botswana safari area

• Travel Guides Plan your adventure
• Destinations Our favourite places
• Tours Book a trip
• Travel Companies Independent specialists
• Travel Guides
• Destinations
• Travel Companies

Safari in Botswana

An expert guide to botswana's best safari reserves, camps and experiences.

Anthony Ham

• In this guide
• Okavango Delta
• Chobe National Park
• Central Kalahari Game Reserve
• Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
• Need to know
• Getting around
• How it works

Of all the places I’ve been on safari in Africa, I think Botswana tops the list. There is so much to enjoy and, unlike in bigger safari destinations, in Botswana you’ll see a lot more wildlife than other travellers.

Botswana is where I went on my first self-drive safari, and, to this day, it remains my pick as the best place to drive yourself out into the wild in Africa. All but the inner reaches of the Okavango Delta are accessible in your own 4WD, and the experience of driving out into, and sleeping overnight in, lion country, or the amazing world of elephants, or miles from the nearest human being, remains my favourite way of going on safari.

At the heart of Botswana’s appeal are its signature wildlife destinations whose names – the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, Central Kalahari Game Reserve – read like a roll-call of storied wildlife kingdoms. And it’s not just the wildlife. From the deep greens and blues of the Delta in flood to the yellows and reds of the Kalahari, or the blinding whites of the salt pans, there is something elemental about Botswana’s call to the wild. In the following pages I’ll explain some of my Botswana safari highlights, and how you can see them for yourself.

featured botswana safaris

Popular Botswana Safari Through the Delta

Discover Botswana

Explore the okavango delta, kwando, the kalahari and chobe.

Best of Botswana Lodge Safari

Makgadikgadi Pans & Okavango Delta Safari Adventure

Botswana's Northern Highlights

10 day small group tour.

Okavango Delta horse riding safari

Discover botswana's amazing wildlife.

Affordable Victoria Falls & Chobe Safari

Chobe Camping Safaris

Okavango Kayaking Expedition

Unique camp-to-camp safari adventure.

Botswana Wildlife Camping Safari

Botswana's hidden gems.

Unlike Africa’s safari giants like Kenya , Tanzania , and South Africa , Botswana remains blissfully under the radar. Yet, it too faces the travel industry's irritating habit of focusing on the popular easy sellers at the expense of everywhere else. There's much more to Botswana than the Okavango Delta. In this guide I'll show you some of my favourite lesser-known Botswana safari spots.

Aerial view of the vast Okavango Delta, one of the best safari destinations in Africa

The best safaris in Botswana

Popular highlights & hidden gems.

Okavango kayaking expedition

Pretty much every Okavango tour itinerary will include a paddle on a traditional mokoro canoe. For something very different, set out on a multi-day, camp-to-camp kayaking expedition through the Delta. Paddle the gentle water spotting the planet's greatest wildlife and camp each night under the stars. Truly unique.

See elephants and more in Chobe National Park

Chobe incorporates two distinct regions: Chobe River (close to the Zimbabwe and Zambia borders), famous for its large elephant herds; and Savute (in the west), where a juxtaposition of contrasting habitats and handful of pumped water holes sustain a melting pot of species.

Chobe in general, but especially the riverfront, has one of the highest elephant densities in Africa and close-up sightings are almost guaranteed. Lions and leopards are also possible here, with giraffe, zebra, buffalo, hippo and crocodiles all commonly seen.

Game drives are the order of the day in Savute where wildlife-viewing is good year-round. Savute is known for its predators – I’ve always had luck with lion, leopard and cheetah here, and on my last trip I spent an afternoon watching a highly active den of African wild dogs. As with the rest of Chobe, elephants are everywhere in Savute.

Explore water world in the Okavango Delta

This is a world without fences and, because of the water levels, human settlements are mostly restricted to the Delta’s perimeter, leaving the rest to wildlife.

In the southern part of the Delta, including in Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai Community Concession, expect a mix of luxury tented camps and budget campsites catering mostly to those on self-drive safaris. The deeper you go into the Delta, the more the crowds thin, with entire concessions given over to the exclusive lodges and tented camps that are such a feature of a safari in Botswana. For most of the tourist season, many of these camps and lodges can only be reached by small plane. Out here, I’ve had the wildlife entirely to myself.

Taste true wilderness in the Central Kalahari

Measuring 52,000 square kilometres, I think this vast wilderness is a signature Botswana safari experience. Known for its golden grasslands, salt pans, sand dunes covered in vegetation and wide former river valleys, it’s a soulful experience that’s custom-made for a self-drive safari.

The mammal density and diversity are not quite a match for the northern parks making it less well-suited to first-time safari travellers but for the feel of a true African wilderness, CKGR is tough to beat.

Hugging the park’s northern boundary, the Hainaveld consists of a handful of compact, segregated, privately-owned reserves. The denser habitat means the landscape is less scenic than inside the park, but pumped waterholes concentrate the game in the dry season. Several of the lodges employ local Kalahari bushmen with legendary tracking skills, who will also teach you about their way of life on a guided walk.

Off the beaten path in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

In the far south of Botswana, this transfrontier park spills over into South Africa. The Botswana side of the park receives far fewer visitors than the South African sections across the border.

The scenery here consists of a dense scrubland and some of the loveliest salt-pan scenery anywhere in Botswana. With a number of hills overlooking these pans, they’re spectacular places, especially at sunset, and many of the self-drive campsites take full advantage of these hilltop positions.

Kgalagadi is known for its classic Kalahari wildlife, and aside from the usual oryx (gemsbok), giraffe and wide range of antelope species, I’ve always had luck with the extravagantly horned greater kudu, lion, cheetah and even a fleeting glimpse of meerkats.

The park provides habitat for nearly 300 different bird species, and I was particularly thrilled when the elusive Kalahari scrub robin and the vivid violet-eared waxbill visited my campsite one evening.

Ancient history in the Tsodilo Hills

Rising from the barren, sandy plains of the Kalahari in a remote corner of north-western Botswana, these four hills project a certain kind of magic. Sacred to the indigenous San people and reputed to possess mystical powers (as Laurens van der Post found in the 1950s on a visit that formed the centrepiece of his classic The Lost World of the Kalahari), the Tsodilo Hills are best known as one of the world’s finest galleries of ancient rock art. More than 4,500 artworks – mostly paintings, but engravings, too – adorn the rock walls of the range, and some date back thousands of years.

Walking trails lead past the artworks that range in subject matter from whales and penguins (despite Tsodilo Hills being more than 1000 km from the ocean) to lions and human figures. I highly recommend you visit with a local guide to greatly enhance your visit.

Unless you’re self-driving and staying at one of the campsites in the shadow of the Tsodilo Hills, there is no accommodation nearby.

Explore Northern Tuli Game Reserve

In the far southeastern corner of the country and formerly divided into a number of segregated farms alongside the Limpopo River, NTGR is now one of the largest privately-owned conservation areas in southern Africa. The spectacular landscape, featuring rolling hills, basalt cliffs, ancient riverbeds and towering granite kopjes , is unlike anywhere else in Botswana. In fact, when combined with its impressive portfolio of wildlife, it remains a mystery to me why more people don’t visit this remarkable place.

