Savute Reserve
Savute Reserve
4.5
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Rich in grasslands, desert plains and volcanic hills, the Savuti (Savute) area covers nearly two thousand square miles of Chobe National Park.
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4.5
316 reviews
Excellent
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50
Average
16
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4
Terrible
3
D_and_G_2008
Hong Kong, China1,460 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
If you have been to Kenya or other national parks, you will find this boring in terms of the minimal types & numbers of animal to be seen here.
And the drivers of the park's game drive use dirty trick to ripe off tourists. The drivers said, "we are not supposed to drive off the track but we know that the lions are sleeping under the bushes. If each party pays USD10 and we will keep this secret and drive you off track to see the lions". We said NO but the driver still drove us off track to see the lion. And then force us to pay afterwards.
And the drivers of the park's game drive use dirty trick to ripe off tourists. The drivers said, "we are not supposed to drive off the track but we know that the lions are sleeping under the bushes. If each party pays USD10 and we will keep this secret and drive you off track to see the lions". We said NO but the driver still drove us off track to see the lion. And then force us to pay afterwards.
Written 1 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tabbie Kat
Inverness, UK341 contributions
May 2022
One of the first things we saw here was an Impala up a tree. Of course it didn't climb the tree but was left there by a leopard. So we were checked in, relaxed and had our first game drive back to the same tree. Sure enough we saw our first ever leopard here. Then the second. Then the third. It was a mother and two sub adults. What could be better? So imagine our astonishment when an adult male came out of the bushes and joined them! A complete family group of four. We spoke to Matto Barfuss who was also there. He spends six months of every year in the bush and hasn't seen that for ten years. What a privilege. Of course we saw much more in our three days. Wild dogs were an obvious highlight. And three young male lions relaxing together, one of which walked past the jeep so close I could have touched him. Food and service here was first class, as were the guides. Ask the guide about the Savute Channel, its an interesting fact.
Written 30 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jack M
Durban, South Africa2 contributions
Aug 2012 • Family
A recent visit to Savuti Camp has left my family and I most distressed.
On nearing the end of a wonderful holiday in Botswana we had the misfortune to cross paths with the power crazed manager of this idyllic spot.
This fellow is the epitomy of rudeness & arrogance. His name- Jinx(Jinxy) is rather appropriate because that’s what he did to the rest of our holiday. A problem arose when my son whilst innocently exploring some (unbeknownst to him) apparently hallowed ground reserved for the US 580 PPPN brigade was highly embarrassed, when reprimanded by this fellow in an unnecessarily brutal, high handed and provocative manner in front of his French wife and some US tourists.
Apparently part of the camp is now off limits to us mere mortals(campers) although there is no demarcation or signs to that effect worth speaking of.
Later on I accompanied him on the same holy ground to look for some people whom we had rescued from the sand about 15mins away from the camp the previous day (The Camp Manager having unfortunately not been in a position to help them in spite of their calls on a satellite phone more then an hour before!) and who had invited us for a drink. There being no visible signage and nobody around to check with, we went ahead.
After we had gone about 30 metres we heard a bellowing noise behind us. On turning around we saw an SKL (the people now running the camp) staff member jumping up and down on the spot whilst berating us and screaming at us to come back. Never having been spoken to like this before by someone in the so called Hospitality industry and whom we didn’t know from a bar of soap we ignored his rudeness and carried on to see our friends.
In this time, he went over to where our car was parked, where our two wives were sitting in the back, and proceeded to help himself (through the open window) to the car keys which were still in the ignition, and shouting at them "your husbands are on MY property, I will take them to the officials!"
On our way back we were accosted by this same staff member who proceeded to shout and scream like a banshee and tell us in no uncertain terms that "he would throw us out of the camp because he was empowered to do so"!
As he continued in his rant we lost the moral high ground somewhat when my normally placid and easy going son finally lost it and called him a pyg. A term which whilst not improving the human relations situation was nevertheless not inappropriate. To which the worthy Jinxy retorted “Well you're a pyg, you're a pyg!” It became even more heated. Jinxy became increasingly belligerent. At this stage I had to separate them as I thought this fellow may assault my son.
