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Where should you go on a safari in Botswana?
The Best Safari Areas of Botswana
Botswana is predominately a dry, arid country dominated by the vast Kalahari Desert that stretches from Namibia in the west across the country through to Zimbabwe in the east. Most of the best safari areas in Botswana are in the north of the country with Maun or Kasane the main access points. Most people head to the Okavango Delta as this is considered to offer some of the most exclusive and best safaris in Africa. What makes the northern part of Botswana one of the best safari areas in Africa is the fact that the whole area is completely unfenced allowing the free movement of wildlife between areas as the seasons and water levels rise and drop.
Below are the best areas in Botswana for a safari.
Okavango Delta
The Kavingo River originates in the highlands of Angola and flows through the Caprivi Strip in Namibia before entering Botswana from the far North-west corner. As it enters Botswana, the waters hit the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert which causes the water to fan out creating one of the world’s biggest inland deltas, known as the Okavango Delta. This huge wetland is what supports most of the wildlife in northern Botswana and is the reason Botswana is such an incredible safari destination.
The Okavango Delta is made up of wetlands, channels, rivers, lagoons and floodplains with islands that range in size from little mounds to massive wildlife havens that support thousands of animals. Knowing where to stay at different times of the year is key to maximizing your safari to the Okavango Delta. During the peak floods, many of the floodplains and islands are flooded forcing the animals to dry land. For more information on the Okavango Delta, click here.
Linyanti
North of the Okavango Delta and wedged in between Namibia, the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park is one of Botswana’s most productive wildlife areas, the Linyanti. Consisting of massive private concessions teeming with wildlife, a stay in one of the exclusive safari camps here offers incredible herds of elephants and buffalo as well as some of the best predator sightings. As the dry season kicks in and the surface water starts to dry up, elephants and buffalo migrate towards the Kwando River, Chobe River, Linyanti Marsh and Selinda Spillway. These permanent waters attract huge herds of animals from across northern Botswana to sustain them during the dry season. With these vast tracts of private reserves and incredible numbers of antelope, the Linyanti is one of the top places in Africa to see the highly endangered wild dogs.
Our top camps in the Linyanti region include Kwando Lagoon, Kwando Lebala, Selinda Camp, Selinda Explorers, Zarafa Camp, Duma Tau, Linyanti Bush Camp, Linyanti Ebony and Linyanti Expeditions.
Moremi and Khwai
South of Savute and on the edge of the Okavango Delta are 2 of Botswana’s most prolific wildlife areas. The Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai Reserve offer mixed habitats and a wildlife corridor which serves up some of the best wildlife in Africa. In particular, leopard and wild dog thrive here due to the numerous prey animals and mixed habitats. The Moremi is a government run reserve which means there are some restrictions in terms of activities. No night drives or walking safaris and no off-road driving are permitted in the Moremi Game Reserve, so we would always recommend the Khwai area instead. Khwai is a community run reserve and borders the Moremi Game Reserve, so offer exactly the same wildlife (no fences so the animals move freely between the areas), but with the ability to enjoy night game drives, walking safaris and the ability to drive off-road.
Neither of these areas are private concessions and so can get busy with vehicles, making the choice of camp very important. In the Khwai area we would only use Khwai Leadwood or Machaba Camps.
Makgadikgadi Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pans spans an area of over 10,000 square kilometers, making them some of the world’s largest salt pans. Vast saltpans span pout in every direction dotted with baobab and rock islands in a vast sea of nothingness. Why on earth would anyone come here whilst on a safari in Botswana…..?
Simple. The Makgadikgadi Pans offers some of the most diverse safari experiences in Botswana. From habituated meerkats, brown hyenas, desert adapted wildlife, one of the largest zebra migrations in Africa, sleeping out under the stars, quad biking across the pans and some of the best san bushmen experiences in Botswana.
We love the Makgadikgadi Pans and always encourage our guests to include at least 3 nights on safari here combined with their safari to the Okavango Delta. There are only 3 camps we recommend here, all on a private concession on the edge of the pans. San Camp, Camp Kalahari and Jack’s Camp are the 3 best camps we would recommend for our guests.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a vast expanse of arid grasslands, saltpans, acacia scrubland and desert adapted wildlife. We love the desert, and the Central Kalahari Desert is no different. Even though it is a government run reserve, the sheer size of the park means guests rarely see any other tourist vehicle. When planning a safari to Botswana, we would always include a safari in the Okavango Delta and we would always recommend including one of the desert landscape regions of Nxai Pan, Makgadikgadi Pans or the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The contrast between the wetlands of the Okavango Delta and the arid desert regions offers guests on a luxury Botswana Safari variety. Our top pick is the Makgadikgadi Pans as it offers wildlife as well as a variety of activities, but the Central Kalahari is a very close second. The area is great for cheetah and the famous black-maned lions of the Kalahari.
