7 Reasons You Should Choose Botswana for Your Safari

Botswana offers visitors the opportunity to stay in land-only or water-only camps, providing the chance to enhance your overall experience by combining both options.

Some parts of Botswana are more suited to land-only safaris, during which game-viewing activities take place in a 4x4 vehicle as you traverse savannas and forests. Discover lodges and camps that offer walking safaris or night drives in their private concession, adding to the thrill of any safari.

Water camps, located along the Okavango Delta, are accessible only by plane or tender boat. Game viewing is by mokoro, a dug-out canoe, or tender boats warbling down the river.

Learn more: 8 Best Places to Visit for a Botswana Safari

A fly-in safari is a luxurious way in which to conduct an African wildlife adventure and Botswana’s topography and dramatic destinations lend themselves perfectly to this style of trip.

Imagine moving from one exquisite lodge or camp to another in a short flight, your day on safari seemingly uninterrupted as your wildlife adventure soars above open plains, forests, and water.

The moment you land, your pilot will whisk you away to your first destination. Lodge hops may have you stopping at various airstrips along the way, an opportunity to experience so much more of this incredible country than if you were transferring on long, dusty roads every couple of days.

A local safari expert understands the topography, distance, and time needed to travel between destinations in relation to your trip schedule. 5 Reasons to Plan Your Safari with a Travel Specialist looks at the different ways a local expert can positively impact your experience by ensuring each detail is accounted for and pre-arranged, including planning for fly-in safaris.

Botswana is renowned for the Okavango Delta, the dramatic dry salt pans of the Makgadkgadi, and the famous Chobe National Park along the river of the same name.

Add to the mix the lush swamps of the Linyanti and the grasslands of the Savute, and you have an irresistible safari destination. Open savannas roll into forested swampland and dusty game reserves turn muddy from nearby waters.

Game-viewing activities can be conducted on water or land, as the diverse landscape presents breathtaking scenery, adventurous terrain, and exceptional sunsets.

The diverse landscapes of Botswana directly create and affect the wildlife found in each area. Our 6 Landscapes and Habitats to Explore on an African Safari looks at the scenery you can find and how that correlates with the wildlife you spot on game drives.

Whether your accommodation is in the form of luxury tents or modest canvas dome rooms, a mobile camping experience is a unique way to explore the national parks and reserves of Botswana.

Get up close and personal with wildlife in parks such as Chobe National Park or the Moremi Game Reserve, as you set yourself up for a night of under-the-stars dining in a remote location.

Enjoy exploring Botswana in simple style and comfort, moving every few days to ensure your footprints are the only thing you leave behind. Your tented accommodation is minimally furnished, which makes packing up and moving easy.

Learn more: 3 Types of Safari Accommodations and How to Choose

Discover the magic of the Okavango Delta as you glide across the water in a mokoro or enjoy a small boat adventure along the Chobe River, your lush surroundings opening a world of adventure to you.

As the water below and around you gives way to reeds and rocky banks, wildlife can be spotted standing tall above the greenery or crouched behind a tree. Smaller creatures such as frogs and birds fill the space as you pass by, providing up-close-and-personal encounters.

Viewing animals from the water gives you the chance to navigate through areas that may not necessarily be accessible to those visitors traveling in 4x4 vehicles.

Learn more: 10 Types of African Safaris: Different Ways to Experience a Safari

It is said that Botswana’s colorful and contoured landscape provides the ultimate backdrop for photographers to create magic.

The combination of huge wildlife numbers, especially elephants, and because the region is less crowded than other well-known safari destinations, makes embarking on a photographic safari here popular.

Photographers have the option to take snapshots from specially-fitted 4x4 game-drive vehicles or adapted tender boats along the rivers, channels, or salt pans of national parks and reserves.

Discover more inspiration for a cinematic game drive by looking at our sample safari itinerary, Photographer's Paradise: Spectacular Botswana Safari. Enjoy exploring the wilderness to find the geographical beauty of the Okavango Delta.

Botswana’s safari circuit combines well with bordering Southern African destinations and nearby island escapes, enhancing one’s overall adventure with breathtaking scenery, thrilling adventure activities, and culture.

You can include Botswana in any Southern African itinerary. The famous Victoria Falls lie just over the border, while Maun is the gateway to many vacation highlights. In just over two hours, Cape Town is yours to explore, or compare color and texture with a visit to Namibia, connecting two very different worlds and experiences.

An island getaway is easily added to your Botswana safari, perhaps with a night in Johannesburg first, making it an excellent destination for a beach and bush combination.

Learn more: 7 Things to Do in Africa Beyond Safari

Botswana safari options are endless and deciding whether a land or water or combo option is for you will be the only choice you have to make. An outstanding and abundant variety of wildlife, plus an ever-changing landscape, will entice any safari-goer, while providing the option to explore in a less-crowded environment at your pace.

Learn more with our Botswana Safari Guide and explore sample Botswana safari itineraries for further inspiration. Whatever your safari dreams, your Zicasso safari specialist is a destination expert who is ready to answer your questions to help you find the right destination.