Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari

17 days
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Small Group Tour
Observe elephants in Chobe National Park, visit a remote village, and feel the rumble of Victoria Falls on our #1 adventure, Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari. From tented camps to game-viewing drives with our expert, resident Trip Leaders, it’s truly the ultimate experience.
From$5,395
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Overview

Trip type
Small Group Tour
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Full schedule

Highlights

    • Enjoy game drive in Chobe National Park, the second-largest (and first-established) national park in the country.
    • Visitors have experienced the spectacular sighting of a zebra migration
    • Chance to see magnificent elephants, in addition to zebra, Cape buffalo, hippo, and crocodile.
    • See a variety of birdlife, including the vibrantly plumed lilac-breasted roller and the similarly striking pygmy goose (actually a species of duck).
    • See herds of buffalo, sable antelope, kudu, and elephant.
    • Enjoy viewing the greatest diversity of mammals in Zambia, with 55 large mammal species, including six varieties of large cat
    • Enjoying Kafue River views at leisure
    • Outstanding area of African bush country boasts plentiful wildlife
    • Enjoy a walk through Chinotimba township
    • Visit the largest curtain of water in the world

What's this trip about?

    Observe elephants in Chobe National Park, visit a remote village, and feel the rumble of Victoria Falls on our #1 adventure, Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari. From tented camps to game-viewing drives with our expert, resident Trip Leaders, it’s truly the ultimate experience.

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Details

Itinerary focusOff the Beaten Path
Group sizeGroup - max of 27 people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportAll internal transport included (including local flights)
Start CityChobe
End CityVictoria Falls

Travel Themes

  • Nature & Wildlife
  • Safari
  • Local Immersion & Homestays
  • Birding
  • National Parks

Destinations

Activities

Max Group Size

  • Max Group Size: 27

Trip includes

    • International airfare, airport transfers, government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges unless you choose to make your own air arrangements
    • Accommodations for 15 nights
    • 42 meals—daily breakfast, 13 lunches, and 14 dinners
    • 27 small group activities, including up to 18 game-viewing drives, boat cruises, and walks, plus park fees
    • Services of a resident, English-speaking OAT Trip Leader and driver-guides
    • Gratuities for local guides, drivers, lodge and camp staff, driver-guides, and luggage porters
    • 5% Frequent Traveler Credit toward your next OAT trip—an average of $401
    • Unlimited filtered water at camps
    • OAT safari duffle and laundry service at tented camps

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Itinerary

DAY 1

Depart U.S.
Trip Extension: Thornybush Spot wildlife in a private reserve that is home to all of Africa's "Big Five" on this extension. You depart from the U.S. on an overnight flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.

DAY 2
Arrive Johannesburg, South Africa Accommodations: Protea Hotel O.R. Tambo or similar Today, arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa. You will be met and transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay. Here, you'll be joined by those who traveled on our optional Thornybush: Kruger's Northern Gateway extension.

DAY 3
Fly from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls • Transfer to Chobe National Park Meals included: B D Accommodations: Baobab Safari Lodge or similar

This morning, we’ll fly to Victoria Falls, arriving early afternoon.

We meet our Trip Leader at the Victoria Falls airpo...

DAY 4
Wildlife viewing at Chobe National Park Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Baobab Safari Lodge or similar

The next two days are devoted to seeking out game in Chobe National Park, the second-largest (and first-established) national park in the country.

Chobe...

DAY 5
Explore Chobe National Park Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Baobab Safari Lodge or similar

Our safari schedule in Chobe today features a full-day game-viewing drive in Chobe National Park—which has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African ...

DAY 6
Fly to Okavango Delta via Kasane Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Wilderness Tented Camp or similar

This morning, we'll enjoy a discussion with your Trip Leader on the region's history before boarding a minibus that takes us to Kasane, Botswana. From here, we cat...

