Accommodation at San Camp at one of the most romantic safari camps with its smattering of billowing white tents, shaded by desert palms. A seven bedroom camp on the edge of the Nwetwe Pan in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi. San Camp is seasonal and operates during Botswana’s dry season from April to mid October. Quad biking, horse riding safaris, and meerkat experiences are on offer in addition to normal safari game drives.
About Nwetwe Pan in Makgadikgadi:
San sits at the edge of the mysterious Makgadikgadi Salt Pans (overlooking Nwetwe Pan), in the heart of the Kalahari Desert and adjoining the Makgadikgadi National Park. The pans were once a super lake covering most of Botswana, and they shimmer seemingly neverending. To the horizon, interrupted only by a scattering of desert palms and baobabs.
The dry season is the only time that the Nwetwe Pan is accessible. Nwetwe Pan changes softly and subtly as the dry season rolls on. Pools evaporate, whiteness dominates, and the baobabs seem even more striking. Quad bike across the lunar like expanse. Meet the meerkats and interact with a group of Zu/’hoasi Bushmen. Or lie out on the pans and count the stars from horizon to horizon. As the land becomes drier, the permanent water sources and waterholes around San Camp are an important refuge for wildlife. And although it can seem like a landscape of nothingness, the wildlife is never far away.
Of all the Makgadikgadi pans, we think Nwetwe is the most iconic.
San Camp has 5 x twin and 2 x double tents. Think enormous four posters, draped in crisp cotton and feather soft blankets, raised high above Persian rugs. Mahogany writing desks and leather armchairs contrast the rugged surroundings, and there’s a lazy day bed just outside, perfect for an afternoon of view gazing. En suite bathrooms have hot, running water showers and flush loos, and there’s plenty of water in the elegant copper jugs and basins. The entire camp runs on solar power and when darkness falls, you’ll find lanterns scattered around to light the way.
Guest Tent Twin
In the main area, the open sided pavilions are bright and breezy. Gather in the splendid mess tent for a three course feast, accompanied by white linen and crystal glasses. Or sink into a cushion in the tea tent and treat yourself to one of the best brownies in the desert. Take a peek at the Natural History Museum cabinets with their eclectic collections of old maps, fossils, and artifacts, and then, it’s time to let your mind unwind in the sanctuary of the yoga pavilion. The magic is in the minimalism, both at the camp and in the mysterious desert landscape. You can forget the tourist crowds too; it’s just you, the wildlife, and a handful of local San Bushmen, waiting to share their secrets with you.
San Camp is part of the original Uncharted Africa Safari Company, which also includes Jack’s Camp and Camp Kalahari. Each one as quirky and eccentric as the next. Kept as authentic and real as possible with no electricity, steaming water in gleaming copper jugs, and showers under the stars. These properties now fall under the Natural Selection umbrella.
Main area
San Camp Activities ↓
Safaris:
San Camp’s great appeal is the nothingness, but that certainly doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see. You’ll find wildebeest and zebra roaming in straggled herds. Standing out like sore thumbs against the pristine whiteness of the earth. Ostrich bobbing on the horizon. Red hartebeest, springbok and gemsbok scurry between them.
Stay for a few days and there’s a good chance of spotting lions and elephants on a game drive. And even brown hyenas. One of the continent’s most rare and elusive mammals. That’s pretty much impossible to see anywhere else.
If you’re looking to tick a few species off your bird list, the pan is a treat to all twitchers. Home to Kori bustards and northern black korhaan, chestnut-backed finch larks, and capped wheatears. We couldn’t talk about the Makgadikgadi without mention of the meerkats. The camps have worked with researchers to habituate a whole mob of them. Therefore the cheeky fellows aren’t afraid to come and find out exactly who you are.
Zebra on Makgadikgadi game drive
San Camp Activities
Enjoy up close encounters with our habituated meerkats. Join the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a bush walk. Take game drives and night drives in custom built 4x4s to see the unique desert wildlife. Embark on an adventurous two hour horseback safari (for all levels of riders at an additional charge). Multi-day riding safaris are also available for experienced riders. Please contact us for more information. Feel the wind in your hair as you quad bike across the immense salt pans. Give your mind a holiday and spend some time in the yoga and meditation pavilion. Take a radical sabbatical and quad bike across the salt-crusted pans to Kubu Island (Quad Bike to Kubu Island Safari is a 2 night expedition at an additional charge. Please inquire with us for more details).
Family Safaris
Children up to 5 years old are accommodated free of charge when sharing with adults. Families with children between 6 – 18 years; are charged 50% of the per person rate per night. When sharing with adults. 19 years and over are charged at the full adult rate.
Namibia: Safarihoek Lodge, Etosha Mountain Lodge, Kwessi Dunes, and Hoanib Valley Camp
It excludes Natural Selections Shipwreck Lodge
San Camp 2025 Rates
1-5 Night Rate
6+ Night Rate
Per Person Sharing
Single Supplement
Per Person Sharing
Single Supplement
10th January – 31st March 2025
Closed
Shoulder Season: 1st – 30th April 2025
$1,945
$780
$1,751
$705
Shoulder Season: 1st – 31st May 2025
$2,095
$840
$1,886
$755
High Season: 1st June – 30th June 2025
$2,195
$880
$2,085
$835
Peak Season: 1st July – 31st August 2025
$2,495
$1,000
$2,370
$950
High Season: 1st September – 15th October 2025
$2,195
$880
$1,976
$795
16th October 2025 – 9th January 2026
Closed
Rates Include: Accommodation, all meals, beverages, guest laundry, daily activities, expert guiding, park entry fees, and VAT. Rates Exclude: Premium brand drinks, gratuities, flights, and fully comprehensive personal travel insurance. In addition, a Conservation, Community & Reserve Fee is charged per night.
Book by 31st January 2025. Valid for travel until 31st December 2025 (all year, even peak season).
Mbamba only opens in April 2025.
Honeymoon Offer:
Partner stays for 50% off accommodation at San Camp in Makgadikgadi Pans. Valid all year for an unlimited number of nights. Honeymooners must produce proof of marriage at the time of booking (up to 12 months after the wedding).
Swimming pool
In short Why You’ll Love San Camp accommodation:
San Camp accommodation is elegant and impossibly romantic; its classic white tents offer 360-degree views over the sparkling salt pans. Take game drives and night drives in custom-built 4x4s to see the unique desert wildlife, spend time with the cheeky meerkats, and join the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a bush walk. Travel across the salt-crusted earth by quad bike. San Camp has a reputation for delicious and innovative cuisine. Lie out on the pans as the sun sets, and watch the planetarium of stars unfold. Retreat to the yoga and meditation pavilion and absorb the compelling energy of your surroundings. This is the perfect spot to relax, unwind and retreat.
Meno a Kwena, an accommodation hidden gem of a camp perched on a rocky clifftop above the Boteti River overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana
Iconic 1940’s style Jack’s Camp in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park offers stylish accommodation in luxury canvas tents – rates and offers for Botswana safari
Understated and affordable accommodation in Makgadikgadi, Camp Kalahari offers quad biking expeditions, horse riding safaris and is wonderful for families
San Camp is a romantic safari camp with its smattering of billowing white tents, shaded by desert palms on the edge of Nwetwe Pan in Makgadikgadi, Botswana
Nxai Pan Camp, the only permanent accommodation camp in Nxai Pan National Park where the second largest land animal (Zebra) migration in Southern Africa occurs.
