Experience Botswana
Capital
Gaborone
Currency
Botswana Pula
Languages
English, Setswana
ISO Code
BW
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Iconic Destinations in Botswana
Chobe National Park
Kasane
Khwai Concession
Linyanti Wildlife Reserve
Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
Maun
Nxai Pan National Park
Moremi Game Reserve
Okavango Delta
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Tsodilo Hills
Exquisite Lodges & Camps in Botswana
Chobe Mopani Forest Lodge
Chobe Mopani Forest Lodge is a wildlife-rich eco-lodge nestled within the protected Kasane Forest Reserve on the Botswana–Zimbabwe border, positioned at the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers where four countries (Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe) converge. Overlooking a lively waterhole that draws prolific wildlife — including the highest concentrations of elephants in Africa — the lodge offers 20 en-suite standard rooms, 2 stand-alone Meru chalets, and 9 campsites on elevated decks. A wooden walkway connects rooms to the expansive main area featuring two dining spaces, a boma, curio shop, swimming pool, and star-gazing deck. Activities include Chobe game drives, river boat cruises, Victoria Falls day trips, and cultural village tours. Situated between Chobe and Zambezi National Parks, wildlife such as buffalo, leopards, lions, African wild dogs, impalas, sables, and zebras roam freely through the property.
Wild View Resort
Wild View Resort is a centrally located riverside resort in Kasane, just 80 metres from the majestic Chobe River on the main road to Kazungula, and arguably possessing one of the most coveted riverfront locations in Kasane. The resort is ideally positioned for guests wishing to access Chobe National Park — home to the world's largest elephant population — as well as the Kazungula quadripoint where Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia meet. All 50 air-conditioned en-suite rooms are designed to immerse guests in the beauty of the Chobe River environment. Selected rooms include kitchens with ovens and stovetops, ideal for self-caterers. Facilities include a seasonal outdoor pool, Wild View Restaurant (local and international cuisine), bar, conference centre (2,000+ capacity), laundry service, and free parking. Activities include Chobe National Park game drives, boat safaris on the Chobe River, Chobe river cruises, fishing expeditions (tiger fish, bream), Victoria Falls tours, and dinner cruises. The resort also offers a unique 'Elephant Back Safari' experience nearby
Cresta Maun Hotel
Cresta Maun is a thatch-roofed riverside hotel elegantly set on the banks of the Thamalakane River at the southern edge of the Okavango Delta — Botswana's tourism capital and gateway to one of the world's most iconic wilderness areas. Offering 83 air-conditioned en-suite rooms with river views, the hotel caters equally to leisure and business travellers. The on-site Tswii Restaurant serves African and American cuisines for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, complemented by a well-stocked bar and lounge. Facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, terrace, garden, conference facilities, and free airport shuttle. The hotel activities desk can organise safari trips to Savuti, Moremi, and Chobe National Parks. Starting from BWP 1,200 per night (approximately $88 USD), Cresta Maun represents excellent value in the heart of Maun.
Dinaka Camp
Dinaka ('horns' in local dialect) is a five-star luxury tented camp set within an exclusive 40,000-hectare private game reserve hugging the northern boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve — one of the largest nature reserves in the world. Opened in 2017 and operated by Ker & Downey Botswana, the camp is a premier desert wildlife destination offering extraordinary sightings of black-maned Kalahari lion, cheetah, leopard, brown hyena, honey badger, oryx, and springbok. Eight thatched tented suites (including one family tent) are raised on wooden decks with king beds, mini-bars, indoor and outdoor showers, and verandas overlooking the camp's wildlife-frequented waterhole. Activities include morning, afternoon, and night game drives; walking safaris; educational San Bushmen cultural walks; underground photographic hides; and a sleep-out deck for stargazing. Dinaka has been awarded five-star status by the Botswana Tourism Board and is EcoTourism certified.
