​Botswana is renowned as one of the best countries in Africa to go on a luxury safari with some of the best wildlife sightings to match. The Okavango Delta and northern Linyanti areas are divided into extensive private wildlife concessions with just a handful of luxury safari camps and lodges. This means the utmost in exclusive, luxury safaris with some of the best wildlife sightings.

A luxury safari to Botswana means staying in small, luxury safari camps and lodges which are situated in the best wildlife reserves and expert guides take guests out on daily safari activities including game drives, night drives, mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) safaris, walking safaris and helicopter safaris.

A safari to Botswana is perfect for a luxury family safari, luxury honeymoon safari or any one looking for a luxury wildlife safari. Explore the wetlands of Okavango Delta, the wildlife rich Linyanti region and the salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Pans.

Most safaris to Botswana include a visit to the world famous Okavango Delta. The Kavingo River enters Botswana from the north-west and hits the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert and starts to get absorbed into the fine sand, but there is so much water pushing through that the it forms a massive inland delta. Huge islands are formed and animals from far and wide travel thousands of miles to enjoy the permanent fresh water. This is what makes the Okavango Delta such an incredible wildlife destination and a must for any Botswana safari.

North of the Okavango Delta is the Linyanti region which is made up of massive private wildlife concessions offering some of the most exclusive safaris in Africa. The wildlife here relies on permanent waters, this time from the Chobe River, Kwando River or the Selinda Spillway. This region is renowned for its large herds of buffalo and elephants and impressive predator sightings.

To the south and east of Maun are the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Nxai Pan and Makgadikgadi Pans which offer completely different experiences to those in the north. A lot drier, the animals here have adapted to living in harsh environments. A safari to these regions is definitely worth it, when combined with the Okavango Delta and Linyanti regions.

Read about why we love Safaris to Botswana on our blog: “WHY WE LOVE SAFARIS TO BOTSWANA”

Luxury Safaris to Botswana

Botswana is one of Africa’s Iconic Safari destinations, boasting incredible wildlife and diverse landscapes from the wetlands of the Okavango Delta to deserts of the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi. Luxury safaris to Botswana offer exclusivity in some of the most pristine wildlife reserves in Africa. All our luxury safaris to Botswana are tailor-made to suit your individual interests and budgets. Have a look through some of our suggested safari itineraries to get an idea, but then let’s tailor-make your dream luxury safari to Botswana.

Where are the best areas to go on safari in Botswana?

The Best Safari Areas of Botswana
Botswana is predominately a dry, arid country dominated by the vast Kalahari Desert that stretches from Namibia in the west across the country through to Zimbabwe in the east. Most of the best safari areas in Botswana are in the north of the country with Maun or Kasane the main access points. Most people head to the Okavango Delta as this is considered to offer some of the most exclusive and best safaris in Africa. What makes the northern part of Botswana one of the best safari areas in Africa is the fact that the whole area is completely unfenced allowing the free movement of wildlife between areas as the seasons and water levels rise and drop.

Below are the best areas in Botswana for a safari.

Okavango Delta
The Kavingo River originates in the highlands of Angola and flows through the Caprivi Strip in Namibia before entering Botswana from the far North-west corner. As it enters Botswana, the waters hit the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert which causes the water to fan out creating one of the world’s biggest inland deltas, known as the Okavango Delta. This huge wetland is what supports most of the wildlife in northern Botswana and is the reason Botswana is such an incredible safari destination.

The Okavango Delta is made up of wetlands, channels, rivers, lagoons and floodplains with islands that range in size from little mounds to massive wildlife havens that support thousands of animals. Knowing where to stay at different times of the year is key to maximizing your safari to the Okavango Delta. During the peak floods, many of the floodplains and islands are flooded forcing the animals to dry land. For more information on the Okavango Delta, click here.

Linyanti
North of the Okavango Delta and wedged in between Namibia, the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park is one of Botswana’s most productive wildlife areas, the Linyanti. Consisting of massive private concessions teeming with wildlife, a stay in one of the exclusive safari camps here offers incredible herds of elephants and buffalo as well as some of the best predator sightings. As the dry season kicks in and the surface water starts to dry up, elephants and buffalo migrate towards the Kwando River, Chobe River, Linyanti Marsh and Selinda Spillway. These permanent waters attract huge herds of animals from across northern Botswana to sustain them during the dry season. With these vast tracts of private reserves and incredible numbers of antelope, the Linyanti is one of the top places in Africa to see the highly endangered wild dogs.