Expect regular sightings of elephant, giraffe, lion, leopard and cheetah as well as less common species like eland and klipspringer, and over 350 bird species. Ground-level photographic hides, ancient archaeological ruins and a choice of horse-riding, walking or even cycling safaris complete a chocolate box-assortment of activities.

Spot the flamingoes of Makgadikgadi Pans

Makgadikgadi Pans is famous for hosting one of the largest zebra migrations in Africa. Every year, tens of thousands of zebra migrate east-west through the park, between the pans in the east and the Boteti River out west. From high on the riverbank at the latter, I’ve watched zebras swarm down to the water’s edge in a haze of raised dust, dizzying stripes and distinctive zebra barks.

I’ve also seen flamingos away on the eastern pans in flocks so vast that they seem to move as a single entity. And I’ve drawn near to habituated meerkats just outside the park, and seen brown hyenas and aardvarks close to sunset.

Birding in the Okavango Panhandle

Although not a big game destination, the broad and meandering Okavango River in the northwest of the country is a birder’s paradise, with over 350 recorded species including several iconic Okavango specialties. It is also popular among anglers, particularly around September, when the receding flood waters concentrate huge shoals of baitfish, attracting a melee of catfish, tiger fish, bream and birds. Activities are mostly by boat or on foot.

Other wildlife is far less common, and you’d be lucky to see much more than a crocodile or hippo in the river’s waters.

Zebra migration in Nxai Pan National Park

I’ve always loved Nxai Pan – it’s never busy, my sightings of lion, elephant and cheetah seem perfectly framed by these big horizons, and the baobabs by the salt pans here are a striking presence. With a handful of campsites (including at remote Baines’ Baobabs, a remarkable cluster of seven ancient baobabs (named after explorer and painter, Thomas Baines) and just one upmarket lodge, there’s rarely more than a couple of other vehicles at any sighting.

As well as plenty of elephant, and a good chance of seeing lion and cheetah, Nxai Pan has a couple of other wildlife highlights to draw you here. After the rains, thousands of zebra migrate here from the Chobe and Linyanti rivers after the rains forming part of Africa’s longest zebra migration. And for reasons unknown, Nxai Pan is the only place in Botswana where you can see springbok and impala in the same place.

Linyanti, Kwando and Selinda Reserves

Scattered along the northern waterways of the perennial Linyanti and Kwando rivers, and the seasonal Selinda spillway, the camps in these three neighbouring private concessions operate in a similar manner to those inside the Okavango Delta.

Game-viewing is as good as in the Okavango, with predator-tracking a particular specialty of the Kwando camps. Most camps offer game or wildlife drives, mokoro boat trips, and sunset boat excursions.

What you see in these parts depends very much on the time of year you visit. In Linyanti, for example, from May to October, expect to see lots of elephants, while zebras migrate through the area, usually from February to April. At other times, wildlife can be very scarce, although the November-to-April wet season is excellent for birding in all three concessions, with migrants from Europe and North Africa here en masse.

Chitabe & Qorokwe concessions

In 25 years of African travel, I’ve never seen as much high-quality wildlife as I have in these fabulous Okavango concessions. Over two recent days, I saw leopards, nearly 30 lions, dozens of elephants, a pack of 20 wild dogs, and a cheetah mother with six sub-adult cubs.

Rory Sheldon

Splash camp.

Splash Camp is a small camp in the private Kwara Reserve. Operated by Kwando Safaris who have better responsible travel credentials than most: locally based, no greenwashing, and supporting valuable community projects.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Botswana doesn’t have many rhinos but most of them are here in this small, little-known sanctuary, in Paje, east of Central Kalahari Game Reserve. On a recent visit, I was waylaid for nearly an hour by two male black rhinos fighting for dominance right along the main track.

See the baobabs of Kubu Island

For the best of the pans, Kubu Island is a glorious ‘island’ of baobabs south of Makgadikgadi. This was the first place I ever camped in Botswana, and the magic has never left me.

Camp out in Khutse Game Reserve

The southern extension of the CKGR, Khutse gets very few visitors (except on weekends). I love its remote campsites (I once slept here, 40 km from the nearest person), its classic Kalahari scenery, and its lions, leopards and so much more.

Nata Bird Sanctuary

Out in the east of the Makgadikgadi Pans, the pans of this rarely visited community sanctuary draw up to 250,000 flamingos and other waterbirds from November or December until March or April.

Planet Baobab

A budget-friendly option with self-drive access, offering all the activities of its more expensive sister camps on the edge of the pans.

Savute Under Canvas

Easily the pick of the mobile camps in Chobe, &Beyond’s tented camp moves around the park almost weekly and captures the spirit of a mobile camp at its best.

Botswana Camping Safaris

Into Botswana & Zimbabwe

15 day small group tour, botswana safaris: need to know, everything you wish you'd known before you booked, inside tip: self-drive safaris.

Much is made of Botswana aiming for high-end, low-density safari tourism and it’s not uncommon for a luxury camp in the Delta to cost well over US$1,000 per person per night in high season. But it’s actually the mid-range, rather than budget, traveller that finds it difficult to build a reasonably priced safari in Botswana.

Much as the Botswana government prefers not to publicise the fact, it has a fantastic network of campsites around the country. Some are privately run, others are run by the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). Standard camping fees are USD $50/25 per adult/child. You can book directly through the park authorities or the private operators of the campsites, but you're better off booking through an agent. Renting a 4WD camper can seem expensive, but a two-week self-drive safari could end up costing the same for two people as one day on a fly-in, fly-out safari.

The best times for safari in Botswana

My favourite time to visit Botswana is during the dry season, June to September. During this time, most 4WD tracks are open, water levels in the Delta are ideal for mokoro trips and wildlife watching.

This period also corresponds with the high tourism season (which usually starts in June or July), so it’s also the busiest (and most expensive) time of year. During these months, it can also get extremely cold overnight and early morning throughout much of the Kalahari.

May or October can be a good compromise, although there’s a risk that the rains could linger or arrive early.

Access to the Delta may be limited, but the best months for birding are from November to March or April, when hundreds of migratory species arrive from Europe and North Africa.

Getting there & around

Although Gaborone is the capital of Botswana, the overwhelming majority of safari visitors to Botswana fly into Maun, in the country’s north-west. Maun is right alongside the Okavango Delta and not far from the Kalahari, and it has lots of safari companies, hotels, camps and restaurants and places to stock up on supplies making it the ideal gateway town.

Those heading to Chobe National Park may fly into Kasane, in the north-east. Kasane receives fewer international flights than Maun, but its proximity to Victoria Falls (84 km away by road, across the border in Zimbabwe) makes it well worth considering.

How a Botswana safari works

There are two main ways to go on safari in Botswana. One is to fly into Maun or Kasane (perhaps stay overnight, perhaps not) and then fly into one of the airstrips of the Okavango Delta or Chobe National Park. There you’ll be picked up by your accommodation, and then fly in and out of however many tented camps you’ll be staying in.

You can book all of this yourself, but most international visitors tend to book it via a tour operator.

