BOTSWANA SAFARIS
A vast and varied wilderness, with a tiny human population of just over two million, Botswana offers some of the best safari experiences of any country in Africa. The huge Kalahari Desert covers much of it, and safaris take place mostly in the lush north, where wildlife thrives beside the rivers and marshes of Chobe and the iconic Okavango Delta. The Big Five roam freely here, with exceptionally large herds of elephants a highlight, while specialist vehicles, traditional dugout canoes and walking safaris bring you closer to the landscape and its inhabitants.
Botswana boasts an enviable conservation philosophy, which endorses low-volume, high-revenue tourism, with significant measurable benefits for local communities. Much of northern Botswana is divided into vast concessions. These private reserves are granted by lease to safari operators and local communities, with strict environmental standards enforced as part of each lease, creating a pristine safari environment.
This does mean that Botswana isn’t a cheap safari destination, but it does offer a unique wildlife experience in a carefully managed environment. Lodges and bush camps are few and far between, so unlike many popular East African parks, once here, you can have the reserves almost entirely to yourself.
This does mean that Botswana isn’t a cheap safari destination, but it does offer a unique wildlife experience in a carefully managed environment. Lodges and bush camps are few and far between, so unlike many popular East African parks, once here, you can have the reserves almost entirely to yourself.
Our Botswana Vacations
Botswana safari and Victoria Falls
An unforgettable wildlife and scenery experience
From
US $3853
11 days
ex flights
Botswana safari & Vic Falls vacation
Delta wildlife-watching, plus thundering waterfall wonders
From
£3600 to £7800
9 days
ex flights
Botswana camping safaris
Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe
From
€1740
14 days
ex flights
Namibia and Botswana safari vacation
Namibia & Botswana lodge safari Caprivi Etosha Okavango
From
US $4110
21 days
ex flights
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
US $2990
21 days
ex flights
Botswana safari and Chobe river cruise
An exclusive combination of land & water based adventures
From
US $6125
10 days
ex flights
Botswana luxury family safari
Family adventures through Botswana, plus Victoria Falls
From
£21000
12 days
ex flights
Zimbabwe & Botswana self drive vacation
Victoria Falls and incredible wildlife on self drive tour
From
US $4380
16 days
ex flights
Botswana and Zimbabwe Ivory Route lodge tour
Classic journey adventure safari Botswana, Zimbabwe Namibia
From
US $5080
15 days
ex flights
Best of Botswana and Zimbabwe
Visit two of southern Africa’s most amazing countries
From
US $7650
14 days
ex flights
Botswana small group lodge safari
Botswana affordable lodge safari including Okavango
From
€3330
14 days
ex flights
Botswana safari vacation on a shoestring
Affordable safari and camping experience through Botswana
From
£1495 to £1595
7 days
ex flights
Botswana Fly-In Luxury Safari
Discover Botswana in style with this fly-in luxury safari
From
£5995
9 days
ex flights
Botswana lodge safari
Botswana affordable lodge safari Okavango, Moremi, Chobe
From
US $3210
13 days
ex flights
Botswana wildlife safari
Explore Botswana on this small group wildlife safari
From
US $3970 to US $4040
17 days
ex flights
Botswana safari, lodges and mobile camps
Wildlife lodges, mobile tented safaris & Victoria Falls!
From
US $6615
13 days
ex flights
Botswana highlights and Victoria falls
Great value safari adventure covering Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
US $4180
11 days
ex flights
Camping safari in Southern Africa
Camping safari highlights of Zimbabwe, Botswana & Kruger
From
US $2035 to US $2180
16 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
ex flights
Southern Africa luxury wildlife & beach vacation
Pristine beaches and rich wildlife on this Southern African tour
From
£9510
15 days
inc UK flights
Botswana wildlife adventure
Fantastic Botswana wildlife adventure to 4 different areas
From
US $8865
12 days
ex flights
Vic Falls to Johannesburg tour, Southern Africa
Soak up the sights and sounds on this African adventure
From
US $2215 to US $2440
9 days
ex flights
Botswana National Parks safari vacation
Botswana's premier game parks, Moremi, Savuti & Chobe.
