Accommodation

For our time in Botswana and Zimbabwe, we have picked a selection of accommodations, each well located for our activities. We spend nine nights in lodges, two nights in a hotel and two nights of full-service camping. We mostly stay in three-star hotels and lodges. On three to four nights, the lodges are permanent tented camps. These are comfortable rooms, in part made of canvas, with private bathrooms and are a quintessential African safari experience. In Victoria Falls, our hotel is walking distance from many restaurants, bars and shops. Most properties have swimming pools and wifi (although this can be unreliable). Wild camping in the Okavango Delta The highlight stay on this trip for many, however, is our two nights of wild camping in the Okavango Delta. Our neighbours, which you’ll likely hear shuffling around at night, include hippos, elephants and lions, while our away-from-it-all location normally allows us to see a night sky illuminated with stars. To make things easier, our camp is set up for us and all equipment is provided. We sleep in spacious, two-person tents fitted with mattress-topped camp beds and there is a bush shower and toilet, while dinner is taken around our atmospheric campfire.

Transport

When driving between the parks we use a minibus, normally a Mercedes Sprinter or similar. On game drives, we use 4×4 safari vehicles, generally Toyota Landcruisers. We enter the Okavango Delta by mokoro canoes, a dugout canoe low in the water and poled by one of the expert local polers.

Guide

Tour leader throughout

Others

All sightseeing and activities stated as included.

Meals

This trip includes 13 breakfasts, five lunches and eight dinners. We stay in lodges most nights, but meals are prepared by our crew. Breakfast is generally cereal or toast with tea and coffee with the occasional fried breakfast/brunch Lunch is normally a simple picnic of cheese, cold meats, salads, bread or rolls Dinners are cooked meals such as potjies (stew), braais (barbecues), stir-fries etc The trip leaders do all the shopping and meal planning for the group. They always try to obtain fresh produce wherever possible. Each tour has one cool box for the meats and the fresh produce only and one cool box for cold drinks. We supply the following drinks: squash, tea or coffee served with meals. All other beverages will be at your own expense. We do not supply bottled drinking water although it is available at many shops on tour if you want to buy it yourself. On some days where early morning game drives are included, lunch may be substituted for a large brunch on return from the game drive – this is customary. We ensure the number of meals detailed in the Trip Notes are provided. Please note, we need at least two weeks’ notice to deal with special dietary requirements (eg vegetarian or allergies.) For this reason, if you did not indicate these on your booking form, please advise us as soon as possible. The water provided on this trip is safe and clean drinking water, normally from boreholes. It is not bottled water, however. If you would rather have bottled water then this will be at your expense, though we encourage you to make use of the safe drinking water provided as this helps diminish plastic consumption.

Not included:

Optional

Other activities and services are not included.

Flights

Flights are not included.

Insurance

Insurance is not included.

Others

— Travel Insurance — Single accommodation (available on request) — Visas or vaccinations

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Day 1 Day 1: Start Victoria Falls; To Chobe National Park (Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Start Victoria Falls; To Chobe National Park (Dinner)

Meet the group at the airport or at the Rainbow Hotel in Victoria Falls town (see the Joining Instructions for more information, as the airport can sometimes change). We then transfer 75mi (120km) to Kasane, Botswana. The drive takes a little over two hours but there can be delays crossing the border. Once we are settled into our chalets, we meet for a full-tour briefing. Accommodation: Kwalape Lodge (or similar)
Day 2 Day 2: Game Drive And River Safari In Chobe National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Game Drive And River Safari In Chobe National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

