Botswana is blessed with some of Africa’s most picturesque subtropical wilderness reserves and an array of African wildlife.
“Thanks for your responsiveness before, during, and after the trip… and for doing everything in the world to make sure we were happy.”
Katie Schnidman
Providence, RI, USA
Botswana is one of the few remaining safari destinations that still provides a classic sense of the adventure of safari. The expansive game reserves and preserves of Botswana, while offering wildlife as diverse and abundant as that found anywhere else, are still largely undeveloped and untamed.
The best wildlife viewing conditions in Botswana occur in the dry, mild winter months of June-August. The summer rainy season (November – March) can be uncomfortably hot and wet but visitors will be rewarded with an abundance of birds, newborn antelopes and lush green landscapes.
Highlights of Botswana
Okavango Delta
The clear waters and small islands of the extraordinarily beautiful Okavango Delta (the world’s largest inland delta) are home to an astounding variety of animals, birds and plants.
Chobe National Park
Botswana’s best big game reserve and conveniently close to Victoria Falls, the Chobe National Park is renowned for its large herds of elephant and buffalo, with wildlife viewing by motorboat a popular activity.
Tuli Block
Located in Botswana’s extreme east, the wildlife-rich Tuli Block has river-hugging forests, savannah plains, open marshlands and rocky outcrops.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is one of Africa’s most scenic and unspoiled wilderness areas, the diverse terrain allowing for an abundance of wildlife and desert plants.
Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
In the rainy season, the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park sees a spectacular concentration of waterbirds – especially flamingos – while the dry season sees dramatic migrations of zebra and wildebeest.
Recommended accommodation in Botswana
Vumbura Plains Camp
Vumbura Plains Camp is a luxury tented camp in a private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve, in the extreme north of the Okavango Delta. Open 4×4 Land Rovers and walks enable wildlife viewing in the savannah and woodland areas, while the waterways can be explored by mokoro (dugout canoe) and motorboat.
The 14 luxury tented rooms are raised off the ground on wooden platforms with walkways connecting them to the main living areas. Each room has a large, very comfortable bedroom, a lounge and en-suite facilities with a shower, bath, a flush toilet and an outdoor shower under the stars, as well as a plunge pool. The main dining, lounge and pub area are also raised off the ground and are tucked beneath a canopy of cool, shady, indigenous trees with a wonderful vista across the floodplains.
Zambezi Queen
The Zambezi Queen is a luxury house boat that cruises along the shores of the Chobe River in north-eastern Botswana. The Chobe National Park, with its untamed wildlife and approximately 120,000 elephants and over 400 species of birds makes this river safari an exceptional and unforgettable wildlife experience.
There are 10 suites and 4 master suites, all with private balconies and king size beds. Public facilities include an air-conditioned reading and DVD room and the top deck comprises the restaurant, bar and pool area. There are 2 and 3 night itineraries, which include water-based game viewing and bird watching on smaller boats, tiger and bream fishing in season, land-based game viewing in the Chobe National Park and a cultural tour of a local village. The vessel is based at Kasane village, from where flights depart daily to other parts of Botswana.
Savuti Camp
Savuti Camp is situated in the Linyanti Concession along the Savuti Channel in northern Botswana. Between 1980 and 2008 the Channel stopped flowing and became an unusual and productive ribbon of grassland that served as a corridor and feeding ground in the surrounding woodland for a wide variety of herbivores. In 2008, the Channel once more became a deep, clear waterway harbouring hippo and aquatic life with myriad varieties of waterbirds.
Savuti Camp is a comfortable camp providing accommodation in 7 walk-in tented rooms with en suite facilities. Each room is raised off the ground on wooden decks. The camp has a thatched dining area, bar and plunge pool, all on raised wooden decks. Activities include game drives in open 4×4 Land Rovers, hides (including a woodpile hide located at the waterhole in front of the camp), night drives and walks with an armed guide. Wildlife in the area includes all of Botswana’s big animals and is one of the best areas in the country to see predators.
