In this blog post, I will list all my Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia spending breakdown. If you look carefully below at the numbers, I could have avoided paying more than I did if I had joined a tour group.
My Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia spending breakdown
Zambia and Botswana
- Multi entry visa – $106.4 CAD ($80 USD)
- Jollyboys Backpackers Hostel (2) nights stay – $27.93 CAD ($21 USD)
- Victoria falls entrance fee – $26.6 CAD ($20 USD)
- Botswana Chobe National Park safari day trip – $208.81 CAD ($157 USD)
- Taxi used (3) times – $22.61 CAD ($17 USD)
- Groceries – $16 CAD (144 Kwacha)
- Currency exchange – $20 CAD (200 South African rands)
- South Africa Airways from Johannesburg to Livingstone, Zambia and from Namibia to Johannesburg – $78
Total Zambia spending: $428.35 CAD
Total Zambia spending including flights: $506.35 CAD
Average daily spending during the three days in Zambia and Botswana: $142.78 CAD
Average daily spending during the three days in Zambia and Botswana including the flights: $168.78 CAD
Total points and miles spent: 80,000 Aeroplan miles to fly both Karen and myself from Johannesburg to Livingstone, Zambia then from Windhoek, Namibia to Johannesburg.
Namibia
- Car rental and car crash damage cost – $882.83 CAD (Car rental and car crash damage cost: $352.43 CAD)
- Taxi used (3) times – $8 (80 Namibian Dollar)
- Groceries – $33.50 (335 Namibian Dollar)
- Shuttle driver tip – $1.50 CAD (15 Namibian Dollar)
- Airport Shuttle Service (my half of the cost split with Karen) – $25 CAD (250 Namibian Dollars) *note that the cost of the shuttle is 500 Namibian Dollars*
- Phone call – $0.20 CAD (2 Namibian Dollar)
- Sossusvlei Shuttle – $13 CAD (130 Namibian dollar) *note that the cost of the Sossusvlei shuttle is 260 Namibian Dollars before Karen and myself split the cost*
- Namib-Naukluft National Park entrance fee – $26 (260 Namibian Dollars)
Total Namibia spending: $989.20 (9,892 Namibian Dollars)
Total daily spending during the four days in Namibia: $247.30 CAD
*UPDATE* My fellow passengers helped me pay for the car crash damages. My new total Namibia spending after my fellow passengers helped me pay for the damages is: $458.8 CAD (4,588 Namibian Dollars)
Total daily spending during the four days in Namibia after fellow passengers helped me pay for the car crash damages is: $114.7 CAD
Lessons learned from travelling to Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia
The biggest lesson I learned from traveling to Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia is that sometimes, it saves you more money to pay more. Being a backpacker, I was trying to be on a strict budget when I travelled to Namibia to see Sossusvlei. I paid for that when we got in a car crash. I should have followed the 2% rule which states that if the probability of something bad happening is over 2%, then I should assume that something bad will happen. The number of car crashes that happens in the Namibian roads is very much higher than 2%, I should have paid to join a tour group instead. Oh well, sometimes, you just have to learn the hard way.
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