BOTSWANA HOLIDAYS
A Complete Immersion in Wildlife and Wilderness
BOTSWANA SAFARIS
Botswana safaris conjure brilliant images of the wild. The country offers safari for true animal lovers, with multi-day adventures that place you centerstage in wildlife theatre.
Botswana is the country where you can be completely immersed in the wilderness and completely surrounded by big game. It’s wild, it’s wonderful, and you won’t believe how close you can get to the wildlife.
The country has so much to offer especially for animal lovers. Its multi-day adventures will have you at the centre of the wildlife theatre
4 Nights / 5 Days
Chobe Game Reserve & Victoria Falls
from: £ 1209.00 per person
The perfect Botswana safari introduction, with two days on a Chobe safari preceded by two days at Victoria Falls. Expect dazzling encounters with elephants and hippos among other wildlife.
8 Nights / 9 Days
Chobe National Park, Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve & Victoria Falls.
from: £ 3065.00 per person – not including International flights
Combine Botswana’s game rich Chobe National Park River, the magical Okavango Delta , an immense waterlogged oasis alive with wildlife adrift in the middle of the Kalahari sands, Moremi Game Reserve & the awesome Victoria Falls.
Botswana Highlights
- Paddle past hippos on a traditional mokoro canoe through the Okavango Delta.
- Surround yourself with elephants in Chobe, where there are over 100,000 of the pachyderms during dry season.
- Admire the rare black-maned lions of the Kalahari.
- Track the predators with a safari around Moremi Game Reserve, the game-rich heart of the Okavango.
- Safari in one of Africa’s best private concessions, with Linyanti, Selinda and Kwando all offering very exclusive experiences.
- Ride a quad bike across the Makgadikgadi, the world’s largest salt pans.
- Escape on an overnight cruise down one of Botswana’s legendary rivers.
- Start or end a Botswana holiday with a visit to Victoria Falls, a spectacle that is barely one hour over the border.
- Fly between destinations on local safari flights and enjoy stunning views onto the wilderness; or appreciate the scale on a self drive safari.
Fascinating Facts
- The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland water systems, covering approx. 6,000 square miles during peak season. It takes almost nine months for the water to make its journey from the Angolan rains to the bottom of the Delta, creating a plethora of waterways weaving between islands.
- Botswana is a major country for meerkats. No other country has so many of them.
- In the !Xoo language of Botswana and Namibia, only spoken by about 3500 people, there are 112 distinct sounds, compare that to the approximate 40 we have in English.
- Botswana is the world’s third-biggest diamond producer.
- Botswana is home to the worlds biggest concentration of African elephants, of which the highest concentration is in Chobe National Park.
- Botswana was a British protectorate until 1966. A year after gaining independence, a huge diamond mine was discovered.
Botswana Travel Information
All Nationals require a passport valid for at least six months from date of entry. Proof of Return travel & sufficient funds are also required.
A Visa is not required for:
- British Nationals
- EU Nationals
- USA Nationals
- Canadian Nationals
It is still very important to check with your local consulate or embassy for the most up-to-date visa & passport requirements.
Botswana isn’t a zoo. Elephants literally cross the main roads. Lions and hippos roam freely. This creates an incredibly intimate experience. You’ll really feel what it is like to live in the animal kingdom. However, it’s essential to be cautious. Every camp or lodge will provide a safety briefing when you arrive, including what to do when encountering different animals. All this intimacy is scary to some people, but if you’re keen on adventure then Botswana is where you should be.
Botswana offers year-round game-viewing and you can enjoy a fantastic safari experience outside of the July to October high season.
May, June and November are good months to travel and tend to be less expensive. Across most of northern Botswana, the dry season, offers the best game viewing.
During the dry season wildlife starts to congregate around permanent waterholes and rivers. There is also less vegetation and the grass is low. All this makes game viewing much easier.
May to June is also when the Okavango floods. So in the same months you can enjoy classic dry season safari in some destinations, along with classic Okavango flooding. This adds up to popularity.
June to August are peak season and the best lodges and camps must be booked months in advance.
By September and October the daytime temperatures start to soar. Game viewing is at its peak and lodges aren’t as busy – this could be an ideal time for a romantic Botswana safari.
December to March is the rainy season, when game-viewing can be compromised. Some lodges and camps close during these months as well.
Language: English is the official language, plus other local languages.
Time zone: GMT + 2
International dialling code: + 267
Health: Proof of a yellow fever vaccination may be required when entering Botswana from elsewhere in Africa.
Malaria is present in most parts of the country and prophylactic drugs are strongly recommended.
Money: The unit of currency is the Botswana Pula (BWP).
Safari Costs: In order to protect their natural spaces, the Botswana Government implemented a high-value low-volume policy for tourism, with costs higher than elsewhere. But this means standards are high and the experiences are almost exclusive.
On a Botswana safari you could live like a prince at a £1000 a night camp. Or you could make a self drive journey across the bush, one of the cheapest authentic safaris around. There is something here for different levels of luxury and adventure. We don’t worry too much about the wildlife; after visiting Botswana so many times we know that everyone comes face to face with a lot of wildlife.
Instead, we like to know your travel preferences, so we can choose lodges and experiences that are best for you. There is something for every budget and we can guarantee wild encounters with the famous animals.
Getting there: Johannesburg is the usual gateway and offers good connections to Maun and to Livingstone (Zambia) as well as Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), each offering easy access to Chobe National Park.
A growing number of international carriers are now flying directly into the new international airport at Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and some also fly directly into Livingstone (Zambia)
Find out more Botswana Tourist Board
Internal Flights and Transfers
Due to the remote areas the camps and lodges are based in, transfers between camps may take place by boat, mekoro, game drive vehicle or light aircraft.
Weight & Luggage Restrictions
For safety reasons light aircraft transfers have a restriction of 15kg luggage plus 5kg of hand luggage (20kgs total) per person, packed in SOFT bags.
(In Zambia and Mozambique this limit is decreased to 15kg per person total on light aircraft transfers, scheduled flights remain at 20kg).
Only one piece of hand luggage with a maximum weight of 5kg is allowed per person. A handbag is considered as a piece of hand luggage.
