Savuti Campsite | Established Campground

We had great sites, number 4 (CV-4) and Paradise, both for one night as a walk-in (only asked the guys at Ngoma gate to call and ”book” us in the day before). Both sites had a great view to the Savuti Channel.

You can pay both Park fees at the gate and camping at the Camp by card. But note that they don’t offcially have SADC fees anymore — if you’re not a Botswana resident, you pay international park fees.

The road from Kasane not difficult at all, as the sand was quite packed after some rains, easy cruising through. Road from Savuti to Khwai was also just fine, but with quite many mud pools.

Had great game drives in Savuti, too, not too muddy at all. Saw the wild dogs on both days, too (and hunting on the other day — very special!).

Ablutions in the camp could really do with some revamping, didn’t even get hot water (just lukewarm). But this is a very special place, which this time showed its best sides.

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Spread out on very sandy terrain with little shade. Acceptable ablutions are heavily fortified. All kinds of game including lions in the camp at night. Don’t be fooled by second hand (e.g. agent) information that the camp is booked out but ask at the gate. People are flexible and many fellow travelers are happy to share their assigned site. Unfortunately, we searched in vain for the „very knowledgeable ranger at the campsite gate“. 536 BWP ppn.

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Yes, it is ridiculously expensive for what you get, but you‘re not here for the campsite.

Don‘t make the mistake of rushing through. We stayed for two nights in very dry September, did some game drives and were heavily rewarded: lots of antilopes, giraffes, elephants, jackals, two cheetahs, a leopard with a cub, a brown hyena, and a male lion - all within close distance to camp.

Be sure to talk to the very knowledgeable ranger at the campsite gate and to the safari guides. They were very amicable and helped us spotting the leopard and the lion.

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As described below, amazing location.
They’ve done ok with the natural environment they have (deep sand, new experience using low range on your own pitch, but they can’t do much about it)
50 USD is a joke. They have the monopoly and they’re heavily exploiting it.
To be fair, we didn’t have much problem with the noise. We were CV3, away from the staff tent.

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Given the reviews below we had low expectations but decided to book anyway because of the location. Pros: perfectly functional campsite, lots of shade at our pitch at the time of year we visited, great location for game drives, the game around Savuti was some of the best we had. Cons: a generator ran in the night and there was some noise from the staff camp, pitches aren’t very private so this is not a wilderness experience. On balance, for us, it was more than worth it to be able to do our drives in Savuti, so if the game drives are your priority this site works well. We just did one night but would have stayed longer if it had worked for our itinerary.

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Camps as described lovely area but for the money Kwai is far superior the entry fee is per day all the others are on 24 hr basis so if you stay one night it’s 100 usd for the camp and another 1380 pula for the park fees .sometimes it’s not about the money it’s the principle. We have passed through here for the past 15 years and just transitioning through (free) won’t be stopping again.

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After a very long sandy journey to Savuti from Khwai and looking forward to what Savuti had to offer, we didn't even get out of the vehicle. The campsite was a barren piece of deep sand - not a tree, a stump or any redeeming feature, just a patch of sand in a larger patch of sand - even having pre-paid in full we were appalled and drove to Kasane.

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Very sandy campsites. Ablutions are good and there is a small tuck-shop but seriously does not have much. For what you are paying seriously not worth it. We didn’t see any animals besides some giraffe and an elephant.

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We didn’t enjoy the camping experience here. V sandy (not their fault), but noisy, the generators are running a lot of the time, but worse than that was the traffic up and down the road. Loads of staff and they need ferrying up and down a lot. Continued after dark. V loud voices and shouting one night at 2:30 am and loud music one night at 10:30. When we complained they moved us to a camp site away from the road. Having said all that good game drives around to the (mainly) pumped waterholes with lots of wildlife. They seem to have a viewing deck over the (dry) channel which isn’t for customer use at the moment which is a shame, as most of the sites have no view at all.

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Wie immer viel Tiefsand, sehr warm, gebuchtes Camp schon belegt, Camp aber weitgehend leer, so dass wir uns ein anderes Camp suchen konnten (CV1). Die Dame von SKL hatte keine Ahnung, welches frei oder belegt ist.