I tried to smooth things over but the Camp Manager (who was empowered remember!) continued to act in an unreasonable and aggressive manner, mentioning the word racis! to which I highly object. Nothing like that had ever been inferred or alluded to by me and when I had threatened to sue him if he used the word again and lodge a complaint he said “Well it will be your word against a million others!” Did he mean my word as a white person against a million Botswanans? (Read- “africans” - maybe?) Was this the inference? Racis!? Who??
Later in the day whilst still somewhat in shock we were out game viewing when the aforementioned .....came roaring up to us in a game viewing vehicle and ordered us back to the camp immediately.
After a heated discussion in the Gate Office in which he uttered several untruths for the benefit of an ineffectual Wildlife official who seemed to be sitting in on the proceedings as some sort of adjudicator, he told us he was throwing us out of the camp. We wanted to phone his superiors (Not that I think that HE thinks he has any) but he would not let us use the phone and there is no cell phone reception at Savuti.
We were shocked. We were stranded miles from anywhere with no means of communication. We had paid in advance and my son and his wife had paid thousands to come from Paris on this holiday where they had been promised that Savuti would be the highlight of their trip. When we asked about refunding our accommodation money he was unforthcoming. I can’t remember the time of day but I had a feeling that we would have been driving after dark on the terrible road that leads to the gate and the even worse one outside the gate which joins up with the Kasane road.
So what could we do? Eventually we had to grovel and crawl to this obnoxious fellow and apologise. We felt humiliated and demeaned. He had been aggressive, rude, loud and overbearing from the beginning. We did not deserve this. It was patently obvious that he wanted us to crawl to enhance his inflated ego and satisfy his delusions of grandeur. This unfortunately we had to do, we had no choice.
So now the Camp Manager continues to rule over his personal fiefdom. He told us he wanted his career to “skyrocket”. Well if he and his career were to “skyrocket” to Jupiter it couldn’t be soon enough or far enough.
And if this skyrocketing Camp Manager were to pay some attention to getting some hot water in the showers, getting rid of the stink of sewage which emanates from near the ablution block and fixing the doors he would be better employed.
But I suppose harassing the guests is much more gratifying!
He brings SKL camps into disrepute and should be removed forthwith.
On nearing the end of a wonderful holiday in Botswana we had the misfortune to cross paths with the power crazed manager of this idyllic spot.
This fellow is the epitomy of rudeness & arrogance. His name- Jinx(Jinxy) is rather appropriate because that’s what he did to the rest of our holiday. A problem arose when my son whilst innocently exploring some (unbeknownst to him) apparently hallowed ground reserved for the US 580 PPPN brigade was highly embarrassed, when reprimanded by this fellow in an unnecessarily brutal, high handed and provocative manner in front of his French wife and some US tourists.
Apparently part of the camp is now off limits to us mere mortals(campers) although there is no demarcation or signs to that effect worth speaking of.
Later on I accompanied him on the same holy ground to look for some people whom we had rescued from the sand about 15mins away from the camp the previous day (The Camp Manager having unfortunately not been in a position to help them in spite of their calls on a satellite phone more then an hour before!) and who had invited us for a drink. There being no visible signage and nobody around to check with, we went ahead.
After we had gone about 30 metres we heard a bellowing noise behind us. On turning around we saw an SKL (the people now running the camp) staff member jumping up and down on the spot whilst berating us and screaming at us to come back. Never having been spoken to like this before by someone in the so called Hospitality industry and whom we didn’t know from a bar of soap we ignored his rudeness and carried on to see our friends.
In this time, he went over to where our car was parked, where our two wives were sitting in the back, and proceeded to help himself (through the open window) to the car keys which were still in the ignition, and shouting at them "your husbands are on MY property, I will take them to the officials!"
On our way back we were accosted by this same staff member who proceeded to shout and scream like a banshee and tell us in no uncertain terms that "he would throw us out of the camp because he was empowered to do so"!
