7 Best Places to Visit in Botswana

With uninterrupted views over Osprey Lagoon, and a fantastic vantage point from which to watch the areas mega-herds of elephants, Wilderness DumaTau and nearby Wilderness Little DumaTau are perfectly located for making the most of your stay in the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve. Each spacious tented guest suite has been positioned to offer great views whether you’re relaxing on your deck, or cooling off in your plunge pool. You’ll also find the tents include spot-cooling, meaning you can find respite from the hot afternoons indoors. Spend time investigating the ‘curiosity boxes’ you’ll find mounted on the walls in your room and the drawers filled with fascinating artefacts and information. They’re a great way to learn more about the area’s wildlife and rich history. Look out for unique elephant and wild dog art in the rooms and library made from reclaimed snare wire. Wilderness Safaris have constructed both camps to give maximum comfort and offer guests a large array of facilities. In addition to the in-tent cooling systems, you’ll discover that the central Osprey Retreat which sits between the two camps boasts a pool, drink and snack counter and a Safari Boutique area, offering you more space to mingle with your fellow guests if you choose to do so. Large decks, plunge pools and awnings are attached to each of Wilderness Duma Tau’s eight tented suites as well as at the four at Wilderness Little DumaTau. The Wilderness DumaTau team continues to focus on the sustainability of wildlife corridors, as they have done since 1997. They believe that it is more vital than ever to protect large wildlife corridors of wilderness,  like those within the vast Linyanti Wildlife Reserve – especially for the African elephant and wild dog that cover extensive ground. Staying at Wilderness DumaTau offers you easy access to the Linyanti floodplain as well as the Savuti Channel, in fact, it’s the only concession from which you can access both. The region has all the habitat diversity to make it a haven for wildlife, and is well-known for its elephant concentrations as they congregate along the waterways and lagoons during the dry winter months. General wildlife viewing is excellent year round including impala, wildebeest, red lechwe, Burchell’s zebra, giraffe, Cape buffalo, chacma baboon, vervet monkey, and warthog. Predator sightings of lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and spotted hyena are good. As well as day and night game drives, you can explore on nature walks or take to the water on motorboats or the river barge (depending on water levels).  

Very intimately placed in the private Jao Concession area bordering the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Wilderness Jao Camp is a luxurious way to experience this beautiful part of the world. With just nine tented rooms, you will be well looked after and be able to enjoy some incredible service tied in with excellent guiding. Each of the tented rooms are situated a short distance from the main area and are accessed via raised walkways which adds to the charm of the place. All of the tents have their own deck area with great views over the expanse of floodplains before them, you will be nice and comfortable in your luxurious canvas setting. Wilderness Jao Camp also has a great wine cellar where you can enjoy a private dinner and if you really wanted to treat yourself, they have a great spa where you can enjoy some superb treatments. Within the camp itself, you have access to two plunge pools which you might want to dip into in the afternoon heat when you aren’t relaxing inside the beautifully decorated interior with a nice book from the library. Activities here are entirely dependent on the flood levels at the time of year you visit, however as a rule of thumb you can expect about 30% game drives and 70% water activities which give you a brilliant and new perspective of the animals that call this place their home. Mekoro trips are highly recommended! As the camp is within its own concession area, it also has the ability to provide night drives (weather permitting) to spot the elusive nocturnal creatures found here.

A Bedouin-style tented safari camp in the middle of Botswana's Kgalagadi

This is one of the most luxurious camps in Botswana, with nine huge canvas ‘tents’ with thatched roofs set on raised wooden platforms. Each comes equipped with a private plunge pool, four poster bed, indoor and outdoor showers. The camp sits overlooking the Linyanti River and the oxbow lake of Wilderness King’s Pool from which it derives its name. Communal areas include a lounge dining area, bar and a shared pool. These all sit on raised decking allowing for excellent armchair game viewing of the river and lake. This part of the Linyanti borders the Chobe National Park, meaning that great numbers of elephant frequent the area during the dry months as they visit the lagoon and river. Other game is abundant too during these months including giraffe, lechwe, zebra and impala, all helping to draw the large predators; lion, leopard, cheetah and wild-dog. As well as game drives the camp offers seasonal barge cruises along the river (dependent on the river level) , basic fishing and walking safaris (on request in advance). The camp also has two wildlife hides, excellent for close up observation of game.

Botswana’s mesmerizing Okavango Delta is now brighter than ever with the newly transformed (as of 2022) Vumbura Plains. Nestled in a large private concession of 60,000 hectares in the far north of the Delta, the camp is enveloped in some of the most incredible landscapes, home to some of the best wildlife encounters in the area. Inside, the camp celebrates its sense of place and culture, with design elements that pay homage to its wonderful setting with patterns, textures and colours bringing nature inside. Rooms at the lodge are amongst the biggest in the delta, all open plan, with a sunken seating area, private shaded deck and swimming pool outside as well as indoor and outdoor showers. There is an amazing sense of space here, in keeping with the wide-open plains that the rooms face onto. The rooms are open on three sides (with netting) giving a feeling of being closer to the nature and wildlife whilst still remaining is absolute comfort. The local connections continue throughout the camp experience.The menu celebrates seasonal produce sourced directly from local farmers, suppliers and artisans. Activities here are a mixture of game drives and water activities which will vary according to the level of the water and the time of the year. You will find day and night drives, walks and mekoro (dugout canoes) activities, with hot-air ballooning – from April to September each year – as well as scenic helicopter flights, making Vumbura an exclusive destination for the discerning adventure-seeker.