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T Sharp
Visited:
October 2010
Reviewed: Jul 29, 2013
Deep in the Heart of the Chobi Reserve
I had to good fortune to spend two weeks in the Chobe National Park & the adjacent game reserve, and have never seen so many elephants in my life. It is a beautiful park, and is teeming with wildlife. It was also a nice respite to not have as many tsetse flies following you around. The local guides we were with were elephant experts, and had even names certain ones based on the tracks they left, and could tell elaborate stories of how they spent their days based on their comings and going. The weather was very mild for Africa standards, and the abundance of water at the time made for some great game viewing. I highly recommend this area, especially for people who don't have a lot of experience on safari, as this would be a great entry level safari. You're definitely going to see lots of wildlife.
Vivienne
Visited:
May 2011
Reviewed: Dec 23, 2013
Best time to visit Botswana
Botswana is a beautiful country. If it's wildlife spotting you're after, try the Chobe National Park - it's the country's second-largest national park. Summer lasts between November and March so I would recommend going outside of those months as it can get extremely hot. Have a look here for more advice on the best time to visit - http://www.safaribookings.com/botswana/best-time
JivZ
Visited:
June 2007
Reviewed: Nov 2, 2011
The real bush vibe
Botswana is relatively unknown to tourists, yet provides all the wildlife and scenery you expect from a safari. When booking always ask for the possibility to stay inside the parks. There are private camping areas so it will be only you, the guide(s) and the wildlife. One night when sitting around the campfire in one of the parks a huge male elephant came rushing through the bushes and passed us within 10 meters. These kind of thrills are almost impossible in other African countries.
We stayed here with a guide and a cook on a private safari, while staying as much as possible inside the parks. As sidetrips we took a flight above the Okavanga Delta and spent two days in nearby Zambia to visit the Victoria Falls including a helicopter flight. Both were fantastic experiences well worth the money.
As the infrastructure inside the parks (and sometimes also outside the parks) is not always developed, do not try to attempt to book a self-drive unless you are very experienced in off-road driving.
Juanita Coolidge
US
Visited:
February 2020
Reviewed: Mar 17, 2020
Email Juanita Coolidge | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Luxury tenting with delicious food, attentive service and knowledgable and caring guides .
They found all kinds of wildlife, luxury tenting, amazing food and great social interaction. Guides were top notch in Kadizora and Little Machaba. Not a hitch. Ker and Downey planned well for us.
Imran Pirwani
US
Visited:
September 2019
Reviewed: Oct 21, 2019
Email Imran Pirwani | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic place for a safari
The Okavango Delta, it seems, is run in a way which limits visitors, thereby limiting the impact on the environment. There are strict limits that are imposed on how many people can be in any given concession, and it's not possible for casual guests to just show up and stay in the Delta. I stayed in three different camps: Footsteps across the Delta, Duba Explorers Camp, and Chitabe Lediba. Footsteps specializes in bush walks, which is an activity which I enjoyed immensely while in Kruger Park. The walking
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experience in Shinde concession in which Footsteps is located, was absolutely amazing. We got to see some lions while on foot -- this this generally quite difficult to do since lions take off the moment the sense human presence on foot. We also got to follow a large pack of wild dogs for a while as they tried to hunt. Duba Explorers Camp was quite a bit more luxurious than Footsteps. It had running hot water and electricity. The game viewing was quite incredible, too. We got to stalk a mid-sized elephant herd for about 3 hours whom we followed for about 2 miles to the river. We stayed about 60-70 meters from them, and when the elephants stopped, we approached to about 30 meters. We took a bunch of photos of them. Due to the skillful guide, the elephants were never aware of us stalking them. Later, we also followed a small pack of wild dogs on a hunt, who cornered a reed buck. It was quite a gruesome sight watching the dogs rip the poor buck to pieces while it was still alive, but I guess that's how dogs scrounge a living. We saw quite a few other predators, too, including lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyena. At Chitabe, I spent 3 nights. The area was quite dry and was rich in predators. There was a lion pride that'd specialized in hunting the abundant giraffes in the area; they'd killed one just a day before I'd arrived. There's an area called "the river" which is about an hour's drive from the camp, bordering the Moremi Game Reserve. The area is so rich in game that no matter where I looked, I could see 7-8 species of large game in large numbers!I found Botswanans to be such friendly and peaceful people. I've travelled a lot but have never come across a people who have such a strong sense of national pride. I am sad that my trip only lasted 10 days. I can't wait to go back there!
