Botswana safari holidays

All our Botswana holidays are safaris at heart. You’ll stay in lodges and camps that invest in their communities – and pitch up where you can sip a sundowner within roaring distance of the lions’ waterhole.

Join us on a trip to Chobe National Park, an oldie but a goodie. It was the first national park in Botswana, laying out rivers, marshes and deserts that are home to the largest population of elephants on the planet. Elsewhere, our holidays take you to see the zebra, giraffes and hippos of the Okavango Delta by mokoro canoe, discover how residents created the Moremi Game Reserve to fight back against hunting and uncontrolled farming, and see how rhino numbers are being boosted at Khama Rhino Sanctuary.

Choose between a tailor made or small group safari that places you with a group of like-minded travellers; it’s often a case of the more eyes the merrier when seeking out wildlife on safari. As well as a set itinerary designed by experts who know and love Botswana, you’ll travel with local guides who can tell a coppery-tailed coucal from an African fish eagle at 100 paces.

The Okavango is the world’s largest inland delta – an oasis in the middle of the colossal Kalahari Desert, attracting wildlife in unrivalled numbers. It’s the watery landscape that brings animals here; think of it as a giant desert waterhole pieced together by swampland, islands, forests and papyrus-lined rivers. Floating along the delta’s reed channels in a mokoro dugout canoe is a wonderfully tranquil contrast to a dusty game drive, and a relaxing way to spot riverside wildlife, including hippos, crocodiles and birds.

Local guides are both expert navigators – known as “polers” – and extremely knowledgeable about the animals and their habitat. This is a great thing to do in Botswana for animal lovers, as the near-silent mokoros don’t startle the wildlife, so you can just sit back and float past the incredible scenery of the Okavango.

For an adventurous addition to your Okavango cruise, disembark from your mokoro for a walking safari. You’ll follow the fresh tracks of lions and elephants through the bush in the wake of local guides who’ll put you eye-to-eye with the wildlife on the ground. Everything seems to grow to fill out the landscapes here – including the elephant herds, which are some of the largest in Africa.

Walking through the bush with an Indigenous San guide allows you to see culture and nature like never before. Their intimate knowledge of the Kalahari remains unrivalled, as Bruce Taylor, from our partner Sunway Safaris, discovered: “Going on a walk with these guys is amazing. They’ll look at a twig – literally a twig – and stop. Somebody will dig up the tuber below it, scrape the skin off, squeeze the pulp and drink from it. Then they put the skin back, pat the mud back onto it and bury it again so that the plant can continue to grow. Later, they’ll make a fire. Hard wood, soft wood, hand roll, bit of bark... and suddenly they’re all huddled round a fire while you’re freezing in your jacket. It’s really impressive.”

Makgadikgadi Pan is another great spot for a hike. Dotted with giant, 100-year-old baobabs, the Makgadikgadi floods following the rains, attracting zebra, wildebeest and tens of thousands of flamingos. Also within the reserve is the sacred Kubu Island and Nata Sanctuary, which is fantastic for birding.

Our family holidays adapt safaris to children’s energy and attention spans. Younger children will enjoy wildlife spotting from jeeps, while Botswana’s specialities – bushwalking and canoeing – mean that the older the child, the more they’ll get out of it. Teenagers in particular will love it, as well as being able to withstand any longer overland drives. Lodges are well-prepped for families, with extra-large tents and bush schools – a bit like forest schools – for children.

Traveller and bed numbers are restricted in Botswana, so you don’t have to worry about being just another face in the crowd. Our camping holidays use campsites hidden away on private concessions, while unobtrusive luxury lodges offer comfort and calm while living up to demanding environmental principles. The 47-room Chobe Game Lodge is one of the biggest, complete with electric safari vehicles and great benefits for local staff. This luxury accommodation invests your money where it makes a real, direct difference: you’ll help support communities, protect wildlife and preserve the environment. We reckon that’s money well spent.

Make like a migrating buffalo and forgo country borders to explore a larger swathe of Southern Africa. Namibia, to the west, is a great pairing. Our holidays allow you to compare the watery Okavango Delta with the mountainous dunes of the Namib desert, or the seal colonies of Cape Cross with the elephants of Chobe National Park. Alternatively, let us plot a course north-east to Zimbabwe, where Victoria Falls crashes tantalisingly close to the Botswana border and Hwange National Park is a mere extension of Chobe National Park to the 100,000-plus elephants that roam here. The long overland drives are all part of the fun.