Our top camps in the Linyanti region include Kwando Lagoon, Kwando Lebala, Selinda Camp, Selinda Explorers, Zarafa Camp, Duma Tau, Linyanti Bush Camp, Linyanti Ebony and Linyanti Expeditions.

Moremi and Khwai
South of Savute and on the edge of the Okavango Delta are 2 of Botswana’s most prolific wildlife areas. The Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai Reserve offer mixed habitats and a wildlife corridor which serves up some of the best wildlife in Africa. In particular, leopard and wild dog thrive here due to the numerous prey animals and mixed habitats. The Moremi is a government run reserve which means there are some restrictions in terms of activities. No night drives or walking safaris and no off-road driving are permitted in the Moremi Game Reserve, so we would always recommend the Khwai area instead. Khwai is a community run reserve and borders the Moremi Game Reserve, so offer exactly the same wildlife (no fences so the animals move freely between the areas), but with the ability to enjoy night game drives, walking safaris and the ability to drive off-road.

Neither of these areas are private concessions and so can get busy with vehicles, making the choice of camp very important. In the Khwai area we would only use Khwai Leadwood or Machaba Camps.

Makgadikgadi Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pans spans an area of over 10,000 square kilometers, making them some of the world’s largest salt pans. Vast saltpans span pout in every direction dotted with baobab and rock islands in a vast sea of nothingness. Why on earth would anyone come here whilst on a safari in Botswana…..?

Simple. The Makgadikgadi Pans offers some of the most diverse safari experiences in Botswana. From habituated meerkats, brown hyenas, desert adapted wildlife, one of the largest zebra migrations in Africa, sleeping out under the stars, quad biking across the pans and some of the best san bushmen experiences in Botswana.

We love the Makgadikgadi Pans and always encourage our guests to include at least 3 nights on safari here combined with their safari to the Okavango Delta. There are only 3 camps we recommend here, all on a private concession on the edge of the pans. San Camp, Camp Kalahari and Jack’s Camp are the 3 best camps we would recommend for our guests.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a vast expanse of arid grasslands, saltpans, acacia scrubland and desert adapted wildlife. We love the desert, and the Central Kalahari Desert is no different. Even though it is a government run reserve, the sheer size of the park means guests rarely see any other tourist vehicle. When planning a safari to Botswana, we would always include a safari in the Okavango Delta and we would always recommend including one of the desert landscape regions of Nxai Pan, Makgadikgadi Pans or the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The contrast between the wetlands of the Okavango Delta and the arid desert regions offers guests on a luxury Botswana Safari variety. Our top pick is the Makgadikgadi Pans as it offers wildlife as well as a variety of activities, but the Central Kalahari is a very close second. The area is great for cheetah and the famous black-maned lions of the Kalahari.

Chobe & Savute
The Chobe National Park is one of the Botswana’s most famous safari destinations and attracts thousands of tourists annually. For us, safaris in Chobe are not authentic and the Chobe River front is one of the busiest safari areas in Africa, often meaning vehicles have to queue at wildlife sightings which detracts from the safari experience we want to offer our guests. What we do recommend in the Chobe area are houseboats that operate from the Namibian side of the river and offer a couple of nights relaxing on the river watching the animals from the comfort of the boat.

The Savute area forms part of the Chobe National Park and is one of Botswana’s prime wildlife areas. Savute is a very arid region where the animals rely on pumped waterholes to survive. Large herds of elephants pass through Savute as they move from the Okavango Delta north to the Linyanti and Chobe regions. Lion prides here are impressive with prides often numbering into the 20s or 30s. At one point the prides had learnt to hunt adolescent elephants as they came down to drink at the waterholes. This is an unusual activity that was made famous by the National Geographic Documentary, Ultimate Enemies.

Being a national park, activities in Chobe and Savute are restricted to morning and afternoon game drives. Boating is allowed along the Chobe River, but guests are not allowed to go on walking safaris, night drives or off-road driving. For us at Stanley Safaris, we would rather recommend staying in one of the private concessions that border the Savute area and offer a much more exclusive safari experience.

