Is it possible to enter Moremi, Savute, and Chobe without camping reservations, or is camping mandatory? Can you just show up and pay at the gate to enter for the day? We will have a 4x4 and are considering camping in private campgrounds near the parks but outside the parks. The only campsite available on the days we'll be there is South Gate in Moremi, and it doesn't sound that appealing.

Thanks

Yes.Yes. And South Gate is a miserable campsite away from the best game viewing areas. I take it you have tried for campsites in Moremi, Savute and Chobe without any luck.

Kasane is right next to Chobe, so no big deal on campsites there. Savute has an overflow camp that is not advertised, so if you are nice, they will send you to that area and you find a campsite. No ablutions, but you hope into your vehicle and go to the Savute camping area and use that one. A couple minutes only apart. Moremi is different. Khwai Community campsite which doesnt have an email is near the North Gate, Moremi. Getting a campsite at 3rd Bridge and Xakanaxca takes a little finesse.

Hi Luangwablondes

Wud love to do this camping thing in Bots someday, and grateful for all the various bits of useful information and insight you have provided on various fodors forums threads. I still need to find more information on the campsites etc. Is their any particular web site you could recommend for such info?

It would be really nice if a group of say 2 or 3 vehicles could go in convoy together - perhaps we could get a group of intrepid fodorites - and perhaps you could lead the way... food for thought!

Mohammed

Thanks, luangwablondes. Good to know that we can enter the National Parks without a camping reservation. We've seen some information that indicated we could not.

For Moremi, we are considering the Khwai campsite. Do we need a reservation, or are there generally sites available if we just show up?

Another we are looking at is Kaziikini. Do you know anything about it? I sent an email to the address listed on their website, but I haven't had any response, and no phone number is listed. Again, do you have any idea if there would likely be campsites available if we just show up?

Sun71shine
For Khwai Community just pitch up. No way of knowing what the availability is or to make reservations because of no means of contact. Kaziikini is not really in a game area. Don't know anything about it. It takes a few hours to drive to 3rd Bridge and Xakanaxa, and I prefer just to leave from Maun. By the time you would get into the better game areas, the wildlife is starting their midday siestas,heading for the shade till late afternoon, so why camp at Kaziikini. I would take my chances on asking for a campsite once in the park. People don't show up for their reservations. Also, you should have gone into the Maun reservation office on arrival to check for cancellations. It happens frequently. I don't make reservations and have always manged to get something in Moremi that I was satisfied with.

Get the tracks4africa Botswana map to plan your trip by on your pc. Bet you hadn't thought about fuel requirements.

Mohammed
I'm not really interested in convoying with a group. Not my thing. I have been that route from Maun to Kasane via Savute many times, so I would tend not to want to do the same type of game drives there or places. What you find about the campsites in Bot parks is they are 'rustic' and the ablutions not well maintained. Its kind of like the attitude that they are booked solid and take it or leave it.

Hello
we camped at North Camp Moremi, Xakanaxca Moremi, Savute campsite Chobe, Ihaha campsite chobe riverfront, Chobe Safari Lodge campsite, Nxai Pan campsite. All of our paperwork was sorted out for us by Safari Drive who we went with, and it all worked like clockwork. There seemed to be a lot of stuff about having to turn up at campsites by certain times, but the sites were all nearly deserted when we were there, and people were still arriving after dark at others and there weren't any issues with that. I can highly recommend all of the campsites we stayed at except for the one at Chobe Safari Lodge which was a dump. I hear the campsite at South Gate isn't great, and 3rd bridge is overrun by baboons, but where we stayed were very lovely.
Hope this helps.
WD

Hi

in case you decided that you needed to get hold of the DWNP to make reservations, their contact details are as follows:

Gaborone office:
Parks and Reservations Office
P O Box 131
Gaborone
Botswana
Tel: ++267 318 0774
Fax: ++267 318 0775

Maun office:
Parks and Reserves Reservations Office
P O Box 20364
Boseja
Maun
Botswana

Tel ++267 686 1265
Fax: ++267 6861264

[email protected]
[email protected]