Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
User Reviews (29)
Botswana Parks
US
35-50 years of age
Worth going, but plan your trip carefully.
The places is beautiful, and the scenery depends so much on the season. We visited the place in late Oct, and our planned camping in the salt pans was canceled last minute due to the rain. From what I heard, the wet season is full of migratory animals. In the dry season, you can ride out in the pans on dirt bikes, which we did for a only a few minutes until the rain hit. So go there during either season, but not during the transition season or else your trip may not turn out as planned. The meerkat colony is a must see!
ES
65+ years of age
To be seen
The Makgadikgadi pans are an unearthly, perception-bending stretch of cracked gray flatness like the bottom of an evaporated ocean.
It was here where I got my first wildlife sighting. In the late afternoon I noticed two figures in the distant, quivering heat. When I raised my binoculars, I was astonished to discover these weren't a couple of wayward campers, but two gigantic, shoulder-tall maribou storks foraging along a muddy break in the pan. The sight of the huge birds moved me with a peculiar, disarming force: as if to remind me, suddenly and wholly: this is Africa!
US
Email Patrick Carlisle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very cool and unique experience. We loved it
Email Janette | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
There are two parts to this area - the Pans itself and the National Park. We spent a night sleeping under the stars in the Pans and it was an awesome experience (organised by Meno a Kwena Tented Camp). We also saw meerkats and no-one else. We then did a safari drive in the national park section. It has the second largest migration of zebra (after the Serengeti) which we could believe as we saw hundreds of them as well as lots of wildebeest, elephants swimming and lions very close. And we hardly saw anyone else. It was a very special place.
US
Email Jessica | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our guide somehow understood how to navigate this flat, shimmery, beautiful landscape and we saw lots of bird species.
CA
Email GoingPlaceswithME | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent safari destination with sufficient tourism infrastructure
LC
Email Horst M. Vogel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Let me state at this point that all the parks and reserves in Botswana are awesome. Yes, they differ in scenery and wildlife composition but their uniqueness is always nature and wildlife pure. If you got a chance to visit several parks, then just do so but choose the time of the year carefully. Because, the Makgadikgadi Pans are very treacherous during the rainy season!
Email James R Rye | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
In Makagadikgadi there were fewer tourists and the roads are quite sandy so a 4x4 is a necessity. The Rhino are very elusive and hardly anyone sees them, there were lots of birds and elephant, the scenery was stunning.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Loved the Meerkat encounters and Bushmen walks. Overall the scenic beauty of the huge pans was great - an otherworldly place.
Safari Tours to Makgadikgadi Pans NP
-
6-Day The Perfect Botswana Family Safari
$2,156 to $2,398 pp (USD)
Botswana: Private tour
Mid-range LodgeYou Visit: Maun (Start), Okavango Delta, Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Maun (End)
Viatu
5.0/5 – 42 Reviews
-
![9-Day Victoria Falls/Chobe/Makgadikgadi/Okavango Delta]()
9-Day Victoria Falls/Chobe/Makgadikgadi/Okavango Delta
$3,003 pp (USD)
Botswana & Zimbabwe: Shared tour (max 8 people per vehicle)
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Victoria Falls (Start), Chobe River, Elephant Sands GR, Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Okavango Delta, Maun Airport (End)
Skytheme Safaris
5.0/5 – 3 Reviews
-
![4-Day Makgadikgadi to Maun]()
4-Day Makgadikgadi to Maun
$2,200 pp (USD)
Botswana: Private tourBudgetCamping
You Visit: Maun (Start), Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Maun (End)
The Big Five Bush Safaris
