a fatastic time.

The location is amazing, right by the river and in the middle of the bush, with elefants and hippos visiting the lodge literally every day.

The tents and chalets are quite nice and in a good condition I would say.

Staff and camp management were excellent from our perspective, so was the guide Isaac who is very friendly, patient and knowledgable. We've also had great sightings and awesome night drives thanks to Isaac.

The food and service in the lodge is really good, we enjoyed it very much. And not less important, we felt very much welcome as a family with our two young (and very lively) kids. The staff was playing football with our boys and the management even did some "baby sitting" one morning, so that me and my wife could go on a longer walking safari. Staff and management also reacted promptly to our requests and needs.

So all in all a beautiful stay in Msandile, we will definitely come back!

• Family Chalet

Beautiful place , Beautiful food and Beautiful people.

There at the riverfront we found a beautiful setting with crocodils lying opposite our chalets on the sandbanks, hippo's snorkling in the water of the Luangwe river and little bee-eaters dancing in the ski to catch there daily food.
We walked through that unspoiled Park, we drove through that beautiful Park and heb sundowners at the banks of the slowmoving Luangwe river.
The enormous knowledge about the wild bush and iets animals of Isaac our driver and guide , the warm hospitality of the staf directed by Sabine and Frank and the gathering round the campfire to tell longforgotten bushstories to be followed with an very tasty meal at a well decorated table under the figtrees in the evening will never be forgotten by our 8 persons strong group of friends .

Thanks a lot Sabine and Frank for giving us these never to be forgotten time at Msandile.

Ben de Ponti and friends

In a unique riverside location where you can see elephants, giraffes and other animals crossing the river every day during the dry season, a Dutch couple with a team of dedicated, friendly Zambian staff run this beautiful lodge. Unlike most lodges on that side of the river, guests do not have to enter the park by car over the bridge at the main gate, but are taken by boat to the other side of the river for each drive (in itself already a special experience) where the safari car is parked on the bank. Our guide had a breathtaking amount of knowledge about the flora and fauna of the park. Each drive turned out to have new highlights in store, while we were still processing our luck on the previous drives. When 'coming home' it was wonderful to cool off in the swimming pool, from where we watched elephant families walking past or saw a giraffe reach the other bank with careful steps, avoiding crocodiles. The chef provided delicious meals daily, taking into account our dietary requirements (vegetarian / vegan). A part of my soul seems to have remained in Msandile River Lodge.

I originally had made reservations with another lodge and I happened to speak to another traveler the night before I traveled there who raved about her time there...just a few days before. I was to arrive on Christmas eve and I really wanted a special Christmas trip. Frank, the owner and I,      messaged back and forth the hours before I arrives and I hoped that I was making the right decision canceling my reservations to go with a place I wasn't able to read reviews from the bus. Frank was patient with all my questions and arranged for their driver to pick me up. It turned out to far far exceed all questions and become my favorite stay in 6 months of Africa of travel!! The personal care of the owners Frank and Sabine, each one of the staff were over the top. The attention to detail for elegance in the bush were noted from the sheets..the soap, greeted with cool wet towels after each game drive...and the food! I got my yummy Christmas feast and then some!! The chef and Sabine planned many surprises for the feast! Isaac the game driver made sure we saw plenty of everything..hippos on the boat drive to and from the park twice a day, elephants galore, lions with cubs, giraffe, a leopard hyena different antelope and hes quite the bird spotter also. But the highlight was making sure I saw my favorite animal..the spotted dogs! 6 months and 3 weeks worth of game drives twice a day I had not seem the wild dogs one time on this trip to Africa. We saw them every day and once a kill happened running around our vehicle!. The main lodge is beautiful and spacious with very high ceilings and you fall asleep and wake up to the sound of hippos. I am dreaming of coming back with friends next Christmas. I didn't get enough.

Awesome in every way! Friends management and staff, excellent food, Located on the river where elephants walk past the rooms each morning ! I had views of hippos from my bed. 2x game drives each day with Very knowledgeable guides. Saw So many animals up close.

Recently opened and owner run by lovely Frank and Sabine, this new camp is sure to a fast favourite. Its perfect location on what seems to be an animal highway is one of its best selling points. You see crossing of elephants and hippos at dawn and dusk and have so much game right in front of the lodge and camp on the river bed below it. I stayed in one of their Ensuite family chalets, and undoubtedly felt like I was one with nature with amplified sounds of the night drifting into the room from the open front of the chalet.

• Family Chalet

Wonderful 5 night stay with fabulous hosts. The accommodations were clean and comfortable. Staff was super nice and welcoming. Excellent stay. The best part for me as a vegan, was the staff went way out of their way to make me special meals and snacks. Everything was delicious and I really appreciate them accommodating my special diet.

I stayed for 5 nights with friends in the ensuite tents. My tent was fantastic with a 4 poster bed, as well as an indoor and an outdoor shower. The tent was scrupulously clean. The food was fantastic and the rides into the national park were incredible. The guides were knowledgable and we saw lots of wildlife. Last but not least the staff at Msandile were incredible. Nothing was too much trouble.

EVERYTHING! the place was beautiful and the views to the river (with animals crossing the river at all times) was amazing. Even an elephant approached to the lodge when we were having lunch (an experience I will always remember) the food was very tasty, the pool was essential (specially because it was really hot). game drives were very fun and informative (we saw all the animals!) the room is wonderful and the staff is always attentive and making sure you feel comfortable

The main lodge areas is spacious and well designed. The pool is a good size and some lovely sitting areas around it. There was plenty to see from the lodge including elephants crossing the Luangwa river just in front. The en suite tent was very comfortable and clean with a spacious clean bathroom and two (indoor and outdoor) excelllent showers with plenty of hot water.