The guiding fee needs to be paid when signing up with us, either in full or as a deposit and after confirmation in full.

The guiding fee includes

• guiding services for the whole duration of the expedition in your language
• planning and organizing a basic itinerary for the trip
• assistance and help with preparations before the trip and during the expedition
• full knowledge and experience of your guides
• 5% of this goes to a selected wildife protection project in the country

The guiding fee doesn´t include:

(prices are in USD)

• expenses for transport – flights can be between 550 to 700 USD, if you book them well in advance you can get a good price.
• visa to Namibia is free for some nationalities, visa is required for others, please check if you need one. The visa for Zimbabwe costs 30 USD, Botswana is visa free.
• expenses for rental car – the price per person for a full car is 650 USD (21 days)
• fuel costs – maximum 140 USD
• food costs – depending on how we do it (cooking, restaurants) – max 250 USD
• accommodation costs – camps – max 300 USD
• entry to national parks – 100 USD
• alternative activities – 200 USD
• personal expenses – that depends on you, if you buy souvenirs, chips, sweets etc. – 200 USD

The above mentioned expenses are counted on a maximum basis, according to our experience with these kinds of trips and according to price lists for activities. Prices for fuel, food and accommodation depend on the exact itinerary, camping possibilities and driven kilometers.

We always check prices for different services and update them. The detailed expenses will be sent to each team member after signing up, together with our itinerary, a map and more info.

All services will be ordered on the spot, some expenses (like camping) will be paid directly by the traveller to the service provider. Since our first expedition with a group through Africa we have always used a simple system for group related expenses – a “group kitty” (expedition fund) – where every participant puts in a certain amount at the beginning of the trip and that money is used to pay for all group-related expenses (like fuel, fees, food etc.) Every expense is meticulously written down. Any other, not group-related expenses have to be paid for by the participant alone.

You can find more information about prices and expenses in Africa below, in our „IN AFRICA“ section and also in + RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES where you can find out what else to do during the trip and get an idea, what costs what.

Have you decided on becoming an expedition member to explore the unknown? Fill in your registration with us, that is your first step into the adventure. This is where the preparations start.

Information about the itinerary

The detailed info about each expedition containing info about the car, equipment, what to take with you, what not to bring and much more will be sent out to you in our “information for team members”.

Visa

To be able to enter Namibia you need a visa, depending on your nationality. Most EU countries don´t need a visa, Czech or Slovakian citizens can get a visa on arrival for 70 EUR. Botswana is visa free and Zimbabwe costs 30 USD.

Personal meeting

After signing up of all team members we would like to have a personal meeting with the whole group, where we can get to know each other a bit and where we talk about the itinerary (you can have your say in this also!) If a personal meeting is not possible, we can organize an online meeting (skype, zoom) and we can talk about any questions you may have.

Consulting and advice

While you are preparing for your trip, we are at your disposition with hints, advice and recommendations.

You will receive an information pack after your sign up.

What and how to pack

Travel light and comfortable. Best is to have collapsible bags, not a suitcase. It should be resilient to dust and general traveling. What proved ideal is a normal backpack and a small day pack. Weight wise it can NOT be more than 20kg plus tent. You won´t need too many clothes, just the basics, light but also a sweater.

More info will be sent out to you after your sign up.

Passport

will have to be valid for at least 6 months after the trip.

Vaccination

it is not in our competence to recommend you vaccinations or to make a plan for you, you will need to talk to professionals about it. Your GP is your first point, otherwise some health or travel medical centres will be able to help you. What we can recommend is that we think it´s a good idea to be vaccinated against some of the major diseases. It may happen that you will be asked to prove a yellow fever vaccination upon arrival. What we can also do is telling you what WE are vaccinated against and what is written in our international vaccination pass:

• Hepathitis A, B
• Meningitis
• Typhoid
• Tetanus
• Yellow fever
• Rabies

Travel insurance

travel insurance is something very important and a must-have. If you want to join one of our expeditions, you MUST have a travel insurance. This protects yourself and us.

In general – some countries, that you need visas for will ask about a travel insurance as well, for example Namibia for Czech citizens.

Our main points – what definitely not to miss in Namibia and Botswana

Windhoek – Namibia´s capital will be the starting point of our expedition.

CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund) – Let´s support this cheetah conservation project and encounter our first wildlife on our trip.

Hoba Meteorite – an impressive meteorite that can still be seen nowadays

Khoisan village – we will visit a San/bushmen community and spend a day with them to learn about their culture

Mbunza tribe – right in the North of Namibia we will visit the river people (Mbunza) and their village.

Caprivi Strip – From the dry rest of Namibia we will get to a lusher, greener area with more wildlife as we explore parks and reserves in the Caprivi Strip.

Okavango Delta – The world famous Okavango Delta can´t be missed. We have the chance to either take a scenic flight or go into the delta with mokoros (dug out canoes).

Chobe National Park – This national park along the Chobe river is fascinating and teeming with wildlife. We will do safaris there and if you want, also a river cruise to see lots of elephants.

