The semi-luxury safari includes the best of Botswana and Namibian bush environments, including Moremi and Chobe National Parks, Caprivi and Etosha Game Reserve.
Overall operator rating 9.9/10 from 9 trip reviews
Our unique relationship with our tour operators ensures only people who have participated in a trip after making an enquiry for it at The Africa Guide can leave a review.
The email we send you when you make an enquiry has full instructions for registering a booking and leaving a review - both are free services.
Feel free to read through the reviews for any trip you like the look of.
Trips with no reviews are usually new to the The Africa Guide but are normally operated by a tour operator who is established here. Most tour operators listing here will usually have gained reviews about other trips they have listed here.
Thanks for visiting, happy travels and don't forget to send us your reviews...
The overall safari was excellent. The guide was pleasant and personable and had abundant knowledge of Botswana's bird and wildlife. Our game viewing was superb and the route chosen through Botswana was ideal.
Our cook was the king of four wheel drive cooking and able to create culinary marvels over an open fire.
We spent 1 week in botswana + 1 week in zambia, sleeping in a tent litterally in the middle of the game! During the night elephant scratching and crashing trees, hippos eating grass, buffalos walking, just beside beside us!
And in the day so much game + beautiful landscapes, even more beautiful than we had expacted (rivers are a surprise!)
Our guide was an excellet guide, trust him and for sure you'll see the most beautiful places to experience Africa
A very exciting holiday, unique. We're thinking about going back for new trips.
I would highly recommend a trip with this operator.
The itinerary was far better planned than we could possibly have managed ourselves, even if we had done thousands of hours of research and internet searching.
We loved the trip, the company, and for us especially, the flexibility to change plans at a moment’s notice when our circumstances changed. Nothing was too much trouble. . Every detail was wonderfully organized. We will be back!
We took a one-week safari in Zambia in May of 2008. We had an excellent experience.
The tour operator worked with me before the trip - by phone and email - to design a safari that met our needs. The safari was private for me and my two daughters. We visited Lower Zambezi and Kafue game parks. I had an excellent host, guide, and raconteur. We discussed everything from the excretory habits of hippos to the current political situation in South Africa.
We stayed in the camping sections of excellent lodges in each park. We had three excellent meals each day, prepared on a remarkably sophisticed kitchen powered off the Toyota Land Cruiser. We were not looking for luxury, but were looking for comfort. We found just the right mix of both on this trip.
I'd highly recommend the operator to anyone looking for a private (or small group), custom-designed, safari without frills but with plenty of comforts.
With high expectations we started the safari from Maun in Botswana and ended it 15 nights later in Lusaka Zambia.
Thoose nights and days went far to fast with excellent game drives with very knowledgeable guides and with chefs that made some magic things to all our meals. On top of all that we fell into sleep to the sound of lions and had hippos around the tents at night.
A very well organized safari with all the ingredients you can only hope for.
Our experience was excellent. The safari met and, in some aspects surpassed our expectations. The trip was well thought out and was done as it was planned. We had a great service from travel professional, by our guide. The knowledge about routes and the driving skills were excellent too, and he did his best to let us enjoy the trip.
Throughout the trip the food was really fine in quality, quantity and variety.
It was amazing to bush camp amongst the game, but with enough comfort, and with the confidence of being with someone whose knowledge about wildlife is so good. Doing a walking game viewing we did in a private game concession was also exciting.
We really enjoyed the game viewing, as we had several excellent spots - four leopards - three days -, a herd of 18 lions, a lioness with cubs, and lions mating – three days - , lions almost hunting sable antelope, a herd of 16 giraffes, a big herd of buffalo, a huge herd of Zebra – may be 40, too. We will never forget Chobe’s, Okavango, or the Kwai river landscapes, or the astonishing night sights of the Kudiakam pan.
My friends and family and I spent eight of the most memorable days of our lives with this company on safari in Botswana.
As people who grew up on National Geographic nature documentaries and camping in North America's national parks, I was worried that we might find Botswana nice, but not quite up to all the hype. Not the case!
Our experience in Botwana, in every way, simply blew the doors off all of our expectations! No matter you've seen or done before, there is no preparation for the thrill of lions - huge and hungry-looking - walking past your open vehicle so close you could pet them and roaring so loudly you feel it in the pit of your stomach.
Clearly you do not want to entrust your safety to amateurs during such an encounter. Beforehand, the operator patiently but thoroughly coached us on how to handle ourselves with lions and other potentially dangerous wildlife. In fact, the wilderness expertise of the s staff was truly impressive. They seemed familiar with the names and behaviors of every animal and plant we encountered. By the end of the trip, under their tutelage, all of us learned to read animal tracks and spoor like a Bushman.
Although the operator offered us a tempting "semi-luxury" option, we chose the "semi-participatory" version for our safari. We wanted the feel of a camping trip more than a catered excursion, although our actual "participation" in the camp chores was limited to putting up and taking down the tents. As someone who is used to sleeping on the ground, I found the stand-up height tents, cots and thick sleeping pads a comfortable surprise. Showers were available at each campsite. Throughout the trip the food was delicious, and the battery-powered refrigerators guaranteed an endless supply of cold drinks.
