Experience a 21-day multi-country expedition across Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, visiting Etosha, Sossusvlei, Chobe, Victoria Falls, and the Okavango Delta.
Self-Drive
21 day journey
Duration
21 days
Group size
2–6 travellers
Style
Self-Drive
From
NAD 374,850 / pp
Departures
Year-round
Nights
20 nights away
The journey
Explore at your own pace.
Experience a 21-day multi-country expedition across Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, visiting Etosha, Sossusvlei, Chobe, Victoria Falls, and the Okavango Delta.
This 21-day self-drive expedition begins in Windhoek and traverses Namibia’s dramatic landscapes, including Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Twyfelfontein, and Etosha National Park. After visiting the Hoba Meteorite and Divundu, you will cross into Botswana to explore Chobe National Park and Kasane.
The journey continues to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe before concluding with an immersive safari experience in the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve. This comprehensive route offers an extraordinary contrast between the Namib Desert’s ancient dunes, the Chobe River’s elephant concentrations, and the profound silence of the Delta’s water-based wilderness.
Times are flexible — we'd rather you stop for a long lunch than rush to the next viewpoint.
01
Day 1 · D
Windhoek Arrival & Route Briefing
Arrive at Hosea Kutako International Airport and transfer to your Windhoek hotel. Your Kenakare coordinator conducts the pre-departure briefing: 4×4 vehicle handover and GPS route loading, national park booking confirmations for Namibia and Botswana, border crossing documentation review (you will cross three international borders on this tour), fuel range calculations, and emergency protocols. This is a 21-day multi-country expedition and the briefing is thorough — allow 90 minutes. Welcome dinner at a Windhoek city restaurant to settle in and review the extraordinary journey ahead.
Windhoek
Overnight—
MealsDinner
02
Day 2 · B/D
What's included.
From NAD 374,850 per person
Included
20 nights of hand-selected accommodation
20 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 20 dinners
4x4 vehicle rental with GPS route loading
Pre-departure briefing and 4x4 handover in Windhoek
Border crossing documentation and administrative support
National park entry fees for Namibia and Botswana
Charter flights within Botswana and to Windhoek
Activities as specified, including mokoro excursions and guided game drives
Not included
Cancellation policy+
Cancellations made 120 days or more before departure receive a 75% refund. Cancellations between 119 and 60 days before departure receive a 50% refund. Cancellations made 59 days or less before departure are non-refundable.
Frequently asked questions.
Is this a guided tour?
+
No, this is a self-drive expedition. You will be provided with a pre-loaded GPS and comprehensive briefing, but you are responsible for driving the 4×4 vehicle and navigating between destinations.
What level of fitness is required?
+
This tour is classified as challenging. It involves significant driving distances, early morning starts, and physical activities such as dune climbing, guided bush walks, and border crossings.
Will I cross international borders?
+
Yes, this itinerary covers three countries. You will cross three international borders; all necessary documentation support is included in your pre-departure briefing.
Best: February to May for peak flow; September to January for clear views
9
Okavango Delta
Best: June to October
10
Moremi Game Reserve
Best: May to October
11
Maun
Best: May to October
Total drive2,440 km
Windhoek to Sesriem — Namib Approach (~330 km)
Depart south on the C26 through the central highlands, passing Rehoboth and the Hardap Dam before the landscape opens into the semi-arid Namib approach. Stop at the Rehoboth Museum for a brief account of the Baster people's remarkable migration story. Continue through Maltahöhe and descend the escarpment into the Namib: the first dunes appear on the western horizon as the gravel plains widen and the air dries to almost zero humidity. Arrive Sesriem Camp before park closing, walk Sesriem Canyon in the golden-hour light, and settle in under what may be the finest night sky you have ever seen.