The other option is a self-drive trip. You can fly into Maun or Kasane (or even Johannesburg) and pick up a 4WD, which will usually have a rooftop tent or other camping equipment. You’ll then drive yourself from one campsite to the next. Road and driving conditions in Botswana are significantly better than elsewhere in Southern Africa, but you’ll need to take obvious precautions such as driving during the day time and ensuring you’ve got sufficient supplies for long journeys.

Safari in the Okavango Delta

About the author.

Anthony is a renowned travel journalist and guidebook author and is one of the world's leading authorities on Africa safari, wildlife and conservation. He has been travelling to Africa for more than two decades to research Africa safari guidebooks for Lonely Planet. He is widely published in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Monthly, Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR), National Geographic Traveler, BBC Wildlife, Lonely Planet Traveller, Africa Geographic, The Independent, Travel Africa, among many others.

Featured tours

Okavango Honeymoon

Luxury honeymoon in botswana.

The Fantastic Family Safari

Family-friendly adventure exploring victoria falls and chobe national park, other guides you might like, safari in kenya, kenya's best safari reserves and camps.

Stuart Butler

South africa safari, an expert guide to safaris in south africa, wildebeest migration safaris, an essential guide to planning a migration safari in tanzania and kenya.

Hans Cosmas Ngoteya

Safari in zambia, an expert guide to zambia's best safari parks, camps & lodges.

Sarah Kingdom

Safari in tanzania, an expert guide to tanzania's best safari parks & camps, where and how to see the big 5 on safari in africa, safari in africa, our travel writers' top africa safari picks, zimbabwe safaris, an expert guide to the best safari camps in zimbabwe, chimpanzee trekking, an expert guide to seeing chimpanzees in the wild.

Philip Briggs

Namibia safari, an expert guide to the best safaris in namibia.

Melanie van Zyl

Why horizon guides.

Impartial travel guides

Our guides are written by the leading experts in their destinations. We never take payment for positive coverage so you can count on us for impartial travel advice.

Expert itineraries

Suggested itineraries and routes to help you scratch beneath the surface, avoid the tourist traps, and plan an authentic, responsible and enjoyable journey.

Specialist advice

Get friendly, expert travel advice and custom itineraries from some of the world's best tour operators, with no spam, pressure or commitment to book.

Our guides are 100% impartial and are written by independent, professional travel journalists. We make money by charging carefully-screened travel companies to list their business on our website. Our advertisers have no influence on our editorial content and we never accept payment for positive coverage.

Read more about how we work and what we believe in here .

• Travel guides
• Work with us

Sitemap , Privacy Copyright © 2024 Horizon Guides

Botswana Safaris

Botswana safari guide – where & when to go, and what to see.

Botswana safaris are truly special. The country doesn’t see as many tourists as most other countries in Southern and East Africa, but this in no way diminishes the quality of the game viewing and safari experience Botswana has to offer – and in many ways, it’s a bonus. Rural Botswana is an inhospitable place for humans, but a country that manages to support an incredible diversity and density of animals. Botswana wildlife is hands down some of the best anywhere in the world.

Botswana is a large, wild country (approximately the size of France) with a decent – but very limited – road network where only the major roads are tarmacked. This makes Botswana a safari destination for the intrepid. If you’re planning on doing an independent, self-drive safari in Botswana a high-clearance 4WD vehicle and spirit of self-reliance are essential to get the most out of your visits to the national parks. The country is easily accessed from South Africa, with the capital Gabaronne just a few hours’ drive from Johannesburg.

Self-drive safaris are a big thing in Botswana and are popular with overland tours and independent travellers alike. You’ll need a rugged 4WD to access all areas, and be confident that you’re totally self-sufficient if camping on your own in the bush. If this safari-style doesn’t appeal then browse our guide to  safari companies in Botswana to speak to a professional.

Geographically Botswana is covered in scrub brush and savannah grasslands, with the occasional impressive geographic feature such as the Okavango Delta and adjoining Chobe National Park, huge salt pans, and the brutally picturesque Kalahari Desert. The country is landlocked and lies at a fairly consistent average elevation of 1,000m. The windswept and sand-based Kalahari Desert covers over 80% of the country in the south, west, and centre. To the north lies 15,000 km sq of the Okavango Delta, fed by the Okavango River and forming the northern border with Namibia .  To the east lie the great salt and clay desert of the Makgadikgadi Pans and occasional deciduous forests towards the Zimbabwe border.

One of the most impressive African rivers for wildlife, Okavango River supplies year-round water to much of northern Botswana, and ends in the inland Okavango Delta, support a vast array of Southern African mammal species. These include the big five , wild dogs , hippos , hyenas , honey badgers , and a broad range of gazelles and hoofed mammals.

Each year Botswana is home to one of Africa’s largest annual migrations , featuring huge herds of wildebeest, zebra, and other wild animals as they move from their winter ranges in the Makgadikgadi plains to the summer feeding grounds of the Nxai Pan region. Not as large in scale as the East African ‘ great migration ‘, but there are also far fewer tourists around to take away from the experience. This lack of tourists, the sheer scale of the wilderness and the abundance of game in Botswana’s national parks come together to make Botswana a safari destination that’s hard to better, wherever you visit in Africa.

Useful resources

Book a Botswana safari

Botswana wildlife

Botswana Tourist Board

Bostwana guidebooks

Botswana safari highlights

Okavango delta botswana, fly-in safari.

Safaris don’t come much better or more luxurious than an all-inclusive fly-in safari deep in the Okavango Delta . Take a four-seater flight over the wetlands, wildlife spotting as you’re flown to an exclusive, out-of-the-way lodge for a few days of game drives, safari walks , and boat trips .

Big five spotting

Go big game spotting at Chobe National Park – perhaps Botswana’s most famous national park . Boat safaris are a big draw here, with a waterfront teeming with wildlife… but you’ll have to be very lucky to see all big five from a boat – game drives in a 4X4 jeep are more the order of the day.

Leopard spotting in Moremi

The east side of the Okavango Delta Moremi Game Reserve is regarded as one of the top African leopard hangouts. On the fringes of the delta where water collects in small lagoons and fills grassy floodplains, antelope (and all sorts of other wildlife) are plentiful. Perfect leopard country.

Mokoro safaris on the water

The Okavango Delta offers ample opportunities to get out on to the water for some top-class wildlife viewing. Traditional wooden mokoros are a fun and eco-friendly way to head out on a canoe safari , though propeller boats are on offer too, and can easily be combined with superb walking safaris .

Best time to safari in Botswana

May to August is the best time to organize a safari in Botswana, as during this winter season the days are cool and sunny, and the lack of water drives the wildlife to congregate around permanent water sources. At this time getting around the country is fairly straightforward, with dust rather than water being the main obstacle. During winter months wildlife spotting is easy – simply find a river or watering hole and dig in to wait for the action. Bear in mind is that July and August is school holiday time, meaning more tourists than usual, higher prices for safari accommodation and tours, and busier national parks.