Chobe & Savute
The Chobe National Park is one of the Botswana’s most famous safari destinations and attracts thousands of tourists annually. For us, safaris in Chobe are not authentic and the Chobe River front is one of the busiest safari areas in Africa, often meaning vehicles have to queue at wildlife sightings which detracts from the safari experience we want to offer our guests. What we do recommend in the Chobe area are houseboats that operate from the Namibian side of the river and offer a couple of nights relaxing on the river watching the animals from the comfort of the boat.
The Savute area forms part of the Chobe National Park and is one of Botswana’s prime wildlife areas. Savute is a very arid region where the animals rely on pumped waterholes to survive. Large herds of elephants pass through Savute as they move from the Okavango Delta north to the Linyanti and Chobe regions. Lion prides here are impressive with prides often numbering into the 20s or 30s. At one point the prides had learnt to hunt adolescent elephants as they came down to drink at the waterholes. This is an unusual activity that was made famous by the National Geographic Documentary, Ultimate Enemies.
Being a national park, activities in Chobe and Savute are restricted to morning and afternoon game drives. Boating is allowed along the Chobe River, but guests are not allowed to go on walking safaris, night drives or off-road driving. For us at Stanley Safaris, we would rather recommend staying in one of the private concessions that border the Savute area and offer a much more exclusive safari experience.
Nxai Pan National Park
Directly north from the Makgadikgadi Pans is Nxai Pan National Park which is almost an extension to the Makgadikgadi Pans. Dominated by a waterhole in the central part of the park which attracts herds of elephants, zebra, springbok and giraffe. Nxai Pan is also home to one of Africa’s biggest zebra migrations. Thousands of zebras migrate from northern parts of Botswana, during the rainy season to take advantage of the freshly sprouting grasses. Outside of the rainy season, we would not recommend visiting Nxai Pan.
Botswana is predominately a dry, arid country dominated by the vast Kalahari Desert that stretches from Namibia in the west across the country through to Zimbabwe in the east. Most of the best safari areas in Botswana are in the north of the country with Maun or Kasane the main access points. Most people head to the Okavango Delta as this is considered to offer some of the most exclusive and best safaris in Africa. What makes the northern part of Botswana one of the best safari areas in Africa is the fact that the whole area is completely unfenced allowing the free movement of wildlife between areas as the seasons and water levels rise and drop.
Below are the best areas in Botswana for a safari.
Okavango Delta
The Kavingo River originates in the highlands of Angola and flows through the Caprivi Strip in Namibia before entering Botswana from the far North-west corner. As it enters Botswana, the waters hit the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert which causes the water to fan out creating one of the world’s biggest inland deltas, known as the Okavango Delta. This huge wetland is what supports most of the wildlife in northern Botswana and is the reason Botswana is such an incredible safari destination.
The Okavango Delta is made up of wetlands, channels, rivers, lagoons and floodplains with islands that range in size from little mounds to massive wildlife havens that support thousands of animals. Knowing where to stay at different times of the year is key to maximizing your safari to the Okavango Delta. During the peak floods, many of the floodplains and islands are flooded forcing the animals to dry land. For more information on the Okavango Delta, click here.
Linyanti
North of the Okavango Delta and wedged in between Namibia, the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park is one of Botswana’s most productive wildlife areas, the Linyanti. Consisting of massive private concessions teeming with wildlife, a stay in one of the exclusive safari camps here offers incredible herds of elephants and buffalo as well as some of the best predator sightings. As the dry season kicks in and the surface water starts to dry up, elephants and buffalo migrate towards the Kwando River, Chobe River, Linyanti Marsh and Selinda Spillway. These permanent waters attract huge herds of animals from across northern Botswana to sustain them during the dry season. With these vast tracts of private reserves and incredible numbers of antelope, the Linyanti is one of the top places in Africa to see the highly endangered wild dogs.
Our top camps in the Linyanti region include Kwando Lagoon, Kwando Lebala, Selinda Camp, Selinda Explorers, Zarafa Camp, Duma Tau, Linyanti Bush Camp, Linyanti Ebony and Linyanti Expeditions.
