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User Reviews of Botswana (383 Reviews)

Botswana Safaris Botswana
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Average User Rating

4.8198 / 5 4.8 /5
4.8016 / 5 4.6739 / 5 4.6529 / 5 4.6229 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 324 / 10 324
4 star 51 / 10 51
3 star 7 / 10 7
2 star 0 / 10 0
1 star 1 / 10 1
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Male avatar icon John Carthy United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: August 2008 Reviewed: Jan 29, 2012

Email John Carthy  |  20-35 years of age

Great choice for top end safaris

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5
We drove through Botswana coming from Namibia via the north west border crossing, down the west of the Okavango panhandle to Maun, and then up to Chobe before heading into Zimbabwe.
Botswana is great. It has the flat, empty expanses of wilderness that most of us associate with Africa, but which are so hard to find nowadays with the vast population growth and land shortages which affect most African states. Driving from Namibia towards Maun it is pretty mindblowing to think that to the right of the road there is almost nothing but untouched wilderness stretching all the way to South Africa, whilst to the left of the road are the wetlands of the Okavango Delta followed by the Moremi Game Reserve, with its packs of African Wild Dogs.
Unfortunately, we were in a Honda Jazz. Small hatchbacks are not designed for Moremi, the Okagango or the Makgadikgadi Pans, so we stopped in Maun to consider our options. After two days searching in vain for a low-budget, organised camping
Read more trip into any one of the nearby parks, which involved me getting the car stuck in sand in the entrance to a hotel and having to be pushed out by local children, we gave up and drove to Chobe. The last hundred or so kilometres were done very slowly on a space saver spare tyre after we were eaten by a large pothole north of Francistown.
My only criticism of Botswana therefore is that there is very little infrastructure for the independent tourist; the entire tourism sector is geared towards high end fly-in safaris. Having said that, it will be the first country in Southern Africa that I return to - purely because I didn't have the money to see everything the first time around. To be truthful, I spent more on petrol than on seeing animals.
The only real exception to the rule is Chobe National Park. It is readily accessible from Victoria Falls and makes a great add on if you are visiting Livingstone or the Zimbabwean side. There are hotels in every price range, and you can park your small Japanese car outside the Avis office at the airport and leave it there. While you are spotting beasts, some poor Botswanan has the unenviable task of driving it the thousand and odd kilometers back to Johannesburg on a space saver as spare tyres of that size are not available anywhere further north.
Several hotels along the road in Chobe have boat and safari vehicle trips into the park, which is great. The boat trips get you close up to elephants, hippos, various antelopes and lots of birds, whilst the jeep safaris are great for lion and all the more common species - we saw a porcupine (the only one I have ever seen), and only just missed some wild dogs. Chobe is easily comparable to good National Parks in neighbouring countries, and it is something of a shame that it gets overshadowed by Botswana's star attractions further West.
If I come into money, I'll be straight back onto the plane to Botswana to do all the things I couldn't afford to do last time around. If you're on a budget, you'll do much better to stick to South Africa or Namibia, where your money will go much further.
Avatar icon T Sharp Visited: October 2010 Reviewed: Jul 29, 2013

Deep in the Heart of the Chobi Reserve

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5

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.

Avatar icon Vivienne Visited: May 2011 Reviewed: Dec 23, 2013

Best time to visit Botswana

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 / 5

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

Avatar icon JivZ Visited: June 2007 Reviewed: Nov 2, 2011

The real bush vibe

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5

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.

Female avatar icon Mandy Dickinson United Kingdom flag 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

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 0 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5
The Kalahari was a wonderful place with different animals to what we had seen on previous safaris, such as the wonderful bat eared foxes and wild cat. Not the best time to visit as the rains stopped us going to many areas due to the mud. We did get stuck once for an hour before being rescued, all part of the experience as were the scorpions. From the Kalahari our well laid plans went to pot as hotel Baobab had a big fire in November so was closed for renovation. Our guide changed the itinerary and took us to Khwai and into the Savuti part of the Chobe reserve. The areas were lovely but it was a lot of travelling on dirt roads and not what we had planned. We did see more animals in these areas mostly ones we had seen previously. Our best experience was spending 25 minutes with beautiful male Leopard. He was walking at the side of the road coming towards us and was not bothered at all about the car, we got some wonderful photographs and even managed to turn the car around and follow
Read more 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.
Male avatar icon Jacobus Kriel South Africa flag 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

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5

This time was a quick self organized tour to Moremi and south west only but again a highlight for us

Female avatar icon Lesley United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: November 2024 Reviewed: Nov 26, 2024

Email Lesley  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Elephant heaven!

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 3 / 5 4 / 5 0 / 5

Our one day safari into Botswana was dealt with efficiently and quickly at the border. Our day was split between river and land. Both were enjoyable and fun. However, we were disappointed not to have seen any big cats, mainly seeing elephants, giraffe and antelope. Nonetheless, it was a good intro for someone on their first safari experience.

Female avatar icon Caroline Mari Uruguay flag UY       Visited: September 2024 Reviewed: Nov 4, 2024

Email Caroline Mari  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

It is enjoyable to see animals in their natural environment

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 0 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5

The Okavango Delta a different experience. We saw many elephants very close and hippos. The guide was very kind and careful. In Moremi we were able to see lionesses with their babies, giraffes, elephants, and some birds.

Female avatar icon Anja Luecking Germany flag DE       Visited: September 2024 Reviewed: Oct 12, 2024

Email Anja Luecking  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Vast wilderness and wildlife

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5
I went on a mobile safari to Savuti and Khwai (which I especially loved because of the scenery next to the river) and one day in Moremi.

I was a solo female traveler and felt well protected and looked after by the crew of my tour operator Xaa Safaris. I had a spacious tent with an en-suite bathroom and loved hearing the animals at night: lions roaring, hyaenas howling, elephants rumbling and hippos barking. I was great to watch the elephants strolling through the campsite in Khwai during the day, and I even encountered an elephant drinking out of a my wash basin while I was inside the tent! We saw lions a few times in Savuti and Moremi, came across a pack of wild dogs and a bat-eared fox couple and had a great leopard sighting where we spent quite some time with the animal. Apart from that we enjoyed spotting many gracious giraffes, a lot of hippos and elephants, but also saw also the rarer sable and roan antilopes and ground hornbill. It was good fun and excitement to track
Read more lion, leopard or hyaena.

After the safari I spent a few days in Maun and went on a one day trip to Okavango delta.

I can recommend Botswana as a travel destination for its vast wilderness and wildlife. Looking forward to return and see other areas like the salt pans and Kalahari.
Male avatar icon Nicola Cappelletti Italy flag IT       Visited: September 2015 Reviewed: Dec 31, 2015

Email Nicola Cappelletti  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

4 / 5 4 /5
5 / 5 2 / 5 5 / 5 / 5

Fantastic wildlife, great landscapes but a bit too crowdy.