Recommended activities for early arrival at Royal Livingstone

sudhamali

Any suggestions how to spend the extra day other than recovering from the long journey?We are arriving one day early.

AlanS

Just Google it-

• Micro-light flight or helo flight over the falls

• Elephant safari ("Admire lofty views of wild Africa at a gentle pace atop an elephant.")

• Fishing "Keen fishermen can test their skills against the legendary tiger fish."

• Zip line, bungee jump, white water river rafting, or jet boating in the mighty rapids of the Batoka Gorge

• Walk to the park - the Royal Livingstone has its own entrance ("Zambia's main attraction is only a 10 minute walk from the hotel and as a Royal Livingstone guest you enjoy unlimited complimentary access to Victoria Falls via our own private entrance.").

• Just chill poolside- be careful of the zebras that roam the grounds- get a massage, or hit the gym.

You can book many of the local activities on your own or through the hotel concierge (quotes were taken from the Royal Livingstone Hotel website)

We plan to take a micro-light flight and ride the elephants in 2019.

sudhamali

Stunning photos! Thanks for the suggestions.

skr430

Just got back from this trip! Through the Royal Livingston, we booked the cheetah experience, which was awesome and totally worth it. Took up about an hour and a half of the morning, so it wasn't an all day adventure if you wanted to do other things, as well.

sudhamali

Thanks.

SueG1019

We enjoyed spending the morning going over to Zimbabwe and visiting the local market, having lunch and returning to Zambia in the afternoon.

AlanS

SueG1019 wrote:

We enjoyed spending the morning going over to Zimbabwe and visiting the local market, having lunch and returning to Zambia in the afternoon.

Did you have a multi-entry visa for Zambia or a Univisa?

SueG1019

When you arrive at Livingstone Airport, purchase a multi visa. It cost $50 - though that amount seems to fluctuate with different groups. Use crisp new $ notes. Also carry small denominations ($5 & $10) for your trip to make impromptu purchases.

Carlsbadsue

I took about $200 in $1 increments, which was probably too much but I quickly became "the bank" for the other travelers that did not bring $1 bills. I changed about $800 in total into various denominations of 1's 10's and 20's. I spent it all and had a wonderful time doing So. My favorite purchase was a 6' giraffe, which I purchased at the 'open air market' in Cape Town. And the biggest challenge of the trip was getting the giraffe home.



Enjoy!!

sudhamali

Walk with the Cheetah was awesome.We only had one morning available before the tour started;hardly any time to shop.The grounds of the hotel offer plenty of walking and sights of animals and the Falls.

AlanS

sudhamali wrote:

Walk with the Cheetah was awesome.We only had one morning available before the tour started;hardly any time to shop.The grounds of the hotel offer plenty of walking and sights of animals and the Falls.

Your post-trip feedback is most appreciated! So few travelers do that. I have a bunch of questions for you.

We had a chance to pet a cheetah at the Mount Kenya Conservancy just outside the entrance to the Mt. Kenya Safari Club (our hotel) on K&T a few years ago. We are planning taking B,SA, Z in 2019 and are looking at options for early arrival activities. In an earlier post in this thread skr430 said it lasted about an hour and his glowing assessment is the same as yours, so we might have to seriously consider that.



How many cheetahs were involved? How many guides and tourists where there during your encounter? Were the cheetahs former domesticated or circus animals, or just juveniles that had been raised in captivity, partially socialized? Do they intend to eventually release them or do they have some issue(s) that makes it no longer possible to release them back into the wild? As you probably know, at one time the "Walking with Lions" encounters were numerous in the Livingstone area and even included in the Tauck B,SA,Z tour, but have closed due to pressure from the government(s) and/or animal rights activists because as they got older, the animals were not released as claimed. One poster here, it may have been Sealord or nvdb (?), walked with lions a few years ago when it was still available and said it was a highlight of their trip.