October to April is summer season in Botswana but brings with it severe heat and the rains – occasionally in extreme amounts. Getting around the country by road during summer can be disrupted by flooding, as many of the secondary roads are not tarmacked. Wildlife is also more dispersed and harder to spot, hidden by lush vegetation. An exception to this is in parts of the Okavango Delta where there’s so much flooding that many islands form, trapping wildlife which can be viewed from a boat – though vegetation still causes a problem.

Flights To Botswana

Search, track and book flights to Botswana, from anywhere in the world.

Botswana Accommodation

Find safari accommodation in Botswana – from budget campsites to luxury lodges.

Botswana Car Hire

Considering a self-drive safari? Research and book car hire in Botswana.

Activities in Botswana

Search and book things to do in Botswana – tours, excursions and activities.

National parks in Botswana

All national parks in Botswana are run by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), based in Gaborone, who enforce a strict no driving after dark rule in the parks. ( See this great article on driving in Botswana .)

Whilst not actually a national park or reserve, Botswana is renowned worldwide for the Okavango Delta region in the north of the country, providing water and supporting an incredible array of African wildlife.

Top Botswana national park picks

• Moremi Game Reserve

The only part of the Okavango Delta that’s officially a national park, Moremi covers almost one-third of the delta, and is packed with wildlife. There’s no public transport so you’ll have to get yourself there, but the trade-off is fewer tourists to share the plethora of wildlife with.

• Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park was Botswana’s first national park at an impressive 11,000 km sq. There’s easy access for spectacular game viewing from a boat on the Chobe river and the network of dirt and gravel roads. The Savuti area in south west Chobe is recognised as having one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.

Makagadikgadi Nzai Pan National Park

Feel the unfettered freedom of driving through the never-ending parched-white salt pans, or plan your trip for the when the rains come and bird life and herd animals abound, including one of Africa’s largest migrations .

Central Kalahari National Park

One of Africa’s largest protected area at a whopping 52,000 km sq. Braving the tough conditions of Central Kalahari National Park in your own 4WD may reward you with viewings of hyena packs and prides of lions in the unforgiving desert.

All national parks in Botswana

Use the map to locate all national parks in Botswana. Click the icons for more info.

Get Directions

• Central Kalahari Game Reserve
• Makgadikgadu National Park
• Nxai Pan National Park
• Okavango Delta

Botswana safari resources

Botswana safari companies.

Though Botswana has a relatively low number of inbound tourists each year, a very high proportion of these come for the wildlife. Around the capital Gabarone and also Maun – the de-facto capital of the Okavango Delta – there are numerous safari tour companies to suit all budgets. Check out our reviews of safari tour companies in Botswana .

Botswana safari lodges

Botswana has a focus on low-impact, high-end safaris, and the accommodation on offer reflects this. Luxury safari lodges are the primary accommodation in Botswana, though there are also mid-range accommodation in the tourist enclaves of Maun and Gabarone. If you have your own tent most safari lodges have an area where you can pitch up for the night, along with decent washing and BBQ facilities as standard. Search and book safari lodges in Botswana , or find all accommodation in Botswana below.

Search all Botswana accommodation

Read safari guides to all countries

Botswana safaris , Namibia safaris , Rwanda safaris , South Africa safaris , Tanzania safaris , Uganda safaris , Zimbabwe safaris

Do you have any experience of planning or going on safari in Botswana?

We’d love to hear any feedback or tips you may have – please get in touch , or add to the comments below.

Top countries for safaris

• Botswana safaris
• Kenya safaris
• Namibia safaris
• South Africa safaris
• Tanzania safaris
• Uganda safaris

Safari basics

• Safari animals
• How to find the right safari company
• When to go on safari
• What to take on safari
• Safari clothing – what to wear
• Safari rules & etiquette
• Wildlife spotting tips

Most read articles

• All about the ‘big five’ animals
• Collective nouns for animals
• Safari movies to watch before you go
• The world’s fastest land animals
• Apex predators
• 10 Fascinating African tribes
• The biggest animals in the world
• 17 Epic hybrid animals
• The world’s ugliest animals
• Why are flamingos pink?

Africa’s best game reserves

• Chobe National Park, Botswana
• Etosha National Park, Namibia
• Kruger National Park, South Africa
• Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
• Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
• Okavango Delta, Botswana
• Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Session expired

Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.

• Moremi Game Reserve

Moremi Game Reserve is a pristine safari paradise.

A little bit about Moremi Game Reserve

Welcome to the oldest protected section of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

A 100 years after explorer David Livingstone called this land ‘country full of rivers’, the environment and wildlife in the Moremi area were under threat. It is because of the bold, local Batawana people that this area was proclaimed Moremi Game Reserve in 1963, making Moremi the oldest and first protected reserve of the Okavango Delta.

As a sign of gratitude, the reserve is named after Batawana tribe members, Chief Moremi III and his wife. Now, the Moremi Game Reserve is one of the most diverse reserves with surprises everywhere, even for the most seasoned Africa-travelers.

Going on a Moremi Safari

Are you considering or planning a trip to the Moremi Game Reserve? It will be an unforgettable journey. Before you hop on a plane, we would like to provide a bit more background information. (If only to stir the anticipation of going!)

Chances are you have plenty of questions; what is the best time to travel to the Moremi? What should I pack? No worries, get ready to discover more in the sections below. Please use our contact form below for more questions you might have.

About Moremi   Game  Reserve

A striking number of wildlife species, birdlife and a diverse landscape; combining mopane woodland, floodplains, fairytale like lagoons, papyrus rivers and acacia forests. There is no other place in Africa where so many ecosystems seamlessly coalesce.

Moremi reserve special offers

Waiting for that special offer, one that seems tailor-made for you? Many Moremi lodges offer discounted rates when staying for three nights or more. Our Moremi deals offer outstanding value for money, so we hope to see you soon in beautiful Botswana!

Getting to Moremi Game Reserve

Wherever you want to go to the Okavango Delta or Moremi Game Reserve, it all starts in Maun: a small but bustling town and the capital of the Kalahari. A range of domestic flights connections is available as well as flights from South Africa.

Watching the sunrise from the deck of one's room and listening to the call of the African Fish Eagles makes this a paradise to any wildlife photographer.

Absolute dream vacation. Took our then 12 and 14 year old daughters, who cried when we left. The people, the service, the food, the view, the safaris.... If you every get the opportunity GO!!

Our guide OD was wonderful and willingly shared his vast knowledge and insight of the animals. We were incredibly lucky to see the packs of wild dogs three days running.

Moremi safari lodges

At one of Africa’s most unique locations, you will find the most heart warming hospitality, the fluffiest towels, yummiest homemade muffins and unforgettable views from your own deck.

Let us help you find the best safari home in the Moremi Game Reserve. All lodges in the Moremi are intimate, personal and provide the ultimate atmosphere to truly recline and reconnect with nature.

• Price $$$$$

Camp Moremi

lodge style Lush green oasis

Are you seeking a classic, diverse safari experience? Camp Moremi is located in an area with vast variations in landscape, attracting abundant wildlife – big game, elegant antelopes, majestic birds; discover it all at this warm-hearted camp.

from US$ 629 per person per night

Camp Xakanaxa

lodge style Authentic Moremi

A bright, fiery sun slowly sinks into the horizon and the sky colours pink. You take a sip of your drink and slowly realise what a magnificent place this is: welcome to Camp Xakanaxa – a truly classic spot in Botwana's untouched Moremi Game Reserve.