Moremi and Khwai
South of Savute and on the edge of the Okavango Delta are 2 of Botswana’s most prolific wildlife areas. The Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai Reserve offer mixed habitats and a wildlife corridor which serves up some of the best wildlife in Africa. In particular, leopard and wild dog thrive here due to the numerous prey animals and mixed habitats. The Moremi is a government run reserve which means there are some restrictions in terms of activities. No night drives or walking safaris and no off-road driving are permitted in the Moremi Game Reserve, so we would always recommend the Khwai area instead. Khwai is a community run reserve and borders the Moremi Game Reserve, so offer exactly the same wildlife (no fences so the animals move freely between the areas), but with the ability to enjoy night game drives, walking safaris and the ability to drive off-road.
Neither of these areas are private concessions and so can get busy with vehicles, making the choice of camp very important. In the Khwai area we would only use Khwai Leadwood or Machaba Camps.
Makgadikgadi Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pans spans an area of over 10,000 square kilometers, making them some of the world’s largest salt pans. Vast saltpans span pout in every direction dotted with baobab and rock islands in a vast sea of nothingness. Why on earth would anyone come here whilst on a safari in Botswana…..?
Simple. The Makgadikgadi Pans offers some of the most diverse safari experiences in Botswana. From habituated meerkats, brown hyenas, desert adapted wildlife, one of the largest zebra migrations in Africa, sleeping out under the stars, quad biking across the pans and some of the best san bushmen experiences in Botswana.
We love the Makgadikgadi Pans and always encourage our guests to include at least 3 nights on safari here combined with their safari to the Okavango Delta. There are only 3 camps we recommend here, all on a private concession on the edge of the pans. San Camp, Camp Kalahari and Jack’s Camp are the 3 best camps we would recommend for our guests.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a vast expanse of arid grasslands, saltpans, acacia scrubland and desert adapted wildlife. We love the desert, and the Central Kalahari Desert is no different. Even though it is a government run reserve, the sheer size of the park means guests rarely see any other tourist vehicle. When planning a safari to Botswana, we would always include a safari in the Okavango Delta and we would always recommend including one of the desert landscape regions of Nxai Pan, Makgadikgadi Pans or the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The contrast between the wetlands of the Okavango Delta and the arid desert regions offers guests on a luxury Botswana Safari variety. Our top pick is the Makgadikgadi Pans as it offers wildlife as well as a variety of activities, but the Central Kalahari is a very close second. The area is great for cheetah and the famous black-maned lions of the Kalahari.
Chobe & Savute
The Chobe National Park is one of the Botswana’s most famous safari destinations and attracts thousands of tourists annually. For us, safaris in Chobe are not authentic and the Chobe River front is one of the busiest safari areas in Africa, often meaning vehicles have to queue at wildlife sightings which detracts from the safari experience we want to offer our guests. What we do recommend in the Chobe area are houseboats that operate from the Namibian side of the river and offer a couple of nights relaxing on the river watching the animals from the comfort of the boat.
The Savute area forms part of the Chobe National Park and is one of Botswana’s prime wildlife areas. Savute is a very arid region where the animals rely on pumped waterholes to survive. Large herds of elephants pass through Savute as they move from the Okavango Delta north to the Linyanti and Chobe regions. Lion prides here are impressive with prides often numbering into the 20s or 30s. At one point the prides had learnt to hunt adolescent elephants as they came down to drink at the waterholes. This is an unusual activity that was made famous by the National Geographic Documentary, Ultimate Enemies.
Being a national park, activities in Chobe and Savute are restricted to morning and afternoon game drives. Boating is allowed along the Chobe River, but guests are not allowed to go on walking safaris, night drives or off-road driving. For us at Stanley Safaris, we would rather recommend staying in one of the private concessions that border the Savute area and offer a much more exclusive safari experience.
Nxai Pan National Park
Directly north from the Makgadikgadi Pans is Nxai Pan National Park which is almost an extension to the Makgadikgadi Pans. Dominated by a waterhole in the central part of the park which attracts herds of elephants, zebra, springbok and giraffe. Nxai Pan is also home to one of Africa’s biggest zebra migrations. Thousands of zebras migrate from northern parts of Botswana, during the rainy season to take advantage of the freshly sprouting grasses. Outside of the rainy season, we would not recommend visiting Nxai Pan.