We are considering a number of other options- microlight or helo fight over the falls, elephant encounter where you ride the elephants, etc. Did you consider or do these or any other pre-tour activities?

How did the meerkat encounter go?

Night on the Pans?

Did you see any Great White sharks or attacks at seal island?

What was your tour date? How was the water level and the spray at the falls? How about the water level in the Okavango delta?

skr430, feel free to chime in, especially about the water levels since you went a month earlier(?).

sudhamali

We were on July 1st trip;arrived tired on 6/30.So only 7/1 Morning was available for extra activities.The Cheetah experience was very good because the guides explained everything;there was one guide for one Cheetah;These are raised in captivity and partially socialized with no intention of releasing in the wilderness because they have not learned the skills to survive in the wild.This is what we were told.They make videos for a fee which we declined;the guide was only too happy to take pictures/video with our camera.We did not consider any other activity although one other couple went for the elephant ride and they enjoyed it as well.
They have had more rains this year and as this is early dry season we saw a lot of water in all the rivers in the delta;a lot of happy and active animals.Victoria falls was gorgeous;We had 2 layers of waterproof coverings provided by the tour guide;did not take camera during the walk.Other than mosquitoes in Livingston,we did not encounter any mosquitoes in the delta because of the cold weather.
Night out under the biggest dome is not to be missed;we had a full moon;cold night but the staff at the camp make it so comfortable;even the drop down Lou was well equipped with hot water,soap and towel;sleeping outdoor was probably warmer than it would have felt in the camp.We had a great time with the playful
Meer cats;they climbed all over us;some were lucky to have them stand on their heads.
We just saw one shark on our outing to the Seal Island;the ocean was choppy and some in our group did not like the boat ride;if you take cameras on the boat ride have a waterproof cover or better still waterproof camera.
Overall the trip was just fantastic;credit to the staff at the various camps that take special care for our comfort and enjoyment.
Sorry I still have not learnt how to post pictures like you do!

stz

Did you book the cheetah experience when you arrived at the hotel or in advance? That sounds like something I would like to do.

Also, do you need to exchange money for Zambia, Botswana and South Africa or will they take dollars?

AlanS

sudhamali wrote:

We were on July 1st trip;arrived tired on 6/30.So only 7/1 Morning was available for extra activities.The Cheetah experience was very good because the guides explained everything;there was one guide for one Cheetah;These are raised in captivity and partially socialized with no intention of releasing in the wilderness because they have not learned the skills to survive in the wild.This is what we were told.They make videos for a fee which we declined;the guide was only too happy to take pictures/video with our camera.We did not consider any other activity although one other couple went for the elephant ride and they enjoyed it as well.
They have had more rains this year and as this is early dry season we saw a lot of water in all the rivers in the delta;a lot of happy and active animals.Victoria falls was gorgeous;We had 2 layers of waterproof coverings provided by the tour guide;did not take camera during the walk.Other than mosquitoes in Livingston,we did not encounter any mosquitoes in the delta because of the cold weather.
Night out under the biggest dome is not to be missed;we had a full moon;cold night but the staff at the camp make it so comfortable;even the drop down Lou was well equipped with hot water,soap and towel;sleeping outdoor was probably warmer than it would have felt in the camp.We had a great time with the playful
Meer cats;they climbed all over us;some were lucky to have them stand on their heads.
We just saw one shark on our outing to the Seal Island;the ocean was choppy and some in our group did not like the boat ride;if you take cameras on the boat ride have a waterproof cover or better still waterproof camera.
Overall the trip was just fantastic;credit to the staff at the various camps that take special care for our comfort and enjoyment.

Sorry I still have not learnt how to post pictures like you do!

Thanks!!!!

We are looking at going in mid to late May. Hopefully there well be plenty but not too much water at the Falls, the water level won't be too high or too low in the delta, and it won't be too chilly in Capetown.