Mopiri Camp
Mopiri — meaning 'little island' in the local language — is a beautiful solar-powered tented camp perched on the western bank of the pristine Weboro Lagoon in the north-west Okavango Delta, an area free from power lines and other lodges. Operated by Roots & Journeys, the camp enjoys permanent water year-round, making it an ideal water-focused destination. Ten luxury rooms (7 tented suites + 3 family suites on a nearby island) offer king-size beds, en-suite bathrooms with large rain showers and double sinks, and panoramic private decks overlooking the lagoon. A unique floating pool is the only one of its kind in the Okavango Delta. Long winding boardwalks connect rooms to the main area, jetty, and pool. Mopiri hosts over 350 bird species with regular sightings of Pel's Fishing Owl, Slaty Egret, and African Skimmer. Activities include motorboat cruises, mokoro excursions, fishing (tiger fish — March to December), fly-camping on islands, the Osprey double-decker barge sundowner cruise, Delta Dreams Spa, and community visits to nearby Etsha villages. Scenic helicopter flights to Tsodilo Hills can be arranged.
Kanana Camp
Kanana Camp is a classic luxury tented camp set on a private concession along the Xudum River in the south-west Okavango Delta, owned and operated by Ker & Downey Botswana. Refurbished in early 2025, the camp beautifully captures the essence of a vintage Okavango safari with its blend of authenticity and stylish comfort. Eight spacious tented suites (including one family tent) on raised teak decks offer breathtaking views across the delta's waterways. En-suite bathrooms feature large walk-in showers and luxurious fittings. The camp is surrounded by a necklace of islands dotted with palms, figs, ebony and knobthorn, and is home to a myriad of birds, plants, and animals. Kanana hosts a seasonal heronry — one of the largest in the Okavango Delta — teeming with activity from August through summer, making it particularly popular with birdwatchers. Awarded five-star status by the Botswana Tourism Board and voted 'Best Community Focused Safari Property in Africa' (Safari Awards 2014), Kanana offers game drives, mokoro excursions, motorboat cruises, guided walks, fishing, and a celebrated sleep-out experience.
Nokanyana Camp
Nokanyana — meaning 'little river' — is an intimate, family-friendly luxury tented lodge positioned where the Khwai and Mababe Rivers converge, in the private NG41 concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve and close to Chobe National Park and Savute. Operated by Roots & Journeys (sister camp to Mopiri), the newly rebuilt lodge offers some of the most prolific game viewing in Botswana directly from rooms and communal areas. Ten solar-powered luxury tents (7 standard + 3 family suites) sit on the banks of the Khwai River, all featuring king-size beds, twin sinks, and inside/outside rain showers. The private traversing rights in the Mababe River Private Reserve allow off-road access and unlimited game drive time — a rare luxury in Botswana. Activities include morning and afternoon/night game drives, full-day safaris with picnic lunches, guided nature walks, mokoro trips (on request), and traditional boma evenings. Key species include elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, wild dog, hyena, roan antelope, ground hornbill, and giraffe.
Adventure & Experiences in Botswana
Scenic Helicopter & Charter Flights over the Okavango Delta
No perspective on the Okavango Delta is more dramatic or breathtaking than from the air. Scenic helicopter and charter flights reveal the full magnificence of this UNESCO World Heritage Site — an inland delta of crystalline channels, floodplains shimmering with reflected sky, hippo-filled lagoons, and islands carpeted in fig and palm trees. From altitude, elephant herds appear as orderly processions threading through golden grass, while aerial views expose the geometric beauty of channels and oxbows that are invisible from ground level. Helicopter flights are particularly exhilarating, as the aircraft can hover, descend, and land in remote locations for bush walks or picnics. Charter flights in light aircraft connect remote camps and simultaneously deliver aerial sightseeing. Experienced pilots double as informative guides, identifying wildlife, geographical features, and ecological zones throughout the flight. A quintessential luxury safari add-on and a must-do for photography enthusiasts.