As he continued in his rant we lost the moral high ground somewhat when my normally placid and easy going son finally lost it and called him a pyg. A term which whilst not improving the human relations situation was nevertheless not inappropriate. To which the worthy Jinxy retorted “Well you're a pyg, you're a pyg!” It became even more heated. Jinxy became increasingly belligerent. At this stage I had to separate them as I thought this fellow may assault my son.
I tried to smooth things over but the Camp Manager (who was empowered remember!) continued to act in an unreasonable and aggressive manner, mentioning the word racis! to which I highly object. Nothing like that had ever been inferred or alluded to by me and when I had threatened to sue him if he used the word again and lodge a complaint he said “Well it will be your word against a million others!” Did he mean my word as a white person against a million Botswanans? (Read- “africans” - maybe?) Was this the inference? Racis!? Who??
Later in the day whilst still somewhat in shock we were out game viewing when the aforementioned .....came roaring up to us in a game viewing vehicle and ordered us back to the camp immediately.
After a heated discussion in the Gate Office in which he uttered several untruths for the benefit of an ineffectual Wildlife official who seemed to be sitting in on the proceedings as some sort of adjudicator, he told us he was throwing us out of the camp. We wanted to phone his superiors (Not that I think that HE thinks he has any) but he would not let us use the phone and there is no cell phone reception at Savuti.
We were shocked. We were stranded miles from anywhere with no means of communication. We had paid in advance and my son and his wife had paid thousands to come from Paris on this holiday where they had been promised that Savuti would be the highlight of their trip. When we asked about refunding our accommodation money he was unforthcoming. I can’t remember the time of day but I had a feeling that we would have been driving after dark on the terrible road that leads to the gate and the even worse one outside the gate which joins up with the Kasane road.
So what could we do? Eventually we had to grovel and crawl to this obnoxious fellow and apologise. We felt humiliated and demeaned. He had been aggressive, rude, loud and overbearing from the beginning. We did not deserve this. It was patently obvious that he wanted us to crawl to enhance his inflated ego and satisfy his delusions of grandeur. This unfortunately we had to do, we had no choice.
So now the Camp Manager continues to rule over his personal fiefdom. He told us he wanted his career to “skyrocket”. Well if he and his career were to “skyrocket” to Jupiter it couldn’t be soon enough or far enough.
And if this skyrocketing Camp Manager were to pay some attention to getting some hot water in the showers, getting rid of the stink of sewage which emanates from near the ablution block and fixing the doors he would be better employed.
But I suppose harassing the guests is much more gratifying!
He brings SKL camps into disrepute and should be removed forthwith.
Written 8 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HelenSouthland
Southland13 contributions
May 2014 • Family
We have just returned from an amazing safari on Chobe national park and Savuti area. We are a family of 6 with kids aged from 9 to 15. We booked our trip from Kasane (Not in Maun even though a lot of guide books say you have to; but there is really no need!). Just have a look around Kasane and talk to different people, the tourist information centre was helpful. The range in prices is staggering; so don’t get sucked into doing a very expensive safari. You can do self-catering trips which are also much more flexible and fun I think.
We booked a 4 day trip into Chobe and to Savuti with Umpengu safaris. We have our own rented 2wd vehicle and tents and cooking gear etc. but needed a 4wd and guide to get the best experience. We found that with Umpengu. We organised a self-catering trip with Walter (they also do full catering; so they just take yoou out, cook and supply and set-up camp). We took all our gear and food and they supplied the vehicle, organised the camp, gate entry etc. and even brought a toilet and shower! We did a 4 day trip sleeping in the park for 3 days.
Venda and Walter were our guides and made sure we were safe and comfortable. They really know their stuff! Both guides know the park really well and they took us to beautiful places and we got to see soooo many animals. In the first day we saw 92 giraffes! We saw elephants, wildebeest, mongoose, baboons, vervet monkeys, hippo’s, countless birds, a hyena, impala, kudu, crocodiles and many more. On the game drives Venda and Walter managed to find a leopard, a cheetah and we saw 10 Lions!
Before we left Kasane Walter said; Savuti never disappoints; he was right! The people from Umpengu are fluent in English and genuine!