Sossusvlei and Deadvlei
Overnight—
Drive330 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
03
Day 3 · B/D
Dune 45 & Deadvlei — Sossusvlei Dawn
Pre-dawn departure to Dune 45 for the sunrise climb — a 45-minute ascent up the knife-edge crest rewards with a view over an infinite sea of rust-red dunes. Continue to Sossusvlei and walk to Deadvlei — the iconic clay pan ringed by 900-year-old calcified camel thorn tree skeletons. The contrast of white pan, black trees, and red dunes against a deep blue sky is as extraordinary in reality as in photographs — arguably more so. Afternoon: rest at Sesriem camp through the midday heat; optional evening dune walk as the shadows lengthen.
Sossusvlei and Deadvlei
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
04
Day 4 · B/D
Sesriem to Swakopmund via Solitaire (~350 km)
Drive north through the Namib, stopping at Solitaire for the legendary apple strudel and the Moon Landscape for photographs of the extraordinary eroded granite terrain. Visit the Welwitschia Plains for a close encounter with Earth's oldest surviving plant species. Descend the Swakop River valley to the Atlantic coast and arrive Swakopmund — the most characterful town on the Namibian coast — for dinner at a seafront restaurant.
Swakopmund
Overnight—
Drive350 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
05
Day 5 · B/L/D
Swakopmund — Living Desert, Dunes & Walvis Bay
Full day on the Swakopmund coast. Morning: Living Desert guided tour revealing the extraordinary micro-ecology of the Namib's gravel plains — chameleons, geckos, sidewinder snakes, fog beetles, and white lady spiders. Afternoon: choice of quad biking on the dunes, sandboarding, ocean kayaking with seals, or the Walvis Bay flamingo catamaran cruise. Evening: fresh seafood dinner at a Swakopmund waterfront restaurant.
Swakopmund
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
06
Day 6 · B/D
Swakopmund to Twyfelfontein — Damaraland (~350 km)
Leave the coast behind and drive northeast through the Brandberg massif region to Damaraland and Twyfelfontein. The road passes the dramatic granite bulk of the Brandberg (Namibia's highest peak) and crosses the wide gravel plains of the Huab River valley, where oryx, springbok, and mountain zebra roam in open country. Arrive Twyfelfontein and take an evening walk to the ancient engraving site as the rock glows warm in the last light.
Twyfelfontein
Overnight—
Drive350 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
07
Day 7 · B/D
Twyfelfontein — Rock Art, Petrified Forest & Organ Pipes
Full day in Damaraland's prehistoric heartland. Morning: Twyfelfontein UNESCO World Heritage Site — guided tour of over 2,500 San rock engravings, the largest concentration in Africa. Midday: drive to the Petrified Forest — 280-million-year-old fossilised tree trunks from the Gondwana supercontinent, preserved in perfect detail in the desert floor. Afternoon: Organ Pipes — perfectly hexagonal dolerite columns standing like a geological pipe organ in a dry river gorge. Return to camp for sundowners overlooking the Huab River valley.
Twyfelfontein
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
08
Day 8 · B/D
Twyfelfontein to Etosha via Kamanjab (~300 km)
Drive northeast through Kamanjab and enter Etosha at Anderson Gate. The approach through Damaraland's dry mopane bush transitions to the more productive thornbush of the Etosha hinterland as you near the park. Arrive Okaukuejo Camp in the afternoon and immediately head to the famous floodlit waterhole — one of the world's finest wildlife viewing experiences as elephant herds, zebra, and the park's legendary black rhino come to drink in the last light.
Etosha National Park
Overnight—
Drive300 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
09
Day 9 · B/D
Full Day Etosha West — Pan Edge & Waterholes
Full day on the western Etosha circuit. Dawn departure along the saltpan edge roads when predators are still active. Visit Moringa, Rietfontein, and Klein Okevi waterholes — the latter is Etosha's finest rhino-viewing site. Afternoon: pan-edge drives for elephant dust-bathing and giraffe feeding. Night: Okaukuejo floodlit waterhole vigil — reliable black rhino sightings most evenings.
Etosha National Park
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
10
Day 10 · B/D
Full Day Etosha East — Fischer's Pan & Namutoni Fort
Move to Namutoni camp on the eastern section. The eastern circuit covers different terrain: the Fischer's Pan seasonal floodplain teems with flamingo and water birds in wet years; Klein Namutoni and Chudob waterholes are excellent for lion and giraffe; the Andoni Drive grasslands deliver bat-eared fox, African wildcat, and large herds of springbok. Night game drive from Namutoni's floodlit waterhole — excellent for leopard and lion.