Little Sable

lodge style Affordable chic

Little Sable Camp takes you back to the early days of going on safari in Botswana when it was all about the safari experience and not necessarily the luxury trappings of a camp. This intimate, tented retreat is located amid the grasslands of the Khwai Reserve.

from US$ 574 per person per night

Xigera Safari Lodge

lodge style Unveiling the wilderness

Experience luxurious safari living at Xigera Lodge in Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve. Fusing sustainability and elegance, Xigera offers a unique escape into the heart of the Okavango. Your unforgettable adventure begins here.

from US$ 2,874 per person per night

Nokanyana Lodge

lodge style A wild day out

Nokanyana means “little river”, and this is exactly what this new lodge is all about. Being close to water means that the action -literally- takes place on your doorstep. No need to venture far away from the lodge at all!

from US$ 360 per person per night

Khwai Guest House

lodge style Simple and affordable

Khwai Guest House is not a traditional safari lodge: this charming little property really is more your home away from home whilst travelling in Botswana. Look no further when searching for an affordable stay.

from US$ 152 per person per night

Belmond Khwai Camp

lodge style Sink in endless safari luxury

At this luxury lodge, you will find a relaxed home away from home. Elevated on wooden platforms, the panoramic views from your hammock will also make you forever raise your standards for the next African safari.

from US$ 749 per person per night

Sanctuary Chief's Camp

lodge style Moremi predator capital

This Moremi lodge has an almost healing effect on its guests. Fine food and wines, a stunning spa, and excellent game viewing: it’s no wonder that Chief’s Camp is frequently rated one of the top Moremi camps.

from US$ 2,334 per person per night

Little Machaba Camp

lodge style 1950s style tented comfort

Little Machaba is built in a classic 1950s style, with luxury safari tents, en-suite bathrooms and living areas, not forgetting romantic outdoor showers. All tents are situated on decks between the large riverine trees.

from US$ 639 per person per night

lodge style Faultless flow

Okuti is modern and elegant; its design inspired by the rich Maunachira river that flows alongside the camp. Immerse yourself in a rustic safari experience - with luxury frills like a great morning coffee served on your private deck.

lodge style The perfect safari

A luxurious camp - but without overdoing it -, a staff that offers the warmest possible hospitality, and last but not least: enormous concentrations of wildlife, where viewing begins right on your own deck - this is Mombo Camp.

from US$ 2,889 per person per night

Machaba Camp

lodge style Great river camp

A stunning location, right on the Khwai river: this independently owned camp is the perfect family destination. Dense wildlife, classic safari tents, and timeless hospitality – welcome to Machaba Camp in Moremi Game Reserve.

from US$ 640 per person per night

lodge style Starry starry nights

Stay (and sleep) on your very own platform overlooking a waterhole (the only permanent water source around), visited by elephants, along with lion, leopard, eland, zebra, and more, making for some pretty magnificent game viewing.

from US$ 724 per person per night

Tuludi Camp

lodge style Opulent and refined

Fit for a fairytale, that is Tuludi Camp in Khwai Private Reserve near Moremi Game Reserve. Huge tents with an Afro-chique theme ensure the most confortable of stays you'll ever experience. Did we mention the private plunge pool already?

from US$ 1,359 per person per night

Sable Alley

lodge style Lagoon-side paradise

Located right on the banks of a lily-covered lagoon, home to hippo and a favourite drinking spot for elephant and buffalo, the big game literally comes to you at Sable Alley. However, we do recommend venturing out to further explore the area.

from US$ 934 per person per night

Khwai Leadwood

lodge style Riverside luxury

Khwai Leadwood is the newest lodge in the area. Located on a beautiful site within the community-run Khwai concession, on the banks of a lagoon flowing into the Khwai river, and offers visitors staying here several unique ways to experience Africa.

from US$ 619 per person per night

Sango Safari Camp

lodge style Africa’s true voice

Protected by trees and on the banks of the Khwai River is Sango Camp, partly owned by local inhabitants of the area. A place where you will feel at home, from the minute you are welcomed with local songs – and this camp has some notably good singers, too.

from US$ 394 per person per night

Little Mombo Camp

lodge style Place of plenty

Cheetahs, lions, wild dogs – get ready for some spectacular sightings at this predator haven. And soon after arrival, you will realise that not just the game viewing is spectacular at this little gem. Kick back, relax, and immerse yourself in some soulful Moremi living.

Khwai Tented

lodge style Yester-year romance

Have you always been curious about the Africa of past times? Where people found themselves in sync with their surroundings, and the world just seemed to be so… well, simple? Venture out to this camp, and you will experience a rustic harmony.

from US$ 600 per person per night

lodge style Intimate and sustainable

Hyena Pan Camp isn’t a place for those looking for opulence and extravagance; it is a piece of big-game Africa, where the wildlife encounters are authentic, intimate and always wild. This concession area is a meeting point for more animals than you can think of.

Saguni Lodge

lodge style Tented Lagoon safari haven

Open vehicle photographic and walking safaris, exhilarating night drives, cultural visits and mokoro (traditional dug out canoe) excursions are all waiting for you when staying at Saguni Safari Lodge. This must be the ultimate Moremi (and Okavango!) safari experience.

from US$ 479 per person per night

Straight off the small plane, straight into a jeep and within minutes we were seeing 3 different animals. WOW!

The camp works hard to minimise its environmental footprint and when staying at Khwai you feel like you are nature's guest and not intruding. The tents are spacious, clean and the beds super comfy.

The camp is beautifully appointed and maintained and the food was excellent, whether served in the dining room or outside under the shade of the huge trees.

Moremi Video

The best way of getting an idea what the Moremi Game Reserve is about is by seeing some incredible footage from the area. View this video of Camp Moremi to experience one of the lodges and wildlfe in the game reserve.

Be careful, after watching this video you can be sure that you want to travel to Botswana. Today.

It is truly the Land of Plenty. It is hard to drive for more than a few minutes without coming across zebra, giraffe, impala or other game.

Quite a number of animals are passing through the camp – imagine you are in the swimming pool and a group of elephants is passing by only a few meters from you without any “protection” in between!

We loved Moremi, mainly because it was the least developed and crowded of all the parks we visited.

Send your enquiry

We hope you have found all information needed to decide that Moremi Game Reserve is the perfect place for your next travel adventure. Still have questions? Or maybe you would like some more specific information about one of the topics on this page? Please fill in the contact form and we will get back to you soon!

• Maun, Botswana
• [email protected]

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

How to Plan a Safari in Botswana, According to Experts

A beginner's guide to safari vacations in Botswana.

Marc Stickler Photography/Courtesy of Natural Selection

An African safari ranks high on the wish list of many a world traveler. Of the millions of adventurers who make the trek here annually, the (ahem) lion’s share will end up in the game reserves of Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania — enduringly popular destinations for wildlife viewing in Africa. But in recent years, Botswana has been nipping at the heels of those countries. 

