June 13, 2026
Botswana Safaris & Tours
Botswana is one of Africa's great safari destinations, built on a commitment to low-density, high-quality wildlife tourism that has kept its wilderness largely intact. The Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, floods each year to create a seasonal wetland of extraordinary richness, drawing vast concentrations of wildlife and rewarding patience with some of the continent's finest game viewing.
To the east, Chobe National Park holds Africa's largest elephant population, while the remote Kalahari and the shimmering salt pans of Makgadikgadi round out a landscape of remarkable diversity. Whether you are seeking a fly-in safari through the Delta's channels, a land-based journey into the Kalahari, or a combination of both, Botswana offers a depth of experience that is difficult to match elsewhere in Africa.
Our Destinations In Botswana
Our Safari Tours in Botswana
We offer a range of Botswana safari itineraries, from short stays in Chobe to multi-week fly-in journeys that take in the Delta, the Kalahari, Moremi, Chobe, and the salt pans. Each tour can be tailored to your group size, interests, and travel dates.
Type
Activity
Style
Price
Sort
Botswana & Zimbabwe – 7-day Land, River & Falls Safari – Tailored Fly-in
Africa
7 days
Botswana – 4-day Chobe Safari with Chobe Safari Lodge – Tailored Driven
Africa
4 days
Botswana – 7-day Salt Pan & Safari Adventure – Tailored Fly-in
Africa
7 days
Botswana – 3-day Chobe Comfort Mobile Camping Safari – Group camping
Africa
3 days
Botswana & Zimbabwe – 7-day Okavango Expedition & Victoria Falls – Tailored Driven
Africa
7 days
Botswana – 8-day Deluxe Natural Wonders Safari – Tailored Fly-in
Africa
8 days
Botswana – 8-day Five River Safari – Tailored Fly-in
Africa
8 days
Botswana – 7-day Land & Water Safari – Tailored Fly-in
Africa
7 days
Botswana – 7-day Classic Okavango Delta Safari – Tailored Fly-In
Africa
7 days
Botswana & Zimbabwe – 8-day Okavango Expedition and Victoria Falls – Tailored Driven
Africa
7 days
Botswana & Zimbabwe – 7-day Chobe & Hwange Luxury Safari – Tailored Fly-in
Africa
7 days
Botswana – 15-day Wildlife Adventure – Group accommodated
Africa
15 days
Why Visit Botswana?
A wilderness where restraint has shaped the experience
Botswana's approach to tourism with limited visitor numbers, large concessions, no mass-market development, means that the wildlife encounters here tend to feel genuinely unshared. The country is large, sparsely populated, and politically stable, which has allowed conservation to take root in a meaningful way. For travellers who value space, quietness, and the chance to watch animals without a convoy of other vehicles nearby, Botswana consistently delivers.
- 🐾 Wildlife Diversity
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Few countries can match Botswana's range of wildlife experiences within a single trip. Chobe National Park holds the largest concentration of elephants on the continent; the Okavango Delta, Moremi, and Khwai supports lions, leopards, African wild dogs, and hippos within its channels and floodplains; the Central Kalahari is one of the best places in Africa to observe black-maned lions and cheetah. This variety means a well-planned itinerary can include genuinely different ecosystems without covering excessive distances.
- 🐾 Low-Density Tourism Model
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Few countries can match Botswana's range of wildlife experiences within a single trip. Chobe National Park holds the largest concentration of elephants on the continent; the Okavango Delta, Moremi, and Khwai supports lions, leopards, African wild dogs, and hippos within its channels and floodplains; the Central Kalahari is one of the best places in Africa to observe black-maned lions and cheetah. This variety means a well-planned itinerary can include genuinely different ecosystems without covering excessive distances.
- 🐾 Iconic Safari Activities
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The mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe, remains one of the most distinctive ways to move through the Okavango Delta, poled silently through lily-covered channels by a local guide. Elsewhere, fly-in camps give access to remote floodplains that are simply unreachable by road in the wet season. Night drives, walking safaris in designated areas, and boat-based game viewing add further dimensions to what a Botswana safari can include. And then there is the Makgadikgadi Zebra migration in February to May.
- 🐾 Combination Safari Potential
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Botswana's northern border sits close to Victoria Falls, making it straightforward to combine a Delta or Chobe safari with a stay in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park or a visit to the Falls. These combinations work well logistically and allow travellers to contrast the watery landscapes of Botswana with the drier, more open terrain of Zimbabwe.
