Day 1 Arrive Cape Town, South Africa
Tour begins: Cape Town, South Africa. Transfers are included from Cape Town Airport to One&Only Cape Town. Check-in time is 2:00 PM - guests wishing to check in prior to this time should arrive the night before. Join us this evening for a welcome reception and dinner at the hotel. Your chic urban resort offers contemporary glamour with an African flair, along with captivating views of Table Mountain and the Victoria & Albert Waterfront. (D)

Day 2 Cape Town is Where It's Happening
Wake to the rhythms of South Africa's most urbane, vibrant and eclectic city. Cape Town nestles in a setting of spectacular natural beauty, between the crashing tides of an azure sea and towering Table Mountain. But its real fascination is in its contrasts - modern towers beside ornate colonial architecture, and the mix of cultures (Dutch, French, English, African, Africaans, Malaysian, Indian...) that blend in the vast enclave known as the City Bowl. Visit the Castle of Good Hope, a fortress built in 1679 when the town was only a far-flung outpost of the Dutch East India Company; The Company Gardens; and the fascinating former Slave Lodge, now a museum. History and hip contemporary culture blend in Green Market Square, a haven of colorful open-air markets, artists, street musicians, tribal dancers, and pulsing energy. Lunch at a café, enjoy free time at the hotel, or explore the maritime heritage of Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Then join us this evening at a private home for a traditional braai (barbecue) under a stunning Cape Town sunset. (B,D)

Day 3 Seals, Sharks & The Cape of Good Hope
Depart for Sea Island, a rock off the coast that is home to upwards of 40,000 fur seals... and a magnet for other residents of the sea that coexist off the Cape of Good Hope. Leave the drama of the sea for prosaic Scarborough, a seaside village where you'll lunch at a local farmhouse - you'll arrive at the Cape Point Nature Reserve, home to antelope, zebra, ostrich, baboons, and breathtaking seascapes. Ride a funicular to the Old Lighthouse that watches over the ironcically-named Cape of Good Hope, a dangerous place for ships originally called "the Cape of Storms." (B,L)

Day 4 Livingstone, I Presume
Fly form Cape Town to Johannesburg, then from Johannesburg to the town of Livingstone, Zambia, named for the legendary missionary and explorer, Dr. David Livingstone. Settle in at the Royal Livingstone, a colonial-style luxury hotel in the heart of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park; later, you'll board a vintage 1920's steam train for an old-fashioned, romantic 16-mile journey through the bushveld; view game like elephants, giraffes, and zebras from the elegance of Pullman cars equipped with gourmet kitchens serving cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a five-course dinner - a rail safari in hight style. (B,D)

Day 5 Young Lions & Victoria Falls
Walk - and play - with teenage lions at a reserve where they are raised to be reintroduced into the wild. Then follow the sound of roaring water on a walking tour to Mosi-oa-Tunya ("the Smoke That Thunders") which Livingstone named Victoria Falls. The site where the mile-wide Zambezi River plunges into a chasm more than 350 feet deep, sending billowing clouds of spray skyward like inverted rain, is sure to leave you speechless. (B,L,D)

Day 6 Game Drives on the Okavango Delta
A ferry transports you across the Zambezi River from Zambia to Botswana this morning for a flight to the Moremi Game Reserve on the Okavango River, in the world's largest inland delta. During seasonal flooding, the delta swells to three times its size, becoming an oasis in an arid country and attracting wildlife - and predators, including lions and leopards. You'll have a good chance to view them on an afternoon game drive - and on a night safari en route to your lodge on the Khwai River. (B,L,D)

Day 7 Walking Safari and a Dugout Canoe
This morning, enjoy the option of a game drive or a walking safari with local guides who demonstrate their knowledge and skills in tracking animals. This afternoon, choose between a game drive and a ride in a mokoro (dugout canoe) through the marshlands. Return to camp for lunch and leisure; enjoy the spa, or watch hippos and elephants amble by on the river. (B,L,D)

Day 8 Visit to a San Village
Today, you have the option of a game drive or a visit to a San village for a unique look at everyday life. Learn about local traditions, marriage customs, cooking, village government, music and medicine. Many of your local guides are from the village and may introduce you to their families. (B,L,D)