Etosha National Park
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
11
Day 11 · B/D
Etosha to Grootfontein — Hoba Meteorite (~280 km)
Depart Etosha through Von Lindequist Gate and drive southeast to Grootfontein via Tsumeb. Stop at the Hoba Meteorite — 20 km west of Grootfontein — the world's largest known meteorite: a 60-tonne iron-nickel mass that plunged from space 80,000 years ago and has remained undisturbed in the same Namibian farmyard ever since. At 2.7 × 2.2 metres, you can touch, photograph, and sit on this extraordinary extraterrestrial visitor. Overnight Grootfontein guesthouse.
Overnight—
Drive280 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
12
Day 12 · B/D
Grootfontein to Divundu — Kavango Region (~440 km)
The longest driving day of the tour: northeast on the B8 through communal bushveld to the Kavango River at Rundu, then east along the Caprivi Highway to Divundu. Stop at Rundu for a river view across to Angola — the Kavango River is broad, green, and lined with papyrus; dugout canoes drift past in the soft afternoon light. Continue east through Bwabwata National Park, watching for elephant and buffalo on the road, to Divundu. Overnight at a riverside lodge on the Okavango.
Overnight—
Drive440 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
13
Day 13 · B/D
Divundu — Popa Falls & Mahango Game Reserve
A full day at the junction of the Okavango and the Caprivi wilderness. Morning: Popa Falls — the Okavango River's spectacular basalt-shelf rapids, surrounded by papyrus, fish eagles, and hippo pools. Afternoon: Mahango Core Area game drive — a small but extraordinary reserve on the Botswana border, excellent for buffalo, red lechwe, elephant, and sitatunga in the floodplain grasslands. Evening: mokoro trip on the Okavango channels at sunset — a first taste of the delta world you will enter properly on Day 18.
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
14
Day 14 · B/D
Divundu to Kasane, Botswana — Ngoma Bridge Crossing (~310 km)
Drive the final Caprivi section east to the Ngoma Bridge — the spectacular border crossing where the road spans the Chobe River itself. Look down from the bridge railing: hippos and crocodiles are standard, and elephants wading across are not uncommon. Enter Botswana and drive the Chobe Riverfront road to Kasane — 50 km through the national park, with elephant herds visible continuously in the late dry season. Arrive Kasane and board the late afternoon sunset cruise on the Chobe River.
Kasane
Overnight—
Drive310 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
15
Day 15 · B/L/D
Full Day Chobe National Park — Boat Safari & Land Drive
Full day in Chobe — the park with more elephants than any other protected area on Earth. Dawn: pontoon boat on the Chobe River as hundreds of elephants come to drink and swim in the golden morning light. Extraordinary bird photography along the papyrus margins; hippo pods; crocodile cruising. Midday lunch at the Kasane lodge. Afternoon: land game drive through the Chobe floodplains — lion prides, wild dog packs, and cape buffalo herds that can exceed 500 animals in the dry season. Second sunset cruise watching the elephant numbers on the river banks reach their peak.
Chobe National Park
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
16
Day 16 · B/D
Kasane to Victoria Falls — Four Corners Crossing (~80 km)
Transfer from Kasane to the Kazungula border — crossing the Zambezi River into Zimbabwe at a point where four countries (Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia) meet. Arrive Victoria Falls town and check in before heading to the rainforest for your first encounter with the falls. The 1.7 km rainforest walkway moves through 16 viewpoints on the falls — each one delivers a different perspective on the scale, power, and extraordinary drama of the world's largest waterfall. At peak flow (March–April) the spray drenches everything within 200 metres; in the dry season the gorge views open up spectacularly. Sunset cruise on the Upper Zambezi — hippos and crocodiles in the papyrus-lined river as the sky turns gold.