It is a cliche to call a safari like this a "trip of a lifetime" but our case it is simply not true. As I told them, we will be back, I hope, for many such "trips of a lifetime."
Best safari we have ever been on in Southern Africa. The operators vehicle, trailer and camping equipment was superior to most of the other safari operators.
With a deep freeze, fridge, plenty of water and camp lights and GPS they can travel to isolated destinations because they carry all the water and supplies needed without having to replace them every few days.
The food was plentiful and well prepared and made cooking easy. We enjoyed healthy and tasty meals. The variety of meals was impressive.
The tents, camp beds, lights and table are of high quality and make camping more comfortable especially if you are not young.
We visited some of the best game viewing areas and were impressed with the number of animals and beautiful scenery. We were able to take great still and video pictures and are delighted with the results.
Our guide's knowledge of animals, birds, trees, african tribes and routes was impressive and made the safari more interesting.
We had a very enjoyable and safe safari and would recommend this tour operator to other people of thinking of going on safari in Southern Africa.
PS: Just so you know - we are ex South Africans and have been on many safaris.
It is terrific to be on a trip with a person who so delights in every detail, planning and running our trip as if it were for his own best friends and while he worked very hard to make everything go smoothly he also seemed to enjoy himself. I don't know how he manages to make each trip feel so fresh and each client feel so valued.
We are very lucky to have travelled with them and recommend the tour operator enthusiastically.
Itinerary
This safari has been prepared specifically with the accent on a safari that combines the adventure of a true African bush safari, access to big game, camping amongst the game without the boundary of artificial fences, together with a degree of comfort not normally found under these conditions.
The safari will cover a number of distinct eco-systems within the Botswana and Namibian bush environments, including access to some National Parks as well as certain private game concession areas.
Care has been taken in choosing this itinerary to include the following well known, and some lesser known but nonetheless exciting bush and game areas.
-Moremi Game Reserve -Chobe Game Reserve -Mudumu National Park -Caprivi Strip -Etosha Game Reserve
This is a 14 day semi-luxury safari, commencing in Maun, Botswana and ending in Windhoek, Namibia.
Day 1 arr Maun. Met by tour operator and overnight at a comfortable private lodge on the outskirts of Maun in its own game grounds.
Day 2 Spend the day with a fly-in visit to the Okavango Delta, spent on Chiefs Island with makoros and bush walks. Leaving the Delta, over night at a community camp site adjacent to Moremi Game Reserve.
Days 3+4 Drive into Moremi Game Reserve, camp for two nights. Morning and evening game drives to view buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard and most plains game.
Day 5 Proceed to Savute camp within the Chobe National Park, overnight camp. Explore area and look for resident lion prides.
Days 6+7 Camp for two nights on the banks of Chobe River, home of some of the biggest herds of elephant in Southern Africa.
Day 8 After a morning game drive, leave the National Park and drive to nearby Kasane. Overnight at a riverside lodge with an evening sun-downer game cruise on the Chobe River included.
Days 9+10 Moving out of the Botswana game reserve system and crossing into Namibia, proceed through the Caprivi Strip for two nights.
Days 11+12+13 Visit world famous Etosha Pan Game Reserve for three nights. Daily or morning and evening game drives to the many waterholes to view the game drinking and bathing.
Day 14 Continue to Windhoek. Last night of the safari in a lodge close to the city.
Day 15 Safari ends after breakfast. Transfer to Windhoek Airport.
Optional Extra - Victoria Falls If your time and schedule allows, many clients have previously requested adding on a day or two in Livingstone to sightsee Victoria Falls. This can be added between days 8 and 9 on this itinerary, extending the safari to 15 or 16 days. Please ask for details of this extended safari.
A word about this safari. This is a semi-luxury non-participation safari whereby a crew will accompany you throughout, making and breaking camp, cooking and serving all meals, as well as doing all camp chores. Your role is to sit back, relax and enjoy. Note also that all sleeping equipment is provided incl duvets and sheets (not sleeping bags), towels etc.
Price: The 2012 price of the above 14 night safari is Euro 3,850 per person for a minimum of four people.
The price includes -ground transport as indicated above in off road bush vehicles. -use of all camping equipment and sleeping gear including stretchers, fitted sheets, duvets (not sleeping bags), linen towels etc. -exclusive service of tour operator guides and crew. -food and beverages with three meals per day -beer and wine served with evening meal. -entry and camping fees to both National Parks and private concession areas. -3 nights lodge accommodation, on a shared full board basis. days 1, 8 and 14 -flight over the Okavango. day 2 -sundowner game viewing cruise on Chobe River. day 8
The price excludes -airfares and other costs to and from start and end points -bar bills, laundry and extras charged in lodges -visas and other governmental requirements. -medical, health, loss and eavuation insurance. -any charges for extra activities not specifically mentioned in the itinerary -tips and gratuities