Nxai Pan National Park
Directly north from the Makgadikgadi Pans is Nxai Pan National Park which is almost an extension to the Makgadikgadi Pans. Dominated by a waterhole in the central part of the park which attracts herds of elephants, zebra, springbok and giraffe. Nxai Pan is also home to one of Africa’s biggest zebra migrations. Thousands of zebras migrate from northern parts of Botswana, during the rainy season to take advantage of the freshly sprouting grasses. Outside of the rainy season, we would not recommend visiting Nxai Pan.

The Okavango Delta

Pristine wetland wilderness

Without doubt, the Okavango Delta is one of Africa prime wildlife safari destinations. The Kavingo River hits the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert and form one of the world’s largest inland deltas and the waters sustain an incredible amount of wildlife. Within the Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is an oasis for the wildlife, but knowing where to stay at different times of the year is key to maximizing your Okavango Delta safari experience.

The Okavango Delta is a vast wetland with floodplains, rivers, channels, marshes and islands. Staying at luxury safari camps in the middle of the Okavango Delta can mean limited wildlife viewing as the animals prefer areas where there is enough land for them to survive on. The animals of the Okavango Delta have adapted to living in a semi-aquatic landscape and so often have to cross rivers and floodplains to move between islands, but generally they prefer the edges of the Okavango Delta or the larger islands. Therefore, knowing where to stay is so important. If you choose a camp that is predominately focused on water activities, your game viewing will be limited. For this reason, we hand select the best safari camps at the various times of the year when we know you will get the best Okavango Delta safari experience.

How does the flood waters of the Okavango Delta work and how does this affect game viewing? This is an important question as this determines what safari camps are best to stay in during your Okavango safari.

Botswana’s rainy season starts in mid-November and lasts until the end of March. During this time Botswana’s northern areas receive thunderstorms and downpours that last 30-45 minutes before the storm passes over. The rainwater from these storms is not responsible for fulling the Okavango Delta. Instead, the water from the storms fills the shallow pans and seasonal waterholes. At the same time Botswana is experiencing its rainy season, so is the Angolan Highlands which is the catchment area for the Okavango Delta. Due to the distance the water has to travel from the Angolan highlands to reach the Okavango Delta, the flood waters only start to push through from around March/April time. For the next 4 months (March through to June) the floodwaters continue to push through from the Panhandle finally reaching its highest point around May/June time. At this point the floodwaters have reached Maun, its furthest point before the deep sands of the Kalahari start to soak it up.

It is at this point that the Okavango Delta is at its highest point. All floodplains are covered by water, the channels and rivers are flowing, and lagoons are fill. The rising waters push the animals to edges of the Okavango Delta where they can stay dry. At this time of the year the water-based camps are only able to offer mokoro and speedboat activities and game viewing is at its lowest. During the Okavango Delta floods, it is best to stay in camps on the northern edge of the Okavango Delta where the safari camps can still offer walking safaris, game drives as well as mokoros and speedboat activities.

From June the floodwaters start to soak into the desert sands and the floodplains start to recede exposing fresh grazing for the wildlife, drawing them back into the Delta moving from island to island crossing rivers and channels. As the floodwaters recede, some Okavango Delta Safari Camps are no longer able to offer water activities and then rely on game drives and walking safaris. At this time of the year, it is important to choose camps that can still offer mokoros and speedboat activities.

Our top Okavango Delta Safari camps include Shinde, Kanana, Duba Plains, Gomoti Plains, Splash Camp and Kwara Camp. Most of these camps are located on the edge of the Okavango Delta and are able to offer year-round land and water activities.

When is the best Season to go to on a safari to Botswana?

Botswana Seasons

This is a question we get asked all the time and is a very tricky question to answer as every season in Botswana offers something completely different. Traditionally the rainy season starts in November and increases from December through to March. April and May are considered the shoulder seasons as things start to dry up with less rain. June through to October are considered the peak of the dry season and this is reflected in the rates charged by the safari camps. Weather aside, there are pros and cons to travelling to Botswana for a safari at different times of the year.