Posting photos is not hard, however . . . . Photos must have already been uploaded to the internet- to a website that is dedicated to hosting photos or some other site that allows you to upload (hopefully for free!)- I actually use a hobby woodworking group website. Also, to be compatible with the Tauck forum software, the photos can't be bigger than 640 X 480 px. At hi res my camera takes 18 megapixel photos (5184 X 3456 px), so before I upload them, I make a copy and use software on my computer (MS Office Picture Manager) to resize ones I intend to post here. It screws up the margins for the entire thread if the linked photos are larger than 640 X 480 px. Many forums automatically resize for display, Tauck doesn't, so I don't upload or post many here.

You can always post any photo from any webpage (by copying the photo URL) like I did with the first photo from the Royal Livingstone hotel website in my earlier post. Just make sure the photos are smaller than 640 X 480.

I took this photo on K&T in 2015:

sudhamali

Thanks AlanS.For stz: We booked the day we arrived;If you are able to book ahead,that may be better because you can only go that morning.The tour starts in the afternoon.We did not exchange any money till we reached Capetown;only reason you need local currency is if you shop in small,very small shops .Spent all the rands at the airport on our way back.Dollars and credit cards work quite well.The pace of this tour allows very little time to shop.

cathyandsteveg__

We are booked for this trip Sept 7 2019. I appreciate all the information shared here.

My question is this...if we arrive one day early...will we have time to do the elephant safari...and walk with the cheetahs.. I know we will have free time before we are all supposed to meet late afternoon on Sept 7.

Also..on day two it says we will do a Victoria Falls walking tour....are we allowed to walk to the other end of the bridge and cross into zimbabwe? or is this something we need to do on our own before we start the official tauck tour? All we want to do is cross over and cross back.

Thanks for your help!

AlanS

cathyandsteveg wrote:

We are booked for this trip Sept 7 2019. I appreciate all the information shared here.

My question is this...if we arrive one day early...will we have time to do the elephant safari...and walk with the cheetahs.. I know we will have free time before we are all supposed to meet late afternoon on Sept 7.

Also..on day two it says we will do a Victoria Falls walking tour....are we allowed to walk to the other end of the bridge and cross into Zimbabwe? or is this something we need to do on our own before we start the official tauck tour? All we want to do is cross over and cross back.

Thanks for your help!

As you can see from my posts above we haven't done this trip (yet) but I have done enough research to answer your questions:

If you arrive a day early, depending on time of day, you may be able to have an elephant safari that day or definitely the next day- morning and afternoon elephant safaris of different lengths are offered by a number of providers. Here is a link to one of them:

https://zambeziecoadventures.com/tour/elephant-back-safari/

Many (most?) are only a few kilometers from the Royal Livingstone and will pick you up and drop you off at the hotel.

One provider, Mikuni, is located only 3 km from the falls claims to do both cheetahs and elephants. They also still list lion encounters as do a few other companies. The walk with lions encounters had stopped due to pressure from animal rights groups and the government a few years ago, so I don't know if they still provide this activity or if the websites are out-dated.

You might want to contact the Royal Livingstone concierge. He should have the latest info and be able to recommend the most reputable outfit. Here are links to a couple animal encounter providers (remember, Google is your friend and don't forget to check for reviews on TripAdvisor):

http://www.victoriafallszambia.travel/Lion_Cheetah_Experience
https://www.afrizim.com/activities/livingstone/lion-safari.html



You don't (can't) cross into Zimbabwe without a multi-entry or UNIVISA. Not all Taucktourians will have that. If you want to do it on your own, get one of those two Visas when you arrive at LVI.

Crackeroo

Hi Cathyandsteveg,
We took this tour August of this year. We went in a day early, arrived at the hotel around 3:00 P.M. We chose to walk to the falls and then clean up for a drink watching the sunset (highly recommended) and dinner. The next day, we just walked the grounds of the hotel and enjoyed the pool until it was time to meet with the group.
On day two, you do not cross the bridge to Zimbabwe. However, on the train the first night of the tour, you will get to the bridge and be between the two countries. You can cross over at that time.
Debi

cathyandsteveg__

Thank you alans for all of that information. I have found some web sights as well but i will contact the hotel concierge for their input.

