Best time to visit Botswana
The heat peaks in October - this is the best time to go and see game as it clusters around the Delta.![]()
The "green" season, from November to March, is more pleasant, though game disperses once more and water levels drop in the Delta. Thunderstorms tend to occur late afternoon, dulling the heat yet leaving time for sunshine. Migratory birds and baby antelope are best seen now. However, rainy skies don’t match what flows on the ground: the water takes six months to filter through the sprawling Delta, meaning it’s at its fullest during the driest months.
Arid May and June can be extremely chilly, and the heat peaks in October, with cloudless skies providing little respite from the African sun. This is the prime game season, as wildlife heads to the Delta.
Arid May and June can be extremely chilly, and the heat peaks in October, with cloudless skies providing little respite from the African sun. This is the prime game season, as wildlife heads to the Delta.
Botswana Weather Chart
MIN °C
MAX °C
RAIN (mm)
JAN
20
33
94
FEB
19
31
81
MAR
17
31
56
APR
14
28
44
MAY
8
25
11
JUN
5
22
4
JUL
5
23
3
AUG
7
26
2
SEP
12
29
14
OCT
16
31
40
NOV
18
32
69
DEC
19
32
82
Our Botswana Vacations
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Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe
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14 days
ex flights
Botswana safari and Victoria Falls
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Namibia and Botswana safari vacation
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Botswana lodge safari
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Windhoek to Victoria Falls self drive tour
A self-drive adventure through Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
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£4250
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Botswana small group lodge safari
Botswana affordable lodge safari including Okavango
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US $3115
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Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
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US $2815
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Botswana safari vacation
A semi participation and mobile safari in Botswana
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£2185
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Botswana safari and wild camping
Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe.
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US $1974 to US $1975
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Victoria Falls to Cape Town small group vacation
Explore the best of Southern Africa's wildlife and nature.
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Botswana safari, lodges and mobile camps
Wildlife lodges, mobile tented safaris & Victoria Falls!
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Botswana wildlife safari
Explore Botswana on this small group wildlife safari
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US $3310 to US $3420
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Best of Botswana and Zimbabwe
Visit two of southern Africa’s most amazing countries
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Zimbabwe & Botswana game tracker safari
A lodge safari through Kruger, Zimbabwe & Botswana
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Botswana luxury family safari
Family adventures through Botswana, plus Victoria Falls
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£21000
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Botswana National Parks safari vacation
Botswana's premier game parks, Moremi, Savuti & Chobe.
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US $1680
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Kalahari desert expedition safari, Botswana
Central Kalahari Game Reserve & Kgalagadi National Park
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Botswana safari and Chobe river cruise
An exclusive combination of land & water based adventures
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US $6125
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Botswana safari vacation on a shoestring
Affordable safari and camping experience through Botswana
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£1195
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Botswana highlights small group tour
See the big name attractions of southern Africa
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US $2764 to US $3180
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Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe & Botswana safari, elephant paths
Follow in the paths of one of Africa's most iconic creatures
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Botswana and Zimbabwe Ivory Route lodge tour
Classic Journey adventure safari Botswana, Zimbabwe Namibia
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Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls luxury vacation
A unique trip, combining rich wildlife with the Victoria Falls
From
£3310 to £6500
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The Grand Southern Africa safari
21-day tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
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£1592 to £2759
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Camping safari in Southern Africa
Camping safari highlights of Zimbabwe, Botswana & Kruger
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US $2035
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Luxury safari in Botswana and South Africa
A family friendly safari in iconic wildlife locations
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R 65800 to R 86520
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Botswana luxury safari with Victoria Falls
An amazing off-road and river safari in beautiful Botswana
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Botswana safari and Mozambique beach break
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Botswana, Month by month
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Summer storms provoke dramatic skies and vibrant green landscapes, while flourishing wildflowers create wonderfully colourful backdrops.![]()
Our photography pick: Chobe in January
Bruce Taylor founded our supplier Sunway Safaris in 1994, and has guided small group tours across southern Africa since then. Here he describes one of his favourite times to go to Botswana:
"I enjoy the green season, from December to April, because there's no dust. The beauty of the rains in Botswana is that they’re generally late afternoon thunderstorms that come rolling through then pass on, so you can still have gloriously sunny days. The rain cools things down a bit, there are a lot of young animals around and all the migratory birds are in the Okavango at this time – and they’re spectacular."
"I enjoy the green season, from December to April, because there's no dust. The beauty of the rains in Botswana is that they’re generally late afternoon thunderstorms that come rolling through then pass on, so you can still have gloriously sunny days. The rain cools things down a bit, there are a lot of young animals around and all the migratory birds are in the Okavango at this time – and they’re spectacular."
