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
Botswana safari & Vic Falls vacation
Delta wildlife-watching, plus thundering waterfall wonders
From
£3600 to £7800
9 days
ex flights
Botswana safari and Victoria Falls
An unforgettable wildlife and scenery experience
From
US $3853
11 days
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Botswana camping safaris
Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe
From
€1740
14 days
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Botswana safari and Chobe river cruise
An exclusive combination of land & water based adventures
From
US $6125
10 days
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Botswana safari vacation on a shoestring
Affordable safari and camping experience through Botswana
From
£1495
7 days
ex flights
Botswana Fly-In Luxury Safari
Discover Botswana in style with this fly-in luxury safari
From
£5995
9 days
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Botswana luxury family safari
Family adventures through Botswana, plus Victoria Falls
From
£21000
12 days
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Namibia and Botswana safari vacation
Namibia & Botswana lodge safari Caprivi Etosha Okavango
From
US $4110
21 days
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Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
US $2990
21 days
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Botswana wildlife safari
Explore Botswana on this small group wildlife safari
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US $3180 to US $4040
17 days
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Botswana National Parks safari vacation
Botswana's premier game parks, Moremi, Savuti & Chobe.
From
US $1790
10 days
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Windhoek to Victoria Falls self drive tour
A self-drive adventure through Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
£4250
15 days
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Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls luxury vacation
Botswana's Pristine Wilderness & Wildlife & Fun in Vic Falls
From
£3350 to £5180
8 days
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Botswana safari vacation
A semi participation and mobile safari in Botswana
From
£2100
15 days
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Botswana lodge safari
Botswana affordable lodge safari Okavango, Moremi, Chobe
From
US $3210
13 days
ex flights
Zimbabwe & Botswana safari, elephant paths
Follow in the paths of one of Africa's most iconic creatures
From
US $3555
11 days
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Botswana safari and Mozambique beach break
Safari and Beach in Style in Africa's Remotest Areas
From
£6890 to £8900
14 days
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Botswana and Zimbabwe lodge safari
Victoria Falls to the meandering waterways of the Okavango Delta
From
US $5779 to US $6399
14 days
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Botswana small group lodge safari
Botswana affordable lodge safari including Okavango
From
€3330
14 days
ex flights
Namibia and Botswana safari
Two week adventure tour of Namibia and Botswana
From
£979 to £1949
12 days
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Botswana highlights small group tour
See the big name attractions of southern Africa
From
US $2860 to US $3245
9 days
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Camping safari in Southern Africa
Camping safari highlights of Zimbabwe, Botswana & Kruger
From
US $2035 to US $2180
16 days
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Botswana wildlife adventure
Fantastic Botswana wildlife adventure to 4 different areas
From
US $8865
12 days
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Botswana highlights and Victoria falls
Great value safari adventure covering Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
US $4180
11 days
ex flights
Victoria Falls & Botswana safari vacation
This 7 day safari captures 3 major highlights of the region.
From
£2095
7 days
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Kalahari desert expedition safari, Botswana
Central Kalahari Game Reserve & Kgalagadi National Park
From
US $3640
14 days
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Botswana fly-in safari vacation
Experience Botswana on a 6 night fly-in Safari adventure
From
£2995
7 days
ex flights
Victoria Falls to Cape Town small group vacation
Explore the best of Southern Africa's wildlife and nature.
From
US $2750 to US $3175
22 days
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The Grand Southern Africa safari
21-day tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
From
£1709 to £3079
20 days
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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 safari & Vic Falls vacation
Delta wildlife-watching, plus thundering waterfall wonders
From
£3600 to £7800
9 days
ex flights
Tailor made:
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
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.
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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.