Debi...thank you so very much...that helps me tremendously! We are contemplating between one day or two days early. Does the train let you get off and walk across the bridge? We are going to get the multi visa at the airport just so we are covered and take no chances.

cathyandsteveg__

I e mailed the Livingstone and they literally sent me a 32 page book....i am reading and trying absorb the information. They offer many many things. They said they use Bushtracks Africa for all of their excursions.

It says that the train stops at the bridge for 20 minutes and it sounds like dinner is served afterwards.

British

Yes, it does stop on the bridge where a large number of locals surround you trying to sell trinkets fairly agressively but nicely aggressive if you know what I mean, or maybe persistent is a better word. The goods are fairly cheap quality but we bought a few anyway because if they trouble themselves to make some money by getting themselves there to make extra money, what is a few bucks to most of us and of course you can talk to them about their families and things like that and ask for a photo which all adds to my experience .......not everyone likes that.

cathyandsteveg__

British...as long as they allow me to walk to the other side of the bridge...lol

Honestly...everywhere we have gone there are always folks selling their goods. I just say no if i am not interested...but i agree with you...they are just trying to make a living...and who knows...maybe they will have a little trinket just perfect for someone back home....and if they allow Steve to take my picture with them...even better!

These 32 pages i got this morning are just full of information....and now i am even more excited!

cathyandsteveg__

I do have a question about air.....We are scheduled to arrive Sept 6...so as we are looking to book airfare...just out of curiosity...what day would we need to leave to get there by sept 6? Typically how long is the flight? We will be leaving from STL....what airline is probably the best?

British

I have no idea which airport STL is. Also, do you want to arrive several days early, which Airlines do you have miles with, do you want 1st class, business, premium economy, economy, do you want the cheapest route or the fastest route or the route with the least connections. The question about figuring out which day to leave, we do our research about the airline schedules first, then work out when we want to arrive, then we check with Tauck we are correct, then we either get them to book our flight choice or go with their flights. Our upcoming tours we have actually booked some flights independently, one with air miles.

cathyandsteveg__

We are in Missouri...and the trip actually starts sept 7 and we are staying an extra night so we come in sept 6. Our miles are with American...and we are planning on business class preferably with fewer connections....and cheap is always good if there is such a thing...lol Are Tauck prices competitive with booking independently?

AlanS

cathyandsteveg wrote:

We are in Missouri...and the trip actually starts sept 7 and we are staying an extra night so we come in sept 6. Our miles are with American...and we are planning on business class preferably with fewer connections....and cheap is always good if there is such a thing...lol Are Tauck prices competitive with booking independently?

We live in NC and usually fly out of Raleigh-Durham (RDU) but for K&T a few years ago we drove to DC (quick visit with friends) then flew out of Dulles (IAD) on Ethiopian Airlines in Business Class. We usually fly Delta (self purchase) and have also used Tauck air services, but ET's departure time, one stop flight, good seats/service/food, short layover in Addis Ababa (ADD), decent arrival time in Arusha, a recommendation on this site, and much cheaper fare convinced us to give them a try. It was just fine. I reviewed it somewhere on K&T forum- just search for it.

For all those reasons we are planning to fly ET to Africa again in 2019 for the Botswana,SA,Zambia tour. Again, the flight will leave from IAD at 10:00 am (a reasonable hour), has only one short stop in Addis Ababa (ADD) (1 hr. 20 min.), and arrives at Victoria Falls Airport at 12:15 pm- another decent time! No long or overnight layovers in Heathrow (LHR), Amsterdam (AMS), Nairobi, or Johannesburg (JNB) like other carriers and is only 19 hours vs 32+ hours. ADD is not the greatest but is OK for a quick layover. However, since we arrive at VFA, not Livingstone Airport (LVI), Tauck won't provide transport to the hotel. We'll arrange that with the hotel or transfer company. It is just a slightly longer trip to the Royal Livingstone than from LVI. We'll miss out on the short Zambezi River boat ride for the second half of the trip to the Royal Livingstone if that is still part of the Tauck transfer from LVI.