The campsite was not one of those expensive ones that you have to stay at when you do self –drive (it would have cost us $300 for one night!) But staying in one of the ‘exclusive’ campsites that we had completely to ourselves on a remote and beautiful spot costs $25 for all of us. You can hear the wild animals around the camp (at a distance), but we felt very safe.
We can highly recommend these guys, Chobe and Savuti. Even if you have your own 4 WD vehicle I would take a guide; they get you to places you won’t be able to find yourself. They also know all the other safari drivers in the park; they talk to each other and help each other to see the ‘elusive’ animals like the cats.
We booked a 4 day trip into Chobe and to Savuti with Umpengu safaris. We have our own rented 2wd vehicle and tents and cooking gear etc. but needed a 4wd and guide to get the best experience. We found that with Umpengu. We organised a self-catering trip with Walter (they also do full catering; so they just take yoou out, cook and supply and set-up camp). We took all our gear and food and they supplied the vehicle, organised the camp, gate entry etc. and even brought a toilet and shower! We did a 4 day trip sleeping in the park for 3 days.
Venda and Walter were our guides and made sure we were safe and comfortable. They really know their stuff! Both guides know the park really well and they took us to beautiful places and we got to see soooo many animals. In the first day we saw 92 giraffes! We saw elephants, wildebeest, mongoose, baboons, vervet monkeys, hippo’s, countless birds, a hyena, impala, kudu, crocodiles and many more. On the game drives Venda and Walter managed to find a leopard, a cheetah and we saw 10 Lions!
Before we left Kasane Walter said; Savuti never disappoints; he was right! The people from Umpengu are fluent in English and genuine!
The campsite was not one of those expensive ones that you have to stay at when you do self –drive (it would have cost us $300 for one night!) But staying in one of the ‘exclusive’ campsites that we had completely to ourselves on a remote and beautiful spot costs $25 for all of us. You can hear the wild animals around the camp (at a distance), but we felt very safe.
We can highly recommend these guys, Chobe and Savuti. Even if you have your own 4 WD vehicle I would take a guide; they get you to places you won’t be able to find yourself. They also know all the other safari drivers in the park; they talk to each other and help each other to see the ‘elusive’ animals like the cats.
Written 25 May 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sonya P
Denver, CO26 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
We drove through part of Chobe Park and then stayed on a riverboat on the Chobe River.
There were so many elephants that at one point, there were elephants in 180 degrees of our view. We were absolutely fascinated by the herds and how they interacted with each other.
One of the highlights was seeing elephants swimming across the river. The babies were helped along-- it was mesmerizing.
At one point, we saw a baby elephant on the shore, with its mother, drinking water. The mother was using her trunk to drink water, but the baby just hadn't quite gotten the hang of that, so it dunked its face into the water up to its eyes. Very cute and made us laugh.
Along with the elephants were thousands of buffalo they just seemed to keep coming and coming and coming...
On a sundowner boat cruise, we saw 6 lionesses on the shore, just walking along.
There were lots of hippos and many crocs as well. We enjoyed seeing the hippos out of the water. That gave us perspective as to how big those guys really are.
Chobe was wonderful and I'm sorry that we only had 2 days here. I think we'd need at least a week if we were to get a good perspective of this wonderful place. We'd love to come back and spend more time and highly recommend visiting this magnificent, beautifully wild park.
There were so many elephants that at one point, there were elephants in 180 degrees of our view. We were absolutely fascinated by the herds and how they interacted with each other.
One of the highlights was seeing elephants swimming across the river. The babies were helped along-- it was mesmerizing.
At one point, we saw a baby elephant on the shore, with its mother, drinking water. The mother was using her trunk to drink water, but the baby just hadn't quite gotten the hang of that, so it dunked its face into the water up to its eyes. Very cute and made us laugh.
Along with the elephants were thousands of buffalo they just seemed to keep coming and coming and coming...
On a sundowner boat cruise, we saw 6 lionesses on the shore, just walking along.
There were lots of hippos and many crocs as well. We enjoyed seeing the hippos out of the water. That gave us perspective as to how big those guys really are.
Chobe was wonderful and I'm sorry that we only had 2 days here. I think we'd need at least a week if we were to get a good perspective of this wonderful place. We'd love to come back and spend more time and highly recommend visiting this magnificent, beautifully wild park.
