At present, the Quirimba Islands are closed for tourism but we will keep you updated as soon as anything changes.
An impressive 40% of Botswana is protected by national parks and private reserves. It’s a huge figure and perhaps somewhat daunting when starting to plan your Botswana safari. Should you fly or drive? Is it as expensive as it seems? And how do you even start tackling the world-famous Okavango Delta and the never-ending choice of camps and activities? Well, we don’t have all the answers, but we can certainly give you our best Botswana travel tips, gathered from years of planning safaris to the safari wonderland. And if you’ve got any more questions, pop us an email and we’ll get back to you – our favourite thing is to talk all things safari – or take a peek at some of our other Botswana blog articles here.
Flying vs driving
One of our first Botswana travel tips is to think about what you want from your safari and whether flying or driving will suit you best. The majority of travellers fly into and then around Botswana – Kasane is the airport to choose if you’re exploring Chobe National Park and cruising down the glorious river, whilst Maun is the starting point for those exploring the Okavango Delta, Linyanti and the Makgadikgadi (read more about how to combine the different areas in this article). Flying is fun and quick – and the views are epic – and although expensive, it doesn’t always work out cheaper (and sometimes it’s even impossible!) to drive. Driving, however, is a fantastic way to incorporate Victoria Falls into a Botswana safari; we rather like this itinerary that includes a couple of nights in Chobe, followed by a hop across the border by road to Zimbabwe to goggle at the world’s most famous waterfall.
Research the weather
As far as Botswana travel tips go, understanding the weather patterns of the country will go a long way to ensuring you have the safari of a lifetime. For a deep dive into the seasons, have a look at our month-by-month guide, but in a nutshell Botswana follows the ‘safari season’ weather pattern – June to October is the dry, winter season and December to May is the hot summer. Interestingly, the Okavango Delta floods in the ‘dry season’ and this is the best time of year to visit if you want guaranteed, full-flowing waterways and the chance to boat or mokoro (confusing yes, but we promise it’s right). It’s also when the Makgadikgadi is at its most iconic, with those ethereal, lunar landscapes you see in photos. On the other hand, the best time to visit the Kalahari is in the summer when the grasses flourish, and in the Okavango Delta, those in-between months of April and November will produce some good deals on lodges without compromising on amazing wildlife.
The Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is the star of the show in Botswana. A geographical marvel (it’s one of the few river deltas in the world that doesn’t flow into a large body of water), the grassy plains and meandering waterways host a plethora of storybook wildlife that attract travellers from all over the world. So, how do you make the most of your visit? The Delta is split into a variety of ‘reserves’, some private, some not. The private reserves are the most well-known and have the advantage of allowing (some!) off-road driving, walking and perhaps night drives. Famous names include Moremi (and big-name camps Chief’s, Mombo and Xigera), Duba Plains Reserve and Camp, Vumbura Reserve (Little Vumbura & Vumbura Plains) and Mapula Reserve and Lodge. You may also have heard talk of land- and water-based camps. A water-based camp will offer mokoro and boat safaris for the majority of the year, whilst a land-based one will be more focussed on game drives. Our top Botswana travel tip would be to combine the two for a fabulous, all-round experience of the Delta.
Look out for special offers
It’s no secret that going on safari in Botswana will have you parting with a few pennies. The ‘high cost low volume’ tourism model implemented by the Botswana government may have something to do with this – but it’s also meant that the country has remained largely unspoilt and with an excellent conservation history. Anyway, we digress… If you’re travelling on a budget, one of our favourite Botswana travel tips is to keep a lookout for special offers. These may range from long stay discounts (stay seven nights, only pay for five) and honeymoon incentives (the bride will stay for a much lower rate and sometimes even for free), to more specialised offers surrounding the seasons, free flights, and even just staying in a certain combination of camps. These offers change all of the time, but if you’re interested in seeing what’s out there, pop us an email and we’ll see what we can do.
Add some time at the beach
If you’ve been around here for a while, it will come as no surprise that we at Timbuktu love a classic ‘bush and beach’ trip and in Botswana, there’s more than a few beach options to choose from. Johannesburg and the excellent international airport is a flight away from Maun, the starting point for most Botswana safaris, and from here the intoxicating Indian Ocean coastline is easily accessible. Your closest stretch of sand is probably Mozambique; adventurers will love the quiet, off-the-beaten track spots around Inhambane and special-occasioners will feel right at home on the private islands of Bazaruto and The Quirimbas. Mauritius and Botswana also combine well together, and the sheer choice of accommodation on the island appeals to families and those looking for an easy, no-fuss add-on. Last but not least is the Seychelles, probably the most iconic beach destination of all time and although a tad further away, worth every last minute of travel.
Research your lodges
We love nothing more than a good deal when it comes to safaris and we’ve written all about how to plan an affordable safari to Botswana here – but just in case you’re in the market for a few more cheap-as-chips Botswana travel tips, we thought we’d have a chat about lodges. Budget lodges aren’t ten a penny in Botswana, but they are there if you know where to look. Planet Baobab is one such find; offering virtually the same Makgadikgadi activities (quad bikes, meerkats and walks with the Bushmen) than almost ten-times-the-price Jack’s Camp, it’s a funky, cool and well-travelled sort of place that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in our eyes. In Chobe, some of the larger lodges offer fantastic value for money. They might feel a bit ‘hotel-y’ but save here, and splurge somewhere else to make the most of it – try Chobe Safari Lodge or Chobe Elephant Camp for size. In the Delta, Hyena Pan and Oddball’s Camp are our top picks for budget-conscious travellers.
Stay longer
Last on the list of Botswana travel tips is to think about staying in one or two regions for a tad longer than the standard two or three nights. By booking one camp in one place, you’ll really get to know your surroundings and there may also be a chance of a long-stay discount too. In the Makgadikgadi, staying longer means being able to take advantage of the blockbuster of activities on offer – you’re going to need at least four nights to visit the meerkats, explore on game drives, walk with the Bushmen, horse ride, quad bike, and maybe even spend an afternoon in camp, feet in the pool and binos in hand. In the Delta, longer stays often mean the opportunity to sleep out under the stars, either in a custom-made Skybed, or in a romantic, alfresco bedroom somewhere in camp. And who wouldn’t want to take that opportunity?