Our top Botswana Vacation
Botswana camping safaris
Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe
From
US $2035
14 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2020: 14 Jun, 5 Jul, 12 Jul, 23 Aug, 30 Aug, 13 Sep, 20 Sep, 27 Sep, 11 Oct, 1 Nov, 8 Nov, 15 Nov, 29 Nov, 6 Dec, 13 Dec, 20 Dec, 27 Dec
2021: 3 Jan, 10 Jan, 24 Jan, 31 Jan, 14 Feb, 21 Feb, 28 Feb, 7 Mar, 21 Mar, 28 Mar, 4 Apr, 11 Apr, 18 Apr, 25 Apr, 2 May, 9 May, 16 May, 23 May, 30 May, 6 Jun, 20 Jun, 27 Jun, 11 Jul, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 1 Aug, 15 Aug, 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 3 Oct, 17 Oct, 24 Oct, 7 Nov, 14 Nov ...
2020: 14 Jun, 5 Jul, 12 Jul, 23 Aug, 30 Aug, 13 Sep, 20 Sep, 27 Sep, 11 Oct, 1 Nov, 8 Nov, 15 Nov, 29 Nov, 6 Dec, 13 Dec, 20 Dec, 27 Dec
2021: 3 Jan, 10 Jan, 24 Jan, 31 Jan, 14 Feb, 21 Feb, 28 Feb, 7 Mar, 21 Mar, 28 Mar, 4 Apr, 11 Apr, 18 Apr, 25 Apr, 2 May, 9 May, 16 May, 23 May, 30 May, 6 Jun, 20 Jun, 27 Jun, 11 Jul, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 1 Aug, 15 Aug, 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 3 Oct, 17 Oct, 24 Oct, 7 Nov, 14 Nov ...
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Botswana or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
Festivals & events in Botswana
Did you know about…
The “Barbel Run”
Each September-October, the receding waters of the Delta cause huge shoals of fish to swarm back to the Okavango River. This causes a feeding frenzy amongst the larger barbels (catfish) and tigerfish, who slap the water with their tails, terrorising the smaller fish out from the reeds – into their own mouths, or the beaks of the stalking herons and eagles. It’s a fly fisherman’s dream – and a fascinating show even for those not armed with a rod.
Nov-Feb: Baby animals
The green season brings new life to Savuti as herbivores, including impala and wildebeest, begin to calve. But it’s not all cooing at wide-eyed babies; vulnerable youngsters also trigger a thrilling increase in predators, creating plenty of action for those watching from hides.Kuru Dance Festival
Held each August outside Ghanzi, Kuru stages the world’s largest gathering of San dancers. Hundreds of San from across Botswana and Namibia share skills, sell crafts and perform spiritual rituals – before dancing until the early hours of the morning.More about Botswana
If you’re looking to travel to southern Africa then our Botswana travel guide, packed full of information, is the perfect place to start your journey.
Our Botswana interactive map page reveals the country's highlights, with details of three classic itineraries, too, to help you make the most of your time.
There are of course myriad things to do in Botswana, from a mokoro canoe ride in the Delta to bush walks and an authentic San experience in the Kalahari.
Carrying water and silt from the Angolan highlands, Botswana’s Okavango Delta floods life into the Kalahari Desert and supports wildlife on an epic scale.
Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve offers what is arguably some of the finest game viewing in southern Africa, in one of the continent’s richest and most diverse ecosystems.
Discover the diverse and fascinating wildlife roaming through one of Africa’s last great wildernesses on a Botswana safari.
The chance to see a vast array of Botswana wildlife hunting, feeding and raising young in some of Africa’s most unspoilt, pristine environments is what draws people to this desert nation.
You know your children and if you think that traveling in Botswana with kids will work for you and your family then don’t hold back, go for it.
Botswana is an exclusive destination with exclusive accommodation – often small, always perfectly formed and frequently at the forefront of responsible tourism.
We really rate travel advice from our friends in Botswana and think you should too; read pearls of wisdom from expert travel writers, photographers and fellow travelers, too.
Learn about Botswana's responsible tourism issues, from hunting bans to the San people, is an important part of traveling right in Botswana and finding out what you can do to help.
protection
Photo credits: [Page banner: 2630ben] [Jeeps: Ray in Manila]
[Elephants from jeep: abi.bhattachan]
[Elephants: Malcolm Macgregor]
[Elephants: Sander Wehkamp]
[Fancy food: Walter Scharer]
[Woman: WycliffeSA]
[Meal: Jeremy t. Hetzel]
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