Budget Botswana Safari - Camping Adventure

Botswana Safari Highlights:

• Victoria Falls & optional adventure activities
• Hwange Safari - 4x4 game drive in a private concession
• Nata Bird Sanctuary & Makgadikgadi Pans sunset
• 4x4 Games drives in Khwai Area of Moremi Game Reserve
• Okavango Delta Trip - mokoro rides, bush walks & boat cruises
• Game viewing boat cruise on Chobe River

DAY 1: Victoria Falls – Zimbabwe

This Budget Botswana Safari begins at the famous Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is known as the Adventure Capital of Africa, hosting a wide range of thrilling outdoor and adventure activities.

The first afternoon and following morning of our camping safari adventure are free for you to explore Victoria Falls. Take your time sightseeing and enjoy some of the numerous optional adventure activities in Victoria Falls. You can visit the local markets or take a tram ride or embark on adrenaline-pumping adventures, from bungee jumping to skydiving and helicopter flights. Victoria Falls is also famous for its white water rafting and this part of the Zambezi offers some of the best rafting in the world.

The Victoria Falls waterfall is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The waterfall is an awe-inspiring sight, not to be missed. When you stand before Vic Falls you will see why the locals call it Mosi-Oa-Tunya, which means the 'Smoke that Thunders'.

• Accommodation: Hotel in Victoria Falls

DAY 2 & 3: Hwange National Park – Zimbabwe

On the morning of day two, you are free to participate in optional adventure activities, explore the historic town of Victoria Falls or visit the mighty waterfall.

In the mid-afternoon, on day two of our Botswana Camping Safari, we leave Victoria Falls and drive south to Hwange National Park. A two-hour drive brings us to our camp near Hwange, Zimbabwe's leading national park. We head to our campsite inside a private concession area, bordering on Hwange Park.

Day three of our Botswana Senior Tour starts with a 4x4 game drive in the private concession area bordering on Hwange. This part of Hwange is renowned for its big population of elephants. In the afternoon you can relax at the unfenced camp and watch wildlife from the viewing deck. Alternatively, you can embark on an optional afternoon game drive in Hwange (at extra cost).

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping near Hwange
• Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner (day 2) / Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (day 3)

DAY 4: Makgadikgadi Pans & Nata Bird Sanctuary – Botswana

On day four of our Botswana Camping Safari, we leave Hwange and drive west into neighbouring Botswana.

Once in Botswana, we head south to Nata where we set up our next camp. Then we make our way to the Nata Bird Sanctuary and the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. A massive lake once covered the arid pans of Makgadikgadi, measuring some 6500km². The flat expanse of the salt pans creates a striking landscape for watching the sunset on day four.

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping in Nata
• Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner

DAY 5 & 6: Khwai Area of Moremi Game Reserve – Botswana

Day five sees us drive to Maun, on the outskirts of the Okavango Delta.

We arrive in Maun at lunchtime and switch to an open-sided 4x4 vehicle for our Moremi wildlife adventure.

Then we head into the wild delta, making our way to Moremi Game Reserve in the east. Moremi encompasses almost 4000km² of natural waterways and plains on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta and is lauded as one of the best protected areas in Africa.

From the southern gate of Moremi, we proceed to the Khwai River Area, sharing unfenced boundaries with the Moremi Reserve. This private wildlife concession area offers some of the best game viewing in Botswana, as well as beautiful scenery, rich birdlife and a variety of unspoilt natural habitats.

We take open-sided 4x4 game drives early in the mornings and in the late afternoons, exploring the pristine Khwai Area in the north-eastern part of the delta. Wildlife sightings include lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo (four of the Big Five) along with cheetah, hippo, wild dog, giraffe, zebra and many antelope species. Known for its excellent leopard sightings the Khwai Area is also a birding hotspot, where various waterbirds and migratory species can be seen.

We overnight at a private campsite inside the Khwai Community Area, setting up bush toilets and showers at camp.

