Botswana - The Real Story

Botswana is one of the most famous wildlife destinations in Africa – mainly for it’s vast expanses of wild bush, with very few people considering it’s vast size. Their safaris are the most expensive in Africa but we don’t feel they are the best product. Now of course every lodge works for someone which is why we visit them all – to ensure that we can match the perfect property to the perfect client. Most of the top end of Botswana can feel a little soul-less, it’s extremely luxurious but more of a hotel feel than a real African feel. On a recent trip we found that the Great Plains properties buck this trend and felt authentic, wild and exciting, while still being extremely luxurious. Selinda Explorer is the best luxury tented camp in Botswana, with Zarafa and Duba being fantastic lodge options with canvas roofs to add to the romance.

Botswana does however operate successfully one of the most exciting, unique and thrilling option of all – mobile safaris. We work with two of the best mobile safari operators in all of Africa and this is what we feel clients should be doing. Our mobile safaris are exclusive use, but economic even if there’s only two of you – in short you have a private camp, with gourmet food, private staff, a totally private area and some of the best guides in Botswana. This is such a magical way of doing a safari it’s the kind of thing one never ever forgets. You will be dreaming of your mobile safari for many many years. Our mobile camps have enormous beds comfier than one can imagine, huge areas to explore with no other people, and a relaxed and informal atmosphere which means your safari is FUN – it is a holiday after all, and laughter should always be the main component.

We have mobile safaris which range from $1,760 per person per night (based on two people, for a totally exclusive luxury camp – this cost halves if there are three/four people), this includes gourmet food and wine, and all private game drives, walks and boating – the average cost for a luxury lodge style camp in Botswana is $2,500 per person per night, and you have to share a vehicle and the lodge with other guests – we hope you’ll agree this exclusive option blows these lodges out of the water. We can also set your mobile camp up anywhere, so we can tailor it to include not just the prime game viewing areas of the Okavango Delta, but also the Kalahari Desert, the cultural Tsodilo Hills or the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. If you have a special interest we can cater for it, after all it’s just you, you dictate the entire safari.

The only issue is, book way in advance, our mobile safaris are booked up sometimes years in advance for prime game viewing times such as June-October – April, May and November are fantastic months too. A few camps worth a mention are Jack’s, San and Camp Kalahari, some of Africa’s most unique camps, all with the heart and soul we all crave from a luxury camp – set in one of the most dramatic areas of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans they also have quads, meerkats, the San bushmen and some of the best star gazing one could hope for. We hope this has given you an insight into Botswana – in short if you are looking for a lodge/permanent camp style of safari we strongly recommend you look at Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya or Tanzania where your money will go much further and the camps and game is better, but if you want a real adventure, in a private camp, Botswana is the place for you.