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Botswana Safari Holidays

Botswana Safari Holidays

Botswana Safari Holidays

Botswana Safari Highlights

Thanks to the country’s stable government and progressive social policies, Botswana is now one of Southern Africa’s hottest safari destinations. Here are four great places to visit in Botswana for animal lovers.

FAQs on Botswana Safari

Why book a Botswana Safari with Exodus?

We have been carefully curating our trips for 45 years and our safari holidays are designed to bring you closer to the African wildlife, with more time spent in game reserves and national parks. The main focus is to steer you to the best vantage points on game drives with expert guides and rangers who will teach you about the varied habitats and wildlife as they share their invaluable wealth of knowledge. Throughout our trips, we also arrange exceptional accommodation where you can immerse yourself in the heart of Botswana’s wilderness and meet with like-minded travellers.

Which month is best for a safari in Botswana?

Between the months of June and August are good times to plan a safari to Botswana. During these months the temperatures are cooler, so game drives are more enjoyable and there are fewer mosquitos around. In July you can usually expect floods in the Okavango Delta, which makes game viewing even more exciting as hippos, elephants and warthogs make their way down to the banks of the rivers. However, towards the end of November, zebras begin the Nxai Pan Migration south in search of rich grasses. You can also see zebras and wildebeest heading from the Okavango Delta to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.

Is Botswana a good place to go on safari?

Undoubtedly Africa is the best continent for safaris and playing host to some of the most magnificent animals, Botswana is often considered the ultimate safari destination. Known for its huge herds of buffalo and elephants, Chobe National Park is the place to go for game drives. The Okavango Delta is also a front runner in the safari stakes with its population of crocodiles, white rhinos and hippos that can be found in the river swamps. Alternatively, head to Moremi Game Reserve or the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans for more unique wildlife encounters.

When should I book a safari?

Before you go ahead and book your trip to Botswana, make sure you do your research beforehand or speak to one of our experts to find out more about the best times to travel and when to book. We advise that you book your holiday well in advance so that you have plenty of time to apply for your visa and arrange any necessary vaccinations. If you plan to travel during the peak season, it’s recommended that you book your trip 10 to 12 months in advance. Make sure your passport has the required length of validity and if not, apply for a new one as soon as possible.

What animals will I see in Botswana?

The wildlife in Botswana is as diverse as it is abundant and you’ll have the opportunity to see the Big Five, consisting of the lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and black rhino, as well as many more species. The country also plays host to some of the continent’s greatest concentrations of giraffe, hippo and wildebeest, and has the largest herds of elephants in the world. Throughout the dry season in Botswana, there are approximately 200,000 large mammals found in the Okavango Delta. Boasting a varied ecosystem made up of salt pans, rivers, marshes and savannah, it provides the ideal habitats for a wide variety of wildlife.

How many days do you need for a Botswana safari?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, but however long you spend in Botswana, you’ll likely feel it isn’t enough as the wildlife experiences here are endless. A week on safari would allow you plenty of time to explore some of the larger game reserves and national parks but 14 days would let you delve even deeper. Depending on how many locations you wish to visit, two or three nights is a reasonable length of time to spend at each area. 14 days would give you the best opportunity to see most of Botswana’s wildlife as well as enjoying immersive cultural experiences.

How many national parks are there in Botswana?

As well as six game reserves and other smaller parks, there are four national parks in Botswana, which include Chobe, Makgadikgadi, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (also known as Gemsbok) and Nxai Pan. Other notable wildlife parks to visit are Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Chobe National Park is the oldest in Botswana and one of the most ecologically diverse in Africa, showcasing large concentrations of big game. Makgadikgadi National Park is a quieter option and although it doesn’t have as many sightings of the Big Five, its stunning scenery is well worth exploring.

The whole trip was amazing. The organisation was great, guides superb and game viewing simply stunning.
It was very hot, much hotter than I expected but the activities were early morning or evening which made everything bearable. The wild camping days were great fun, if very basic, but a great experience. Our guide Onary was a fantastic cook and some of our best food was in that wild camp.

Margaret Baker Botswana & Zimbabwe Lodge Safari

A holiday of contrasts -the hubbub of Kathmandu, the magnificence of the Annapurna range and the luxury of the Bahari Jungle Lodge in Chitwan.

We had a superb tour guide in Kathmandu who was happy to answer any question and who took us to see the living goddess! Our original hotel was very average but we were moved to the much more upmarket Yak and Yeti for the final night, which was the original hotel when we booked the trip and is now advertised for future trips.

I really enjoyed the trekking experience, the scenery was spectacular, the lodges were very comfortable, the food really good and the staff excellent. Our guide and porters were amazing, it was very sad bidding them farewell.

Chitwan was a complete contrast, much warmer, very luxurious. We were kept busy there. The jeep safari was my favourite, fortunately we did this early in the morning when the park inhabitants are more lively. To get to the National Park we simply took a boat across the river from the lodge, so easy! We didn’t see a tiger but saw several one horned rhinos, including a mother and calf whom we observed for some time. It would have been great to have one more day there to chill, to enjoy a dip in the pool, to sit on our balcony of our lovely ‘hut’.

Our last full day, the ‘approximately 5 hours’ on a coach turned into about 8 hours on a holiday, a day when traffic is much quieter than normal. We did not arrive in Kathmandu until about 4pm, it left little time to do anything before our farewell meal. I would have preferred to pay a little extra to fly! It was a disappointing end to our holiday.

Elaine Wilkinson Annapurna Trails & Chitwan – Premium Adventure

My family saved up money to have a holiday of a lifetime. We were promised in the brochure and online that this was a Premium holiday with 4/5* hotels, an expert guide and superb mountain views. This was not the holiday we received in many areas. Some parts such as the trekking and lodges were excellent but as you will see below in my comments a lot fell short of what we had paid for and I would not book another ‘premium’ holiday with Exodus again.

Sally Wilson Annapurna Trails & Chitwan – Premium Adventure