Victoria Falls – The “Smoke that Thunders” is probably the most impressive highlight on our trip. We will visit the falls on foot and if you want, take a scenic flight over them as well.

Our itinerary is filled with a lot of known and unknown places. Into each expedition we include places, which we discovered by ourselves and all places have been visited by us many times. This itinerary is a rough itinerary, that means we will include those highlights but will also visit other places on this trip.

Enrich your trip with a few unforgettable outdoor or cultural activities

• Helicopter Flight above Vic Falls – 15 min 165 USD
• Bungee jump into the canyon at Vic Falls – 160 USD
• ZipLine or Flying fox – 77 USD
• Chobe River Cruise – 35 USD
• Khoisan/Mbunza activities – from 15 to 50 USD

Prices are an orientation and will always be double-checked by us right before the trip to give you the correct prices.

The start of our expedition is in Windhoek. Mostly, we travel with Eurowings, Lufthansa or Ethiopian. The price depends on your departure airport.

It is not necessary that the whole groups flies over together. If some want, they could fly over earlier or depart later, in case they want to explore a bit more of Windhoek. We will meet you at the airport when your flight arrives.

On our expeditions, we always choose a 4×4 vehicle, equipped for offroad and camping. Into the desert or bush one shouldn´t go with a different car, often we may be far away from civilization and need to rely on the car. An offroad car in this case is required. There are many different types, we often use a VW Transporter Syncro, which from the financial side and a travel in style we often use. We talk about driving when meeting and preparing for the expedition. You would need an international driver´s license.

What adds to the rental price is the fuel, expenses for fuel will be cheaper than in Europe, mostly a litre of petrol in Namibia, for example, costs around 90 cents. Due to the world crisis and rising prices we have to take into account that a litre now costs around 1,40 – 1,70 EUR.

The maximum costs for the rent of an offroad vehicle with a full car will roughly come to 650 USD per person (example for a full VW Syncro with 8 pax). Rental price includes all equipment for camping, cooking and offroad driving. Our itinerary will roughly be around 4.000km long, so the maximum fuel price per person should be around 150-180 USD.

We will mostly sleep in tents, which are part of the rental car. You will only need to bring a sleeping bag and a matress. We will mostly have classical ground tents, when we stay anywhere for a few days we don´t need to pack or unpack the tent every day.

We will camp in official camp grounds, sometimes at a lodge and when off the beaten track we will use community camps or villages.

Prices are going to be from around 5-15 USD, depending on where and when. We calculate around 12-15 USD per person and day for accommodation, this is a maximum and by experience, we will be under, but this way we have a reserve in case we choose to camp in a prime wildlife spot for 30-50 USD, for example in the Halali Camp in Etosha.

The expenses for our camping should not be more than 300 USD

Mostly we will either cook ourselves or visit local restaurants and snack shops, if possible. On our rough itinerary, we will often be in the bush or little settlements where there are no restaurants. There, we will depend on ourselves and cook together from supplies we bought. If possible, we will cook on an open fire and use local products, antelope steaks etc. Namibia has very nice beef so we will use that certainly. Cattle here is not locked up in sheds but spends its time roaming the Namibian landscape.

When possible, we will always try to get you acquainted with local food culture and specialties for each country.

Vegetarians will be able to go meat free, we can always make a plan together. We have had vegetarians with us in the past and it worked just fine.

Expenses for a full stomach will come to a maximum of 250 USD

Namibia or Botswana don´t have any special limitations – the only important fact is that it tries to be on the eco-tourism side and that wild camping is forbidden! You will not find any tarred roads in national parks, you will not find an unlogical or uneconomic infrastructure in camps, unlike its South African neighbour. Namibia and Botswana try to syncronize with nature. And we try to do the same when traveling. We will be demanding when it comes to keeping nature clean and respect local communities.

Weather

The expedition takes place in the African winter time (our summer), but don´t be scared, winter in Namibia is not like our winter. Temperatures will be around 20-25°C during the day and nights will be cooler, some areas warmer, some colder. In the Kalahari desert, nights can be freezing, in Kaokoland, nights will be much warmer. Take light clothes and don´t forget a sweater. Best is to layer up. We don´t expect rain as it´s the dry season.

Internet and communication

It may happen that your European sim card doesn´t work in Namibia. Close to borders you may catch a signal from operators across the border. The best way is to buy a local sim card. The prices in Africa are not too expensive, you can get 1,5GB for about 18 USD, but we have to stress that signal is very limited, Namibia is quite a big country with only few people in it. We had to climb trees before to try and catch a signal.

Safety

Both Namibia and Botswana are very safe countries. Thanks to their low population and big surface there are lots of places where you won´t see humans for a long time. But: Even if Namibia is safe when it comes to crimes, dangers arise from the lack of experience of traveling by car and how to behave in remote and wildlife areas. You have to stick to the basic rules in the wilderness or in unfenced camps, it is very important. We will brief you thoroughly before the trip. If you stick to the rules, you will have a great experience!