Botswana Deluxe 2027
Overview
Botswana Deluxe Safari – Chobe, Linyanti, Savuti and the Moremi
This is the Botswana tour I would book for myself. Where I would normally look for the most economical way into Botswana — sleeping outside the parks, avoiding the expensive gates — on this one we do the opposite. We spend nine days in the parks, from 9 to 17 August, and sleep inside the national parks for seven of those nights. We go to the places that usually end up on the “one day” list.
We meet at Nata on the edge of the Makgadikgadi salt pans and head north to Kasane, gateway to Chobe National Park and its famous elephant herds. From there we drive the legendary Chobe Riverfront route west toward Ngoma, then push deeper into the wilderness at Linyanti and on to Savuti — one of Africa’s great predator regions, and home to some of the largest elephant bulls on the continent.
The second half of the tour belongs to the Moremi. Two nights on the Khwai River, two at Xakanaxa on the edge of the Okavango Delta with a boat trip through the channels, and a night at Third Bridge among the palm islands and floodplains. Ten days inside the Botswana parks, with park fees, camping fees, guide fees and the Moremi boat trip all included.
We come out through South Gate to Maun, and finish with a final night at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe — a community conservation success story and a fitting last game drive before we say our goodbyes.
I am giving a full year’s notice on this one so you have time to save for it properly. If you have done Botswana before, this one is different.
— Chris van Niekerk
Tour at a Glance
- Departs 7 August 2027
- 12 nights
- 1,799km — Nata to Khama Rhino Sanctuary
- R20,900 per person — SADC residents
- Max 14 guests
- 4x4 with low range
- Offroad van or trailer welcome
- Tar and gravel roads, with long deep-sand sections inside the parks
- Very limited 220V power on tour
Estimated Customer Budget
| Bluerhino Tour Price – per Person (SADC) | R20,900 |
| Bluerhino Tour Price – Total (2 SADC Guests) | R41,800 |
| Fuel (Meeting point to farewell)* | R6,740 |
| Border Fees (Own Vehicle) | ±R300 |
| Total Customer Budget (2 Guests, 1 Vehicle) | ±R48,840 |
Estimate only — the tour price shown is the SADC resident rate; non-SADC guests pay higher park and camping fees, so please ask me for a quote. Tour price includes all camping fees, park entry and vehicle fees (Chobe, Moremi and Khama Rhino), guide fees and the Okavango Delta boat trip. Not included: other activities, food, flights and personal miscellaneous costs. Assumes 2 guests sharing one self-drive vehicle. Border fees are approximate, for one vehicle crossing at Stockpoort / Parr’s Halt both ways. *Fuel estimate based on the guide’s vehicle (Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD6) fuel consumption over the 1,799km meeting-to-farewell distance at current diesel pricing.
A Typical Day on Tour
Mornings start early — the sounds of Africa are best enjoyed with a cup of coffee and a rusk in hand. I’m usually up around 6am, and on a normal day we aim to be on the road about one and a half hours after sunrise. I’m firm on timekeeping — it’s only fair to the people who got up early to be ready.
Once we’re moving, we drive for around two hours before the first coffee stop — kettle’s on, with about 30 minutes to stretch your legs. Bring your cup and magic powders, I will supply the hot water.
A second stop follows around 2 hours later and it is normally a 45 minute lunch stop. Again I boil a kettle.
From here we can normally get to camp, but will stop if needed.
Once we’re in camp, I get a fire going, and supply the wood and charcoal — just bring your own braai grid. Evenings are for swapping stories around the fire, or private dinners with your spouse by candle light in the bush. I am easy with your choice.
The Itinerary
7 – 18 August 2027
Section 1 – Nata to the Chobe Riverfront
7 – 9 August 2027
The safari begins at Nata Lodge, on the edge of the vast Makgadikgadi salt pans. Arrive early enough and you can join the lodge’s afternoon excursion to Nata Pan, where the salt flats run to the horizon and, in season, flamingos gather in the shallows. The restaurant here is well known, and it is a good place to meet the people you will be travelling with.
From Nata we head north to Kasane, the lively town where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet, and the gateway to Chobe National Park. This is the last proper shopping stop before the bush, and the afternoon is free for one of the famous Chobe River sunset cruises.
The following day we enter Chobe at Kasane and drive the legendary Chobe Riverfront route west toward Ngoma Gate — one of the great game-viewing drives in southern Africa, with big herds of elephant and buffalo on the banks and lion regularly patrolling the floodplain. Park entry and vehicle fees are included in the tour price.
Section 2 – Linyanti and Savuti
10 – 11 August 2027
We head deeper into the wilderness toward Linyanti, one of Botswana’s most remote and rewarding wildlife areas. Part of the greater Okavango system, it is a landscape of wetlands, lagoons and river channels, and the drive in often produces the best sightings of the day.
From Linyanti we cross to Savuti through Goha Gate. Savuti is legendary — dramatic country, intense predator activity, and some of the largest elephant bulls in Africa. We spend the day exploring the Savuti Plains, Rhino Vlei and the ancient San rock art in the Savuti hills.
Section 3 – Khwai and the Moremi Delta
12 – 16 August 2027
South through the Savuti Channel and across the vast Mababe Depression brings us to North Gate on the Khwai River, where we camp for two nights. The permanent water here draws animals year round, and Khwai is as reliable as anywhere in northern Botswana for lion, leopard and wild dog.
We then move deeper into Moremi Game Reserve to Xakanaxa, on the very edge of the Okavango Delta, for two nights. The landscape changes completely — lagoons, islands and floodplains threaded with water channels. From here we explore Dead Tree Island, Paradise Pools and Xini Lagoon, and take a boat trip out onto the Delta itself, which is included in the tour price and is a completely different way to see this place.
The last night inside the park is at Third Bridge, among the palm-covered islands and floodplains that make this one of the most photographed corners of the Moremi.
Section 4 – Out of Moremi to Khama Rhino
17 – 18 August 2027
We leave the Moremi through South Gate and make our way to Maun, the gateway town to the Delta. After days in the bush a hot shower and a proper meal go a long way, and for those who want it there is the option of a scenic flight over the Delta — worth every cent for the aerial view of the channels and islands.
The final day is a long transit south to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary near Serowe, where we spend our last night on tour. This community-run sanctuary is one of Botswana’s real conservation success stories, with a healthy population of both white and black rhino, and it makes for a fitting last game drive before we go our separate ways on the morning of 19 August.
Deep sand and water crossings
Worth knowing before you commit: a good deal of this route is deep sand, and there are water crossings inside the Moremi. Nothing here needs a specialist vehicle — a standard 4×4 with low range is fine, and I guide every kilometre of it — but your vehicle does need to be in good order, and if you are towing, your van or trailer needs to be genuinely offroad capable.
I prefer not to cross water wherever possible. Sometimes a bridge is broken and we are forced to cross next to it, or a new channel has opened up across the track — but if it is too deep, we don’t cross. My own vehicle is a standard Hilux with no snorkel, so I am limited in how deep I can go myself, and I will never take the group through water my own vehicle can’t handle.
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