Botswana is home to diverse landscapes that span delta to desert, and the local culture is vibrant and inviting. The Botswana bush is teeming with majestic fauna, including Africa’s largest population of elephants — they are protected by a government focused on conservation, and tour operators committed to the same. And a safari here means you get to enjoy all of the above with far fewer humans than in its aforementioned continental counterparts.  

“Botswana is an anomaly in Africa,” said Ian Proctor, president and managing director of Ultimate Africa Safaris . “It is considered one of the safest and most stable democracies on the continent.” 

Proctor has been preparing customized itineraries for safari-going clients since 1996, and during that time he estimates he’s personally enjoyed more than 250 experiences across the African continent. Botswana has become his go-to destination, and in no small part because of the modernization of its government.

“Citizens receive free universal health care, and LGBTQ+ communities are legally recognized,” he cited as examples. “And with a very small population, its wilderness areas are unparalleled — and, importantly, uncrowded.”

Ready to pack your bags? Here’s how to plan your Botswana safari, along with insight from experts on what you can expect along the way.

Courtesy of Natural Selection

How to Get to Botswana 

The most common way to get to the Botswana bush is by way of Safarilink flights out of Maun National Airport (MUB), in the northwestern part of the country. Midsized runways here can’t accommodate jumbo jets, so you won’t find direct service from the U.S. That’s a blessing in disguise, though. The added stop you’ll need — in either Johannesburg or Cape Town — weeds out those tourists who aren’t willing to brave nearly 16 hours of total flight time. 

Really, it’s not nearly as arduous as it seems. American carriers now offer multiple direct options per day into South Africa from New York and Atlanta. And if you work with an outfitter like Ultimate Africa Safaris, you can bookend your safari with well-curated layovers in those connecting cities. 

Best Times to Go to Botswana

Weather-wise, Botswana is at its most inviting from early May through the end of September. Temperatures are more moderate during these winter months, and malaria is less prevalent. Things start to get somewhat wet come mid-October, but if birding is your thing, the rainy season is precisely when you want to arrive. The Nata Bird Sanctuary along the northeastern edge of the massive Makgadikgadi Salt Pans is the world’s largest breeding ground for Lesser and Greater Flamingo. This ancient, Switzerland-sized lakebed is a shrimp-infested food source for the birds, which pass through by the hundreds of thousands from November through March. 

Best Places to Stay  

When it comes to world-class safari camps, this part of Africa is chockablock with options. They run the gamut from rugged to ultra-luxe and are scattered across every corner of the country’s dynamic terrain. You’ll want to allot ample time to explore the Okavango Delta. This massive marshland in northern Botswana boasts a footprint of nearly 8,000 square miles and is regarded as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. From there, you can transfer by bush plane to the outskirts of the Kalahari Desert to enjoy a wholly different landscape. 

“Botswana dedicates so much space for wildlife — we are actually in the top 10 percent in the world for wildlife conservation,” said Super Sande, a native of Botswana who has been a guide in the country for 32 years. “Between the wet and dry parts of our country, the diversity of game that you see is like nowhere else. You can be surrounded by thousands of zebra and wildebeest and be the only car there. It’s so special.”

Logistically, it’s easiest to take all of these wonders in by booking an all-inclusive package with a tour operator. One such example is Natural Selection's “Botswana Explorer” package, which covers multitudes of terrain over 10 days, including an overnight on a Delta houseboat and luxe stays in private game reserves. The program starts at $8,235 per person, which includes a guide, transfers, and meals along the way. 

As for individual standouts, Jack’s Camp is king of the desert. The legendary outpost along the edge of the salt pan underwent a full rebuild in 2021, and it now boasts rooms with private plunge pools and bedside air conditioning. Its common area is the aesthetic equivalent of stepping into the late 19th century, anchored by a Persian tea tent and a full bar with a comprehensive collection of cultural artifacts. Prices at the year-round lodge range from $1,450 to $2,495 per night, depending on room size and time of year. 

In the Delta, a similar level of luxury can be found at Tuludi . The seven-room property sits on the Khwai Private Reserve — 772 square miles of floodplain awash with wildlife. Suites feature outdoor baths and plunge pools. Don’t be surprised if you’re visited in the evening hours by the local herd of elephants who enjoy feeding on foliage here once the sun has set. 

Later this year, Tawana Camp will become the newest option in the Okavango, and the only camp located within the protected Moremi Game Reserve. This exclusivity is owed to a first-of-its-kind partnership between Natural Selection and the BaTawana nation — who have stewarded the land since the late 18th century (the camp takes its name from the nation's current ruler). It will feature all the trappings of five-star living, including butler service and its own gym. The whole camp is positioned alongside a gently rolling river crowded with hippos, lions, and zebra.

What You’ll See in Botswana

Peter & Beverly Pickford Wildlife Photography/Courtesy of Natural Selection

If you stay on a riverfront camp such as Duke’s , you can head out into the water on traditional canoe-like vessels known as mokorom, and from this vantage point, you’ll spy African fish eagles and saddle-billed storks along the shore. You’ll also likely paddle past hippos, whose eyes hover menacingly just above the waterline. Back on dry land, lions prowl in outsized prides, leopards carry slain impala into the trees, and baboons scamper across the plains by the dozen. 

Elephant fans will want to book a stay at Hyena Pan , hidden among the thick mopane forests of Khwai Private Reserve. A short game drive brings you to a repurposed shipping container abutting a watering hole. This is the Elephant Hide, and it affords an intimate spectacle of the largest living land animal, which congregate just a few inches from a narrow viewing slot fashioned into the side of a steel wall. 

In the salt pan, you can marvel at colorful creatures of all shapes, sizes, and speeds. The edge of the ancient lakebed is inundated with meerkats, Cape hares, aardwolves, hyenas, and cheetahs, to name but a small cross section of species.

“I see the most interesting things here at night, especially,” Sande said. “I just recently saw two honey badgers fighting off some jackals. No two game drives are ever the same.”

A lot of a safari experience depends on good fortune, of course. But luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity, and the difference between a good guide and a great guide is careful planning, according to Kagisano Bapute, who steers guests toward unforgettable game viewing in and around Tuludi Camp. 

“You have to stay up to date with everything going on from day to day, and from season to season,” Bapute added. “You’re always checking in with a network of trackers, and you have to be working around the clock, so you’re not just going out there blindly once you have guests with you.” 

What You’ll Eat and Drink 

While staying at any high-end safari camp, you can expect robust meals that rotate regularly, often featuring staples of Western cuisine. At Tuludi, for example, elegant pasta dishes are mainstays on the menu. Sable Alley has its own pizza station. 

While it’s easy to gravitate toward the familiar — and there are certainly some great hamburgers to be enjoyed in the bush — if you’ve come all this way, do as the locals do and save room for seswaa . The flavorful beef stew is frequently served for supper along with local bread, phapatha . Vegetarians can keep an eye out for morogo , a spinach dish studded with onions and tomatoes. 

