Botswana
Home to the Okavango Delta , Chobe National Park and so much more
Why Botswana?
Botswana is the best governed, safest and least corrupt country in Africa whose people enjoy a high standard of living.
Botswana’s scenery is like no other. Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari desert are bucket list locations.
The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s very few inland river deltas. Through its seasonal flooding patterns, the Okavango Delta has created a series of unique ecosystems. In stark contrast to this is the Kalahari desert, which is famous for its orange dunes and rolling landscapes.
Botswana Safaris in general offer some of the best value for money in Africa.
Botswana Safari tour operators offer superb private safari packages in excellent safari lodges.
Botswana is surprisingly easy to reach. An overnight flight with a fast connection in Johannesburg will have you in camp on your safari by lunchtime the next day.
Safari, the African Oriental way…
All of Botswana’s wildlife safaris are within striking distance of either Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe or Maun Regional Airport in Botswana. Both are easily accessed from Johannesburg. African Safari tours in Botswana are now the easiest to reach in Southern Africa. Botswana is without a doubt the most convenient safari travel hub.
Our two most popular tailor-made safari tours in Botswana are the 12-day Southern Explorer, and the 9-day Botswana Private Luxury Safari Tour.
The Chobe Explorer Tour
This best-value Botswana safari tour starts in Johannesburg, where you board the flight to Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe. Over the next twelve days, you will visit Victoria Falls, take a cruise on the Zambezi River and go on safari in the Zambezi National Park before being driven into Chobe National Park in nearby Botswana. There you will spend four nights of your Botswana safari tour in the excellent Kubu Lodge before transferring back to Victoria Falls for the Airlink flight to Cape Town. Here you will be met by your transfer driver who takes you to the centrally located Rouge On Rose Boutique Hotel (Bo Kaap quarter) and you’ll enjoy four stunning nights in Africa’s ‘mother city to finish off your Botswana safari holiday’.
Itinerary
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Fly from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and start the first part of your African safari tour here in Zimbabwe. Your Botswana safari guide will meet you at the Victoria Falls Airport and you are transferred to your hotel. Explore the town, and spend sunset on the Zambezi River for your first African Sunset. Accommodation is in the Victoria Falls hotel, double ensuite with breakfasts included.
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Today you have your first escorted game drive inside the Zambezi National Park located along the banks of the Zambezi river.
In the afternoon you’ll visit Victoria Falls itself and enjoy the spray from the great falls followed by an overnight stay at the Cresta Spray View Hotel.
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Time to roam at leisure and explore the history of Dr Livingstone and the famous bridge connecting north and south of Africa. Cross this iconic bridge over Victoria Falls, perhaps check out the Zambian side on a guided private game drive in the afternoon before returning to Zimbabwe for tea in the historic Victoria Falls Hotel.
You can also visit the market for a taste of Zimbabwe’s fabulous arts and crafts before returning to the Cresta Spray View Hotel ready for tomorrow’s arrival in Botswana.
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Your Botswana safari guide will pick you up in the early morning from your hotel in Victoria Falls. The transfer drive to the Chobe National Park is only 2 to 3 hours where you’ll check into the comfortable Kubu Lodge before lunch.
In the afternoon you head out for the first game drive of your Botswana wildlife safari to the enormous Chobe National Park. All the animals will head for the river to drink, so you will be able to enjoy elephants, buffalo, giraffes, hippos, and crocodiles all from very close up.
At the onset of the sunset, you head back to the lodge for an enjoyable evening with an open fire, drinks, a good meal and wholesome rest in your own private chalet near the river.
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A whole day to search for animals. Go out early morning and late afternoon into the park in open-sided vehicles with your safari guide. Botswana’s game rangers are superb and will find you the best sights and prettiest landscapes to enjoy.
Between your game experiences, you return to Kubu Lodge for a welcome lunch, cool drinks and accommodation at the end of the day.
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More time with the animals, and today you have the chance to go on a small boat to get even closer to the animals in the water which is the true essence of a Botswana wildlife safari– crocodiles on sandbanks, hippos cooling off in the mud, small water birds and animals coming to drink: they all look different when you are gliding by silently.
Enjoy the start of dusk inside the park and return to the lodge for another relaxing evening and dinner on your Botswana safari.
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Both in the morning and in the afternoon, you can choose whatever way you like to see the animals the most. If you are inspired by floating through the channels of the Chobe River and seeing the animals from that angle – you can do so. If the savannah, trees and land predators have your preference, then climb into your safari vehicle once more to roam the bush and join your safari guide once more to find your favourite animals.
Return to Kubu Lodge for the last evening in Botswana and get ready for the transfer early next morning.
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After an early breakfast on the banks of the Chobe River you say goodbye to this safari holiday in Botswana. You are once more taken to Victoria Falls Airport. Here, you board the regional flight to South Africa and you will land in Cape Town late afternoon. The view of Table Mountain is the first thing you will see coming out of the Airport.
The driver of the hotel will collect you and drive you to Rouge on Rose Boutique Hotel in the BoKaap part of the city. It has a number of small, nice eating places in walking distance and is an easy taxiride to the Waterfront for your first walk along the ocean.
