bridezilla06

my husband and I are planning our 19 days trip in Aug/Sept 09. We are going to Capetown, Sabi Sands, (Elephant Plains or Arathusa) and Victoria Falls (Zambia side)

From Vic Falls we are deciding to add on Chobe vs. Zambia (Kafue or South Luangwa) I already got a quote if we stick with Chobe, but I heard that it would get rather crowded in August. In terms of budget, I would like to stay under 5K pp (land and interafrica airfare)

Looking at the lonely planet, it looks like Zambia would offer a very different experience as it's less developed. If anyone has any input, that would be grat.

spassvogel

Bride,

5000$ is quite ambitious for 19 days and most definately won't include airfare to Kafue and/or LZ. These flights are almost 400$ppp. From Livingstone you must fly Lusaka to LZ and as far as I know it's only Proflight which serves these legs. And going from LIV to LZ can take up to 6 hours with lay overs in Lusaka if they wait for other pax.
Furthermore the LZ camps are quite expensive. Nothing under 500$ - as far as i know.

So if you stick to the budget it's going to be tricky to include any Zambian camp - being it Kafue or LZ.

SV

atravelynn

Depending on where you stay and if you book your own vehicle, you can avoid the Chobe crowds. For your budget, I think Chobe is your best option. The afternoon to sunset wildlife river cruise is a spectacle.

I'm a big Zambia fan and loved S. Luangwa and Kafue, but don't think they work with $5K per person.

luangwablondes

It can may work with Mana Pools OR Kafue and South Luangwa NP.
Depends on what the front end of the itinerary looks like.

traveller2007

I was just at the Vic Falls and went to Chobe after. Travelling to Chobe was easy as its not far. We had a private transfer (road one way, light aircraft on the way back - so you cant take heavy bags) but crossing the river/border seems a bit of a hassle if you have to wait for the public boat that crosses back and forth but maybe you could enquire about private transfers from Chobe perhaps?