Dumela!
Let’s chat all things Botswana. Wild, exclusive and utterly beautiful - the array of landscapes you really can't find anywhere else in the world, and we love it. It started as a daunting destination for us all those years ago because we didn't know as much about it, but in recent years I [Mefi] have visited, tried and tested a lot of the top camps and lodges, found our favourites that we keep coming back to and the places we love to send our guests. Now it has become one of our favourite Safaris to put together!
Get Botswana on your Safari-Places-I-Must-Go-List!
On the Okavango Delta
Botswana seems a bit more complex when you look at it as a Safari destination, so let me break it up into areas, how we like to plan these journeys, and what to keep in mind when thinking about Botswana for your first, second or even third Safari!
1. The Okavango Delta is a non-negotiable!
My trip to Botswana in February
The Delta is a MUST on your Botswana Safari. The Okavango Delta is one of the most unique Safari destinations in the world. Every year, rains from the Angolan highlands fill this inland delta with water, creating a maze of channels, islands and a totally unique ecosystem. It’s the world’s only inland delta! The wildlife is teeming and extraordinary - lions that have adapted to the wetlands and are larger and more powerful! Islands literally built by termites over hundreds of years. Enormous elephant herds moving through floodplains. Bird species you won't see anywhere else. It is unlike anything else in Africa or the world - and I say that having been on Safari across this entire continent for over 20 years.
Right about now [January-February], the rains are falling in Angola, travel south through the Okavango River, and arrive in Botswana around May-June [peaking July-September] and receding by October-November.
2. The Delta is a year-round Safari destination
Whilst dry season is peak season, we genuinely encourage you to consider any time of year too. Some channels and areas of the Delta remain wet year-round and there are permanent channels, so water-based activities are always possible somewhere. Game viewing is excellent at any point. And going outside peak season - particularly the lush green season from December through March - means significantly lower rates. This matters because Botswana does have higher rates than other Safari destinations. If you can go in green season, you will have a fantastic time and your budget will go further.
One thing worth noting: October and November can be extremely hot in Botswana before the rains arrive. Not impossible, but something to factor in.
Wet Camps vs Dry Camps: What to Know
In the Delta, camps are generally either 'wet' or 'dry' camps - and understanding the difference helps you know what to expect.
Wet camps centre around water-based activities on permanent water sources. Think peaceful mokoro rides [pictured below, thats me!] that get you up close and personal with the Delta's wildlife in the most intimate way possible - gliding silently through papyrus channels, barely making a sound, wildlife appearing around every bend. Boat cruises at sunset, fishing in remote channels. It’s so immersive.
Dry camps focus on your classic 4x4 game drives, walking Safaris and land-based experiences - tracking predators through mopane woodland, going off-road through open savannah.
Some of our favourite camps offer both, which we think makes for the best possible Botswana Safari. You get the best of the Delta - water and land, mokoro and game drive, predators and waterbirds - all from one base.
The cherry on top: A helicopter flight over the Delta is something our guests consistently say is one of the most breathtaking things they've ever done. Seeing the scale of the channels, islands and floodplains from above - with wildlife moving through it all below you - completely changes how you understand this landscape.
“It produced a wonderful overview of the Okavango Delta and an understanding of how abundant the wildlife is there. We must have flown over literally 400 elephants during the flight.” Our JTA Guests on their Helicopter Ride over the Delta.
Our lovely guests enjoyed a Heli ride over the Delta whilst staying at Kiri Camp in Khwai Concession.
3. Beyond the Delta: Chobe and the Kalahari
The Delta gets most of the attention, but Botswana has more to offer.
Chobe National Park is elephant heaven. If you love elephants - you will likely see them in their hundreds here, particularly during dry season when herds gather along the Chobe River. Boat cruises on the river are spectacular - elephants swimming, hippos everywhere, crocodiles on the banks, extraordinary birdlife. Combining Chobe with the Delta makes for a really well-rounded Botswana Safari and is one of our favourite ways to plan these trips.
