Botswana Untouched Safari

Cultural tour & Safari of South Africa, Botswana & Zimbabwe

Botswana is one of the few remaining destinations in Africa that still provides a good sense of the adventure of an authentic African safari. Its expansive game parks and preserves offer abundant wildlife, and they are still largely undeveloped and untamed, creating a genuine experience for Botswana safari tours. This mobile safari adds another major attraction – the incredible Victoria Falls. Highlights include Marakele National Park, Khama Rhino Sanctuary and the Makgadikgadi Pans. See herds of giraffe, elephant, zebra, lion and wildebeest in the Moremi Game Reserve. Discover the Okavango Delta in traditional dug-out canoes and enjoy the Chobe National Park’s wildlife during a boat cruise on the Chobe River.

Tour Information
Duration : 13 days
Minimum : 04 persons
Maximum : 12 persons
Price (From) : US$ 3799
International air not included
Day 01: Arrive Johannesburg (SOUTH AFRICA)
Day 02: Johannesburg/Marakele National Park (Drive)
(B, L, D)
Day 03: Marakele National Park/Khama Rhino Sanctuary (Drive) (BOTSWANA)
(B, L)
Day 04: Khama Rhino Sanctuary/Makgadikgadi Pans (Drive)
(B, L, D)
Day 05: Makgadikgadi Pans/Maun (Drive)
(B, L)
Day 06: Maun/Greater Moremi (Drive)
(B, L, D)
Day 07: Greater Moremi
(B, L, D)
Day 08: Greater Moremi/Moremi Game Reserve/Greater Moremi (Drive)
(B, L, D)
Day 09: Greater Moremi/Chobe National Park (Drive)
(B, L, D)
Day 10: Chobe National Park
(B, D)
Day 11: Chobe National Park/Victoria Falls (Drive) (ZIMBABWE)
(B, L)
Day 12: Victoria Falls
(B, D)
Day 13: Depart Victoria Falls
(B)
B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

Day 01: Arrive Johannesburg (SOUTH AFRICA)

Upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport we make our way to the hotel transportation section for the complimentary hotel transfer to our hotel. In the afternoon, participate in some of Johannesburg’s exciting optional activities, including an Apartheid Museum tour, a city tour, or a tour of Soweto. To pre-book, please contact Bestway Tours & Safaris.  In the evening, we will meet our guide and the rest of the group for a pre-departure meeting at 18h00.

Overnight: Safari Club, Johannesburg (1 night)
(Rooms with en suite bathrooms, swimming pool and restaurant)

Day 02: Johannesburg/Marakele National Park (Drive)

Flock of flamingos wading in the shallow lagoon water

An early morning departure takes us via Pretoria, Thabazimbi and through the Limpopo Province to Marakele National Park. Large game species like elephants and rhinos, as well as an amazing variety of birds, including the largest colony of endangered Cape Vultures, have settled here. The day culminates with an exciting sunset game drive. We will enjoy our evening meal prepared by our guide around the campfire before spending our first night in the African wilderness.

Overnight: Tlopi Tented Camp, Marakele National Park (B, L, D)
(Premanent tents with en suite bathrooms)

Day 03: Marakale National Park/Khama Rhino Sanctuary (Drive) (BOTSWANA)

Our destination for the day is the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a community based wildlife project, established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing white rhino, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Batswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources. We explore the sanctuary on an afternoon game drive in search of white rhinos.

Overnight: Serowe Hotel, Khama Rhino Sanctuary (1 night) (B, L)
(Rooms with en suite bathrooms, swimming pool, bar and restaurant)

Day 04: Khama Rhino Sanctuary/Makgadikgadi Pans (Drive)

ancient baobab trees glowing at sunset

Today we travel towards the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park area of Botswana. After settling into our accommodation, we take a stroll with our guide through the surrounding baobab grove. He will explain the local ecology, geology, and the unique biology of the baobabs, which are in fact not trees, but the largest succulents in the world.

Overnight: Planet Baobab, Makgadikgadi Pans (1 night) (B, L, D)
(Bakalanga or Baobab huts with en suite bathrooms)

Day 05: Makgadikgadi Pans/Maun (Drive)

After  breakfast, we head off for Maun, the  gateway  to the  Okavango  Delta*. We travel via Nxai Pan, a fossil lake that is part of the Makgadikgadi system. Covered in nutritious short grasses and small islands of acacia trees, Nxai Pan attracts vast numbers of desert herbivores, as well as carnivores including lion, leopard and wild dog. After our Nxai Pan excursion, we continue our journey to Maun. The name Maun is derived from the San word “maung”, which means “little places of short reeds”. Optional scenic helicopter safari available at an additional cost.

Overnight: Thamalakane River Lodge, Maun (1 night) (B, L)
(Chalets with en suite bathrooms, swimming pool, bar and restaurant)

Day 06: Maun/Greater Moremi (Drive)

Two Bat-eared foxes in the Makgadikgadi Pans

After breakfast, we will be picked up by our local Botswana guides and taken on a short drive to the Mokoro station. From here, we will float in these traditional dug-out canoes through the thick vegetation of the Okavango Delta, discovering a variety of birds and wildlife. Unlike other deltas, it flows into the Kalahari Desert without ever reaching the coast. After this spectacular excursion, we make our way to our camp, which is situated in the Greater Greater Moremi region. After settling into our camp, we will enjoy dinner and embark on a night game drive – a fantastic opportunity to spot some nocturnal animals that are more difficult to encounter during the day.