When it comes to cocktails, gin is king here, and Okavango even has its very own. The award-winning eponymous offering is distilled with local botanicals, including the mopane seed. At Sable Alley, the bar staff is working it into the Bluebird: two parts gin, one part blue curaçao, and a splash of simple syrup, garnished with a slice of lemon. 

Alternatively, book a stay at San Camp and you’ll drive into the heart of the Kalahiri for cocktail hour. A makeshift bar is set up atop the pale, crusted earth, just in time for sunset. Once it gets dark, a multi-course feast is prepared by campfire, with nary another soul in sight. For dessert, gaze up at the most dazzling star-scape you’ll ever see.

Related Articles

The Best Safari Destinations in Botswana

Central kalahari game reserve.

Great For : Escaping the rest of the world and self drive safari.

Highlights : The great zebra migration, tracking animals around shrivelling waterholes.

An evocative desert that covers most of Botswana, the Central Kalahari is where you’ll find thrilling safari drama . There isn’t much to eat nor much water, so the animals are widely spread.

But if you seek adventure and have a little patience you’ll be bumping between waterholes, coming across all kinds of desert magic.

Check out the national park campsites as this is one of the best places in Africa for a self drive safari .

Best Time to Visit the Central Kalahari : January to April, during and after the rains will show the most wildlife although it’s hard to get around. May to August is also wonderful.

Also Consider : Etosha National Park in Namibia has a similar, wild desert feel.

Combine With : Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, Caprivi, or destinations in Namibia.

Chobe National Park

Great For : Elephants, elephants, elephants. And lots of hippos.

Highlights : The world’s largest elephant population; river safari and budget mobile camps.

It’s possible to picture a herd of 15 elephants. Maybe you can imagine what 100 elephants look like. But 100,000? That’s how many reside in and around the Chobe forests and the experience is unfathomable.

Giraffe and hippos are also incredibly numerous, although the thick greenery makes it pretty hard to see the big cats.

River safaris provide a great introduction and you only need two days to really get a sense of what Chobe is about. Best of all, Chobe is really good value for such a unique safari, especially wild mobile camps in the forest.

Best Time to Visit Chobe : The dry season of May to November has the highest concentration of animals and it’s easy to get around; many of the herds disperse during the rains.

Also Consider : Nearby Linyanti and Selinda for a more exclusive safari in this region.

Combine With : Victoria Falls and the Okavango Delta for a brilliant holiday week.

Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve

Great For : Celebrating the wonder of nature and being surrounded by wildlife.

Highlights : The landscape itself; water and walking safaris; getting lost.

Every year the Kalahari Desert floods , thanks to water that has spent three months snaking down from the Angolan Highlands. It creates one of nature’s great events , an oasis that attracts animals from hundreds of miles around.

Moremi Game Reserve is the game-rich heart of the Delta. More than a dozen concessions surround Moremi, each offering a fairly exclusive safari experience.

Just note that a Delta is difficult to get around so it can get expensive to safari here. In general, the further you go towards Moremi the more animals and the higher cost.

A mixed safari program is recommended as the Okavango is probably the best in Africa for a water-based safari and there are great walking and riding options.

Best Time to Visit the Okavango Delta : June to August is when the water is highest and is when the animals migrate here, but the Okavango remains a great destination throughout the rest of the year.

Also Consider : There’s nowhere else in the world like the Okavango.

Combine With : Chobe for a varied safari.

Selinda, Kwando and Linyanti Concessions

Great For :  Highly exclusive and intimate safari experiences.

Highlights : Everything; the landscapes, the guides, the activities and the chance to be alone with nature.

These private concessions showcase a mix of habitats, mingling Chobe-style forests with swamplands, grasslands, and floodplains. The safari experience is unparalleled but it’s also expensive and highly exclusive.

You’ll be paying upwards of USD 1000 per night and access to these concessions is restricted to just a handful of guests.

If you can afford such a premium it’s hard to find a better safari in the whole of Africa , given the abundance and variety of wildlife, plus the intimacy and diversity of experiences.

Best Time to Visit Selinda, Kwando and Linyanti : These destinations are superb all year around. July to October are considered the best months but the other months mean low-season price discounts.

Also Consider : Private concessions in the Greater Kruger .

Combine With : Victoria Falls and the Okavango Delta.

• Inspiration
• Destinations
• Places To Stay
• Style & Culture
• Food & Drink
• Wellness & Spas
• News & Advice
• Partnerships
• Traveller's Directory
• Travel Tips
• Competitions

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Botswana safari: an insider's guide to the adventure of a lifetime

Not many places in Africa still feel completely wild, which accounts for Botswana ’s ongoing allure as an exceptional safari destination. Regarded as one of Africa’s most expensive game-viewing destinations, Botswana represents the sharp edge of adventurous, transformative travel to pristine, remote places with a timeless appeal. All the best safari operators have a solid presence here, from AndBeyond and Wilderness to Great Plains Conservation and Natural Selection. In their shared mission to fund the conservation of wild places through sustainable , positive-impact travel, old camps in prime locations have been rebuilt to more exacting earth-friendly standards, while expedition-style camps and authentic mobile operations in increasingly far-flung concessions are all the rage – privacy and access to space being the ultimate luxuries.

Botswana’s main attraction is the Okavango Delta, a lush wilderness of grassy floodplains, islands and a complex network of water channels shaped by hippo and elephant activity in one of the most nutrient-rich ecosystems in the world. The Okavango Delta is known for exceptional wildlife viewing, unparalleled predator populations, and excellent birding, particularly in the breeding season. Like walking, exploration by boat and mokoro (dug-out canoe) adds an exciting, more immersive dimension to game viewing. Further north, the private reserves of the Selinda, Kwando and Linyanti are vast wilderness areas with equally rich river systems. With only a handful of stylish bush camps, guests enjoy exclusive access to all this space and prime game viewing. Enormous elephant herds are synonymous with the ever-popular Chobe National Park, which stretches from the Chobe River to the fringes of the Okavango in the south. In particular, the Savute marsh area offers some of Botswana’s most dramatic predator-prey interactions. The semi-desert Kalahari dominates most of Botswana and offers surprisingly diverse game viewing, from black-maned lions, brown hyenas and wild dogs to typically elusive species, like aardwolf, pangolin, wild cat, and meerkat. And then there is the other-worldly Makgadikgadi salt pans where arid savannah grasslands provide lush grazing for thousands of plains zebra during the green season. Interpretative walks with the Kalahari’s San people offer a fascinating insight into their traditional hunter-gatherer culture.

Where to go on a Botswana safari

Much of the Okavango Delta, a  UNESCO World Heritage Site , is protected by the Moremi Game Reserve. Surrounding this are privately managed conservation concessions, many previously given to hunting. Granted by lease from local communities, expansion in these small concessions has been kept in check by strict environmental standards and visitor number restrictions. Many Insta-worthy, eco-luxe, sustainably run  safari camps  are located in this low-footprint, game-rich private concessions that benefit local communities.

A fine example is Natural Selection’s partnership with local, land-owning communities in the Khwai reserve, a 200,000-hectare privately protected area where proceeds from eco-friendly camps, like Sable Alley and Tuludi, are ploughed straight back into conservation and empowerment projects.