DAY 7
Explore Okavango Delta • Moremi area Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Wilderness Tented Camp or similar

We devote the next two days to in-depth exploration of the Okavango Delta. Each morning, we split into groups and choose from a variety of options for explorin...

DAY 8
Explore Okavango Delta Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Wilderness Tented Camp or similar

Today, we continue to explore the Okavango Delta. We'll again split into groups and explore the area by mokoro on the Delta (if conditions permit), or enjoy a game-viewing drive in the neighboring savannah.

DAY 9
Fly to Kasane • Transfer to Kafue, Zambia Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Lufupa Tented Camp or similar

This morning, after an early breakfast, we fly by light aircraft from the Okavango Delta to Kasane Airport. We then travel by road and boat to Livingstone, wh...

DAY 10
Explore Kafue National Park Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Lufupa Tented Camp or similar

Today, we’ll enjoy two game-viewing excursions by boat or safari vehicle during the most temperate hours—early morning and late afternoon—when the wildlife is at its most a...

DAY 11
Explore Kafue National Park Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Lufupa Tented Camp or similar

Two more game-viewing excursions await you this morning and afternoon, as you explore the outer reaches of the park by boat or safari vehicle. It’s impossible to exhaust th...

DAY 12
Kafue National Park • Transfer to Hwange, Zimbabwe Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Kashawe Tented Camp or similar

This morning, after an early breakfast, we enjoy a final game-viewing drive in the region during our transfer overland to the airstrip for our chart...

DAY 13
Wildlife viewing in Hwange National Park Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Kashawe Tented Camp or similar

This morning, we'll have the opportunity to enjoy a game-viewing drive with one of our professional guides. During this drive, you will learn about the region...

DAY 14
A Day in the Life of a Hwange Community • Game viewing FOUNDATION VISIT Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Kashawe Tented Camp or similar

A Day in the Life Work side-by-side with locals to find fresh water and prepare sadza (porridge) in a Hwange village. Today, we...

DAY 15
Transfer to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Rainbow Hotel or similar

After breakfast, we depart our camp and drive to Victoria Falls. Here we visit the largest curtain of water in the world—and one of the world's Seven Natural Wonders. T...

DAY 16
Explore Victoria Falls • Optional tours OPTIONAL TOUR Meals included: B L D Accommodations: Rainbow Hotel or similar

After breakfast, enjoy a walk through Chinotimba township, where we can observe everyday life in the neighborhood that is home to the majority of peopl...

DAY 17
Fly to Johannesburg • Return to U.S. or begin trip extension Meals included: B

Trip Extension: Cape Town Ascend Cape Town's Table Mountain and spot penguin colonies on this must-do extension. After breakfast this morning, we’ll gather for a talk on the life of David L...

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Dates & Availability

Price From $5,395
Price per day$317
Last Updated: 6/11/2024

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours).

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours) Reviews & Ratings

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Policy over practical customer service. zero customer service

Dec 2023

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don't expect humanity or common sense

This letter is effectively what was communicated no less than 8 times in writing and conversation to OAT representatives up the chain, beginning 19 days before the t...

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Trip of a Lifetime

Our recent Tanzanian Safari was indeed the trip of a lifetime. Saw the big 5, met the wonderful locals and spent 5 days in the Serengeti. Saw many lions, zebras, gi...

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Booked for July and gave them $12,000. They talked us into early arrival and then come back to us a two months later saying we can't offer. We have to keep our airli...

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Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours)

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Overseas Adventure Travel offers unique small group adventures worldwide to Americans over 50. By land and sea, we explore on—and off—the beaten path with a resident OAT Trip Leader, immersing ourselves in local cultures, sampling unique modes of transportation, and staying in authentic lodgings that reflect the essence of your destination. Grand Circle Small Ship Cruises serves both our GCT and OAT brands with an award-winning fleet known for exceptional value and high-quality experiences in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Custom-designed according to our travelers’ specifications, our fleet includes 50+ small river and ocean-going ships that we own or privately charter.

