Luxury Botswana Safari

Glide the Delta by mokoro

First, a poler stands at the stern and pushes you through lily channels in a dugout canoe, with frogs ticking and elephants feeding on the islands. The quietest game viewing in Africa.

Okavango Delta

Jun–Oct, water levels peak

Chobe by boat at golden hour

Hundreds of elephants swim between islands as the sun drops. A private photographic boat puts you at water level, closer than any vehicle can get.

Chobe riverfront

Dry season, May–Oct

Meerkats and lost lakebeds in the Kalahari

Habituated meerkat colonies at dawn, black-maned lions by day, and quad rides across the Makgadikgadi salt pans under desert stars.

Makgadikgadi & Central Kalahari

Year-round; green season for zebra

Track wild dogs in the Linyanti

The private Linyanti and Selinda concessions hold some of Africa’s densest wild dog populations, with off-road driving and night drives no national park allows. For these reasons, these concessions are the natural place to explore Africa privately. Two favorite shapes: the Delta & Victoria Falls itinerary and the three-country Cape, Falls & Delta route.

Linyanti & Selinda

Jun–Oct, denning season

Dry season and peak Delta flood, with the best game viewing.

Green season: newborn wildlife, birding and lower rates.

Priced to your budget, and built around your camps, the season and how you like to travel. There are no fixed packages.

Fly into Maun (MUB) or Kasane (BBK); then light-aircraft transfers reach the camps.

In short, every journey is private and tailor-made, with private guides and vehicles where specified, the finest lodges, and a specialist on call throughout.

May to October is the dry season and coincides with the Okavango Delta flood, which brings the best game viewing. By contrast, the green season (November–March) offers newborn wildlife and excellent value.

Every journey is priced to your budget, but Botswana is deliberately among the most expensive safari countries per night: its low-volume, high-value policy limits visitor numbers, and the fly-in camps of the Okavango carry a genuine premium. As a guide, luxury safari camps and lodges typically run from about $1,000 to $3,000 or more per person per night, and Botswana sits toward the upper end of that range, especially in the dry season. Botswana safari cost guide

US, UK, EU, Canadian and Australian passport holders do not need a visa for stays up to 90 days. However, you will pay a small tourism levy on arrival, and your passport needs six months’ validity and blank pages.

The Okavango, Chobe and Linyanti are malarial, especially November to June. For this reason, a course of prophylaxis from a travel clinic is standard; the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi are lower risk.

In fact, it is deliberate policy: low-volume, high-value tourism. Concessions host a handful of small camps instead of crowds, so you pay more and see almost no other vehicles. Even so, most guests find it the best money they spend in Africa.

Yes, with planning. Many water camps take children from 6 or 12; however, several superb family camps have private vehicles and family tents. That is why we route families through Chobe and the drier concessions where activities suit younger travelers.

Dry season (May–September) is winter. Dawn game drives run 40–45°F (5–7°C), properly cold on an open vehicle, then warm to a beautiful 75–80°F (24–27°C) by midday before cooling fast after sunset. October turns hot, often 95°F (35°C). In contrast, the green season (November–March) brings warm humid days around 88°F (31°C) with dramatic afternoon storms.

For first-timers, yes, if you want intimacy over spectacle. So we usually pair it with Victoria Falls for an easier rhythm. For families: many water camps take children only from age 6 or 12, so we route families through Chobe and family-designated camps with private vehicles and family tents. In particular, teenagers tend to rate the mokoro and quad-bike days the best of their lives.