We had an absolutely wonderful time in Botswana. Especially in the Okavango Delta. Many thanks to The African Wild and Rory Sheldon who organized our trip!
Discover Botswana Safari
Explore the Okavango Delta, Kwando, the Kalahari and Chobe
This is our signature Botswana safari; a journey through the breathtaking beauty of the Okavango Delta, Kwando, the Kalahari, and Chobe National Park.
This trip is the ideal choice for anyone wanting to explore the best of what Botswana has to offer. Whether you're visiting with family or friends, enjoying a romantic getaway, or embarking on a solo adventure, our classic Botswana tour promises an unforgettable journey. And because every trip is tailor-made to your requirements, we're happy to adjust the days, duration and accommodations to suit your preferences and budget.
Welcome to Botswana, where we’re dedicated to creating a life-changing experience for you.
Good to know
- Locally based with on-the-ground support
- Top lodges and bush camps
- Best prices guaranteed
- 24/7 attentive support
What's included
- Accommodation
- Guided excursions
- All meals
- Ground transfers
- Internal flights
- Support
Days
9
Starting from
$3,300 pp
Destinations
BotswanaActivity
Safari, Luxury, Family, Adventure, Water Sports, Canoeing, Nature & Wildlife, Photography, Birdwatching, National Parks, CultureTour Type
Custom itinerary, Private guided tourDetailed itinerary
What you'll see and do
This is a customisable trip
Use the following itinerary for inspiration. Remember: all days, hotels and activities can be altered to suit your requirements. A African Wild travel specialist will be happy to advise.
Day 1
Arrive in Botswana
Okavango Delta
Begin your Botswana Safari with an arrival at the international airport in Maun where you will be met be a representative of the African Wild. Look out for a smiling face, that will be the person waiting for you. You’ll be introduced to your experienced private pilot who will check you through and onto your charter flight.
After a short 20-minute flight you arrive at Pom Pom camp in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Located within the Matsebe concession area, the camp provides enchanting luxuries and amenities amidst a truly breath taking natural setting. Hippos do hippo-like things in a permanent lagoon in front of the camp, and elephants meander through and around the camp as they get along with daily elephant business.
After being shown to your luxurious tented room, and given a tour around the camp with a special spiel on how to handle dangerous animals should you come across any, you’ll be invited to enjoy the majestic surroundings from a viewing deck with a sun downer. Boipuso the barman, serves a killer gin and tonic, and we highly recommend you challenge his cocktail creativity while private chefs prepare your five-star dinner which you’ll be invited to enjoy under the stars.
Featured Accommodation
Day 2
Canoe trip in the flood plains
Okavango Delta
Today your Botswana safari and Okavango adventure begins in earnest. This means a bush breakfast followed by a game drive. You’ll have met your private guide the day before. These guys are pros. Think about them like bush ninjas. They know how to sound out a lion from 20 kilometers away, track down the craziest of all the delta creatures, and listen to wildlife calls from different antelope to echo-locate leopards and cheetahs.
Following the game drive, it’s mokoro time. A mokoro is a traditional dug out wooden canoe that has become a symbol of life in the Okavango Delta. And there is no better way to explore the lush flood plains of the delta. Your experienced poler and guide takes you down river where’ll you get the chance to get up close and personal with some stunning wildlife.
A luxurious floating lunch will be served along the way. This water top culinary festival delights the senses, and the chef savors in pairing an excellent cold white wine with one of her signature dishes. This also has the effect of making a hot afternoon far more manageable.
Following the mokoro, there may be time for an evening game drive.
Featured Accommodation
Day 3
Fly to the Kwando River
Kwando River
Following breakfast and a morning game drive, your personal pilot magically reappears, and you once again board a private flight.
You’ll be heading to wilder lands now and after a 20-minute flight you arrive in Kwando. This is unchartered territory. The heart of the African wild. Sparse woodlands and ancient floodplains. This place, it pulsates with life and it bleeds beauty from the open veins that make up the meandering tributaries of forgotten river systems. This place is a secret. This place is the truth.