Day 9 Makgadikgadi Pans Natiional Park
Fly from Okavango to Maun, then from Maun to Makgadikgadi Pans, the salt plains at the edge of the Kalahari Desert. A parched wasteland most of the year, seasonally the plains are covered with water and grass, drawing spectacular herds of wildebeest and zebra, as well as springboks, vultures, eagles, flamingoes, and hyenas. From your camp in the park, you'll go out on a game drive or take a walking safari with the local San Bushmen, featuring hands-on learning about their legendary hunting and survival skills in this challenging environment. (B,L,D)

Day 10 Meet the Meerkats
Get acquainted with several families of meerkats today as they go about their business, digging for termites, frolicking, and standing at attention, forever on the lookout for predators; they have no fear of humans, and you never know - they may even climb on your head for a better vantage point. Head into the Kalahari for a visit to Chapman's Baobab, an ancient tree that is the only landmark for miles and was once a mail drop for travelers on the signless route from Cape Town to Cairo. Enjoy free time at a camp in the afternoon before a fantastic late afternoon trip to the salt pans, the world's largest. Nothing says adventure lika ride in a 4-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicle (ATV) - and this afternoon, you'll be transported in one out onto the salt pans that are located in the middle of the dry Botswana savanna. Watching the sun set in the heart of one of the most remote regions of the Kalahari Desert is one of those life-changing experiences - the silence is golden, the spectacle of the panoramic sky nothing short of inspirational. A fitting finale to the day is a sundowner, of course, and dinner. (B,L,D)

Day 11 Meerkats & Makgadikgadi
Today you'll go on either the game drive or the fascinating walking safari with the San Bushmen as described in day nine. Both experiences really give you the full picture of daily life in this extraordinary region, and delve into both human and natural history. Lunch in camp is followed by an informative lecture on the local meerkat population. This evening, enjoy a farewell reception and dinner at Camp Kalahari. (B,L,D)

Day 12 Johannesburg & Home
Tour ends: O.R. Tambo International Airport. Fly to Maun this morning, then on to Johannesburg for your journey home. Guests can connect to flights for home; for those spending addtional nights in Johannesburg, transfers will be provided to Tauck's hotel. You should allow at least 3 hours for flight check-in. (B)

Go where the wild things are and you will find yourself in Southern Africa... specifically the national parks of Botswana and Zambia, which together hold the largest concentrations of unspoiled wilderness and wildlife left on the planet... and if you want to get closer than an open-air safari vehicle can take you, you've come to the right place. Our Southern African tour offers close encounters with young lions, walking safaris with Zu / 'hoasi San (Bushmen) who share their hunting and tracking skills... intimate meetings with meerkats, visits to local villages for cultural discoveries, tent lodges in the heart of the parks, where the action is... This is the Africa you've been looking for. Siya namkela nonke! (Welcome!)

• Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
• 29 meals (11 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 10 dinners); gratuities to local guides, service charges, admissions fees, taxes and porterage.

• Intimate safari groups limited to just 20 Tauck guests; 6-passenger, open-top vehicles with window seats for everyone on game drives led by expert safari guides!
• A private rail journey through Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park aboard a vintage 1920s steam train, in elegantly restored Pullman lounge and dining cars, gourmet dinner included
• Visit to a village of San Bushmen in Botswana for a close-up look at their life and culture
• Visit to the African Lion Rehabilitation & Release center in Zambia for interaction with young lions
• Visit to a Meerkat colony in the Makgadikgadi Pan
• Three nights in a traditional, authentic safari camp in luxury tents on the Makgadikgadi Pan
• A traditional braai (barbecue) dinner with drinks and good company at a private home in Cape Town
• Lunch at a private farmhouse in Scarborough, a rural seaside village outside Cape Town

Cape Town: One&Only Cape Town
Livingstone: The Royal Livingstone
Moremi Game Reserve: Khwai River Lodge
Makgadikgadi Salt Pan: Camp Kalahari

• Intra-tour air (starting at $1,800) not included.
• Some activities are at your own risk; a signed liability waiver will be required.
• Group size: limited to 20.
• Please ask your Vacations To Go travel counselor for more information.

For Tauck terms and conditions, please click here.

* The prices shown are U.S. dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Prices quoted for land/cruise arrangements are subject to increase without notice. Once we have received your deposit, land/cruise prices are guaranteed. Air prices quoted via phone or email are subject to increase and are guaranteed only from the time that full payment is received. Also, air prices or air promotions mentioned on this site or on the phone do not include baggage fees imposed by airlines.