Botswana
Botswana is home to the ultimate African safari with its low tourism to wildlife ratio, preserving its pristine tracts of wilderness for the future.
Featured in numerous wildlife documentaries, Botswana is renowned for its vast elephant herds, the mighty Chobe River, and sweeping seasonal migrations. The jewel in its crown is the Okavango Delta, where seasonal winding waterways provide life-giving nourishment to an astonishing diversity of birds and animals, making it a photographer’s paradise. Beyond the Delta lie the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, ancient lakebeds stretching to endless horizons, and the vast expanse of the Kalahari - a semi-desert with a stark, timeless beauty all of its own.
From Adele
On Botswana
I love elephants and Botswana is a land filled with these gentle giants moving with the seasons along ancient pathways across the land. We are camping underneath an Acacia Tree in Savute, its leafy canopy a welcome umbrella against the sun. Days are spent driving through golden grasslands and at sunset a sleeping lion wakes to roar, the vibration filling my senses with a primeval awe. I am fast asleep when a clackering onto the tent roof wakes me up. It sounds like gigantic raindrops. It stops and all is quiet again and then suddenly the cascading noise surrounds us again. I poke my head out the tent and am met by 2 huge grey legs and a trunk sucking up seedpods scattered like confetti all around. Its fruiting season and the elephants can’t resist even if it means tip toeing around our camp to shake the tree.
Our Favourite Destinations in Botswana
Okavango Delta
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa’s most iconic ecosystems, the Okavango Delta is a seasonal floodplain that supports a breathtaking variety of wildlife. Known for its pristine waterways and lush floodplains, it offers a rare opportunity to explore the bush by traditional mekoro (dugout canoe), drifting past elephants, hippos, and sitatunga antelope. Expect intimate wildlife encounters, water-based safaris, and unforgettable sunsets over the reeds.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
One of the most remote and raw wilderness areas in Africa, the Central Kalahari is home to ancient San Bushmen communities and dramatic desert-adapted wildlife like black-maned lions, oryx, and brown hyenas. Spend time with the San to learn ancestral tracking techniques and desert survival skills, and experience a profound stillness that can only be found in this vast, open land.
Chobe National Park
Chobe is famous for its enormous elephant population — the highest density in Africa — and its thriving riverfront ecosystem. Explore by game drive or take to the water on a luxury houseboat cruising along the Chobe River, where elephants wade and play, and you can spot hippos, crocodiles, and an abundance of birdlife from your deck. Sunset on the river is an experience like no other.
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
Once a prehistoric superlake, the Makgadikgadi Pans are now one of the largest salt flats in the world — a surreal, moonlike landscape of white crust and endless sky. Here, you can walk with a habituated meerkat colony at sunrise, quad bike across the open pans, and sleep out under a canopy of stars with nothing but silence and space around you.
Nxai Pan National Park
Nxai Pan is best known for the annual zebra migration — the longest in Africa — which brings thousands of zebras and wildebeest across the grasslands, followed by predators. The park’s flat, open terrain makes for spectacular wildlife viewing, while the cluster of Baines’ Baobabs provides a surreal and timeless backdrop to this seasonal movement.
Spend time with prides of lions on safari at Moremi Game Reserve © Tawana, Natural Selection
Explore the Okavango Delta from a traditional Mokoro © Desert & Delta
Picnic in the bush with elephants at Mombo Camp © Wilderness
Stay in conscious luxury and wake up on the water with elephants passing by at DumaTau © Wilderness
Experience meaningful cultural exchange and learn ancient traditions from the San
Stand in awe under the ancient baobabs on Kubu Island
Meet the sociable meerkats of the Kalahari
Experience a water based safari in Chobe, famous for large elephant herds
Botswana is renowned for pristine wilderness and exceptional wildlife viewing, especially the big 5 © King's Pool, Wilderness
Frequently Asked Questions
On Traveling to Botswana
When is the best time to travel? -
Botswana is a fantastic year-round safari destination, with each season offering a different kind of magic. The dry season (May to October) is considered prime wildlife viewing time, especially from June to August. This is also the peak season in terms of pricing. The green season (November to April) transforms the Kalahari and salt pans into lush landscapes, drawing migratory birds and wildlife, and offering a quieter, more affordable travel experience with the bonus of newborn wildlife and vibrant scenery.
What is Botswana known for? +
Botswana is world-renowned for its massive elephant herds, iconic baobab trees, and the Okavango Delta, one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s also celebrated for its untouched wilderness, rich cultural heritage, and conservation-focused tourism.
Who should travel here? +
If you’re seeking an immersive, soulful wildlife experience far from the crowds, Botswana is ideal. With one of the lowest tourist-to-wilderness ratios in Africa, it offers unparalleled access to pristine landscapes, exceptional game viewing, and a deep sense of stillness and connection to nature.
What kind of safaris or experiences are available? +
From gliding silently through the Okavango Delta in a mokoro (dugout canoe), to tracking lions on foot in the Kalahari, to sleeping beneath the stars on the Makgadikgadi salt pans, Botswana offers extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