Sully858
US
Visited:
May 2017
Reviewed: Jul 14, 2017
Email Sully858 | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We rode from Vic Falls to Cape Town on motorcycles and the amount and variety of wild life we encountered - often in the middle of the road - was truly incredible. One of our riders had an accident in Botswana and the people at the scene couldn't have been more helpful. Truly good people - many living in awfully modest conditions to say the least.
Anne M.
US
Visited:
November 2016
Reviewed: Dec 19, 2016
Email Anne M. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I loved Botswana, but this was my first safari, so I can't compare it to anything (however, I am planning to return to Botswana). The people are warm and welcoming; it's still wild and beautiful, unspoiled by billboards and commercialization. There is a variety of landscapes and scenery - from the hot dry desert to the cooler Delta.
Simon
AU
Visited:
June 2015
Reviewed: Aug 15, 2015
Email Simon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Totally an old style African Safari
A mobile safari seemed like a good family adventure for two young teenagers, easily bored by museums or treks through old cities. We chose Botswana for our family and on our first three days in Botswana we enjoyed amazing water safaris through the Okavango Delta.
By boat we were able to move around the delta easily while getting amazingly close to the animals, and the huge array of colourful birdlife. The elephants seemed right at home in the marshland and were not disturbed as we approached.
At our accommodation our tents were assembled by a beautiful lagoon, complete with a pod of snorting hippos. On arrival a startled impala bounded through the camp, being chased by wild dogs, then swam across the lagoon. On our walking safari the next day we came across a pack of 15 wild dogs – a rare and wonderful sighting.
After the first three
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days we swapped the boat for a land cruiser and headed off for three nights in the Moremi National Park. One night, when I got up to use the en-suite (a tarpaulin area at the back of the tent), I peered over to see the moonlit face of an equally startled elephant, just meters away. He moved on to the next tree for a good munch. More elephants offered themselves as a photographic backdrop in the morning as we had breakfast and on the safari drives we were lucky to spot leopard, honey badgers and incredibly, a daytime sighting of a serval.The following morning we were woken early by the roar of male lions, seemingly close. Our knowledgeable guide woke us to say we were skipping breakfast to board our vehicle and explore. Sure enough 500 metres up the road we came across two kings of the jungle, marking their territory, roaring at another pride. Magic.
After a recovery night at the Maun where the kids got a quick Wi-Fi fix, we headed off to Nxai Pan. This was a total change of scenery with salt pans, majestic baobab trees and an arid open bush environment. The waterhole was the epicentre of our game drives. We watched the passing parade of elephant, giraffe, springbuck, and wildebeest as they took turns to rehydrate.
The African sunsets were spectacular. And on the last night a mother cheetah decided to show off her frisky teenagers for our cameras.
Tour organisers, Rebecca and Anton from Lelobu Safaris in Maun, and our guides, cook and camp assistants all took amazing care of us, ensuring we were safe and comfortable at all times. Botswana is a spectacular country, best seen in the true African style – by a mobile tented safari. A totally magic experience for the whole family. The family from Australia with my niece and nephew, both absolutely loved this experience before we came to Cape Town, Cape Town has also been a great add on to end our trip in Africa.
Alan J Castle
Visited:
September 2009
Reviewed: Jan 6, 2012
One of the very best safari destinations in southern Africa
The huge variety of habitats from the unique Okavango Delta to the Central Kalahari Desert, and ultimately the majestic Mkgadikgadi make Botswana one of the most interesting wildlife/nature destinations in the world.
Accommodation varies tremendously from luxury safari camps offered by Wilderness in the Okavango to the most basic camp sites like those in Kwai Community Reserve in Moremi where there are literally no facilities at all, giving the very best bush experience you can imagine for the seasoned explorer. For such places you'll need roof tents as the animals will definitely visit you, especially at night.
The best time to go is in September, before the rainy season makes quite a few places too difficult to get to, and if you are 'going it alone' you'll need a 4 wheel drive vehicle with all the kit, including all camping equipment, water, food (no meat allowed in the reserves), fuel, at least two spare wheels, tools etc, etc.
smithp500
GB
Visited:
January 2005
Reviewed: Oct 23, 2011
35-50 years of age