Safari Highlights & Victoria Falls – Botswana and Zimbabwe Group Tour

Dumela – welcome to Botswana. After your landing in Maun, you are met at the airport and taken to your accommodation.

A cosy room awaits you at Maun Waterfront Guesthouse – ideal for a brief moment to catch your breath after your journey. Use the time to relax on the terrace or by the pool and get in the mood for the safari experience ahead.

After breakfast, you start your safari towards the northern entrance to Moremi Game Reserve and into the Khwai region. Even on the way, it pays to be alert – the first animals often appear by the roadside.

On arrival at Khwai River View, your camp for the next three nights, you move into your permanent safari tent and fortify yourself with a delicious lunch.

In the afternoon, you set off on your first game drive in one of the most impressive safari areas of southern Africa. As the reserves are not fenced, the animals roam freely through the landscape. At waterholes, along river courses and in the open savannah, you have the best chances of seeing elephants, lions, buffalo and various antelope. With a little luck, you may even spot a leopard or cheetah.

You return to camp for dinner and end the day around the campfire.

Normally a safari day starts very early, as many animals are especially active in the cool morning hours and late afternoon. Today, however, you can take it a little easier – after all, you are on holiday.

After breakfast, you drive to the nearby poler station, where you leave the vehicle and switch to so-called mokoros. These traditional dugout canoes, mostly made of fibreglass or plastic today, are still used in the Okavango Delta in the same way as centuries ago.

Lean back and glide silently across the water while your poler – a member of the local village community – shares his knowledge of the flora and fauna around the Mbudi Channel with you.

After this extraordinary and unhurried safari experience, you return to camp for lunch.

A short siesta offers a chance to recover before you head out again on a game drive in the off-road vehicle. Thanks to your guide's trained eyes, you often discover details and animals that might otherwise have remained hidden.

Dinner and overnight at Khwai River View again.

At first light, you set off to make the most of another exciting safari day. Your destination is Moremi Game Reserve.

With the roof and windows open, you explore the reserve and, with a little luck, have the chance to see elephants, lions, leopards and buffalo – as well as numerous other species.

Together with the neighbouring private concessions, Moremi forms a vast ecosystem that is also home to one of Africa's most successful hunters: the African wild dog. These impressive animals hunt in perfectly coordinated packs and adapt their strategy to the prey at hand. That is why their success rate is significantly higher than that of lions, leopards or cheetahs – even when hunting impala, waterbuck, warthogs or fully grown wildebeest.

After a picnic lunch in the reserve, you continue your game drive until late afternoon. Just in time for sunset, you return to Khwai River View, enjoy another delicious dinner and later fall asleep to the sounds of the African bush.

An early start is needed today too, as a long and exciting day lies ahead.

Today's highlight is the famous Savuti region, and although the drive is long, there are repeated opportunities for wildlife viewing along the way. The legendary Savuti area is known for excellent chances of spotting lions or leopards. Some time ago, the area became famous through documentaries about the elephant-hunting lions of Savuti. With a little luck, you may encounter one of these impressive prides on today's game drive.

After an eventful day with, hopefully, numerous wildlife sightings, you continue to Thobolo’s Bush Lodge, about two hours' drive north of Savuti. Put your feet up and relax with a drink on the viewing terrace. After a hearty dinner, you retire to your room and let the day pass before you once more.

After two early-morning starts, the day begins today with a leisurely breakfast. The short drive that follows takes you to Kubu Lodge, idyllically situated on the banks of the Chobe River near Kasane.

After check-in, there is time to relax by the pool before a hearty lunch is served.

In the afternoon, a special experience awaits you on the Chobe River: you board a river boat and cruise into Chobe National Park. With a little luck, you can watch herds of elephants and buffalo as well as an impressive variety of bird species. Around 450 species are native here – including the African skimmer, the African fish eagle, the lilac-breasted roller, the pied kingfisher, and both the malachite and the woodland kingfisher. A true paradise for ornithologists.

As the sun sinks and its light glitters on the water, you enjoy the peace and beauty of the scenery. Later, you return to the lodge with many impressive pictures in your luggage and end the day with a delicious dinner.

Today you meet your guide for the Zimbabwe part of your Botswana and Zimbabwe group tour. A relaxed start to the day leaves time for breakfast before you cross the border into Zimbabwe and drive on into Hwange National Park.

Around midday, you reach Robin’s Camp in the northern part of the park. After settling into your room and enjoying lunch, you set off on your first game drive.

Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest conservation area, famous for its huge elephant herds and the diversity of predators. Wide plains and waterholes shape the landscape and offer numerous viewing opportunities.

In the evening, you return to camp, where dinner awaits and the sounds of the bush bring the day to a close.

Today you start your game drive early again, when many animals are especially active. Hwange is home to over 100 mammal species – including sable antelope, giraffes and predators such as lions and hyenas. With a little patience and luck, you will be rewarded with special sightings.

You return to camp for lunch and have time to rest or watch the birdlife from the camp.

In the afternoon, you go on a further game drive that takes you deeper into the park and again gives you the chance to experience the park's wildlife diversity. You return to Robin’s Camp for dinner.

Enjoy one last morning game drive in Hwange National Park. No safari day is like another, and with a little luck you may meet animals today that have not yet shown themselves in the past days.

After a picnic lunch, you leave the park and continue to Victoria Falls, where you spend the last two nights of your safari at Insika Lodge.

Enjoy a relaxed afternoon and end the day with a delicious dinner at the lodge restaurant.

After the guided tour, you have the chance to take a stroll through the town of Victoria Falls or wander around the large souvenir market. If you are interested in a helicopter or microlight flight over the falls – or even a bungee jump – this can be arranged on site.

In the late afternoon, you meet up with the group again and set off on a final boat trip on the Zambezi. As the boat glides gently across the water, you enjoy the sunset over this extraordinary landscape.

With a smile on your face, you return to shore and spend the last evening of your trip with your guide and fellow travellers in a local restaurant (at your own expense). You spend the night at Insika Lodge again.

Today your safari through Botswana and Zimbabwe ends. A relaxed breakfast is followed by the transfer to Victoria Falls airport, from where you either begin your journey home or continue your adventure.

We hope your safari has given you unforgettable memories, and we look forward to welcoming you back to Africa one day.