Unlike the national parks and reserves, private concessions offer the flexibility and freedom of guided walking safaris, night drives and off-roading for up-close animal sightings and photography. It is unusual to see vehicles on game drives other than those from the same camp. Many of the best camps are only accessible by air, a perfect opportunity to appreciate the delta’s patchwork of islands, floodplains, crystal-clear channels, and lagoons from above. Helicopter transfers between camps or into remote areas, like the Kweene Trails concession where Beagle Expeditions operates exclusive-use mobile camps, reveal the diversity and amount of wildlife from the air: pods of hippos, elephants feeding on the water’s edge, and fleet-footed red lechwe leaping through the shallows.

The Linyanti region, between the  Okavango Delta ,  Chobe National Park and Namibia’s  Caprivi Strip , has permanent rivers and sprawling floodplains supporting prolific wildlife, in particular hippos and crocodiles, big cats, large buffalo and elephant herds, and reliable wild dog sightings. Boat cruises and walks are also excellent for birding. During the dry winter season, the Linyanti, Selinda and Kwando reserves really come into their own as safari destinations when animals migrate to the Linyanti wetlands from the woodlands and high concentrations of game are seen along the waterways.

The wide, open spaces of the semi-arid Kalahari and lunar-like Makgadikgadi salt flats offer a completely different perspective of the country after the lushness of the wetlands. The Bousfield family’s Jack’s Camp put the Makgadikgadi salt pans on the safari circuit. Marooned on a grassy island on the edge of 10,000 kilometres of salt flats, it remains the only safari operation for 160 kilometres. (100 miles). From combing the pans for fossils and elusive brown hyenas to sleeping under the stars on nearby Kubu Island, this is a place to be humbled by the deafening silence of such extraordinary vastness, broken only by the rustle of mokolwane palm leaves on the islands.

When to go on a Botswana safari

Given the popularity of Botswana’s small camps, ‘whenever you can get a booking’ is the best time to go. It also depends on what interests you and where you are going. The best time to visit the Okavango Delta is during the dry winter season from June to September when the delta floods and rising water levels attract animals from the dry interior. This is also the best time for water activities, like mokoro trips, boating and fishing. The water levels are usually at their highest in August , promising excellent game viewing along the waterways. Nothing beats being in Botswana when the life-giving first rains arrive in November , triggering the calving season for impala and other antelope species. For birders, the summer months offer the dual attraction of resident and migratory birds. Elsewhere, to witness dramatic predator-prey encounters, the dry months are also considered prime as animals are concentrated at water sources. Wildlife disperses during the rainy summer months, from January to April, and can be trickier to find. The best time to visit Chobe National Park is between June and October, when enormous elephant herds congregate on the riverbanks. The Makgadikgadi experiences dramatic seasonal changes, which dictate activities. The dry winter season is for zooming across the salt pans on fat bikes or quads, hanging out with habituated meerkats and camping out under the stars; summer’s lush grasses are a magnet for thousands of migrating zebras and flamingoes.

Where to stay on a Botswana Safari

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, Chitabe Concession, Okavango Delta

This designer off-grid lodge is on the edge of game-rich Chief’s Island in the private Chitabe concession. Twelve guest suites, clad in timber to resemble weaver’s nests, hang like giant baskets in the tree canopy, creating a sense of being cocooned in nature. During the day, iridescent dragonflies and jewel-bright birds dart in and out of the reed-filled Sandibe River in front of the camp while grunting hippos and a chorus of painted reed frogs lull you to sleep at night. Twice-daily game drives are good for regular sightings of lion, cheetah, wild dog, red lechwe and elephant.

Best for: Giddily romantic getaways for two include taking a plunge in your private pool after dark while fireflies flash in and out of the reeds and a hyena yelps somewhere out there in the wilderness. Luxurious sheets feel much more decadent in pared-down interiors, not overwhelmed by gratuitous detail.  andbeyond.com

Xigera Safari Lodge

The most ambitious African art collection ever commissioned – during lockdown, no less – is the USP of this glamorous safari camp, accessed by boat when the delta floods. Red Carnation’s Tollman family collaborated with Southern Guild, a contemporary design gallery in Cape Town, to commission 80 artists, artisans, crafters and designers across Africa to produce a living gallery in the Moremi Game Reserve. It includes furniture sculpted on-site from fallen trees and bespoke crockery collections by some of the continent’s edgiest ceramicists. Design inspiration came from the natural surroundings, like the lily pad design of the bronze-cast shower floors. Menus tempt with lamb rogan josh, a nod to the Oyster Box in South Africa, but there is also plant-based wholesomeness. Despite its lavish footprint, the entire property is off-grid – the latest in Tesla solar-hybrid energy technology powers the staff village too.

Best for: Drift along in a glass-bottomed mokoro, then sleep in the triple-storey, an off-grid treehouse with an open-air rooftop bed. This star bed doubles as a monumental baobab sculpture. And don’t miss the shop for exquisite homeware and objects by Bronze Age, Chuma Maweni, Madoda Fani, and Stanislaw Trzebinksi, as well as African-made jewellery, clothing, bags, purses and linen. xigera.com

Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi

One of just three camps within a private 400,000-hectare wildlife reserve on the edge of the Makgadikgadi salt pans, the iconic Jack’s Camp has been reinvented for the next generation with the latest in Tesla-tech solar energy. While still paying homage to the much-loved 1940s campaign style embellished with rich fabrics worldwide, the nine dreamy 270-square-metre tents (two for families) now have private pools, wood-burning stoves, and indoor-outdoor showers. The beautiful pool pavilion is the spot for sinking into a stripy deck chair to admire the endless views.

Best for: Activities unique to the area. Head out after an English breakfast or decadent high tea to quad bike across the pans, walk with bushmen, track brown hyenas, or hang out with habituated meerkats. naturalselection.travel

Sable Alley

It’s all about location at this low-key camp. Twelve 55-square metre elevated tents overlook a tranquil lagoon filled with resident hippos in northern Botswana’s Khwai Private Reserve. Referred to in safari circles as a wildlife’ hot spot’, the reserve is located where the dry Chobe game reserve to the east meets the lush wetlands of the Moremi game reserve and the Okavango Delta in the south. Eco-chic in design and ambience, two of the 12 tents are double tents for families , and a honeymoon suite has a private outdoor tub and shower. While herds of elephants and buffalo are easy to spot from the pool deck, access to over 200,000 hectares of floodplains, rivers and lagoons typical, and open savannah and woodland thickets is a reason to get up and get out early. Game viewing is as diverse as the landscapes, which means that sightings of leopard, lion, cheetah, the resident wild dog pack and sable antelope (after which the camp is named) are common. Birding is also excellent, especially on walks, mokoro rides or a sunset boat cruise. Book a night in one of three open-air ‘sky beds’ perched high above a waterhole where elephants, buffalo and big cats come to drink.

Best for: Travel to make a difference, as Natural Selection are experts in sustainable, nature-based tourism, partnering with local, land-owning communities in the Khwai private wildlife concession and channelling funds back into conservation. naturalselection.com