Adventurous Self Drive

A self-drive holiday to Mozambique or Botswana offers an affordable way to get around but there are things to consider…

Overview

What 'adventurous self-drive' actually is will always be a matter of opinion. Most of our South Africa self-drive trips are fairly straight-forward and easy. But a couple head into more remote areas. However, it doesn't matter if you are more 'Princess' than 'Survivor', our 'adventurous self drive' trips are all tailor-made. So we start with a lengthy discussion as to what is feasible and comfortable for YOU.

Parts of Namibia are definitely adventurous. But this is discussed on the Namibia self drive page.

However, there are two countries for which we do get quite a bit of interest in terms of self-drive safari trips. And which really divide opinion. So it might be useful to say where we would (and wouldn't) recommend...

Self-Drive in Mozambique

A self drive safari into Southern Mozambique is only for adventurous travellers.

It's only for those who’ve done a bit of 4x4 driving in challenging conditions elsewhere. Think "Worlds Worst Roads" and then you will have the right benchmark. Our consultants at Cedarberg have done this trip so we speak from direct experience. We can advise on lodges and appropriate daily distances to travel.

Adventurous Self drive - The road through the Mozambique Peace Park.

The road through the Mozambique peace park, now connected to South Africa’s Kruger National Park, gives you the opportunity to combine an adventurous safari with the beach. However, we would recommend taking a 4×4 to give you extra confidence on the very sandy roads.

Distances are deceptive and driving in Mozambique takes a LOT of time. There are many rural villages and strict speed limits are enforced. So the furthest north we recommend is to the beach resorts in the Imhabane province. (Vilanculos is too far to drive!)

For more on this topic, read our blog 'Adventurous Self drive and the inner Camel Man...'

Adventurous Self drive

Self-Drive in Botswana

It is rare for our clients to take a self drive safari through Botswana, though we get a lot of initial requests. The country is huge and mostly covered by flat featureless Kalahari Desert.

Many of Botswana’s scenic and wildlife highlights, such as the Okavango Delta are not accessible by the tarred road network. However, that is not to say it can’t be done! We recommend it only when you have lots of time, and you wish to combine several countries e.g. Namibia, Botswana and South Africa or Victoria Falls, without flying between them. Even then, it’s best done by leaving your rental car in Maun and flying into the Okavango Delta for a safari.

We do NOT book self-drive into the Okavango Delta for overseas visitors. (Yes it can be done by experienced 4x4 drivers, usually from South Africa, but they travel in a convoy to assist each other!)

Adventurous Self drive

Tailor-make these self drive safari trips

So we don’t offer any sample self-drive holidays to southern Mozambique or Botswana. But we'll happily tailor-make a trip for you after discussing your needs.

See Self-drive South-Africa for some more sample self-drive tours...

READ MOREREAD LESS

Highlights

  • Self-drive is an affordable way to see more remote areas without the need for an expensive private trip.
  • The only easy way to visit some of the beach resorts in Southern Mozambique.
  • The easiest, and again less expensive way, to combine Namibia with parts of Botswana.

Superb holiday

"Peter put together a superb holiday for us. He found out what sort of things we liked and then tailored the holiday for our needs. Whilst working the logistics out! " Mrs Helen Severs

Excellent attention to detail

"This is the second holiday that Ginny and her team have arranged for us, and once again the service and attention to detail were excellent. Ginny put together a wonderful tailor made itinerary for our trip, and her recommendations were absolutely perfect in enhancing the trip. In today’s world of being able to arrange most things yourself, I have no doubt that there is no way we could have put together a trip like this, you need the depth of local knowledge that Cedarberg have. I thoroughly recommend Cedarberg Travel " Mrs Janet Mudge, UK

Cedarberg & company have been amazing!

"Cedarberg & Co have been amazing! Professional, knowledgeable and very helpful. We had put everything together in about a week. Communications are of high standards. All plans worked. " Mr Roland, UK
 

Sonja Brand

Africa Travel Specialist

Hi I'm Sonja, I'm here to help you plan your ideal holiday experience

Start planning your dream trip

Find me the best in for

Need a little help? View our Safari Guide to help you get started

Did you know
  • Cross-BorderYou can take rental cars across borders for an extra fee
  • RoutesSome routes are not possible during the summer rainy season

Glad we booked with Cedarberg

"They were very informative and helpful. Milandi in particular helped us with car hire and when I lost my wallet on arrival in Cape Town. Milandi was always available to discuss and change anything required. Emails were replied to promptly. " Mr Chris Jones, UK

Cannot recommend enough

"I cannot recommend Cedarberg Africa enough, and more specifically, Mari Jacobs. I knew nothing about Africa and I thought it would be a wonderful place to go for our 2-week honeymoon. A co-worker had done a similar trip and passed along Mari’s name to me. She really is excellent at what she does and, most importantly at the time, she makes everything as stress-free as possible. " Mrs Denise Rehrig, USA

We enjoyed it all

"Ginny created a holiday that was well-suited to our requirements. The arrangements, timings and itinerary were sensible and all stages of the holiday were faultlessly executed by the chosen representatives. " Mr John Hartley, UK