Zambia vs Botswana

So, should you go to Zambia or Botswana? The choice depends entirely on the type of holiday you prefer. Both countries are extremely safe and have excellent wildlife and national parks, but each is suited to a slightly different type of traveller.

Botswana is perhaps the best self-drive safari destination in Southern Africa, with good connecting roads, abundant wildlife, plenty of affordable campsites and an efficient bureaucracy that – with a bit of practice – makes camp and national park bookings relatively easy. It can also be one of Africa’s most luxurious places to safari, with a number of first-rate luxury lodges, most notably in and around the Okavango Delta.

While Botswana caters for confident, self-drive 4x4 adventurers and well-heeled safari-goers alike, quality mid-range and more affordable luxury accommodation can be harder to find. Zambia has much more to offer in this area, with exceptional luxury experiences sometimes half the price of similar lodges in Botswana and private, exclusive-use houses and smaller eco-lodges that offer great value, especially for families and larger groups.

Zambia’s poorer-quality roads and harder-to-access wilderness areas make it far more challenging for self-drive visitors. Those who embrace the conditions are rewarded with some of Africa’s best wildlife and wilderness experiences, but on the whole, self-drive visitor numbers are low. It’s this low-density exclusivity that makes a Zambian safari so special – the perfect place for a quality safari experience that won’t break the bank.

Budget Zambia safari

Zambia offers excellent value on exclusive safaris and wildlife activities, but budget travelers will struggle to make the most of what’s available. In part this is because many of Zambia’s best wilderness areas are extremely hard to reach, with wonderfully isolated lodges that are therefore also very expensive to run. Just getting to these areas can hit the budget hard, with long…

Birding safari in Zambia

Zambia is the ideal destination for a birding safari - one of the rarest birds in Africa, the Shoebill is found there. With over 700 species found throughout the diverse ecosystems, Zambia is a hot birding location and one of the best times for birding is just before the summer rains arrive when the local population is increased by the arrival of many migrant species. Black sparrow…

Sioma Ngwezi and Ngonye Falls National Park

Covering 5,000km² of Kalahari woodland, Sioma Ngwezi is Zambia’s third-largest national park. Tucked away in the southwestern corner of the country, it’s bordered by the Kwando River to the west (which also forms the Zambia’s border with Angola) and Namibia to the south. Once heavily affected by cross-border poaching, Sioma Ngwezi is seeing something of a revival. This has been…

Healthcare system Zambia

Zambia’s public healthcare system is very basic by first-world standards and suffers from inadequate funding and a lack of infrastructure and facilities, especially in rural areas. There are good private hospitals in Livingstone and Lusaka and if you have any kind of medical emergency you’ll be transferred there as soon as possible. For very serious or on-going treatment, patients may…

Zambia vs Namibia

Zambia and Namibia are two of Southern Africa’s best safari destinations, but in many ways, they couldn’t be more different. Both have vast, isolated wilderness areas where intrepid travellers can find themselves entirely alone. But where Zambia offers a more traditional safari experience of lush, sprawling parks and abundant wildlife, Namibia is far more desolate, with breath-taking…

At your lodge in Zambia

The lodges in Zambia are extremely accommodating – of guests’ specific needs and Western customs in general. Courtesy is expected, but nothing unusual there, and beyond that visitors will rarely notice if any cultural norms are being stretched. Homosexuality is illegal in Zambia, although the law is rarely enforced. Most lodges won’t have any problem with same-sex guests booking a…

Popular Zambia Safaris

These popular itineraries can be customised to match your budget and travel dates