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After a week in the bush during your Botswana safari tour, it is time to soak up some urban history and culture. Enjoy a healthy breakfast at the hotel before contemplating recent history on Robben Island, going up Table Mountain, visiting some of the museums and historic sites of the city or going to relax around the waterfront area so full of small art shops, good food and fresh fusion cuisine from all over Africa.
The day is yours to design, and the hotel can assist with all transport if needed.
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Enjoy an early breakfast and fresh coffee and meet your guide for the day. Our man in Cape Town, Paul Harris, will take you on a mixed-day tour to go and visit the Cape Point peninsula and a lovely hike along the windy trails. Finally stand at the edge of the African continent and see how this is the same continent as the bush you were immersed in during your Botswana safari holiday.
Head back towards Cape Town for a scenic drive to see the Penguins at Boulder Beach. If you are a hiker, Paul will take you on some trails and search for the endemic fynbos-flora, famous for its popular ‘rooibos’- tea. Or allow Paul to show you more of the country’s social-economic history with a guided walk of Cape Towns’ urban icons.
Finish the day at one of the small fishing villages for a fresh dinner with the catch of the day on your plate, and return to Rouge on Rose Boutique Hotel for a well-deserved rest.
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Breakfast is included and the day is all yours, we leave you time to pack up and hunt for souvenirs, or if you did not have the chance yet, be brave, and hike up Table Mountain. Or see why the wines of South Africa are so famous. Your accommodation remains at the Rouge on Rose Boutique Hotel.
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Breakfast is served and if your flight is later in the day you can safely store your bags and change into your travel gear later on. A transfer back to Cape Town International Airport is included.
The Okavango Private Luxury Safari Tour.
Starting in Johannesburg sees you flying into Maun Regional Airport in Botswana itself. Maun is the gateway to the Okavango Delta. After a brief 20-minute flight you will start your private Okavango Delta safari experience with 3 nights in Moremi Crossing Bush Camp. You will then fly on to Nata Lodge to see the vast salt pans, grassy plains and the millions of migratory birds of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. You’ll spend two nights here before hopping over to the Chobe River region further north in Botswana. You spend the next three nights in the Chobe Safari Lodge right on the banks of the Chobe River and end your Botswana Private Luxury Safari Tour either in Kasane (to continue to Namibia) or Victoria Falls to depart Africa.
Itinerary
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This morning you board your small, regional flight from Johannesburg to Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. Land in the small airport, collect your bags, and meet your Botswana Private Safari guide. He will assist you to board the next small aircraft that will take you into the Okavango Delta itself. This flight is about 20 to 30 minutes and an experience in itself. You’ll fly over the outer edges of the Okavango Delta to give you an idea of just how large it is. You land at the tiny private airstrip near Moremi Crossing Camp. Your safari guide will meet you here with your game drive vehicle, and a short drive to the camp itself will have you see your first animals.
Check in, relax, meet the staff and other guides, and enjoy lunch in the shade of the camp. In the afternoon your Botswana safari starts in earnest, as you head out on your guided game drive. This may be in a rugged Landrover or on a safari boat. You will be up close to the animal life of the Okavango Delta. -
Depending on the season and the flood levels, you will be driven around in open-sided vehicles or on small boats so as to not disturb the animals. Some of the papyrus islands are safe to go onto on foot, some areas are only reachable by car. Your safari guide will escort you at all times. You will be surrounded by animals as they move around near the water. During this segment of your safari, you will see elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, thousands of migratory birds and smaller species like jackals, genuks, antelopes and the funny meerkats and their antics. If you are incredibly lucky you may even see the apex predators of the delta close to your car.
The unique landscapes of the Okavango Delta have made the animals here behave and adapt in ways you won’t see anywhere else in Africa, which makes Botswana a priceless experience. Lions swimming to reach an island and their prey, cheetahs climbing smaller trees and antelopes that have developed sensory skills that withstand water are just some of the wonders of the channels and islands of the Delta.
You have the choice to go out on your guided safari morning and evening, returning for lunch or if conditions allow, you may stay out the whole day and have a luxury picnic on an island. Your luxury safari experience here at Moremi Crossing in the Okavango Delta is exactly as you wish it to be.
Meals are served in the camp, but snacks, hot and cold drinks or sundowner drinks service are often carried in cars and boats.
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A second full day in the Okavango Delta awaits. The rangers will discuss with you what you would most like to see, and the day is yours to enjoy.
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First, the short flight returns you to Maun where you climb aboard another small aircraft to the next area of natural beauty. The Makgadkgadi Salt Pans are famous for their dry, arid and stark beauty. The wonder of this place is that with the seasonal flooding of the Okavango Delta nearby the grassy plains offer feeding and breeding grounds for millions of migratory bird species. Ask us for the right time to visit this location on your Botswana safari and spend 2-nights at the Nata Lodge in the Nata Sanctuary to watch the feathered visitors flock here in their thousands at sunset.
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The soft hued colours of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans offer a delicate palette for your early morning scenic drive. A very different landscape to enjoy on your Botswana guided tour. The crusty top layer of salt on the Pans is so hard that a vehicle can drive over it in certain areas.