From
US $1790
10 days
ex flights
Southern Africa budget vacation
Discover the iconic wildlife and nature of South East Africa
From
US $1260 to US $1800
10 days
ex flights
Botswana safari and wild camping
Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe.
From
€1740
13 days
ex flights
Luxury safari in Botswana and South Africa
A family friendly safari in iconic wildlife locations
From
R 65800 to R 86520
8 days
ex flights
Botswana family adventure
A true African adventure for all the family!
From
US $4940
11 days
ex flights
Botswana luxury safari with Victoria Falls
An amazing off-road and river safari in beautiful Botswana
From
£3445
9 days
ex flights
Victoria Falls & Botswana safari vacation
This 7 day safari captures 3 major highlights of the region.
From
£2095
7 days
ex flights
Botswana safari and Mozambique beach break
Safari and Beach in Style in Africa's Remotest Areas
From
£6890 to £8900
14 days
ex flights
Why go on a safari in Botswana?
Botswana’s wildlife is rich and diverse, and the country has a great conservation record, with many migration routes protected by vast, transfrontier parks. The Big Five are here, and Botswana is home to more elephants than anywhere else in Africa. It also has some of the highest concentrations of lion, giraffe, hippo, wildebeest and buffalo, too, as well as over 450 bird species. It’s a veritable A-Z of wildlife, running from Aardvark to Zebra, so you can guarantee spectacular wildlife sightings.
While wildlife is abundant, visitors are few, making personal, peaceful wildlife encounters far more likely. Safaris in Kenya and northern Tanzania can involve numerous vehicles jockeying for a view of the animals – with safari trucks driving nose-to-tail to the Ngorongoro crater’s floor each morning – but in Botswana you may be one of a tiny handful of visitors, which means you see animals behaving completely naturally. If you’ve already been to Kruger, the Serengeti or the Masai Mara, Botswana will bring an entirely new African experience – wilder, vaster and more remote.
While wildlife is abundant, visitors are few, making personal, peaceful wildlife encounters far more likely. Safaris in Kenya and northern Tanzania can involve numerous vehicles jockeying for a view of the animals – with safari trucks driving nose-to-tail to the Ngorongoro crater’s floor each morning – but in Botswana you may be one of a tiny handful of visitors, which means you see animals behaving completely naturally. If you’ve already been to Kruger, the Serengeti or the Masai Mara, Botswana will bring an entirely new African experience – wilder, vaster and more remote.
There are a range of safari options available, too, including overland camping trips and longer tours which take in several southern African countries. Camping is at the more affordable end of the financial spectrum, but Botswana elegantly caters for those with deep pockets and is one of Africa's most exclusive destinations. Private reserves and superb, fly-in safari lodges, particularly around Chobe, are the last word in comfort, featuring rooms with air con, en suite bathrooms and balconies, with treats such as a pool, cocktail bar and health spa on site. Even well-developed Kenya struggles to compete with Botswana's unique luxury-in-the-wilderness offer.
If you prefer to get right off the beaten track, there is space to explore in this enormous country, too. Like barely developed southern Tanzania, Botswana has parks that lie well beyond its well-established vacation routes and famous reserves. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (the largest, most remote reserve in Southern Africa) and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, home of famous black-maned Kalahari lions, are rarely visited. If you want a genuine wilderness experience, with the chance to find yourself miles from any other humans, Botswana can deliver.
Safaris in Botswana also offer the chance to get out of a vehicle, too. Bush walks accompanied by an armed guide with a special walking licence bring you thrillingly close to wildlife. In the Okavango Delta, mokoro canoe rides glide you silently through the reed channels for a hippo’s eye view of the wildlife. Elsewhere, night game drives and horse riding safaris are also available.