Chobe National Park is best known for its huge populations of elephants and buffalos. With an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 elephants this is, undoubtedly, the best place to see them in the world. The park is also home to wild dogs, lions, leopards and various other wildlife. We start the day by going on a game drive in one of the lodge’s open game-drive vehicles. It will be an early start as we aim to get to the park gates as they open. We spend about three hours on safari before returning to the lodge in time for brunch. There is time to relax at the lodge during the hottest part of the day or explore Kasane town (where we can get local currency) before heading out again, this time on a boat on the Chobe River. After a short transfer to the jetty, we board the boat for a three-hour safari. This is a great opportunity to view the vast herds of elephants and other wildlife from the water. Accommodation: Kwalape Lodge (or similar)
Day 3 Day 3: Transfer To Maun (Breakfast)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Transfer To Maun (Breakfast)

Today is a long drive as we transfer the 375mi (600km) between Kasane and Maun, the town on the edge of the Okavango Delta. We’ll stop en route for lunch at the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pan before arriving in Maun mid-afternoon. We spend time in town getting supplies (this is a chance for you to get any extra drinks or snacks you may want while in the delta). From here, it’s only a short drive out of town to our lodge. Accommodation: Crocodile Camp (or similar)
Day 4 Day 4-5: Explore The Okavango Delta By Foot And Dugout Canoe (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4-5: Explore The Okavango Delta By Foot And Dugout Canoe (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

The Okavango River, after travelling 995mi (1,600km) from the highlands of Angola, reaches the Kalahari and spreads into a large swamp where the water transpires into the plant life and evaporates, never reaching the sea. This makes the Okavango Delta, as this swamp is known, one of the largest inland deltas on Earth and a true natural wonder. The delta islands are home to a vast array of wildlife, including all the usual suspects, though numbers reach their peak during the dryer winter months when animals, including many of the larger ones, migrate here. We head into the delta in mokoro dugout canoes poled by local villagers who have grown up here. Camping with our local guides, we learn more about their lifestyle and culture. The camp will be put up by the polers and we use canvas dome tents with camp stretchers, mattresses, sleeping bags and pillows provided. There is also a gazebo for shade, which doubles as a mess tent. Please note, you only need to take luggage for two nights – bags will be provided. In the delta, we get to experience African wilderness at its fullest, not least at night when the Milky Way can be seen across the sky with a billion twinkling stars. We spend the next two days exploring the waterways and islands by mokoro canoe and on foot looking for wildlife and enjoying this amazing part of Africa. Accommodation: Wild camping
Day 5 Day 6: Morning Walking Safari; Return To Maun (Breakfast)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Morning Walking Safari; Return To Maun (Breakfast)

This morning, we have our last mokoro ride as we return to the edge of the delta before returning to Maun. The afternoon is free to relax by the pool or take an optional flight over the delta. Accommodation: Crocodile Camp (or similar)
Day 6 Day 7: To Nata; Visit The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans At Sunset (Breakfast)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: To Nata; Visit The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans At Sunset (Breakfast)

After a brief stop in Maun to resupply, we transfer 185mi (300km) to Nata arriving mid-afternoon. In the late afternoon, we head to the Nata Sanctuary to watch the sunset on the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan. The Makgadikgadi Pan covers more than 6,175sqmi (16,000sqkm) and forms the bed of an ancient lake, now dried up, which once spread as far as the Okavango Delta. Sunsets on the pan are among the best in Africa. Accommodation: Nata Lodge (or similar)
Day 7 Day 8: Enter Zimbabwe; To Matobo National Park (Breakfast,Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Enter Zimbabwe; To Matobo National Park (Breakfast,Dinner)

Today we continue our journey back to Zimbabwe. We go via Francistown and Bulawayo on our way to Matobo National Park. The journey is about 235mi (380km) and driving time shouldn’t be much more than about five hours; however, the border crossing can be busy and may take between two and three hours. We stay in chalets just outside the park and can enjoy sundowners from the granite ridge overlooking the park. Accommodation: Hermits Peak Lodge (or similar)
Day 8 Day 9: Game Drive And Walking Safari In Matobo National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 9: Game Drive And Walking Safari In Matobo National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