The Kalahari is another world entirely. Dry, vast, ancient - completely in contrast to the lush waterways of the Delta to the north. This is San Bushmen territory, adapted wildlife [black-maned Kalahari lions, brown hyenas, meerkats], and landscapes that feel prehistoric. Combining the Kalahari with the Delta [often called a Desert & Delta Safari] is one of the most dramatic Safari combinations you can do.
Wild dog pup in the Savute Region of Chobe, photo from our partners at Desert & Delta
Botswana is Exclusive - By Design
The Botswana government operates a strict "Low Impact, High Value" tourism model. Tourist numbers are deliberately limited. Lodges are small and intimate by design. Private concessions mean fewer vehicles, off-road access, night drives. Everything about how Botswana manages tourism is geared toward quality over quantity.
How much is cost for a Botswana Safari?
Botswana is a more expensive Safari destination - and we want to be upfront about that. If you're looking for the finest lodges and value in terms of accommodation and facilities, there are other destinations that deliver more for your money. But if your sense of luxury is solitude, vast wilderness, intimate wildlife encounters, and the feeling of having Africa largely to yourself? Botswana will blow your socks off - and it's absolutely worth it.
Camps We Love (And One We Can't Wait to Visit)
Machaba Safaris - Gomoti Plains, Machaba Camp and Kiri Camp
Three excellent camps across Khwai and the Delta. All solar-powered, all along waterways, all with that perfect mix of land and water activities. Machaba and Gomoti Plains sit along rivers bordering Moremi Game Reserve - incredible wildlife, mixed activities, rustic-chic canvas tents. Kiri Camp sits in the Khwai Concession in a stunning spot along the Kiri River - intimate, beautiful, and that classic Delta feel.
Some of the wonderful team at Kiri Camp from our Journey to Africa guests Botswana Safari. They loved Kiri Camp - the people, place and little touches!
Natural Selection - Sable Alley, Tuludi and North Island
Sable Alley and Tuludi in Khwai are phenomenal for serious predator action - wild dogs, leopards, lions. The guides here are exceptional. North Island sits deep in the northern Delta - remote, water-based, genuinely feels like your own private island. Conservation and community are at the heart of everything Natural Selection does, which we really respect.
Kwando - Lebala
Lebala is a remote Linyanti camp with big elephant concentrations and excellent wild dog territory. This is where I spotted a sitatunga - one of the Delta's rare semi-aquatic antelopes - on a sunset boat cruise and my guide Ailin nearly stood up in the boat with excitement. Even after years of guiding she rarely sees them!
Desert & Delta Safaris - Camp Xakanaxa
Right in the heart of Moremi Game Reserve on the Khwai River floodplains - one of the few camps actually inside Moremi itself. Prime wildlife territory from the moment you step out of your tent. Excellent predator sightings, huge elephant herds, exceptional birding, and both water and land activities. This one we haven't visited yet ourselves, but it's very much on our radar and we are genuinely excited about it.
We are desperate to see Camp Xakanaxa pictured above!
African Bush Camp’s Khwai Leadwood
A stunning setting along the Khwai River, bordering the Moremi Game Reserve in the community run Khwai Consession. This is one of those camps that is perfect for both water and land-based Safari activities. We have had such great feedback from our guests.
Planning Notes for Your Botswana Safari
Most Botswana itineraries involve flying between camps in small bush planes. You're flying low over the Delta, watching elephant herds move through channels below, seeing the scale of this landscape from above.
Most trips are ideally 10-14 days. We don't usually combine Botswana with multiple other countries unless you have 16+ days. It deserves time and focus. Having said that, Cape Town for a few nights to start or end works really well with Botswana and we had guests who enjoyed seeing penguins on Boulders beach and enjoying delicious Cape Wine to end their Safari of a lifetime.
Botswana awaits.
Mefi & Georgie
