Our Travel agent suggested the Okavango Delta and Savuti Camp.
Is this our best choice for two camps 3 days at each?
In the Okavango she sugested several camps.
Nxabega, Baines, Little Vumbura or Xigera.
Too many choices.
Any suggestions as to which Camp would be apprciated.
Also is this choice a good one in mid January?
She also seemed to like Dare To Explore to make arrangements and transfers.
Any experience with this Company.
Sorry for so many questions, but have been on Safari is South Africa but have never been to Botswana.

Erly-January is green season so the water is high and the animals are dispersed in the delta. There is a new camp in the Kalahari that I can't wait to go to in Botswana's summer (January) - check out the Wilderness Safari website for their Safari for all Seasons. They do the Kalahari and the Delta and it looks like a great trip.

Nxabega, Baines, Little Vumbura or Xigera are owned by different companies. I would stick to one company as there are some specials this year and in the off season should get you a better deal.

The travel consultant is now suggesting Nxabega Safari Camp and Umbura Plains Camp.
So confusing.
You have mentioned Nxabega, would appreciate any knowledge of Umbura.
Will also look at the Kalahari site.
So many decisions.
Thanks

I am sure your travel agent meant Vumbura Plains Camp. Is this agent a safari specialist or a travel generalist?

The Kalahari in January will be peak season.

Craig Beal

Vumbura Plains Camp.
Typo, as these terms are unfamiliar
I will probably switch to another company, as the frustration grows.
She leads Safaris
Googled this lodge, and basically the conclusion was that it was for the well heeled who are more concerned with comfort than the Safari!
I did look up the Kalahari site, and it looks interesting, thanks.

Erly-I was at Vumbura Plains in 2006. It is really a spectacular camp, but like I said before, it's the green season and I don't know how much value you'll get. And it's hot - no AC at the tented camps! That's why I mentioned the Kalahari - peak season is peak wildlife viewing. You need to figure out or give us some idea of what you want in a Botswana experience. Is it the great camps with some wildlife or is it about the wildlife at a nice camp? Craig makes a great point - are you dealing with a safari specialist? Nxabega and Vumbura are owned by different companies so you won't be getting a break for a 6 night stay.

Thank you all
I looked at the Camp in the Kalahari, and was wondering if it is comfortable enough for two very active but very senior Seniors.
No I don't want extreme Luxury, but the best Views and a comfortable Camp.
My husband would want a hut rather than a Tent.
I am being totally discouraged from staying on the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls, even though this is what we requested
Possibly they do not have people in place there.
Is this common for Tour Operators?.
I am dealing with a Safari Specialist recommended by my Travel Agent.
I am going to probably make a change
Really appreciate this feedback.

kalahari plains camp is owned by wilderness safaris. you could get better rates by combining this with chitabe and little vumbura (or kwetsani).

no reason not to go to zimbabwe.

suggestion:
day 1 arrive Maun. charter to kalahari plains camp (PPC).
day 3/4 KPC
day 5 charter to chitabe
day 6/7 chitabe
day 8 charter to vumbura plains or kwetsani
day 9 vp or kwetsani
day 10 charter to kasane (bbk). road transfer to vf hotel of vf safari lodge.
day 11 return home

i read your post regarding lion sands with great interest. rob more (the owner) is a friend of mine. he has stayed at my home in minnesota and i have stayed at his in south africa. from my personal experience and reading the advice your travel agent is giving you, i would not be surprised if it was your agent that oevrcharged you for the private vehicle last year.

as i said on trip advisor, i think your agent should be "fired".

craig beal

Hi Craig,
I don't want to belabor that topic.
It was a spectacular trip.
If you noticed I had nothing but good to say about the Lodge itself.
The owner, rob should have contacted me personally.
I suspect the Travel agent, and someone working at the Lodge which is why I did not use her again, but she was super efficient.
I had no need to do this research last year.
This is why I find my new "expert" so frustrating.
By the way, I do have the copies of the assurances, and did leave the message for Rob to request them from me.

Erly,

A strong recommendation for Kwara/Little Kwara - especially for that time of the year. Please do the research and talk to your agent about it.

hi erly,

ok - that's good. i was just taken back when i saw all that stuff for the first time last night. we had been trading information all day yesterday. i was not on fodors back in the winter when that transpired. i emailed rob this morning and let him know about your new update on that thread. i see he responded.

i hope your new agent works out!

