Feedback on May '07 Botswana Itinerary
 

My dream of going on an Africa safari is finally coming to fruition! I will be taking my mom and her two friends. I have been reading this site for a couple of weeks now and with all your wonderful advice and suggestions have come up with the following trip plan.

Vic Falls, Ilala Lodge--2 NTS
Baines Camp--3 NTS, for the elles encounter :-)
Kwetsani--3NTS, a delta water camp
Duma Tau--3NTS, linyanti camp
Cape Town--3 or 4 NTS
(I am waiting to hear if these camps are available for May)

We are traveling on a budget of approx. $6000 pp not including international air. Would love Mombo but not in our budget. We are all animal lovers and want to be able to see a diversity of animals, though have no specific species as a must see.

I know I am opening myself up for confusion :-) but I would love any feedback or suggestions in case I am overlooking or missing something. A question being should I be considering other camps that may have better wildlife viewing this time of the year?
Thanks
Jjulie

Hello,

A few suggestions:

Baines is a water camp, so I would recommend swapping Kwetsani for a land-based Delta camp like Chitabe -- Kwetsani is in a beautiful area, but Chitabe will offer better game vieiwng and the option for a short walking safari if you wish. If you'd prefer a mixed land/water camp but want good game-viewing, I'd recommend Little Vumbura over Kwetsani. I've stayed at LV and it is a lovely little camp -- only six tents and very warm and welcoming.

I'd also recommend rearranging the itinerary a bit to minimise your transfer time -- since you are starting in Vic Falls, it would be easier to go to the Linyanti and then to the Delta, as follows:

Ilala Lodge x2
Duma Tau x3
Chitabe/LV x3
Baines Camp x3
Cape Town x3-4

You might also want to look into doing one more night at either Duma Tau or Kwetsani, as once you hit seven nights with WS you will be eligible for a long-stay discount.

If budget becomes an issue, you might look at swapping Baines for Stanleys, its less expensive sister camp.

My final suggestion is to consider spending a few days in the Makgadikgadi Pans (Jack's or San Camp). The Pans are completely unlike any other area in Botswana, and a stay here makes a wonderful end to a visit to Botswana. I've just returned from a visit to Jack's Camp, which you can read about in my trip report if you want to find out more about it:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34844345

You can also see photos of the camps on my Safari Lodge Photo Album:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasher/sets

All photos were taken by Fodorites.

Cheers,
Julian

Hello,

Oops, left out one thing -- for the best game-viewing, I'd travel at the very end of May or the beginning of June. The Linyanti in particular will be better if you wait longer.

Cheers,
Julian

Thanks Julian! We will be departing mid-May so might it be better to reverse the itinerary? I would love to go to the Makgadikgadi Pans but I don’t think we could do it without removing one camp in the Delta.

Cape Town x3-4?Baines/Stanleys Camp x3
Chitabe/LV x3?Duma Tau x4?Ilala Lodge x2

Julie

Oops, my itinerary got scrunched. Here it is again

Cape Town x3-4
Baines/Stanleys Camp x3
Chitabe/LV x3
Duma Tau x4
Ilala Lodge x2

Hello,

Since you're going in mid-May, reversing the itinerary would be a great ideaa -- it would enable you to get the best weather in both Cape Town and the Linyanti.

To include the Pans you probably would have to lose a Delta camp, or expand your trip by 2-3 days. Admittedly, the Pans will push your costs up, so you may prefer to stay in the Delta this time and save them for the return trip you'll be planning on your flight out of Maun :S-

Cheers,
Julian