Botswana
A landlocked country of Kalahari sand, salt pans and one great inland delta. Drift through the Okavango channels by mokoro, watch elephants drink along the Chobe River and sleep out under the stars on the Makgadikgadi pans.
Explore regions
A landlocked country of Kalahari sand, salt pans and one great inland delta. Drift through the Okavango channels by mokoro, watch elephants drink along the Chobe River and sleep out under the stars on the Makgadikgadi pans.
Explore regions
Botswana sits at the heart of southern Africa, a high, dry plateau where most of the ground is Kalahari sand. Water decides where the wildlife gathers, so trips follow it, from the Okavango Delta to the Chobe River and the salt pans that flood after good rains. Most international travellers connect through Johannesburg and fly on to Maun, Kasane or Gaborone. Light aircraft hop out to camps on bush airstrips, and self-drivers need a proper 4x4 for the parks. The dry season, from about May to October, is peak time for game viewing, while the green season from November to April brings storms, new grass and newborn antelope.
The Okavango and the northwest is why many people come. The Okavango River rises in the Angolan highlands and fans out across the sand into a maze of channels and palm-fringed islands, with the flood usually at its highest from about June to August. Maun, the gateway town, sits on the delta's southeastern edge in North West district. The classic outing is a mokoro trip, where a poler stands at the back of a dugout canoe and pushes you quietly through the reeds. Game drives and guided walks on the islands fill the rest of your days, and what you see depends on the water and the month.
Chobe is the easiest big park in the country to reach, because it starts on the edge of Kasane, close to the point where four countries meet. Botswana has more elephants than any other country, and in the dry months many of them come down to the Chobe River to drink. An afternoon boat safari puts you low on the water beside them, while morning game drives follow the riverfront. Numbers depend on the season and how much water is left inland. Victoria Falls is about 80 km away across the Kazungula border, so it slots in easily at the start or end of a trip.
Central and Makgadikgadi is big-sky country, built around the salt pans of an ancient lake. In the dry months the crust is hard enough for quad biking and sleep-outs on the open pan. From about December to March, thousands of zebra and wildebeest move onto the new grass, though the timing follows the rain. Further west, the Kalahari region takes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which fills much of Ghanzi district, and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the South African border. Both suit travellers who like space and silence, and both need a well-equipped 4x4 or a guided trip.
Gaborone and the southeast makes a good first or last stop. You can climb Kgale Hill for the view over the capital, track rhino at Mokolodi Nature Reserve just south of town, or visit the ruins of David Livingstone's mission at Kolobeng. The northeast centres on Francistown, an old gold-rush town on the road north to Kasane. In the far east, the private reserves of the Tuli Block line the Limpopo, and night drives are allowed on their land. The south is ranching country, with Kanye and the diamond town of Jwaneng on the long road west.
Maun is the base for the delta, with lodges along the Thamalakane River and a busy airport for camp flights. Kasane does the same job for Chobe, and many of its lodges look straight onto the river. For the pans, most people stay at a camp on the edge of the Makgadikgadi or near Nata. Ghanzi and the camps inside the Kalahari parks suit desert trips. Gaborone works well for a night after a long flight.
Most mokoro trips, game drives and short walks suit beginner level, as long as you're happy to follow your guide and keep still around animals. Longer walking safaris and multi-day mobile trips suit improver level. Horse riding safaris are an advanced option, because you'll need to be confident at all paces. Use the Book here tab to see live dates and prices from local centres.