Overnight: Bedouin Bush Camp, Greater Moremi (3 nights) (B, L, D)
(Semi-permanent tented camp with en suite bathrooms, bar and restaurant area - Please note that there is no electricity at camp. The camp is solar powered and camera and mobile phones can be charged in the communal areas should the power levels allow it. Showers are bucket showers where staff heat water over the fire and you shower under a bucket in your en-suite bathroom.)

Day 07: Greater Moremi

We have the opportunity to spend the day on game drives. In our open 4x4 vehicle, we will explore the Greater Moremi area on morning and afternoon game drives, spotting a variety of game that frequent this region. This area is renowned for its large concentrations of mammals and its exceptional location makes it a regular host to elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dogs. Game viewing is seasonal; depending on the time of the year you may see different species in different areas. The best time for game viewing is the end of the dry season or spring from August to November. During this season, in order for us to offer the best game viewing possible, extra driving may be required due to the animals migrating closer to the rivers. In the summer, birdlife can also be viewed in abundance with exceptional sightings of wildfowl and raptors. (B, L, D)

Day 08: Greater Moremi/Moremi Game Reserve/Greater Moremi (Drive)

Tourists watching an elephant while on safari

After having explored the Greater Moremi area, we now head into the famous Moremi Game Reserve, known as one of the most beautiful and varied reserves in Africa with an unprecedented concentration of wildlife. The full day is spent in the unspoiled nature of the Moremi Game Reserve. With a great diversity of plant and animal life, this reserve is a ‘must see' for all Botswana safari tours. It contains within its boundaries approximately 20% of the Delta, including a vast range of habitats such as acacia forests, floodplains, reed beds, lagoons, enduring wetland, mopane forest and dry savannah. (B, L, D)

Day 09: Greater Moremi/Chobe National Park (Drive)

We have to get up early, as there is another exciting day ahead of us! We leave the camp in Greater Moremi and transit through the national parks of Moremi, Savuti and Chobe to Kasane, the gateway to the Chobe National Park. Keep an eye out for the wildlife in this area. Our lodge is situated on the bank of the Chobe River a short distance from its confluence with the mighty Zambezi River at Kazungula.

Overnight: Chobe Safari Lodge, Chobe National Park (2 nights) (B, L, D)
(Rooms with en-suite bathrooms, swimming pool & bar)

Day 10: Chobe National Park

We start the morning with an exciting game drive in the Chobe National Park, which along with many species of big game, boasts the largest concentration of elephant in Africa. We enjoy a boat cruise on the Chobe River in the afternoon from where we can watch elephants, hippos, crocodiles and a variety of birds without having to reach for our binoculars – we will be near enough for close-up photographs, as well as having the chance to witness a spectacular African sunset. (B, D)

Day 11: Chobe National Park/Victoria Falls (Drive) (ZIMBABWE)

A beautiful sunset cruise on the mighty Zambezi River

Our journey takes us into Zimbabwe, home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the mighty Victoria Falls*. Our guide will take us on a tour of the mighty Victoria Falls, known by the local Kololo tribe as Mosi oa Tunya, or “the smoke that thunders”. In the afternoon, we have a relaxing sunset cruise on the mighty Zambezi River, basking in the afterglow of the day.

Overnight: A ‘Zambezi River Lodge, Victoria Falls (2 nights) (B, L)
(Rooms with en suite bathrooms, swimming pool, bar and restaurant)

Day 12: Victoria Falls

Day free at the Victoria Falls town with lots of optional activities available, including helicopter safaris, Boma dinner, a historical bridge tour, a canopy tour and much more. (B, D)

Day 13: Depart Victoria Falls

Our exciting Botswana Untouched Safari comes to an end as we are transferred to the airport for our departure flight. Optional extensions to Cape Town, East Africa and beyond are available. (B)

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

Departure Dates & Prices

We accept payments in US$, CA$ as well as in other convertible currencies like EUR, AUD and GBP. Tour prices have been costed in US$. CA$ price shown below is an indicative amount reached at by using the conversion rate at the time of web posting and will be applicable if there is no change in the conversion rate. Should the currency conversion rate change, the US$ pricing will prevail. Bestway Tours & Safaris offers a conversion rate protection. Once full payment has been received and no modification has been made to the tour itinerary, we will honour that rate. For complete payment procedures, please click here

Stay tuned for future dates! If you want to be the first ones to know click here
Stay tuned for future dates! If you want to be the first ones to know click here

Notes

N/A

Inclusions


Tour Price Includes
  • Accommodation as mentioned or similar, including hotel taxes
  • 29 Meals as mentioned (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
  • All game drives and transfers by 4 x 4 loose top jeeps
  • Services of local English speaking guides cum drivers
  • Entrance fees to museums, sites & game parks included in the itinerary
Not Included
  • Any airfares
  • Insurance/visas
  • Tips/gratuities
  • Park fees and activities payment of US$ 110 / CA$ 152

Park Fees & Activities Payment: Payable at time of booking. Covers the cost of local park fees, as well as items and services purchased from villages and towns on our tour itinerary. These items include food and other safari accessories purchased from local farmers/shopkeepers, services of local assistants, etc. The local payment is part of our efforts to generate income in areas our safaris travel through.

Participants

This tour operates on a minimum of 04 and a maximum of 12 participants

Customised Itinerary

If you would like to have a tour on dates other than the above ones or with a customised itinerary, please contact us and we will be happy to work out an exclusive program for you.

Contact Info
You may e-mail us at bestway@bestway.com or call 1-604-264-7378. Residents of U.S.A./Canada may call us toll free at 1-800-663-0844.

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