Here you’ll be staying in Lagoon Camp, a luxurious lodge built along the banks of the Kwando River. This lodge is often described as the most remote and most luxurious camp found anywhere on earth. The attention to detail is immaculate and the service is outstanding. The luxurious tents are expansive, elegant, and insanely comfortable.
And the wildlife is simply spectacular. Giant herds of game including thousands of elephant and buffalo migrate past the lodge. Large predators are abundant, and a Wild Dog pack regularly dens close to the lodge. It’s as wild as it gets.
And because you’re now a safari level expert, you can do as you choose. Simply tell your private guide whether you’d like a game drive, a mokoro ride, an informative talk on regional flora or fauna, or even ask him or her to take you fishing. You’re also welcome to sit back in camp with a book, a pair of binoculars, and a Bloody Mary.
Featured Accommodation
Day 4
Free time to explore
Kwando River
Today is what we might call a day dedicated to you. You’re now in paradise, and you get to decide how to structure and how to spend the day. Your private guide is on hand and should you wish to take a sunrise game drive, all you need to do is let him or her know. You’re free to spend the morning lounging by the pool and catching up on some reading. Or you can spend the day on a mokoro or motorized safari boat, viewing game and taking in the majesty of the surrounding plains.
The food at camp is simply superb, and so is the service. Enjoy this day. It’s yours to spend and enjoy the area as you wish.
Featured Accommodation
Day 5
Fly to Kalahari
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Today we shake things up a bit with your Botswana safari. You’ve experienced the Okavango Delta, and Kwando. But today is going to be different. Your private pilot appears again, as if by magic, and once again you take to the skies.
You'll fly directly into Tau Pan, an idyllic lodge that overlooks the famous Tau Pan in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. You should probably be warned that the word ‘Tau’ means lion in Setswana and the pan is named after a pride of iconic black-maned Kalahari lions. These lions are frequent visitors to the camp, and it pays well to listen intently to the safety instructions given upon arrival.
Following a spectacular lunch, you’ll be taken on an evening game drive to look for lions and leopards.
Featured Accommodation
Day 6
Visit the local San community
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
A community of traditional San live close to the lodge, and today you’ll spend the morning with a traditional San leader and hunter gather. You’ll be taken on a walking tour where your San guide will teach you about what it means to be San.
The San attitude towards life is nonchalant and their laughter is infectious. They care little for material possession, and are far more concerned with giving thanks to all mother earth for what she provides them. They have no words for possessives such as ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, but they have 20 different words to describe a smile.
You’ll also be shown some of their tracking kills. San tracking skill level: Insane. (Seriously hard core). Upon finding the minor remnants of any footprint, your San guide will able to accurately denote the specific animal that left them, its age, the direction it took, what it had for dinner, and how it might vote in a congressional bi-election given half the chance.
It’s a truly unforgettable experience, and following your walk through the Kalahari, you’ll return to the lodge for lunch, and perhaps enjoy another game drive in the afternoon.
Featured Accommodation
Day 7
Transfer to the Chobe River
Kasane
Now that you’ve developed your tracking skills, it’s time to leave the Kalahari. Following a delicious breakfast at the lodge, your private pilot appears and you fly back to Maun where you board a schedule flight for Kasane. An hour later and you arrive at the Chobe Bush Lodge. This is a brand new lodge located on the banks of the mighty Chobe River, and sits at the meeting point of four countries – Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
After lunch you’ll be invited on a private cruise down river where you can take in the wonder of thousands of hippos languidly lavishing upon the greasy banks of this all too mighty river. A cocktail or two served by your private barman is hardly amiss, and makes for a compelling journey.
In the evening a delicious meal awaits you as you arrive back to the lodge.
Featured Accommodation
Day 8
Explore Chobe
Kasane
A day dedicated to pretty much anything your heart desires during this amazing Botswana safari. The idea is to give you time to relax, unwind, enjoy the stunning sites of Chobe. Beyond game drives and river cruises, you could consider an additional add on and head out to the mighty Victoria Falls located 100km away between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Featured Accommodation
Day 9
Departure day
Kasane
Last day of your Botswana safari and after breakfast you’ll be transported to the airport for your connecting flight back home.