A visit here has to be done early dawn, as that is the only time the colours come out, the sparse animal life is visible and the glare of the heat is not too strong. This place is of an eerie, otherworldy beauty and in stark contrast to the warm and vibrant colors and African wildlife of the Okavango Delta.
In the afternoon, when the sun looses some strength, you can opt to go out for a birdwatching trip while escorted by your safari guide, or meet the neighbours in Nata village on a cultural tour in the company of your guide before returning to Nata Lodge for the evening.
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You are assisted to depart Nata Lodge and fly back again to Maun, the regional hub. Then it’s onwards on the nest leg of your luxury Botswana tour to Kasane Airport. Kasane is located in the northern part of Botswana. After landing, you will meet your safari guide and drive to your Chobe Safari Lodge where you reach early in the afternoon. The Chobe Safari Lodge is set right on the banks of the Chobe River and her landscape is entirely different again: with tall mopane trees, densely covered riverbanks and stunning sunsets over the river and Namibia in the background.
This afternoon, you will still head out into the Chobe National Park for your first escorted game drive here in this part of Botswana, and catch sight on the large elephant herds of Chobe National Park coming to the river to drink. They are joined by buffalo and hippo. The banks of the Chobe River are always packed with wildlife and even prides of lion can be spotted jostling for a drink.
Your safari guide will make sure you are back before dark. Return for sunset drinks and a dinner by the fire in the Chobe Safari Lodge, where you stay in comfortable and stylish rooms, set in nature and surrounded by the sounds of the river night time chorus. All activities are arranged and guided by the Lodges’ rangers. -
Head out onto the channels of Chobe River with your Botswana private safari guide and see what the dawn brings you. Coffee, tea and early morning biscuits will come along, and once the sun has come to its zenith you return to your riverside lodge for a rest in luxury and the heat of the day to subside.
In the afternoon you have the choice of either visiting the park by boat again, or in your private safari vehicle. The start of your sunset can still be in the park, but when darkness falls, you will be back in the Lodge for dinner and accommodation.
Accommodation meals and activities are all at the Chobe Safari lodge. -
Choose if you want to spend more time in the African bush and enjoy the largest herds of elephants in Africa, or stay back to enjoy the luscious settings of the lodge itself. Dip in the pool or relax in the spa. Ths choice is yours.
Accommodation, meals and activities are all at the Chobe Safari lodge.
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Say goodbye to the river scenery with a last breakfast by the river. A short road transfer will take you back to Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe. You can now either spend a few days here with the next addition of your luxury Botswana safari tour and enjoy the sights on Victoria Falls. Or head back to Johannesburg and onwards to Europe.
Alternatively, you fly from Victoria Falls to Cape Town for a few days in the Mother City and enjoy her art, history and Table Mountain views.
Or carry on to another part of Africa and fly from Kasane or Victoira Falls to Windhoek in Namibia, and spend a week in the soft orange desert of the Namib and see the tallest dunes of the world.
Getting to Botswana
Getting to Botswana has never been easier. Botswana may be off the beaten track, but Victoria Falls International Airport in Zimbabwe and Maun Regional Airport are both connected to Johannesburg on a twice-daily basis. Johannesburg is Africa’s best-connected airport with direct flights from Europe, the United States and Asia. Quality airlines such as KLM, British Airways and Turkish Airlines all serve Johannesburg daily alongside the Middle Eastern supercarriers such as Qatar and Emirates.
By far the easiest connection is British Airways which operates a flight to Botswana and Zimbabwe from Johannesburg and Cape Town. As ATOL license holders, we are happy to organise any international flights for your tailor-made safari tour of Botswana. We are experts in finding a flight connection that works for you.
Tailor it to you.
All of our Botswana safari tours are tailor-made. This means that you can choose to add or remove sections, such as adding nights under the desert skies of the Kalahari desert, searching for the elusive African Painted Wild Dog, or driving deep into the Makgadikgadi pans in search of migratory birds. You could choose to personalise your Botswana safari tour by spending time in Chobe National Park under Canvas. We offer both luxury camps and budget camping safaris. There is something special about exploring the backwaters of the Okavango Delta with a mokoro escorted boat safari tour. Many safari goers choose to add a scenic flight to their Botswana safari packages. These range from a short 20-minute flight over the Okavango Delta to a longer 45-minute flight over the Kalahari Desert and the Makgadikgadi pans.
Or keep it simple: walking is the way Africans move. It is good to see Africa from ground level and walk with our dedicated safari guides. There are dawn nature walks, African village walks and a simple stroll around your nearest town and the vibrant local markets. A Botswana private safari is about so much more than animals; it takes in the full circle of life. Our Botswana safaris and tours revolve around an understanding of the people, culture and history. works for you.
Botswana Safari - Price Guide:
The Southern Explorer Tour as detailed above (12 days)
Seven days on Safari in Victoria Falls and the Chobe National park followed by five days in Cape Town. During the Mid-season rates start at £2953 pp including regional flights.The Botswana Private Luxury Safari as detailed above (9 days).
Nine days on Safari in the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park. Including local flights and luxury accommodation. Mid-season rates start at £4552 pp.
