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Jacobus Kriel
ZA
Visited:
December 2024
Reviewed: Jan 30, 2025
Email Jacobus Kriel | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Botswana is for the nature lover!! Will go back for the 3rd time soon
This time was a quick self organized tour to Moremi and south west only but again a highlight for us
Mandy Dickinson
GB
Visited:
December 2024
Reviewed: Jan 31, 2025
Email Mandy Dickinson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Botswana has wonderful wildlife and friendly people - great place for a holiday
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him as he scent marked along his territory. It had been raining and our guide said that, he is staying near the road as he does not want to get his fur wet in the long grass. Eventually as he walked away from the road he was spotted by the Impala, a great noise they all made warning of his presence. We were doing luxury camping, it was very comfortable but often very hot and washing water was in short supply. Our guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the wildlife and fauna but sometimes he over egged the pudding.
smithp500
GB
Visited:
January 2005
Reviewed: Oct 23, 2011
35-50 years of age
Africa at its most unspoilt, its most beautiful and most thrilling.
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through the delta and stopping to walk across one of the islands. The wildlife in the two areas is totally different. Moremi has the big cats and antelope, whereas on the delta we saw lots of birds, hippos and many more elephant. We travelled in January and hence did experience some very heavy rain showers but the animals were still around in abundance. Combined with Namibia I can say without hesitation this was our best holiday ever.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.