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As other recent visitors have mentioned, this is one of the worse value campsites we have visited on our trip so far at 50USD pp. The camping spot we were offered did not have a view except over the fortress-like ablution block, and the deep grey sand is unappealing (if unavoidable!). It's obvious SKL have the monopoly and feel they can charge what they want for what is essentially the only break between Savuti and Moremi/Maun. But of course, the surrounding park is amazing and well worth a visit!

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very very expensive ! no électricity, no water in the sites, ablution block ok, but generator noise all thé night... very sandy, black or grey sand, we were there one night because we dis not knew, but it's the last...
you pay twice thé Price of thobolos, wich is one of the most interesting camp site web have visited during six weeks...

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Drive from mabebe gate to savuti is amazing so take your time. The campsite is extremely sandy. We had to use low gear to get out in the morning. Abblutions are good and clean. We stayed at paradise which has a nice view. Lots o lion roaring at night. There's a car mechanic at Belmond lodge 1.5km away in case of emergencies.

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Have stayed here several times over the past few years and will not be staying again. It’s in a world famous game area and it’s great to go and visit (marsh pride and all that). But unfortunately it’s nothing compared to Khwai and the campsites are very sandy which becomes an issue if the wind picks up (bring long pegs), and there is a generator or 2 running constantly - which is not what you want when staying in the bush. That being said the facilities are not bad and if you’ve not been there before perhaps worth a stay if you want to say you’ve been there. Definitely wouldn’t be there too long though.

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big campsite with sand
no water point and no power at the spot.
ablutions ok with hot water
generator only for hot water during the day
quiet night
at arrival, the rangers check permit and weight vehicle.

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No booking as we didn’t plan to stay here but there is space and if you pull in late afternoon they can’t send you away. Tuckshop open in morning and afternoon for some basics and cold drinks! 1015P in total for 2 people for 2 days permit and one night camping on a sandy pitch.... Expensive yes but how often do we go here?

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This campsite has big positives. The ablutions are clean and the water was hot. The sites are spread out and private and huge. It is very close to some wonderful waterholes and game viewing. On the negative side, the sites are very sandy. All in all a great spot.

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We expected so much more from this campsite. The sites are a good size but very sandy and close to each other.
The ablution block is very nice.
The generator goes ALL day - as a previous comment said ALL SLK campsites should be run on solar.
The Savuti Camp is being renovated at the moment so there is also banging/hammering all day...

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Very nice campsite in Savuti (Chobe) National Park.

Campsites each come with braai area, small table, water point and rubbish bin. Perfect ablutions with Hot water, laundry and cleaning area.

Campsite is centrally located for good game viewing.

Only issue would be the proximity to the staff camp which can be loud at times and has a generator running 8pm to 8am.

When booking try not to get Campsites 9 or 10, The rest are very good.

Paid USD25 pppn.

Note Botswana Park fees are per day, so if you transfer between National Parks on the same day you do not need to pay Park fees at both Parks for the same day.

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This season no problem to come without reservation, everything good besides the price

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As others mentioned you pay for the location and not the facilities. We stayed 2 nights with no booking, just showed up and were lucky to find that 2 families were joining together right at the reception so I asked them to stay at the remaining campsite. Since each campsite can fit 3 cars, I told the reception that any last minute would be welcome at my site and someone joined us the next day.

Our experience was amazing, we got lions mating right across the river (5 min drive from camping) at sunrise, 6 lion cubs walking around the waterhole at sunset, jackals eating big birds and elephant fightings.

It totally worth it for the animals in my opinion and I would highly recommend.

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We did not like that campsite. Some of the sites are very close to each other. Ablutions were fine, one ablution block for the whole campsite what makes it a little bit far for some camping spots. There is a generator they turn on from 8 am to 7pm to have hot water. But that does not mean that the evening and night is quit, because the generator (we guess) of the place were the staff is staying stays on for the whole night.
Probably you can hear it from all camping spots. For us a no go when you drive that far up here and pay a lot of money to camp IN the park! They should switch to solar like other campsites in the parks do.