Written 17 December 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kalahari Culture&Nature Safaris Botswana
Gaborone, Botswana14 contributions
Apr 2019
We spent two nights in savute. We saw lions, elephants, honey badger and lots of antelopes. Had a peaceful stay with good cooperation from DWNP and SKL
Written 14 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jsevo1
Beaumaris, Australia47 contributions
May 2017 • Friends
Great!! Not one negative comment - suprises my partner lol. Savute Safari Lodge best place ever. xx
Excellent guides Omed is amazing
Excellent guides Omed is amazing
Written 24 May 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Barb C
Toronto, Canada107 contributions
Oct 2019
Watching the animals was incredible. A leopard walked right along side our jeep. Up close and personal with the animal water hole.
Written 29 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tula L
Long Island, NY39 contributions
June 2019 • Friends
Watching animals and learning about the savanna ecosystem was exciting, educational and pure fun. Our guide was excellent, the room clean, cozy and safe, and the staff purely professional.
Written 9 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VijayVijayakumar
Melbourne, Australia12 contributions
Sept 2018 • Family
.We saw lots of wild animals, lions, cheetahs, jackals, wild dogs, leopard, elephants, giraffes, varieties of antelopes and varieties of birds. The ranger was very good. But the weather was hot. Suggested best time to visit is in August, September
Written 2 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Not that I know of you have to protect youself against malaria with malerone and a spray is used in the morning and evening against mosquito’s which is avalable in your room
Written 9 March 2019
I was wondering is there any water in the Savuti channel this year and is the Marsh receiving any water?
Written 4 July 2018
The Savauti channel looked dry in June 2018, but lucky enough to see Mama hippo and her calf near the shore.
Written 20 January 2019
L'dea è di partire da Maun e raggiungere Ngoma (Kasane), attraversando il Chobe passando per Savute.
Vorrei informazioni sullo stato della strada nel mese di agosto:
-tra Maun e Savute è percorribile con un 4x4 in self drive?
-tra Savute e Ngoma (Kasane) è percorribile con un 4x4 in self drive?
Premetto che non sono nuovo a percorsi in 4x4 e l'auto di cui sarei dotato è un Toyota Hilus preparato safari; mi fa però paura la sabbia, in quanto, girando con un solo mezzo, l'eventuale insabbiamento non è simpatico.
Se qualcuno mi sa dare indicazioni in merito ai due tragitti su indicati gli sarei enormemente grato.
Quale altro tragitto potrei scegliere per raggiungere Kasane da Maun?
Grazie.
Gigi Marengo
Written 29 September 2017
Hello. Can someone tell me how it work with the permit for Chobe NP? We are planning a self-drive safari in October.
Written 7 June 2017
Hi, you can do it yourself. Just go to the official Botswana website.
But I would recommend to use an agent that can also make reservations in the campsites.
Zimba adventure is one of them ( I have been using) but there are plenty others.
Written 20 September 2017
I am trying to figure out how to plan a family trip to the area. When we went on a safari in Kenya I hired a safari company that supplied the jeep, guide and made all the lodge arrangements for the whole trip. Are there companies that do the same for Chobe / Okavangu?VicFalls?
Written 25 February 2017
Hello there. We did visit the area Zambia and Botswana last year september. We arranged everything with a specialist from the Netherlands. He fixed everything: from the lodges, the small airplanes for transport, the activities... It's a fantastic place, you gonna love it. If you are interested I can send you the name of that company.
Written 6 March 2017
Hola viajeros! He leído por todos lados acerca de Mopane games safari. Alguien puede decirme cuantos días minimos ofrecen, el costo y que incluyen? Salen todos los días o están agendadas previamente las fechas?
Mil gracias desde ya
Abrazos de ruta! Ali
Written 14 December 2016
I am planning a trip to Botswana and was interested to know where you stayed when visiting Chobe National Park.
Written 23 April 2016
We stayed at Savute Safari Lodge and Chobe Game Lodge. Both are part of the Desert and Delta Safaris group, and both were great.
Written 18 November 2017
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