FYI - private vehicles at wilderness safari lodges are 400-600 per day depending on camp. this includes the afternoon and morning game drive.

craig beal

"My husband would want a hut rather than a Tent."
These are really nice tents, so nice you'll want to just hang out in them. They are deserving of photos. They are structures with a tent or thatched top.

"I am being totally discouraged from staying on the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls,"
That is the better side. Some people are not comfortable going to Zim, so they go to Zambia instead, but that's not your case. Who knows why you are being discouraged. I think you mentioned you're going to change agents. Good idea.

"Vumbura Plains for the well-heeled"
Yes, you are right. This is a premiere camp with a price to match But you can stay in the same area and visit the same locations by staying at Little Vumbura, a classic camp. It was the classic camps I referred to above as being very nice. Often Wilderness provides the option of classic or premiere in the same general region so you can find a place to match your tastes.

I have to agree with Lynn about staying on the Zim side and Little Vumbura. I have stayed on the Zim side multiple times and it is very convenient for viewing the Falls. I would not personally stay at Vumbura Plains (a bit too well heeled for me), but I loved Little Vumbura, and I was able to purchase some beautiful baskets from the women who worked there. It is a great little camp and there was lots of wildlife, both water and land (we were there in Feb.)

Question for anyone on this forum - how many vehicles go out between the 3 camps in Vumbura in total? The 2 Vumbura Plains camps (N and S) and Little Vumbura? (not taking the private vehicles into consideration)

Just curious........

Erly-

My Mom was a very active 76 when we went to Botswana and stayed in WS camps. She loved it and it was the perfect trip for her. They are so luxurious, that calling them tents is almost unfair, but because they are tents you feel like you are out in the bush. I much prefer tents to lodges for that reason. We also went to Zim even though my mother was not comfortable with that choice. The view from the Zim side is spectacular, but my mother would have been much more comfortable if we had had a guide with us. The hawkers can be pretty aggressive, but they are poor, not violent. I'm really glad we decided on the Zim side and the Victoria Falls Hotel at my TA's guidance.

Lynn is right about Little Vumbura - Vumbura Plains is really over the top. Amazingly beautiful, but a bit too much luxury for me. I much prefer the classic camps.

HariS- I never saw more than 6 people in a vehicle. I think that's standard for WS, and I can't imagine anyone staying at Vumbura Plains would have to pay that much and be in a crowded truck. There was a wildfire at another camp and they transferred the guests to Vumbura Plains, and we still were just the 4 of us.

When I was planning my first trip, I e-mailed WS and they referred me to a TA. I have been very happy with them.

Christabir,

I think you mis-understood the question. How many vehicles run on the concession at a given time? again, not to be confused with how many cars at a sighting ......... I'm sure that is restricted to 3 or so.

haris - i don't know the exact number but since the limit is six per vehicle and each camp has a private vehicle available, below is my educated guess. keep in mind, with six per vehicle and three rows, every guest gets a "window seat".

little vumbura has six tents and vumbura plains north and south have seven tents each. this is a total of 20 tents (40 guests). this also assumes the camp is 100% full with no single travelers which probably happens on 1 or 2 days per year. using these paramaters, there COULD be six vehicles (36 people) and three more private vehicles driving around the concession for a grand total of nine vehicles.

i doubt this every happens except maybe in july or august.

hope this helps.

craig beal

Thanks, Craig. Sounds "crowded" - with a limited road network, given heavy flood levels that side of the Delta. Yet, may be not - since Vumbura plains is probably running low with bookings right now, as seen in the ATR site.

i think little vumbura is running is almost always full but not the case for vp.

craig beal

I stayed at the WS Kalahari camp in January and it is very comfortable. As others have pointed, this is the rainy season so it will have an impact on the amount of animals you see in the Delta although it's a beautiful time to visit.

We had reasonable game viewing in the Central Kalahari in January for a day or so but some huge thunderstorms meant that the roads became flooded and we couldn't get very far and that did restrict the game viewing. We then flew up to Xigera which was stunning but not too many animals around.