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Ablutions etc, everything like said before. But: They charged me alone with car 540 P for one night camping + 2 days parkfee=260P. Isn't a parkfee normally for 24 hours ? Think, they ripped me off ! Also the stuff is not really motivied but not helpful and hanging around. Very less animals around, but this may be bad furtune. For me not worth the money. I've been at a lot better places.

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This place has a few issues; nevertheless, it is totally worth it!

Yes, the road in is very Sandy.
Yes, it is expensive considering the facilities.
Yes, the staff are not all super friendly.
Yes, it is unfenced and you need to seriously keep your wits about you when walking around (day and night).

However, it is the most wonderful experience! a few tips:
1) Reserve in advance (calling is easiest).
2) Try to get a spot with a view of the "channel".
3) Bring cash. They do take card, but apparently only sometimes.
4) When driving in, air down and spend the extra fuel in a low gear to make it through the sand.

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It’s a wild experience to camp here, but with the luxury of nice ablutions (but no light) and a tuck shop. Each pitch has water pipe, braai and fire pit. Heard lions the whole night.

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Expencive but nice campsite in the park, NOT FENCED!!, we stayed two nights at the Paradise campspot, open vieuw over the dry riverbed. Hundreds of elephants at the woterhole, giraffes, zebra, lion, lepard, gnoos, impala and one hippo in a small pool. Frendly staff and clean ablution with hot shower good precure! Would love to stay longer, could here lions all night long!

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Like others said it is not the best campsite and not as well maintained as others but it was a lovely spot for an evening, especially as it was o our way and a half way point for us.

Note that at night you will likely need drive to the abolutions as they are a bit of a walk from most campsites.

It is pricey around $52 USD per person, but was full of people who gace us some great advice on the area.

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We didn‘t expect much after reading the reviews, and therefore weren’t disappointed. The sites are large, and have water, grill and a trash can. The ablution block is nice enough. We were able to get a walk-up reservation, and were pretty happy to be able to stay in the park and not have to drive from Ghoha to Mababe in one day. We enjoyed all the trails to drive around on for game viewing (although we didn‘t see much) and the technical drive up Quarry Hill. It is worth a stay just for the location.

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This time of the year there is little water around the camp so wildlife is scarce compared to Moremi and Khwai (which is free). Go to the waterholes north of the campsite and park there to see animals, South of the campsite there was very little game around! Some sites are loose deep sand so not the best set up but great for moving through the park and sleep 1 night. I was lucky and booked this site yesterday at the SKL offices in Maun. Full was the first reply but asking about the overflow campsite suddenly opened a spot!

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Way too expensive. Absolutely ridiculous. Better off finding a bush camp.

Of course it gives you easy access into the park and you can hear the animals at night and you have facilities. But not for over USD$100 for two people. Oh and they charge a “bed levy” on top of that (only 10 Pula per person).

No electricity or water tap at camp sites.

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Beautifully located in Chobe NP, camp sites spacious. Ablutions well positioned and well kept and gated to keep large game out.
It is expensive, 50 USD pppn or 550 Pula (current rate 1:10, so you pay 10% more using local currency).
Perfect place for spotting big game on the open plane. Spotted 2 male lions just outside the camp. Impalas, squirrels and mongoose were grazing next to us as we had our morning brekkie.
When driving to/from Maun, use the March road whenever conditions allow. The view over the open planes is superb for game spotting.

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Expensive camp site with poor commodity. Ablution block old and a bit dirty. very nice game around savuti and only solution to sleep between Chobe and Moremi. no fire wood to sell when we were there...

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Very very expensive campsite, over 550BWP pp per night! Very sandy ground, some very deep sand on campsite, only 3 showers for male and 3 for female, at least one was broken, this is a large camp ground and ablution block is far too small. Better to stay just outside the park and drive in for the day. We were promised wood on more than one occasion but none turned up.

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Very expensive but it is a bit of a must if you drive from Kasane to Moremi. Our advise: take the Marsh road (south of Savuti) and try to wildcamp somewhere along this route.

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Sandy terrain, few trees. Not fenced, so wild animals enter the campground at night. Reservations required. Very expensive!
USD 100 + BWP 20 (2 adults, camper)

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Campsite with nicely spread stands. Unfenced. Braai and stand pipe. Central ablutions.

Cost:ZAR250

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Excellent view, clean toilets & running water

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