Victoria Falls
Overnight—
Drive80 km
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
17
Day 17 · B/L/D
Victoria Falls — Full Day Adventure Activities
A full day to experience Victoria Falls and the Zambezi from every possible angle. Return to the rainforest at 08:00 for morning rainbow photography (best between 09:00–11:00). Adventure menu: bungee jump from the Victoria Falls Bridge (111 m — the world's finest bungee location); white water rafting on 23 Grade 3–5 Zambezi rapids; helicopter flight of angels over the full width of the falls; devil's pool swim on the falls lip (seasonal); or elephant-back safari in Zambezi National Park. Farewell Zimbabwe dinner at the Victoria Falls Hotel's historic Livingstone Room.
Victoria Falls
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
18
Day 18 · B/D
Victoria Falls to Okavango Delta — Flight & Mokoro Arrival
Morning flight from Victoria Falls Airport to Maun, Botswana — a spectacular aerial journey over the Hwange plains and the first glimpse of the Okavango's extraordinary patchwork of channels and islands from above. Charter flight from Maun into your Delta camp, landing on a grass airstrip on a small island. Transfer by mokoro (dugout canoe) through water lily channels to the tented camp. The absolute silence of the mokoro after the roar of the falls is one of the great travel contrasts of the entire journey. Afternoon: first mokoro excursion through the Delta channels — papyrus towers overhead, jacanas walk across lily pads, and hippos snort in the reeds.
Okavango Delta
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Dinner
19
Day 19 · B/L/D
Okavango Delta & Moremi — Game Walk & Water Safari
A full day between the Okavango and Moremi. Pre-dawn mokoro departure as the Delta wakes — mist on the channels, fish eagle calls, and the extraordinary morning light. Guided game walk on a large island, tracking lion spoor, reading elephant feeding signs, and scanning for the remarkable birdlife of the Delta's mixed woodland. Charter flight in the afternoon to Moremi Game Reserve — the wildlife-rich eastern section of the Delta. Arrive for an immediate game drive: Moremi is famous for African wild dogs, leopard, and lion — your guide begins scouting the known territories immediately.
Moremi Game Reserve
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
20
Day 20 · B/L/D
Full Day Moremi — Big Five & Wild Dog Country
A full day in one of Africa's most consistently productive Big Five destinations. Dawn game drive targeting the Moremi lion prides — the Xakanaxa area prides are large and well-habituated to vehicles. Elephant viewing in Moremi is among the most intimate in Botswana; buffalo herds roam the mopane woodland in large numbers; and the reserve's leopard population is exceptionally dense along the channel-woodland interface. Midday: boat trip on the Xakanaxa Lagoon — extraordinary bird photography and a chance of Pel's fishing owl in the riverine figs. Afternoon: wild dog tracking drive — Moremi's packs are among the most reliably observed in southern Africa. Night game drive for leopard, hyena, and the haunting calls of the Delta night.
Moremi Game Reserve
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
21
Day 21 · B
Moremi to Maun — Flight to Windhoek & Departure
Final dawn game drive in Moremi before the transfer by vehicle to Maun Airport (2–3 hours). Connecting flight from Maun to Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport, arriving in the early afternoon. Vehicle return at the Kenakare depot, final tour debrief, and transfer to the international departures terminal. Your 21-day Big Combo journey has taken you across three countries, five UNESCO sites, and the full spectrum of southern African wildlife and landscape: the ancient dunes of the Namib, the wild Atlantic coast, Damaraland's prehistoric art, Etosha's waterhole spectacles, Chobe's elephant paradise, the thunder and spray of Victoria Falls, and the profound silence of the Okavango. There is nothing else like it on Earth.
Windhoek
Overnight—
MealsBreakfast
International airfare to and from Namibia
Travel and medical insurance
Visas for Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe
Gratuities and personal spending money
Optional adventure activities in Victoria Falls, such as bungee jumping or white water rafting
Meals not specified in the daily itinerary
Guided·4 days
Etosha National Park Experience
$25,400/ pp
Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe | The Big Combo Self-Drive Tour | Kenakare Trip Advisors
