The best lodges for safari in Botswana

the northern wetlands are rich in wildlife

The sheer number of quality safari lodges in Botswana is astounding.

Choosing between them can seem daunting at first, but in reality they vary enormously in terms of the levels of luxury and service, the seasonality and, most importantly, the quality of the core safari experience.

In our opinion, many of the lodges deliver safari activities that are far too soft. That can work for older, more sedate or more disinterested guests, but if you are coming primarily for the wildlife, then you need to tread carefully.

If you want a more serious safari, then look out for camps which have spotters on the front of their vehicles and which offer serious walking safari. Those are the most obvious indications of a good operation.

Our primary purpose is to perfectly match each group of guests with the best and most appropriate lodges. The more you can tell us about you, the better we can do it.

the most intense predator viewing in Botswana

Located in the Linyanti Waterfront area, to the north of the Okavango Delta, Lebala Camp is arguably the best location in Africa for predator action. 

Rarely have we visited without seeing leopards, lions, wild-dogs and hyenas, often with live hunting action and occasionally with all-out predator-on-predator warfare.

The camp itself is not the most elegant or reliable, but it is all that more wildlife-focused guests would ever need.

the best safari experience in Okavango

“>Set in a prime location in the Okavango Delta, Splash Camp is unusually serious about its safari guiding, with a very deliberate focus on predators.

Although not often quite so intense as Lebala Camp, the action here can get serious. Several times, we have experienced multiple hunting sequences with different predators on the same outing.

The camp itself is, arguably, a little over-the-top for wildlife-focused guests, but we have always enormously enjoyed staying here.

a fabulous and extremely polished lodge

When we turn our attention to very luxurious camps, the risk increases of the safari experience becoming rather too soft.

Located on the west side of the Okavango Delta, Duba Plains Camp is a truly fabulous and extremely polished property, but one which retains the ability to turn the heat up on the core safari experience. As such, it is one of the first places that we turn to when building a truly top-end safari.

Naturally, the prices at this level are not for the faint-hearted.

an extraordinary place offering very unusual safari experiences

When old man Jack Bousfeld first set a camp out on the remote desert flatlands of Makgadikgadi, everyone thought he was mad. 

They may have been right, but nonetheless, Jack managed to create a camp of legendary style, whilst developing a range of unusual and intense safari experiences.

The perfect complement to the more famous wetlands, a few nights at Jacks Camp will enable you to meet meerkats, spend time with Bushmen people and quad-bike out onto infinite salt pans that make you feel like you’re on the moon. Truly epic.

a refreshingly earthy option, with a focus on walking safari

When out on walking safari, it is much more difficult to approach wildlife, but it’s hard to describe the aesthetic experience and the sheer excitement of being a part of the bush.

The lodges in Botswana do not generally focus hard on walking safari, so what a delight to discover Kweenie Trails. This small owner-run operation combines a fabulous remote location, a simple and intimate camp experience and a major focus on proper walking safari.

If you are serious about your safari, then Kweenie is a wonderful way to supercharge your experience.

a rare lower cost property in a great location

Decent lower cost camps have always been in very short supply in Botswana, so we are delighted to introduce you to Mokolwane Camp.

Despite the relatively low prices, this property is in an excellent remote location, in the southeast of the Okavango Delta, in the area where most of the wildlife footage for the BBC and NatGeo has been filmed over the years.

The camp itself is rather simple, but perfectly adequate for more wildlife-focused guests.

a famous and historic super-luxury lodge

One of the first lodges to be constructed in the Okavango Delta, Mombo Camp is a very famous and extremely high-end property.

The location on the northwestern tip of Chief’s Island is second to none, catching the flood sediment, leading to unusually rich wildlife.

Safari activities are limited to daytime vehicle safari and the prices are eye-wateringly high, but the overall experience is everything that you would expect of such a ‘trophy location’.

a wonderfully remote and scenic waterworld

Pelo is one of several properties that are located in wetter parts of the Okavango Delta and usually focuses exclusively on motorboat safari and mokoro canoe safari.

A purely wet camp like this inherently delivers lower wildlife sightings, but the location is blissful and the overall atmosphere totally intoxicating.

If you are able to stay in three or more lodges in Botswana during your trip, then it may be worth considering including a property like Pelo Camp.

a rare combination of luxury and value

The Okavango Delta contains the highest concentration of genuine super-luxury safari lodges in Africa. There’s plenty to choose from.

However, these lodges are extraordinarily pricey, prohibitively so for most people.

Tuludi Camp is a rare example of a genuinely high class lodge at less than half the price level of the most expensive options. A lovely property that we have really enjoyed.

Extraordinary tailor-made adventures,
from earthy and edgy to easy and extravagant

From around USD 2500 per person, you set the ceiling

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