We will leave the US on Wed 22 May and arrive in Livingstone a little after noon on the 23 May. Tour starts 25 May so we will have a little over two days before the tour starts- Microlight flight over the falls, Cheetahs or Lions, Elephant walk, chillin' poolside.

The return flight: departs Cape Town (CPT) at 2:55 pm - ADD (40 min. layover) - very short, middle-of-the-night fuel stop w/o deplaning in Dublin (DUB) - arrives IAD at 7:50 am

r/t business class ticket currently running about $5300 p/p.

From STL it could take you over 32 hours going over and 25+ coming back, so if you don't want to arrive early to rest and recuperate, but start your tour right away, you will still need to depart on 4 or 5 Sept. Play around with the AA, Travelocity or other online booking sites to see what kinds of options are available. A quick check on Travelocity shows Business Class tickets from STL starting at around $7300. If it were me, I would fly to IAD a day early since no flights from STL arrive before the ET flight departs, spend the afternoon at the nearby Air & Space Museum, then fly ET to/from Africa. Even after the you add in the cost of the domestic flights STL-IAD, hotel, A&S museum, you would still be saving close to $5K for two people!

The border posts are at each end of the bridge which is sort of a no-man's land, so to just walk out onto the bridge you will need a UniVisa (KAZA visa) which is good for multiple entries into both countries or a Zambia multi-entry Visa purchased at the airport (you enter Zambia twice- once at the airport, and once reentering from the bridge.) To actually step into Zimbabwe - you will need a UniVisa or a multi-entry Zambia visa (to get back in to Zambia) and a Zimbabwe visa to enter Zimbabwe.

British

cathyandsteveg wrote:

We are in Missouri...and the trip actually starts sept 7 and we are staying an extra night so we come in sept 6. Our miles are with American...and we are planning on business class preferably with fewer connections....and cheap is always good if there is such a thing...lol Are Tauck prices competitive with booking independently?

We live in Philly and have been through South Africa three times now. I think the first time we flew from JFK New York non stop to Johannesburg, Tauck booked for us and we flew I think Premium economy on South African airways, it was fine. The second time we flew economy on British airways via Heathrow and had the long layover. We were going to fly business class but even though we booked the flight almost a year out, there was nothing left for business, but when we got to Heathrow we went to ticketing and got an upgrade to business class at a teaser rate for just a few hundred dollars, an amazing price. But coming back, economy all the way, we are so used to traveling very long distances it really wasn't too bad. The third time, last year, we did British airways again, business, that was nice. We could just not afford business class when we were taking several big trips a year a few years ago. Recently we have been traveling more business class, but only on very long flights. When we travel to Europe, we just fly economy, the flights for us are just not long enough to pay the extra and if we are going on a Tauck tour, it is a much cheaper option to get there a few days early and pay for an extra night or so in a hotel to recover from jet lag than pay thousands of dollars for business class tickets. Mr B used to always like booking flights with Tauck because of the flexibility until ticketing and only paying for them sixty days before the trip, sometimes they are cheaper, sometimes not, but they will book any flight you chose, you don't have to use their preferred carrier. These days, Mr B sometimes books tickets himself, liking to get our American Airlines extra miles that way or American Express extra miles, I leave all that stuff to him. Our luxury is using a limo service to the airport, we especially like this in the wintertime because we dread getting back to our car to find it covered in snow. I am nervous for our upcoming trip that we don't have snow the day we are flying, especially as this is JFK.
Enjoy your tour, it's the best Africa tour Tauck does, I think.