Seasons that shape what you see - and where you go
Best Time to Visit Botswana?
Botswana's seasons are defined by rainfall and the Okavango flood cycle, and both have a direct bearing on which areas perform best at any given time of year. There is no single "best" month: each season has its own character and advantages.
- 🌿 May to October - Dry Season
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Prime game-viewing conditions. As the rains end and water recedes, wildlife concentrates around permanent rivers and waterholes, making animals easier to find and observe. Vegetation thins, sightings are clearer, and the heat is manageable (cool mornings, warm afternoons). This is the high season across all of Botswana's main safari areas, including Khwai, Chobe, Moremi, Linyanti, Makgadikgadi and Nxai pans, and the Central Kalahari. Camps book up well in advance during July, August, and September.
- 🌿 June to August - Peak Safari Months
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The most reliable conditions of the year. Cool, dry, and clear, these months offer exceptional conditions across all of Botswana's ecosystems. In the Okavango Delta, the annual flood has typically peaked by July, meaning the channels and islands are at their fullest and the contrast between water and woodland is most dramatic. This is also when the Central Kalahari becomes more accessible and Khwai's floodplains attract large herds.
- 🌿 November to April - Green Season
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A different kind of safari. The rains transform the landscape into a vivid green, and the birdlife reaches its peak as migratory species arrive. This is calving season for many antelope, which brings predator activity closer to water. Some areas become inaccessible by vehicle, but fly-in camps remain operational and rates are generally lower. The Kalahari, one of Africa's best-kept seasonal secrets, receives its brief summer rains and supports a flush of wildlife during this period. Families and photographers who enjoy a less-crowded experience often find the green season works well for them.
- 🌿 December to February - Calving Season
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Predator activity at its most concentrated. The arrival of young antelope across Botswana's open plains makes December through February particularly active for predator-prey interactions. Lion prides, wild dog packs, and cheetah are often easier to observe during these months as prey is more abundant and less mobile. It is worth noting that some camps close for maintenance in January and February, so options narrow in this period and road access can be problematic.
Wetlands, deltas and desert, home to some of Africa's most rewarding game viewing
Top Highlights of a Botswana Safari
Embark on an unforgettable journey through Botswana, a country celebrated for its untouched wilderness, thriving wildlife populations, and exceptional safari experiences. From the labyrinthine waterways of the Okavango Delta to the vast, shimmering salt pans of the Makgadikgadi, Botswana offers diversity, exclusivity, and pure natural beauty.
- 🐾 The Okavango Delta
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A UNESCO World Heritage wetland. The Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world, formed where the Okavango River fans out across the Kalahari basin and never reaches the sea. Its annual flood cycle draws wildlife in extraordinary numbers. Travelling through it by mokoro or small motorboat, or by light aircraft between bush airstrips, gives a sense of scale that is hard to achieve elsewhere. Each camp within the Delta has a different character depending on its position — some sit on islands in the permanent Delta, others on the seasonal floodplains of Moremi.
- 🐾 Chobe National Park and the Chobe River
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Africa's largest elephant herds
Chobe National Park, in northern Botswana, protects one of the continent's densest wildlife populations. The Chobe River forms the park's northern boundary and draws thousands of elephants to its banks during the dry season, particularly between June and November. Boat trips on the river at sunset are among the most reliably productive wildlife-watching experiences in Africa. The park's Mababe region, to the south, is known for its lion and buffalo dynamics. Then there are the extraordinary prehistoric paintings at Tsodilo Hills towards the Namibian border. - 🐾 The African Wild Dog
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Botswana's most sought-after predator. African wild dogs are among the most endangered large carnivores on the continent, with fewer than 7,000 individuals remaining. Botswana holds some of the healthiest wild dog populations in Africa, particularly in the Linyanti Concession, Khwai, and Moremi. Watching a pack on a hunt, structured, coordinated, relentless, is a genuinely unusual safari experience that requires neither luck nor special conditions.
- 🐾 Makgadikgadi and Nxai Salt Pans
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One of the world's great open spaces. The Makgadikgadi is a remnant of an ancient super-lake, now a vast expanse of bleached salt flats that stretches to the horizon in every direction. In the wet season, a shallow film of water turns the pans into a mirror and attracts flamingos and other waterbirds in large numbers. In the dry season, the pans are one of the best places in southern Africa to see meerkats, brown hyenas, and the seasonal zebra migration takes place in the wet season between January and April. Sleeping out on the pans under a sky unaffected by light pollution is one of Botswana's most singular experiences. It’s also home to habituated meerkats, many Oryx (Gemsbok) and Nxai Pan has the spectacular Baines’ Baobabs.
