savuti camp/ botswana
 

I will be going to Savuti camp at the end of June. I was inially booked at Kings Pool but a group booking came and we were bumped over to Savuti. I know that it is a classic camp as compared to Kings Pool which is premier. Will there be a substantial difference in the level of accomadation? Luckily I still I will follow Savuti with 3 nights at Mombo. Prior to Savuti we have 3 nights at Kwetsani. Have been told the wildlife viewing will be similar to King's Pool. Would love some other opinions on this.

The level of accommodation at Savuti is fairly similar to that at Kwetsani I believe as both are listed as Classic 5 paw camps.

Savuti tents have a mix of outdoor, open bathrooms and internal ones. The internal ones still have an outdoor shower as well but the loo and basin and main shower are indoors. Many love the fully open bathroom but I would have been too scared to go to the loo in the middle of the night so preferred the internal bathrooms.

Interesting, I've never heard of being "bumped" this way once a reservation is made. In any case, I wouldn't worry about it. Not everyone prefers the big luxe tents anyway. Smaller tents have the advantage of giving you that "out in the bush" feeling" that the 6paws miss. Sounds crazy, but if Mombo had simple old-fashioned tents (a la San Camp and the old Jack's) I would choose those over the 6paws, even at the same price. Yeah, it is crazy,pay more to get less. But sometimes less really is more. And I do love those outdoor bathrooms...there is a thrill to getting up in the middle of the night when nature--and in this case I do mean nature--calls.

Do I need to request a room with a bathroom inside? Not sure I want to be that close to nature when "nature " calls. I had only a provisional reservation at King's Pool, so that is why when a big group wanted to book more than one room I got bumped. I have read many good things about Savuti so I am not that dissappointed.

If you would prefer a tent with inside bathroom, definitely specify it on booking and make it clear it's important - remind them a month before travelling to send a reminder out to the camp itself to assign you an appropriate tent number.

Hello,

The wildlife viewing will be a bit different to King's Pool as each area has its own resident wildlife, but all three Linyanti camps (KP, Duma Tau, and Savuti) traverse the same area. Savuti is known for particularly good sightings of serval as well as the wild dog. It also has the wonderful woodpile hide which gets you incredibly close to the elephants.

There is some variation within the amount of luxury in the five-paw camps. Of the five-paw options in the Linyanti (Duma Tau and Savuti) Duma Tau is newer and posher, whereas Savuti is more rustic but still very comfortable.

Out of curiosity, when will you be at Savuti/Mombo? I am booked for three nights at Savuti at the end of June (24, 25, 26) and five nights at Mombo (June 28, 29, 30 and July 1, 2) so we may cross paths.

Cheers,
Julian

You might want to request the inside bathroom! Last summer there was a hyena hanging around camp, and he went into one of the outside bathrooms to drink from the toilet! The guest couldn't figure out why there was such a mess every time he went in there - until we saw the hyena walking along the raised platform one night, and the staff followed his tracks into the bathroom! Thanks to this hyena stalking or taking a baby baboon, the baboons went wild that night and never stopped screaming and leaping on top of our tents, so the whole camp was up all night. The same night, we could not walk back to our tents after dinner because of elephants grazing right alongside the raised platform. What a place! Fabulous. So yes, there could be wildlife around your tent at night!

There's nothing like the rush of taking an outdoor shower or sitting on the can when an elephant peeks over the bamboo fence! How exciting to share the toilet with a hyena!

Dennis,

There is, however, always that threat of getting startled by the elephant and swallowing Zambezi River water! ;)

Julian, I will be at Duma Tau June 25th to the 28th. Maybe our paths will cross somewhere on a game drive.

Julian:
I will be at Savuti June 26,27, 28 so our paths may cross there on the 26th. We then go to Kwetsani for for a few nights. We arrive in Mombo on July 1 and leave on July 3rd so we should meet up again there.

Great to hear that other Fodorites will be in the Linyanti and at Mombo. I'm trying to get one more night at Savuti (the 27th) so we may have two nights of overlap there, elz1. I'm at Savuti with another Fodorite, Canechick, so there will be three of us!

Now the hard part...how will we recognise each other? Silly hats? T-shirts? I'll certainly have a big white lens on my camera...

Cheers,
Julian

Savuti is definitely the most rustic WS camp, while Kings Pool is probably the most luxurious. As for game viewing both are excellent, though Brian and Chantel are at KP now and they are both awesome rangers.

I much preferred the accomodation, food and management at KP.