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping in Khwai Community Area
• Meals included: Day 5: Breakfast & Dinner, Day 6: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 7: Moremi to Maun – Botswana

Waking in the wild Khwai Area on day seven, we embark on one more early morning game drive in Moremi before returning to Maun.

This afternoon is free for you to rest after our adventures in Moremi, or take an optional scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. The scenic flight (extra cost) is a superb way to view this massive wilderness area - admiring the large scale and wild beauty of the Okavango Delta channels and plains dotted with game.

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping in Maun
• Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner

DAY 8 & 9: Okavango Delta – Botswana

Next up on our Budget Botswana Safari, the magical Okavango Delta of Botswana.

On day eight, we drive from Maun around the delta panhandle, crossing the northwestern part of the Okavango Delta. By mid-afternoon, we arrive at our campsite on the edge of the delta. Then we take a sunset boat cruise in the Okavango Delta, exploring the reed-lined channels of this watery region of Botswana.

The following morning we take a 30-minute boat ride further into the delta to a mokoro station. Here we meet up with local guides who take us on a mokoro trip in the Nxamasire area of the delta. The guides stand in the dug-out canoes and propel the vessels through the water with long poles like gondoliers. These are the traditional-style canoes used by locals in the delta region.

The guides pole the mekoros gently along the waterways of the pristine delta, pointing out the small miracles of this unique ecosystem as you glide along. You will also get to explore the bush on foot if the water levels allow. The guides will stop at one of the secluded small islands in the area and lead you on a guided walk. Keep your eyes open for the plentiful birdlife and wild animals, of the Okavango Delta. At the end of our unforgettable day of exploring the wild delta by mokoro and boat, we return to our campsite in the wilderness.

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping on the edge of the Okavango Delta
• Meals included: Day 8: Breakfast & Dinner; Day 9: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 10: Caprivi Strip & Zambezi River – Namibia

On day 10 of our Botswana Camping Safari, we say goodbye to the untamed Okavango Delta and travel north to Namibia.

We cross into Namibia's Caprivi Strip region, an unusually lush and fertile stretch of this desert country, sandwiched between Angola, Zambia, and Botswana.

Then we drive east along the Caprivi Strip proceeding to our next campsite along the Zambezi River. Tonight's camp looks out over the floodplains of the great Zambezi.

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping along the Zambezi River
• Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner

DAY 11& 12: Chobe River – Botswana

Leaving Namibia behind we cross back in Botswana and travel south through Chobe National Park. This is another of Africa's top wildlife parks, boasting beautiful scenery and an abundance of wildlife (especially elephants).

We camp along the Chobe River and the following morning or afternoon you can take an optional (extra cost) game drive, or relax beside the Chobe River keeping an eye out for birds and animals.

On day 12, we take an afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River, soaking up the scenery as the sun goes down over the African bushveld. Chobe is renowned for its boat cruises, offering exceptional water-based game viewing and spectacular sunsets.

• Accommodation: Fully-serviced camping along the Chobe River
• Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner (x2)

DAY 13: Victoria Falls – Zimbabwe

After exploring game-rich Chobe Park, we cross back into Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe, we drive to Victoria Falls where our Botswana Senior Tour started.

At the end of this Budget Botswana Safari, your guide transfers you to the Victoria Falls Airport.

• Meals included: Breakfast

Please Note:

Accommodation in Victoria Falls, for before and after this safari, can be pre-booked through African Budget Safaris. Arrival and departure airport transfers to the selected departure point are included in the tour price and additional transfers can be pre-booked. For more details contact us.

Tour Information

This is a fully-serviced camping safari conducted with 3 staff members who take care of all the camp duties including putting up and dismantling the tents, cooking and other camp chores. A camping bed, mattress, sleeping bag and small pillow are provided on this Botswana Senior Tour which travels with 16 clients at most.