Botswana Travel Forum

We are going on a camping safari in July and was wondering if any other travelers would like to join?
If there are 4 or more of us the rate will be 2179$
We are only 2 and hope someone will want to join.
The dates are :
11-13 July - Chobe
13-15 July - Savuti
15-17 July - Moremi - Khwai
17-19 July - Moremi/Okavango - Xakanaxa
The safari is all inclusive and should be great at the time of year.
We are going with Dumela Botswana.

My boyfriend and i wanna do a reasonably-priced private safari+boat trip in Okavanga Delta this Oct.
If budget allows, we wanna fly to Victoria Falls too.
We can stay 10 days in africa in total, not counting the flying time.

Any suggestions on which agency to go?

Any experience to share?

Hello,
I am new to the forum and have already a question. We will leave for Botswana end of april and have booked campsites in Moremi starting May 10.
I can not find information on the recent conditions in the park. Is the park open at all and is it possible to go to all camps (Third Bridge, Xakanaxa, North Gate).
It would be great if you could help me.
Greetings from Germany
Grit1962

hi there!
i read about botswana and it seems that there is not such a thing as the title says!
but there must be some way to have some genuine experience without paying a fortune.
can you propose a good way to visit a good part/spot of okavango at a comparatively lower budget?
any suggestions are a big help
thanks
nikos

Please someone pack for me! I am going to Botswana safari first week april South and central america are my normal destinations .Only been to Africa twice and then was Kenya and South Africa so have not a clue about quite tough safaris. Any hints much appreciated from best mosquito repellant to wardrome to weather...oh just everything
Thanks

Can anyone tell me more about the campsite facilities in South Africa? I'm doing a overland our with Kumuka and I just want to know if the showers are communal??? Thanks

Hi,
My wife & I will be hiring a 4x4 camper in S.A. & were planning to travel to Kruger, Botswana?? & Namibia. We have 6 weeks to do this & was wondering if it is worth travelling to Botswana considering we won't have a long time to go on guided trips etc & will probably not be able to travel too far from the where ever we camp.
Thanks
Mark

Is there a way to head south from Victoria Falls to Maun, Botswana by public transportaiton - bus? All I can find are tours that will take you there. I'm not enthusiastic about renting a car and taking it across multiple borders.

We are travelling in a rental car from JHB airport to Swakopmund in June. We would like to spend a night in Botswana on the way. Can anyone advise us on where to stay, what route to take? Thanks.

Hello there,

I am planning a bus trip down to South Africa thru Gaborone. I would like info on which buses I can take from Lusaka to Gaborone and Gaborone to Jo'Burg. I hear they are really comfortable. How much would the bus tickets cost from Lusaka to Gaborone and Gaborone to Jo'Burg, (a price breakdown for different company)? I would like to use a comfortable bus.

Also, please give me info on a ffordable places to stay in the capital, and interesting things to do. I am an African, so I dont need to see wildlife, I want to interact with the people. Also please give me visa info. Does a kenyan need a visa, and if i do, do I get it from here, or from the border, and how much would it be?

Thanx,

gatwiri..........................................

Hi

My girlfriend and I are attending a wedding in Mauritius in July and had been planning to add on a week long safari in Botswana either before or after. We need to fly in to Maun, but are keen to avoid flying via Jo'burg. Is this possible? If not, is it possible to fly in and out of Jo'burg on this route on the same day? Maybe being overly cautious but i know a few people that have had bad experiences at Jo'burg airport and surrounding area.

Thanks

Hello,
I'm arriving at Johannesburg just too late to catch the 2pm Intercape bus to Gaborone. I read everywhere about the minibuses, but I can't find any on-line information on them (well of course...it's a minibus!)

Does anyone know if these minibuses also departure from the airport? Or do we have to go to Jo'burg bus station? We arrive at noon. Do we still can catch one to Botswana?
Thank you so much!
Cristina

My wife and I want to go on safari in Botswana. Can anyone recommend the best time of year to go, and some places where we can do a walking safari?

Thanks!

It has been my dream forever to travel to Africa to see the animals (especially giraffe!) and this year was the chosen one as we got married in July and decided to make it our trip. After deciding on the country, we bought books, maps and investigated until we created a personalised 15 day, self drive (4x4) itinerary, sleeping in a roof-top tent for most of the nights. The problem we now have is that we were initially planning to go in October but for various reasons it has been delayed until 10 November. From what I've read, November is rain season and there is a bigger risk of getting stuck in mud, not being able to follow the planned route and, worst of all, not seeing the animals as much, if not at all. Should I still go? Should I go to another country? If I don't do a Safari this year, I probably won't do so for 4 or 5 years as I am planning to get pregnant at the beginning of next year. I would like my first Safari to be memorable, so I am prepared to sacrifice this trip for a better one in 4 years time if necessary...

we are doing a 4x4 trip on ourselves with 2 couples.The idea is to stay in several nat. parks for several days each .Do we have to book them upfront ? How do we do that ? What happens when you do'nt arrive in time to your booked campingspot ?Do you pay 1 entryprice or do you have to pay for every day you stay in these parks? If i am right informed , we should book campingspots by fax in two different offices.This is very difficult , is there another way of doing this?

Hi,

we are planning to visit 3-4 African countries next year for 4-5 weeks in August/September. Thought about Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and maybe Zimbabwe.

I have read many times that the price level in Botswana is supposed to be very high.

If we stay in Botswana for some days, would you say these days will be (much) more expensive than they would in Namibia?