Grand Circle Corporation is a global enterprise—comprised of a family of travel companies—committed to changing people’s lives by offering high-impact experiences to our travelers and building local communities through philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and volunteerism.

Simply by traveling with OAT, you support the work of the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation, which was created with the mission of changing people’s lives through travel—both those of our travelers, and of the people who welcome us so warmly into their homelands.

Journey with the Leader in Adventure Travel and Watch Your Dreams Take Flight: It is the stuff of dreams: gazelles bowing to lap at a glassy pool in the Serengeti as the vast sky turns purple with night, the tiered splendor of the Himalayas, rising behind a Tibetan monastery. Dreams like these are everyday realities for OAT travelers, thanks to the principles which ground every OAT adventure: value, choice, discovery, and carefully paced itineraries.

Our Value puts your travel dreams within reach: OAT can help you realize your travel dreams for a lot less than you thought possible. Together with our regional offices located throughout the world, we’ve been able to establish long-term relationships with many local vendors and hotels. Buying direct brings down our costs—and allows us to pass the savings on to you. And negotiating directly for hotel space also allows us to secure as many single room allotments as possible for our solo travelers. That way, we can also extend our great value to solo travelers. In fact, we offer the best value for solo travelers, guaranteed.

The Choice is yours: You’ll always have plenty of choices with OAT. We offer you a breadth of awe-inspiring travel destinations—from the peaks of the Andes to the sweeping desert sands of the Sahara to the rugged natural beauty of Iceland. You'll also enjoy more trip extension choices than ever before—like hiking to ancient monasteries in Bhutan or discovering the Moai monolithic rock statues on Easter Island. You have plenty of choices within each adventure, too, including several interesting optional tours. And the free time we’ve woven into our itineraries allows you plenty of opportunities for independent exploration. You can shop, unwind, perhaps linger at a sidewalk café, visit an interesting gallery or museum, or explore a cobbled street that caught your eye earlier in the day. You can do as much or as little as you want on an OAT adventure—the choice is yours.

OAT Difference

Adventure Travel: Adventure travel with OAT is a journey beyond the familiar, one that takes you into the very heart of a destination—to meet people where they work and live.

OAT Advantages: Journey with the leader in adventure travel and watch your dreams take flight, thanks to the principles which ground every OAT adventure: value, choice, discovery, and carefully paced itineraries.

Small Groups, Big Discoveries: When you discover the world in an OAT small group, you’ll journey off the beaten path to the places the big tour groups miss—and enjoy an intimate, discovery-filled adventure filled with personal connections, shared experiences, and treasured memories.

Trip Leaders: No matter where in the world you venture with OAT, you'll have one of our resident, expert Trip Leaders by your side. All are fluent in English and possess the skills, certification, and experience necessary to ensure an enriching adventure.

Airport Transfers: We’ve listened to your feedback, and will now offer international airport transfers to and from your hotel to our travelers who choose to purchase their own airfare on OAT adventures as part of our Personalize Your Trip program, which allows you create the OAT adventure that's right for you.

Personalize your trip: OAT travelers have long expressed the desire to decide exactly where they’re going, how they get there, and when they wish to leave. That’s why we developed a variety of choices that enhance the value of every trip we offer, allowing you to create the adventure that works best for you.

Traveling solo? Enjoy your own room or cabin—at no extra cost: You’re in control of your travel dreams—and we’re making them more affordable than ever: Maybe you prefer the freedom of solo travel—or maybe you and your usual traveling companion can’t agree on a destination. Whatever the reason, you don’t have to put your travel dreams on hold. When it’s time to go it alone, you’ll never pay a Single Supplement to have your own room or cabin with OAT.

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Small group tours for seniors and retirees wanting an international adventure, especially solo female travelers.