Matobo National Park, also known as Matopos National Park, is an area known for wildlife and kopjes (giant boulders that seem to be stacked precariously). The park is one of the best places to see both black and white rhinos and has a very dense population of leopards (though these predators are still elusive). It is also home to a third of all eagle species. These hills were once populated by the indigenous San people, who have left their mark with rock paintings depicting giraffes, elands and kudu. It was also the colonialist Cecil Rhodes’ favourite place and where he asked to be buried. We enter Matobo National Park early in the morning and go on a game drive followed by a game walk where we hope to see rhino. We visit World’s End, where Cecil Rhodes is buried, and see some of the granite formations and rock paintings. We spend most of the day inside the park returning to the lodge in the afternoon. Accommodation: Hermits Peak Lodge (or similar)
Day 9 Day 10: Drive To Hwange National Park (Breakfast,Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 10: Drive To Hwange National Park (Breakfast,Dinner)

After a breakfast we make a quick stop in Bulawayo this morning to resupply before driving 210mi (335km) north to Hwange National Park. The largest national park in Zimbabwe, Hwange covers 5,640sqmi (14,600sqkm) of mopane and teak woodlands and grasslands. It is home to more than 100 mammal species and 400 bird species including all of the specially protected animals in the country. The most famous inhabitants are the elephants and wild dogs, and it is the only place where gemsbok and brown hyena live in reasonable numbers in Zimbabwe. We stay in a property within a game-management area that neighbours the park. Accommodation: Hwange Safari Lodge (or similar)
Day 10 Day 11: Full-Day Safari In Hwange National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 11: Full-Day Safari In Hwange National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

We spend all day on a 4x4 open game drive in search of Hwange wildlife. Accommodation: Hwange Safari Lodge (or similar)
Day 11 Day 12: Visit Victoria Falls
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 12: Visit Victoria Falls

After a slightly later start to the day, we take a short, final drive back to Victoria Falls, arriving at Victoria Falls town around lunchtime. In the afternoon, we head out towards the mighty falls themselves. Measuring 5,580ft (1,700m) wide and 330ft (100m) high, Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. The volume of water changes with the seasons but, when full, the spray rises into the sky – a phenomenon that has given the falls their local name Mosi o Tunya, the Smoke that Thunders. They are a site to behold and one that impressed Dr David Livingstone so much that he said: ’Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.’ Accommodation: The Rainbow Hotel (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast
Day 12 Day 13: Full Day At Victoria Falls For Optional Activities (Breakfast)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 13: Full Day At Victoria Falls For Optional Activities (Breakfast)

Today is a free day to enjoy the many activities on offer here, such as white-water rafting, taking a flight over the falls, going on a sunset cruise or crossing into neighbouring Zambia to see the falls from another perspective. Accommodation: The Rainbow Hotel (or similar)
Day 13 Day 14: End Victoria Falls (Breakfast)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 14: End Victoria Falls (Breakfast)

The trip ends after breakfast. If you’d like more time to explore, speak to your sales representative about extending your stay.

+10

14 days tour

Botswana & Zimbabwe Lodge Safari

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip Botswana & Zimbabwe Lodge Safari

Day 1: Start Victoria Falls; To Chobe National Park (Dinner)

Day 2: Game Drive And River Safari In Chobe National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

Day 3: Transfer To Maun (Breakfast)

Day 4-5: Explore The Okavango Delta By Foot And Dugout Canoe (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

Day 6: Morning Walking Safari; Return To Maun (Breakfast)

Day 7: To Nata; Visit The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans At Sunset (Breakfast)

Day 8: Enter Zimbabwe; To Matobo National Park (Breakfast,Dinner)

Day 9: Game Drive And Walking Safari In Matobo National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

Day 10: Drive To Hwange National Park (Breakfast,Dinner)

Day 11: Full-Day Safari In Hwange National Park (Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner)

Day 12: Visit Victoria Falls

Day 13: Full Day At Victoria Falls For Optional Activities (Breakfast)

Day 14: End Victoria Falls (Breakfast)

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