Accommodation that puts you closer to the wildlife
Where to Stay in Botswana
Most accommodation in Botswana's safari areas consists of small, owner-run camps with between six and twelve tents or chalets. This scale is by design: Botswana's tourism policy actively discourages large-footprint development and it means stays tend to be personal, with guides and staff who know individual guests by name. We select camps based on the quality of their guiding, their location within a concession, and the consistency of their wildlife sightings, rather than star ratings alone.
- 🐾 Luxury Fly-In Camps
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Exclusive lodges in prime wildlife concessions. Botswana's flagship camps, properties such as those in the Linyanti, Khwai, and private Okavango Delta concessions, offer high levels of service and comfort alongside some of the best game-viewing on the planet. Accommodation typically includes en-suite tents with outdoor showers, private decks overlooking water or floodplains, and all-inclusive packages covering meals, drinks, and two game-viewing activities per day. These camps are accessed by light aircraft on internal bush flights.
- 🐾 Mobile Camping Safaris
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Mobile camping safaris use a small team, a support vehicle, and a qualified guide to move between campsites as the wildlife or season dictates. Accommodation is in dome or Meru tents at designated campsites within national parks and concessions. This style of safari suits independent travellers who prefer a more direct connection with the bush. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to safari in Botswana without compromising on the areas visited.
- 🐾 Family-Friendly Tented Camps
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Camps set up for multi-generational travel. A growing number of Botswana's camps have been configured specifically for families, with private family suites, child-appropriate activities, and guides experienced in working with younger guests. Age minimums vary by camp; some accept children from six years, others from twelve, and we can advise on which properties are best suited to your family's ages and interests.
- 🐾 Eco-Friendly Bush Camps
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Low-footprint stays in community concessions. Several camps in Botswana operate within community-run conservancies, channelling a portion of their revenue directly to local villages and conservation projects. These camps are typically smaller and simpler than the luxury fly-in properties, but they sit in areas of exceptional wildlife and offer a tangible link between tourism and conservation outcomes. The community concessions around the Delta are among the best examples.
Travel Essentials for a Botswana Safari
Getting There
Flights and entry
Most international visitors fly into Maun Airport in the north-west, which serves as the main gateway for Okavango Delta and or Kasane to start the safari in Chobe. Flights from the UK typically route through Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo) with onward connections to Maun or Kasane. Others fly into Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, a 90-minute road transfer away. Vic Falls has international flights from Germany, Qatar, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia. Citizens of many countries, including the UK, USA, and EU states, receive a visa on arrival for stays of up to 90 days. Visa requirements should be confirmed in advance as they are subject to change.
Health & Safety
Vaccinations and malaria
Most of Botswana’s safari areas are malarial, particularly in the Okavango Delta, Chobe, and Linyanti regions. Anti-malarial prophylaxis is recommended and should be discussed with a travel health clinic at least six weeks before departure. Yellow fever vaccination is required if arriving from a yellow fever endemic country. Routine vaccinations (hepatitis A, typhoid) are generally advised. The Central Kalahari is at lower risk for malaria, particularly outside the rainy season.
Currency & Costs
The Botswana pula
Botswana’s currency is the pula (BWP). Most safari camps operate on an all-inclusive or full-board basis, with the cost of meals, game activities, and often drinks included in the nightly rate. Credit cards are accepted at most lodges; cash is useful for gratuities and small purchases in Maun. Tipping is customary and typically amounts to USD 10–20 per guest per day for guides and USD 5–10 for camp staff.
Packing & What to Wear
Neutral colours, layers, and good binoculars
Game drives take place in open vehicles and temperatures can drop sharply in the early mornings, particularly between May and August. Lightweight layers that can be removed as the day warms are more practical than a single heavy jacket. Neutral earth tones are standard in safari areas. A wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen are recommended year-round and insect repellent is essential in the rainy season.
Frequently Asked Questions About Botswana Safaris
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The dry season (May to October) offers the most reliable game viewing in the Delta, as wildlife concentrates around permanent water and the channels are at their fullest following the annual flood. July and August are peak months. The green season (November to April) has its own appeal with lush scenery, exceptional birdlife, and lower prices, but some areas become inaccessible by vehicle and the density of wildlife disperses.