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Logistics

Accommodation

Protea Hotel O.R. Tambo Johannesburg, South Africa

Due to its proximity to O.R. Tambo Airport, the design of the hotel is inspired by an aircraft hangar, with a stylized industrial look that playfully incorporates elements of airplanes into the decor. Located in the Johannesburg suburb of Kempton Park, the hotel offers a shuttle to the nearby metro station and has a pool, bar, restaurant, and health club for your enjoyment. Each of the 213 air-conditioned rooms features satellite TV, wireless high-speed Internet, a safe, coffee- and tea-making facilities and private bath.

Baobab Safari Lodge Chobe National Park, Botswana

In Chobe National Park, we spend three nights at the intimate Baobab Safari Lodge, a 30-minute drive from Kasane. Its location just outside the park gives us more time to spend on game-viewing drives. Recently renovated, the open-air lodge overlooks the Chobe River. In the evening, the dining room and bar are perfect spots to view the sun setting over the river. We’ll stay in eight comfortable bungalows, each with two beds.

Wilderness Tented Camp Okavango Delta, Botswana

In the Okavango Delta, near Moremi National Park, we stay at our private tented camp. The camp’s excellent location within a private reserve offers both water and land activities. (Water activities are seasonal and dependent on water levels.) Here you’ll find eight large walk-in tents with hot and cold running water, toilets, and showers.

Lufupa Tented Camp Kafue National Park, Zambia

Located in the northern section of Zambia’s Kafue National Park, Lufupa Tented Camp sits along the banks of the slow-moving Kafue River. All nine tents feature two beds and en suite facilities. We enjoy river views from our rooms and the dining area. A small plunge pool and riverside campfire add to the charms of this unique lodging.

Kashawe Tented Camp Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Situated in the northern Sinamatella section of Hwange National Park, our new campsite offers panoramic views of the area, as well as unique birding and game-viewing opportunities. Each of the 16 tents features an en suite shower, toilet, and verandah overlooking the Sinamatella River and hillside. The camp also features a lounge and fine dining area.

Rainbow Hotel Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

The Rainbow Hotel is situated less than a mile from Victoria Falls and just a short walk from the town center. The hotel offers an on-site restaurant with a live marimba band, and 88 rooms with coffee- and tea-making facilities, air-conditioning, and private balconies. The hotel also has a pool with a bar, a barbecue pit, and a rooftop bar with views of Victoria Falls. Extensions

Protea Hotel O.R. Tambo Johannesburg, South Africa

Due to its proximity to O.R. Tambo Airport, the design of the hotel is inspired by an aircraft hangar, with a stylized industrial look that playfully incorporates elements of airplanes into the decor. Located in the Johannesburg suburb of Kempton Park, the hotel offers a shuttle to the nearby metro station and has a pool, bar, restaurant, and health club for your enjoyment. Each of the 213 air-conditioned rooms features satellite TV, wireless high-speed Internet, a safe, coffee- and tea-making facilities and private bath.

Jackalberry Lodge Thornybush Game Reserve, South Africa

Located within Thornybush Game Reserve, Jackalberry Lodge provides spectacular views of the Drakensberg Mountains and is ideal for big game viewing. Each room is decorated with rustic South African touches and comes with air conditioning, a private patio, a tea and coffee station, mosquito nets, and a safe. On-site amenities include a swimming pool, library, curio shop, and an open-air dining area.

Inn on the Square Cape Town, South Africa

This hotel sits on Cape Town’s popular and historic Green Market Square, in the Central Business District. Here, you’ll find stalls selling handmade goods, from art to clothing, as well as nearby cafes and restaurants. You may also choose to relax in the hotel’s rooftop pool or on-site restaurant. Each of the 165 air-conditioned rooms comes equipped with safe, hair dryer, satellite TV, telephone, and coffee- and tea-making facilities.

Travel Insurance
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Meals Included
  • 42 meals—daily breakfast, 13 lunches, and 14 dinners
Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Additional Information
Trip ID
overse-oveultafrbotzamzimsaf

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