Croc Valley Camp — Hotel in Eastern Province

Location is really cool on the river and also loved the pool. I had to leave a 1 star review due to poor management and resolution of an issue we had with our morning game drive. Our game drive started well seeing an elephant really close up, however the next few hours were spent stopping and and starting our way around the park as the truck continued to cut out, eventually us needing to push start it multiple times. I'm not sure why the guide continued driving as if the truck was going to fix itself??Eventually it completely stopped and we had 1hr-1.5hrs waiting for another car to bring fuel!!!! We had assumed it was something serious, not running out of fuel!! We had spent 50US each through our tour company to spend the morning stopping and starting and pushing the truck to start it. After we refuelled we made our way back to the campsite doing a couple of loops by the gate looking for leopards. Other than the elephant, the other wildlife we saw was also in our campsite.||We immediately spoke with the staff at the campsite to inform them what had happened and over the afternoon they said they would need to speak to the manager and come back to us. We followed up several times during the day and got the same response with no resolution. We asked if we could have a discounted night drive at-least. Management didn't even bother to come back to us before going home for the night and was not present in the morning to discuss the issue. ||Of 14, only 3 people did the night drive (still full price) where as there would have been atleast 10 if management had at least talked with us. We were worried about wasting more money and the same problems happening. We couldn't use another provider without having to pay double for our accomodation. We spoke to other guests at the park and they said they would have demanded a full refund. Really really disappointed in the service and experience as we were all really looking forward to South Luanga! Also, this made no business sense for them to behave like this as all we were asking for was a discount for the night drive, where we would have been spending another few hundred USD. Go figure.|| if you use a different game drive provider, Croc valley will double your accomodation costs!! With this mentality they should take more responsibility when their game drive provider's service was not at all acceptable. ||NOTE: Happy to adjust this review if management respond to my partners emails and provides us with a partial refund or some sort...

Croc Valley has a beautiful location overlooking a river full of hippos, crocs, birds and other occasional impalas, elephants crossing, etc. Croc Valley offers a great option to visit the amazing South Luangwa. Other camps in the area are quite costly, but at Croc Valley, because of their a la carte approach, you can pick and choose the options for your stay with a separate bar tab and therefore you can control your costs. I commend the owners because their approach has made South Luangwa accessible for those who need to control their costs. If you're looking for plush bedding, toiletries and luxury soak tubs, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a well managed camp with good value, clean and hygienic, friendly staff and owners, this is your camp.

They cater to campers as well as those who prefer to stay in rooms. When you choose the full board, the rates include all meals, laundry service and activities such as game drives and nature walks. Lunch is usually a simple well crafted meal. Dinner is typically a 3 course meal with starters or soup, a main dish and dessert. They have an excellent team of chefs and the food quality and taste is good.

The manager Herbert and owner Shaw are reasonable and even when our plans changed, they accomodated our change requests. This is particularly important because you can only plan so much sitting in a foreign country.

Tip - They have the best guide and spotter on their payroll in the whole of South Lungwa and perhaps even Zambia. When on a game drive, insist on Simon being your guide and Jackson being the spotter. We've stayed in multiple camps that are many times more expensive, but Simon and Jackson are simply the best. You will be rewarded.

Tip - They have reasonable rates for private drives and for all day game drives. If you have Simon as your guide and a private drive, you're in for a treat.

Tip - The drinking water in the camp is perfect and probably better than bottled water. Do not get bottled water...

Good balance of affordability and wildlife adventure

-13.101052, 31.793907 Campsites near Mfuwe, South Luangwa National Park, are a popular choice among travellers due to their excellent proximity to the park, reasonable prices and diverse wildlife viewing opportunities. Guests often mention waking up to views of wildlife right from their tent or chalet.

On the banks of the Luangwa River, 500 meters before the Mfuwe gate on the right, this large accommodation caters for backpackers, campers, overlanders, families and groups. It has a bar with great river views, (pre-ordered) restaurant with Wi-Fi reception and a swimming pool. Enjoying your cold beer, you can see hippos and crocs in the river and on the sandbank.

The campsite has several open kitchens with mosquito nets, BBQ facilities and ablution blocks for camping and chalets, air-conditioned river tents with and well-priced ‘backpackers’ turtle rooms with shared facilities. A walk-through Croc Valley shows it has seen better days, the pizza ovens and coffee bar are closed and maintenance leaves to be desired. The facilities could benefit from upgrades and better maintenance to improves the overall experience

During our stay in June 2024, a water shortage at Zambia’s hydroelectric dams caused power cuts for 12 hours, necessitating hot showers to be scheduled. During the day, baboons and antelopes walk among the tents and at night the campsite is visited by hippos and elephants and sometimes lions. The owner warned every guest not to leave their tents at night risking being chased by a hippo.

The camp offers guided game drives, which are led by knowledgeable and passionate guides. These drives provide ample opportunities to see a wide range of animals, making it a highlight of the stay.

For travellers looking to explore South Luangwa National Park, Croc Valley camp offers a good balance of affordability and wildlife adventure....