Mokoro Excursion in the Okavango Delta
Drift silently through the labyrinthine waterways of the Okavango Delta aboard a traditional mokoro — a dugout canoe expertly poled by a local guide. This iconic water safari offers an intimate, ground-level perspective of one of Africa's most pristine freshwater ecosystems. Guests glide past dense papyrus reed beds, lily-covered lagoons, and crystalline channels while spotting hippos, elephants cooling at the water's edge, crocodiles basking on mudbanks, and an extraordinary array of birdlife including malachite kingfishers, African fish eagles, and jacanas. The near-complete silence of the mokoro — no engine, no noise — makes it perfect for photography and deep immersion in the natural environment. Experienced polers narrate the journey, sharing knowledge of plants, tracks, and the Delta's ecology. Excursions can be combined with bush walks on islands for a complete Delta experience.
Cultural Visits & San Bushman Experiences
The San Bushmen — also known as the Basarwa — are among the world's oldest surviving indigenous cultures, with a heritage reaching back more than 70,000 years. Cultural visits to San communities in and around the Central Kalahari Game Reserve offer guests a profound and deeply respectful window into one of humanity's most ancient ways of life. Accompanied by community members and interpreters, guests learn the ancient art of fire-making using hand-spun wooden sticks, witness extraordinary traditional tracking skills as guides read the Kalahari sand like an open book, and observe the preparation of wild plants, roots, and insects as food and medicine. Storytelling sessions around a fire bring to life the spiritual beliefs, folklore, and cosmology of the San people, while traditional music and dance demonstrations reveal an artistic culture of remarkable richness. All visits are organised in partnership with local communities and contribute directly to community livelihoods. This is cultural tourism at its most meaningful and transformative.
Chobe River Boat Cruise
The Chobe River boat cruise is consistently rated among the top wildlife experiences in all of southern Africa. Gliding along the banks of the Chobe River — which forms the border between Botswana and Namibia — guests are treated to some of the continent's highest concentrations of elephants, with hundreds regularly crossing the river in impressive herds. Hippos yawn and surface in pods, enormous Nile crocodiles bask on sandy banks, and African fish eagles call from towering fig trees overhead. Sunset cruises bathe the landscape in a warm golden light while guests enjoy drinks on deck, creating a quintessentially African atmosphere. The Chobe is also a world-class birding destination, with thousands of carmine bee-eaters, open-billed storks, kingfishers, herons, and waders along the banks. Professionally crewed vessels — ranging from intimate pontoon boats to larger multi-deck cruisers — navigate close to wildlife safely and quietly, delivering extraordinary close-up photographic opportunities.
Walking Safaris in the Khwai Concession & Okavango Delta
Walking safaris bring you face-to-face with the African wilderness in the most primal and authentic way possible. Led by highly trained, armed professional guides, bush walks in the Khwai Concession and throughout the Okavango Delta strip away the barrier of a vehicle and immerse guests entirely in the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of the bush. Guides interpret the landscape as a living library — reading lion tracks pressed into soft earth, identifying medicinal plants used by local communities for centuries, explaining the behaviour of dung beetles and termites, and pinpointing the distant alarm calls of birds that reveal a hidden predator. Guests experience the bush at the pace of a walking animal, developing a depth of understanding unavailable from any vehicle. Encounters with elephant, giraffe, and antelope on foot — managed expertly by guides — create memories that endure long after the safari ends. Walking safaris are transformative, intimate, and deeply educational.
Quad Biking on the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans form one of the largest salt flat complexes on Earth — an otherworldly, bleached landscape stretching as far as the eye can see, offering an experience utterly unlike any conventional safari. Quad biking across the pans delivers exhilarating freedom as riders traverse the vast white expanse at speed, with nothing but an infinite sky above and a hard, cracked pan surface underfoot. The landscape shifts dramatically with the seasons — in the dry season the pans are blinding white and mirror-flat; during summer rains they fill with shallow water that attracts enormous flocks of flamingos and pelicans. Night rides under the Milky Way are a particular highlight, as Makgadikgadi — far from any light pollution — offers some of the finest stargazing in Africa. Guides accompany all rides, providing safety briefings, leading routes, and sharing the extraordinary natural history of this ancient lakebed, which once held one of the largest lakes on the continent.
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Climate & Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Botswana for wildlife viewing is during the dry season, from May to October. During this period, animals concentrate around permanent water sources, making them easier to spot. The Okavango Delta is also at its fullest from June to August.
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