Botswana is packed with a wide range of African experiences, including the famous Okovango Delta, an area rich in some of Africa’s most sought after game viewing opportunities. Cruise lazy rivers a dug-out canoe, meet the San Bushmen and marvel at Fish River Canyon as you absorb the highlights of some of Africa’s most majestic wilderness and wildlife.
Best Botswana Tour Companies
These are the top rated tour operators and travel companies offering trips in Botswana.
Travel to Botswana
There are so many highlights of Botswana, including camping under the stars in the Okavango Delta, tracking wildlife on safari in the Chobe National Park and visiting a rhino sanctuary.
Government policy is to encourage only the top-quality tourist market in order to protect the animals and environment against the over-exploitation that has occurred in many of Africa’s other tourist destinations—where game vehicles often outnumber the animals themselves. The government recognises the enormous potential of the growth of world tourism that is expected in the first decade of the new millennium but it wants all development to go ahead on an environmentally sensitive basis.
Botswana offers some of the best wildlife viewing in the whole of Southern Africa. Local and international companies offer Fly-in Luxury Lodge Safaris, Camping Safaris or a combination of the two. Areas include the Chobe National Park (including the Chobe River and Savuti), Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve (including Xakanaxa and Khwai), Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Nxai Pan National Park, Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Drotsky’s Caves and Tsodilo Hills.
A lot of travel operators offer overland trips through the region where you can also visit other countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa on the same trip.
Botswana Attractions
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is one of Botswana’s most popular attractions. The wildlife, bird life and plant life are incredible here. The Moremi Wild Reserve in the North Eastern corner of the Delta, which covers 1,000 Sq. Kmof grassy flood plains, where the day is spent viewing game and a number of birds found in this area. There is a wide variety of wildlife and vegetation found in Moremi terrain.
Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park in North West Botswana has the best concentration of elephants out of any national park in Africa in addition to an abundance of other ‘big’ wildlife – buffalo, leopard, lion and antelope. The park is near to the border with Zambia and Zimbabwe and so is an excellent place from which to travel to Victoria Falls, about 60km away.
Victoria Falls
Travel further in the North of Chobe Forest Reserve deep sand to Ngoma, then head to the east into Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. Some operators offer 2 night trips with transport and accommodation included.
Popa Falls
Cross to Namibia travel to the highly rated Gaprivi National park. Visit the surrounding area and falls, then camp at the really scenic Popa Falls.
Shakawe
Shakawe is a village in Botswana where you can go on a boat trip on a delta’s handle pan, then camp in Dotsky.
Tsodllo Hills
Botswana is also an archaeological treasure trove. Its history goes back to the Stone Age and beyond. More than 2,000 archaeological sites have already been identified, yet only a hundred have been excavated. History lives on through the San people (earlier known as Bushmen) who left their delicate art on rock faces in many parts of the Kalahari. The Tsodilo hills in the northwest and Lepokole hills in the extreme east, reveal a profusion of paintings dating back to the Stone Age and continuing until comparatively recent times. Flint tools and artefacts can be found almost anywhere in the windswept sediments of the Kalahari desert.
Guma Lagoon
The highly impressive Guma Lagoon where you can have go on boat rides and have sightseeing with wildlife up close.