Our top places to stay in Botswana! We have recently done a blog on when the best time to travel to certain countries on Africa are, so we thought it prudent to continue this line with letting you know a few of our top places to stay in certain countries are. We are going to start with Botswana as our first country, and just a warning, it might be quite a long blog as there are so many wonderful places, we would recommend you stay.

To start with, we will take you to the northern part of Botswana, some will know the locations we are about to speak to, such as the Linyanti, Chobe and Savuti regions. To make it easy, we will choose one lodge or camp from each location. We’ll take you to Kings Pool in the Linyanti region. The camp overlooks the Kings Pool Lagoon as well as the stunning Linyanti River. The private reserve is characterized by open grasslands, mopane woodlands, riverine forests, and the Savuti channel (which is now dried up). Kings Pool is well-known for its huge herds of elephants. Kings Pool along with its famous lagoon take their name from King Leopold of Sweden who honeymooned here back in the early 1900’s, when there wasn’t a camp there, yet he spent a number of nights camping within this area.

With nine well-appointed tented canvas suites with thatched roofs, all having a large and spacious bedroom area, lounge, and private plunge pools. The spacious en-suite bathrooms are tiled with double shoers and hand-basins as well as an outdoor shower for those who wish to shower close to nature. Raised walkways allow animals to wander freely through the camp to and from the water. The lounge, dining room and open bar areas are on expansive raised decks and there is a communal pool and open-air ‘kgotla’ (meaning a Botswana meeting place), so you can dine in style under the stars.

Zarafa is our second property we would recommend when considering staying in the Selinda region. Zarafa Camp is blessed with an extraordinary location. Positioned under the shady canopy of jackelberry and red ivory trees, overlooking the patchwork of savannas and floodplains of Zibadianja Lagoons southern shores. These uninterrupted views are simply breath-taking and provide regular sightings of the reserve’s prolific wildlife from Zarafa Camp.

The camp is designed with exclusivity and privacy at its core. Each tent is positioned on the forests edge, perched on the edge of the floodplain shores and savannas and miles from any other lodge. The 1,000 sqft ‘marquis style’ canvas tents, expansive, open-air without exposing guests to the elements. The suites have three ‘rooms’ effectively and are each decorated with custom-made furniture, handcrafted from recycled ancient hardwoods. The raised decks are all constructed from recycled African railroad ties and form as the tent’s foundations. One enters the tent through a large lounge appointed with a sumptuous leather sofa, personal bar and writing desk. Next door to the lounge is the main bedroom and dressing area and through from there is the bathroom, with a beautiful copper fireplace strategically placed between the bathroom and bedroom to allay the chill of the winter months. Within the main bedroom you will find a wonderfully large and deep copper bath and adjacent shower, his and hers sinks and a private loo. Off the bathroom is a raised walkway that leads to the outdoor shower with stunning views to boot. A private veranda running the length of the front of the tent, large private plunge pool, outdoor lounge area and sweeping views of the Zibadianja Lagoon waters. Selinda reserve is a place of peace, where tranquillity replaces the chaos of the modern world.

Finally, we take you to one of our top stays in Chobe. A little larger than our previous camps, Chobe Chilwero, with its 15 suites, borders the Chobe National Park, home to the worlds largest remaining population of elephants. This is an incredibly luxurious lodge, with its own spa, the only one with this on the Botswana circuit. A great deal of thought has gone into making Chobe Chilwero a luxurious riverside retreat in the heart of the bush, with all the facilities of a lager resort. Guests can relax in the split-level swimming pool, unwind with a pampering session in the spa or enjoy the gourmet food that the lodge has become known for. The main area has fantastic views over the Chobe River, with all its drama and action, game drives, sundowners, fishing, and spa treatments are all very popular activities to enjoy at the fabulous Chobe Chilwero.