Spending time with the Maasai tribe brings a human dimension to safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, and in Botswana there’s also the chance to meet and learn from local people. Walk with a Batswana guide around the Delta, or take a stroll through the Kalahari with San Bushmen for a glimpse into this ancient desert culture.
Spending time with the Maasai tribe brings a human dimension to safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, and in Botswana there’s also the chance to meet and learn from local people. Walk with a Batswana guide around the Delta, or take a stroll through the Kalahari with San Bushmen for a glimpse into this ancient desert culture.
Why Botswana safaris aren't for everyone
Botswana’s decision to focus on high-end tourism has kept numbers and development low, but it means prices are often high, with many lodges well beyond the budget of the average traveler. Its sheer size means flying is often the only way to travel internally, too, and this inflates vacation prices. In addition, airstrips are often rudimentary, and planes small and bouncy, so if you’re a nervous flier, these internal flights can prove daunting. On the plus side, light aircraft trips from the gateway towns of Maun and Kasane allow you to really understand the immensity of the Kalahari and the Okavango Delta.
Camping safaris are available, which involve traveling overland in a combination of safari truck and specialist 4x4 vehicles, camping out each night along the way. These are a more affordable way to explore this high-end destination, but involve a lot of driving – Botswana is almost twice the size of the UK and Ireland combined – on roads and tracks that are not exactly smooth or free from dust! This explains why self-drive vacations to Botswana aren’t hugely popular. The unpaved routes, treacherous sandy tracks, log bridges, long journey times and seemingly endless expanses of nothing mean that Botswana is not ideal for a self-drive trip, unless you’re competent behind the wheel of a 4x4 and prepared to rough it for a couple of weeks. In which case, you can hire 4X4s with satellite phone, camping equipment and a two-man roof-tent. For the less intrepid, Namibia and South Africa are more suitable self-drive destinations.
When it comes to accommodation in Botswana, there simply isn’t the range and choice that you find in South Africa’s Kruger National Park or in Kenya, where everything from a tent in the wilderness to village stays with the Masaai, family-friendly lodges and luxury retreats are available. In Botswana, accommodation is limited. There are very few campsites in the national parks and they have to be booked far in advance, which makes traveling independently challenging. Organised tours, meanwhile, tend to be either bush camping or pure luxe, with not much in between.
Our top Botswana Vacation
Botswana safari and Victoria Falls
An unforgettable wildlife and scenery experience
From
US $3853
11 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
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Botswana and beyond
Many tours take in Botswana and its neighbouring countries to offer a rich and varied overview of southern Africa. An overland adventure might involve traveling by safari vehicle and camping along the way, taking in South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as Botswana. Cape Town to Victoria Falls is a classic overland route, which typically includes the Namib Desert and Etosha National Park in Namibia and Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
Traveling with children
Botswana isn’t the most kid-friendly of safari destinations. Distances are long and temperatures are extreme, rising to the high 30s in October and dropping below zero at night in May and June, during the southern African winter. There are often age limits on game drives and bush walks, too. That said, it is possible to find operators that cater for families.Be aware that some camps have family facilities but no dedicated activities aimed at youngsters, while others employ guides who are experienced at working with children and might offer special ‘bush school’ programmes. These include taking children on walks around the camp, showing them how to recognise animal spoor – tracks and droppings – as well as plants and small creatures. It’s fun, very hands-on and totally safe. In the evening, there are games and colouring books for kids to enjoy, and they can even help cook camp meals with the chef.
Wheelchair accessible safaris
There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy the incredible experience of seeing the Big Five in Botswana if you’re in a wheelchair. Accessible accommodations are available, and rangers are happy to help with getting into and out of safari vehicles. Your wheelchair will be safely looked after when not in use, and many lodges also offer massages in the evenings to help with tired muscles.More about Botswana
Best time to visit Botswana is during the green season from November through to March, especially if you're planning to visit Botswana for the national parks of Moremi and Chobe.
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.
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.
