Your Botswana self drive safari begins in Kasane. After the 4x4 handover, drive to camp for your first night.

If arrival time allows, a sunset cruise on the Chobe River is an option that same day. You stay at Senyati Safari Campsite.

Stock up on food and fuel before leaving Kasane. Then the route begins in earnest, taking you through the Caprivi Strip to Camp Kwando.

The scenery becomes greener and more water-rich. After arrival, you can join a sunset cruise on the Kwando River.

Drive through the Caprivi Strip to Ngepi Camp near Bagani. The camp sits on the Okavango River, at the start of the delta’s panhandle.

Once there, set your own pace. You might take a mokoro trip, or simply stay at camp. Popa Falls is nearby, the camp has a bar, and there is a protected spot where you can swim safely in the river.

Stay another night at Ngepi Camp. The full day is yours.

Take a mokoro or motorboat onto the river, visit Popa Falls or head to nearby Mahango National Park. You can also leave the day entirely open and stay around camp.

After two days at Ngepi Camp, continue to Maun. It is a longer driving day and you arrive later in the day.

Maun is the place to restock and refuel before the next stages. You stay at Discovery B&B.

Early in the morning, there is time for an optional scenic flight over the Okavango Delta.

Then turn east towards the Boteti River and Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. You stay at Kumaga Campsite.

Travel through Makgadikgadi Pans National Park towards Gweta. Planet Baobab, on the edge of the salt pans, is your next overnight stop.

Depending on timing, Nxai Pan and the Baines Baobabs can be added along the way. You stay at Planet Baobab Campsite.

Today you cross the Ntwetwe salt pan towards Kubu Island, reaching the island around lunchtime.

Kubu Island is a rocky outcrop covered with baobabs, surrounded by the open salt pans. The campsite is simple and close to the island. Wander the island on foot and watch the light change across the flats. After dark, there is almost no artificial light.

After Kubu Island, a long driving day takes you towards Central Kalahari Game Reserve. An early start makes sense.

The route first runs south across the pans, then onto tarmac before turning onto a dusty sand road towards the reserve. Inside the park, continue to Deception Valley and Kori Campsite on the edge of the valley.

The next days revolve around game drives through the Kalahari. Look for dark-maned Kalahari lions and the brown hyena.

Jackals, bat-eared foxes and honey badgers are also seen here, while gemsbok and springbok are well adapted to the dry environment. You stay at Sunday Pan Campsite.

After Passarge Valley, move camp to Motopi in the western part of the reserve.

The drive is not simply a transfer. It is another long game drive across the reserve, with plenty of freedom to stop and watch what happens around you.

Today you return to Maun. The first section follows sand roads. Leave the reserve through Tsau Gate and continue along the Kuke Fence.

The second part is on tarmac. In the afternoon, there is time to buy supplies, arrange permits and possibly take a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. You stay again at Discovery B&B.

Use the morning in Maun for food, diesel and cash if needed. Then drive towards Moremi Game Reserve and Third Bridge Camp on the edge of the Okavango Delta.

From here, the route becomes a game drive again. Lion, hyena and leopard occur in the reserve, together with elephants and many antelope species.

Campsites inside Botswana’s parks are unfenced, so wildlife can move through camp both by day and at night. You stay at Third Bridge Camp.

After a morning game drive, continue through Moremi towards Khwai at North Gate. Wildlife remains the focus as the route moves through different habitats.

Paradise and Dombo Hippo Pools both make good stops along the way. Reach Khwai Campsite in the afternoon. Once camp is set up, there is still time for an evening drive along the Khwai River.

The 4x4 route from Khwai to Savuti is a game drive in its own right. Leaving early gives you time for an extra loop around North Gate before continuing north.

Reach Savuti Campsite in the afternoon. This part of Chobe is known for bull elephants and the lions around Savuti Marsh. The Savuti Channel runs through the area and can remain dry for years before water returns.

There is still time for a drive around the marsh after arrival.

Drive from Savuti to the northern part of Chobe National Park. Sandy tracks and dunes make 4x4 and low range useful on some sections.

By afternoon, reach Ihaha on the Chobe River. You stay at Ihaha Campsite.

The distance is short today. Drive from Ihaha to Kasane, leaving much of the afternoon free.

You stay at Chobe Safari Lodge. A sunset cruise on the Chobe River, roughly from 15:00 to 18:00, makes a fitting end to the days in the parks.

Stay another night at Chobe Safari Lodge. The full day is free.

A day trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is one option. You can also spend another day driving in Chobe National Park.

The final day of the journey. After returning the 4x4, continue to your next destination or travel home.