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San Camp

Our rating

8/10

Price guide

Highlights

- Total isolation
- Bushmen guides
- Rare game
- Family friendly

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Overview

If you have ever looked up into a clear blue sky and been struck by a serene sense of the sublime in its encompassing emptiness, then you will want to experience San Camp. Located on the brink of the endless vistas of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, the stylistically minimalist Camp is characterised by its neo-colonial white tents, its family-friendly feel, and by its peacefulness.

San Camp is the personification of elegance in simplicity. Plated food served in the large mess tent mirrors the camp's unadorned surroundings. The Camp is comfortable, clean, and calm. The purpose? To clear the mind. Helping facilitate this are the spacious tents looking out across the vast expanse of the Salt Pans, the cool cotton bed sheets and feather bedding, and, of course, the tea and yoga pavilions, which are designed in every way to accommodate guests that like to relax.

Run mostly on solar energy, with no more than lamps for light and each other for warmth, guests are immersed in a by-gone colonial age. The Camp’s time-travel experience is complimented by its expeditious activities: trips into the heart of the Makgadikgadi on quad bikes, morning walks, and game drives, are led by guides who work alongside small groups of Zu/’hoasi Bushmen to make for an insightful journey. Of course, going back to basics is not for everyone: the Camp has limited electricity and water, and often the only sounds you hear are nearby footsteps or far-off rustles from animals enjoying the Salt Pan.

What the Camp lacks in big game-seeking opportunities, it makes up for with the fact that guests are able to see and be close to habituated meerkats and rare brown hyenas, which are the focus of a project in the San Camp area to protect the vulnerable species. This provides guests with a great opportunity to observe vital conservation efforts first-hand.

San Camp is part of the renowned Unchartered Africa portfolio of remote camps along with Camp Kalahari and Jack's Camp. Like its sister camps, San Camp is very accommodating towards families. Children of all ages are welcome although families with under8s will need to take a private vehicle and guide at extra cost. Children are able to do all the activities, such as quad-biking and visiting the Camp’s natural history museum. However, those under 12 years of age will have to share a quad bike with an adult driver whilst children 12 years and older are allowed to drive a quad bike but only at the Guide / Camp Manager discretion. Children using the swimming pool must be accompanied by an adult. There are no family tents, a family of three can share one tent with a bed roll for the child, whilst a family of four will have to split across two tents with one parent in each tent.

San Camp's uniqueness comes from its remoteness. It feels exclusive because only 12 guests are accommodated at any one time. San Camp’s intimacy comes from its relative emptiness, and thus it stands as a fantastic attraction for couples and families that want to simply get away from it all.

What customers are saying after travelling with Tourdust

Average Rating

based on 517 reviews

(5.00/5)

  • Yes everything went incredibly smoothly , excellent guide and set up u have . I might need a new pair of calves though !!! Thanks for sorting ALL the changes out. Regards Charlie

    Missingcharles b reviewing 6 Day Toubkal Circuit on 03 May 2023

  • Hi Lisa, We had a fabulous time thank you. The accommodation and other ideation were all terrific - that’s so much for your help. The apartment in Cape Town was particularly good - we would never have found that: Boschendal was great as well and game lodge was superb. Thanks again, Alistair

    MissingAlistair A reviewing Cape Town, Garden Route and Kruger on 28 April 2023

  • Dear Lisa
    Well, we are back and still buzzing. We have had a marvellous time. The weather helped. We left Manchester in the snow and arrived in Marrakesh at 30 degrees. We were well looked after in the Riad. I'm glad we booked a meal for the first evening - ate it on the roof terrace. We can recommend that. It was delicious. We ate at the Foundouk, as per your recommendation and on the following night we ate at Le Jardin - got lost on the way to it!. We can really recommend Le Jardin.
    The following day we went to Majorelle gardens. Fortunately we had looked it up before we travelled because you have to book in advance online only from Jan 2023. We found our own way to the Medera Ben Yousef and Latifa took us to Bahia Palace - both were stunning.
    The following morning our lovely taxi driver Mohammond collected us to go to the EcoLodge. Yet another Mohammond made us very welcome. Again we ate well! You were right, the pool was freezing, but I can't sit next to water and not get in. Once you're in you forget how cold it is! I wasn't the only person to try the pool.
    Rashid, our guide for our walk collected us. He was brilliant. It was hard work, but worth it. I was determined I would make it. Kevin is fitter than me! The Berber family were lovely. We stopped when we were nearly there to see how rag rugs were made. When we got back Rashid and Mohammond confessed that Mohammond had said to Rashid that he should get us to a road if we got too tired and they would send a taxi (or a mule!) to collect us - or me, but Rashid was sure that I'd be OK. He was right. I think they wondered about these 2 70+ year olds. We can't praise Rashid enough. He had walked over from Imlil in the morning and was going to walk back after he left us.
    Thank you so much for putting our holiday together. We never thought it would be 3 years before we went. We are so glad we persevered. We did wonder what we had let ourselves in for as 2 oldies!
    Fiona and Kevin

    MissingFiona B reviewing Boutique Marrakech & Atlas Mountains on 21 April 2023

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