Could someone give a price comparison Botswana/ Namibia for these activities? Best would of course be average prices for these things in Botswana:
- Overnight stays at campgrounds with own rooftents (price per Person)
- fuel, things to eat (from a super market), maybe go out to eat once or twice
- entry price to a wildlife par (per Person or car), Chobe?
- overnight stay in a wildlife park in rooftents

If these things are not more expensive than in Namibia, which things are then? Or is the rumor that Botswana is so expensive just wrong?

Please note that we want to travel on a really LOW budget, we're students but don't need much comfort generally speaking.

Thanks in advance

Hi all,
Does anyone have an idea of how long it takes a trip from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls?

Is it problematic to cross Botswana border? Do we need visas if we have SA visa?

Thanks

r

Is it possible to get to Lekhubu Island at the moment.I've heard that there is water everywhere?

Hello everybody and thanks for reading. We are going to spend the whole August in Botswana self driving a 4X4. Unfortenately we were late with bookings to stay overnights at Chobe and Moremi.
I wonder, if you want to go through the parks during the day and night suddenly comes, its possible just to stop on the way and sleep inside the vehicle?
Do you know other paths out of National Parks where you can see wildlife without the pressure of having to get out before time.
The last one, In general, is there any problem around Botswana to stop the vehicle somewhere and spend the night there.

Thanks a lot

Hallo to everybody

we (my wife and me) are going to make a 16 days trip in Botswana on August. We will hire a 4x4 safari camper in Johannesburg and then we'll drive to Botswana.
We would like to vist the following areas starting and ending from/in Johannesburg:
- Kalahary desert (central kalahary game resereve)
- Okavango (Moremi and other)
- Chobe national park
- Victoria Falls.
There is someone who can tell me if 16 days are enough and suggest me any itineray to pass through those areas ? I was also attracted also by the the wilderness Trail in the Kgalgadi Transfrontie Park but it seems to be too far from a possible itinerary connecting the areas listed above :((

We would like to overnight in the DWNP camping, if possible, but I tried to send them an e-mail for reservation, without getting any answer. Can you suggest alternatives to that (private campings and also in the bush, if possible and where it is possible)?

Can you suggest me the best places, in your opinion, to vist in those areas (wild nature, beatiful landscapes).

It is possible to find local guides to make self-drive safary in the parks and game reservs? If so do you recommend it ?

Is there any place where it is possible to meet local population to learn something also about people?

I hope we are not trying to do too many things in a too short time. Anyway I hope with your help to be able to make a good selection and to focus on the best.

Many thanks in advance

Max

Hi folks,
Shame about that Doctor. I can't say that it will put me off though, you could get knocked down by a bus in the morning so we'd never leave the house if we worried about everything. No harm to be aware of dangers though.
I'm travelling with Ecotours in June and we'll get up to Okavanga by about June 10th. My girlfriend is in Botswana already and she told me that the rains are late this year. I wasn't going to bother with Malaria tabs but I'm wondering now should I get them.
Can anyone tell me if the area could be Malarial in June. Obviously no one can say for certain and I'll have to make my own mind up but your imputs would be appreciated. It's not that I'm flipant about the risks, it's just that I'd rather not take antibiotics if possible.
Cheers,
Tim,
(in a rainy dreary Co.Cork on a Monday morning)

Hi, all, probably am on the wrong forum, but if anyone can help, please do. Am interested in finding skilled employment in Botswana. I hold a bachelors degree in Statistics from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda. I also hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration from Herriot-Watt University Scotland. I currently work for the Central Bank of Uganda, as a Payments Analyst.
I would like to find out about employment agency in Botswana, if there are any. And how hard it is to find skilled employment, for people from non SADC countries and the entry requirements for such a person.
Thanks
Jaseti

I want to go to Okavango and stay at an inexpensive canpsite in my own tent

Can anyone give me a recommendation

regards fred

How much is entry to Chobe and things like game drives and river cruises?

I am (still) planning our July trip thru northern Botswana. I am stuck on deciding which route to take from Kasane to Maun. We have 1 nite/2days, and are in a 4X4 camping/bakkie (not caravaning). If anyone knows what these roads are like (one or all), and approx. traveling time, I would be appreciative.

Kasane to Maun;
via Nata,
via Caprivia-Mohembo
or the seemingly difficuly route via Savute

Thanks!

I'm looking for a good guide of the country. What about Lonely PLanet? Can you recommend me one, please.

Hello, we are going to spend august in Botswana and we wonder the better way to visit the country. We dont like to plan very much just decide on the way and be as free as possible.
We were thinking on renting a car for the whole month but is a bit expensive, What do you think?

Thanks a lot for reading & answering

Having finally chosen a holiday (botswana - okavango and chobe) and tried to book it has turned out there is no availability when I wanted to go (end aug early sept)! The earliest is 6th october for 2 weeks. I know the rainy season starts in october but:
1) is it a gradual start?
2) How much difference does it make to game viewing to go that bit later in the year.
Would be very grateful for any more help!
Laura

SEATTLE (March 21) - A professor at the University of Washington Medical School who moved to Botswana to help alleviate a shortage of doctors there, was killed when a crocodile dragged him from a dugout canoe, his family and colleagues said.

On our travel thru northern Botswana I would like to do some river trips (2-6 hrs max.).

Q#1 Chobe vs. Zambezi vs. Kwando River; which is best for animal viewing (2-4 hrs,PM) Camping avail.?

Q#2 Okavango Polers Trust, (email isn't working) Is this a good way to go by Mokoro? Camping suggestions?

Any other suggestions welcome!