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Yes, though the minimum age accepted varies between camps. Several properties in Botswana offer dedicated family programmes, private family suites, and guides with experience in engaging younger guests. We can advise on which camps and itineraries work best depending on the ages of your children. Generally, children aged ten and above can participate in most activities; some camps accept younger children in private vehicle arrangements.
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Most inter-camp transfers within Botswana’s northern safari circuit are made by light aircraft on small bush airstrips. Fly-in safaris are the norm for multi-area itineraries covering the Okavango Delta, Mremi, Khwai, Linyanti, Chobe, and the Central Kalahari. Transfers by road are possible between Maun and certain camps, and Chobe can be reached by road from Kasane, but for most itineraries a combination of light aircraft and short road transfers is the most practical approach.
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The Okavango Delta is the broader geographic region; a vast inland delta fed by the Okavango River. Moremi Game Reserve sits within the eastern portion of the Delta and is the only formally protected, government-managed area within it. Much of the remaining Delta is divided into private concessions, which typically offer more exclusive access and lower vehicle numbers than Moremi. Both areas hold exceptional wildlife; Moremi is generally more accessible and lower in cost, while the private concessions offer a more solitary experience at higher price points.
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Not at all. Botswana alone can sustain a satisfying two-week itinerary visiting four or five distinct safari areas. That said, the country’s location makes it a natural fit for combinations with Zimbabwe (Hwange, Victoria Falls), Zambia (The Kafue or South Luangwa), or a beach extension in Mozambique or Zanzibar. We can design itineraries that combine any of these elements based on your available time and interests.
Captured Moments from Africa’s Hidden Gem.
What Our Clients Say
Botswana photographic safari – Moremi, Khwai, Savuti, Chobe, Nxai Pan
Coming out of our life in our luxury UAE bubble to 1 vehicle for 2 weeks with 3 nationalities and 5 people/personalities, making this a rewarding exploration of Botswana could have been a challenge in itself.
Catering for individual needs in a group is a challenge that Christopher masters whilst at the same time multitasking as a patient driver, amazing chef & experienced field guide with us the guests helping pitch tents, prepping veg & doing the dishes.
Being in the lush green Okavango Delta with amazing campfire dinners to break the ice set the expectations for the game drives and camping in Moremi, Savuti, Chobe, Vic Falls and Nxai Pan.
Julie Robinson
Amazing chef & experienced field guide
Kaisa-Marie Botswana & Zanzibar – 14-day Botswana & Zanzibar Family Safari
Would definitely recommend to my friends!
Kaisa-Marie Eronen
Would definitely recommend to my friends!
Sabi Sand, Botswana, and Zimbabwe Safari
Our tour was booked through Indigo Safaris and Christopher Bartlett. Every connection his company made for us was perfect and went off without a problem as we started in South Africa at Sabi Sands and traveled through Zimbabwe before arriving in Botswana. We highly, highly recommend Indigo Safaris.
This was my first visit to Africa and we will return in June 2025. Thank you so much, and thank you for supporting nature and the local communities.
Bradley Dunbaugh
Indigo Safaris Delivered
Helen 8-day Botswana Adventure Fly-in Safari – Private Fly-in
It was very well organized, the choice and order of the lodges was excellent giving a variety of experiences. We especially loved the small scale venues.
Helen Sjisling
Absolutely brilliant
Botswana – Delta and Chobe Safari
The individual with whom we worked was knowledgeable, helpful, and very responsive; our requests were met; our experience with her was great.
Arthur Rosen
Helpful, and very responsive
Botswana & Zimbabwe – 11-day Botswana & Zimbabwe Discoverer Safari
Perfect trip
Michele was exceptional with regular communications and helpful tips throughout.
Very flexible and quick response times.
Safari with Bushways was out of this world.
Highly recommended
Cheika Kennedy
Extraordinarily helpful. Went above and beyond multiple times.
Botswana & Zimbabwe – 11-day Eagle Safari – Group Tour
Trip was amazing, everything we were hoping it would be. The guides and staff were very friendly and accomodating. We had incredible wildlife sightings and enjoyed a great group of people.
Mitchell Scott
Amazing Trip
Explore the Best of Botswana
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Stories from the Land of Rivers, Salt Pans, and Endless Skies
Our Botswana content covers the key questions safari travellers ask most: the best time to visit, how the seasons affect different areas, which camps suit different budgets and styles, and what to expect from the wildlife. The articles below draw on first-hand experience from our guides and specialists.
October 3, 2025
July 16, 2024