During the summer months starting in September through to March, temperatures can exceed 100 Fahrenheit. If it rains (November to March), the temperature can drop quite significantly that would require the use of a jacket or fleece. October is considered the hottest and most uncomfortable time of the year to travel as there is no wind to cool things down and temperatures can exceed 120 Fahrenheit. This is however the best time of the year for game viewing as there is little water for the animals and so they congregate in large numbers around the permanent waters of the Linyanti and Okavango Delta regions.

During the dry winter months from May through to July/August, daytime temperatures are comfortable, averaging around 70-80 Fahrenheit. Due to the fact Botswana is predominantly made up of the sands of the Kalahari Desert, night time temperatures can drop as low as 25 Fahrenheit. It is a dry cold and so requires warm clothing, hats and gloves for the morning game drives. Safari camps often supply warm blankets and hot-water bottles for the morning game drives. As the sun rises things quickly warm up and the days become comfortable enough for shirts and shorts.

Best time to safari in Botswana
The rainy season (December to the end of March) turns everything green and there is a feeling of new life in the bush. Many of the antelope have their young a couple of weeks after the first rains and so there are lots of baby animals around which in turn attracts predators. Migrant birds have flown to Botswana to breed and so are in their colorful breeding plumage. The rains that fall, wash all the dust and smog out of the air making the skies bright and vivid blue. When it does rain, it is often just a burst of heavy rain that last 30 minutes before clearing up to bright blue skies again. The storms can be dramatic and put on quite a show.

Being the “low season” there are often fewer people in the camps which means you can get a much more personalized safari experience, fewer people on your game drive vehicles and fewer people at the wildlife sightings. The rates and special offers at the camps can be up to 3 times cheaper during these months, when compared to the peak season. It is also often considered to be the best time for photography because the air is clear and the colors are vivid.

The rains bring life to the Botswana bush and this means it is thicker making it harder to spot the animals. Predators are territorial and so do not move out of the area, whereas buffalo, elephant and other herbivores migrate to areas where there is less competition. So game viewing can be rewarding, but generally when you find something of interest you spend more time with that animals as apposed to driving around ticking boxes of different animal sightings.

Down in the Makgadikgadi Pans, the raining season means new grasses sprout which in turn attracts large herds of zebra that migrate from as far as Chobe in the north of Botswana. Up to 60,000 zebra move into the Nxai Pan and Makgadikgadi Pans National Parks.

So the rainy season is good for people interested in birding, wildlife photographers, people who have been on safari several times before and aren’t looking to tick off many species of animals and then it is really good for people who want to experience the luxury of Botswana, but can’t afford the price tag that comes with the peak season.

During the shoulder seasons of April and May you have less chance of getting rained on as Botswana heads into the dry season. The bush is still thick and green and there is still lots of surface water around, so the number of animals in the herds is still not as impressive as during the dry season, but the later in May you travel, the better your game viewing opportunities are as the surface water pans start to dry up and the animals start moving towards the permanent water sources. The rates at the safari camps increase to around 60% of the peak season and so still offer better value for money, but you will have to work harder to find the animals. This is the start of winter and because Botswana is predominantly made up of Kalahari Sand, temperatures can plummet in the evenings and mornings for your game drives, so very warm clothes are required. Safari camps and lodges often provide blankets and hot water bottles for the morning game drives. Once the sun rises, the temperature quickly increases to a comfortable temperature and shirt and shorts are possible. ​

From around April, the Okavango Delta floods start to push south towards Maun, reaching it’s highest level around May/June time before it starts to recede again.

Peak season generally starts in June when the pans have started to dry and the animals that relied on them have to move to the permanent waters of the Linyanti and Okavango regions. The later into the dry season you travel, the larger herds of animals become. Along the fringes of the Okavango Delta and along the Linyanti where there is permanent waters the herds of buffalo, sable and elephants can be extremely impressive. If you can stand the heats of October, you will be rewarded with incredible game viewing. This is the season when the camp rates are at their highest.

During the busy months of July, August and September, availability in Botswana can be extremely tough to find and some of the best lodges get booked out a year in advance.

November is the start of the rainy season and is also the shoulder season when it comes to rates. For us, early November is the best time to travel as you are able to take advantage of shoulder season rates, yet the bush is still dry to offer incredible game viewing. It is risky though because as soon as the first rains start, the large herds of animals almost disappear overnight.