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Okavango Delta
World-renowned as a mecca for wildlife, this year-round watery paradise is sustained by rainfall in the Angolan highlands which arrives in the form of an annual flood just as natural rain-filled pans are beginning to dry out... -
Okavango Delta
World-renowned as a mecca for wildlife, this year-round watery paradise is sustained by rainfall in the Angolan highlands which arrives in the form of an annual flood just as natural rain-filled pans are beginning to dry out... -
Kwando River
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Kwando River
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Central Kalahari Game Reserve
At some 52,000 square kilometres, making this Africa’s second largest reserve, Central Kalahari feels as wild and unfathomably remote as it was 50 years ago... -
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
At some 52,000 square kilometres, making this Africa’s second largest reserve, Central Kalahari feels as wild and unfathomably remote as it was 50 years ago... -
Kasane
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Kasane
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Kasane
Speak to a Botswana specialist about this trip
Where to stay
Some of our sample accommodation.
A collection of hand selected safari lodges and camps.
What's included
Accommodation |
All nights in some of the finest safari camps and lodges in Africa. All accommodations are carefully selected and can be customised to suit your preferences and budget. |
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Guided excursions |
All activities mentioned in the itinerary, accompanied by an expert tracker-guide. |
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All meals |
Full board with three meals per day, freshly prepared by your camp's excellent chef. All drinks (alcohol and non-alcoholic except for premium brands). |
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Ground transfers |
All hotel/airport transfers and ground connections in private vehicle. |
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Internal flights |
Internal fights on charter bush planes. |
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Support |
We'll greet you at the airport and be by your side every step of the way, making room for spontaneity as you go, with 24 hour support. |
How to book
Price guarantee
We have a price guarantee and will meet or beat any prices on the market. Being a 100% Botswana owned, registered, and operated company, and being based within the county, allows us to offer clients the best possible prices for all tours, safaris, and lodges.
We have established relationships with all the lodges, not only in Botswana, but beyond her borders as well, and these relationships mean that we’re able to offer out guests superior prices and we’re also able to work with the lodges to ensure that all of your needs are individually met.
While we strive to offer the best prices for each of our services, we also only work with registered lodges and operators who work within the law and ensure that your safety comes before anything else. As a proud member of HATAB and this means that we’re able to offer the best rates possible for the best lodges in Botswana. And this is what is most important to us – giving you the best value for your money, while ensuring your safety and comfort at the same time.
With our price guarantee that we offer the most competitive prices in the market for the most unforgettable tours in Botswana.
Reviews
What people are saying about African Wild
Max and Maria Cecilia
04/06/2023
Anny Yousef
19/07/2023
What can I say?! Everything was amazing- from start to finish. Rory did a fantastic job in tailoring the perfect safari for me and my girlfriends. Everything went so smoothly. We had the best time; saw all the animals we wanted and came home with incredible memories! Could not have asked for better. Thank you for an epic trip!
Michael Sander
29/08/2023
We had the most amazing time on our safari organized by The African Wild. Rory was attentive to every email and request. And helped us along the way with so many details that we did not even know we needed. The trip was smooth from the pickup in Maun, to the flights, and the beautiful lodges. We could not have had a better experience. Thank you!
Luis and Carolina Gomez
06/08/2024
What an extraordinary experience !! The guides and the trackers have an extraordinary connection with the land and the animals. They are so knowledgeable as well. The accommodations were superb, the camps very ample and comfortable with not too many people. Great food and drinks as well. The staff from all camps were very nice and caring. Wonderful life experience. Will share with all our friends hoping we can get somebody else to enjoy the experience. Many thanks!
Pat and Terry McCue
05/06/2024
Having been to Africa on safari 4 times previously and not seen them, we were on a quest to find African wild dogs. I contacted The African Wild after doing an internet search on the dogs and their webpage came up. Rory set us up with a trip into 2 camps in the Kwando Concession in Botswana. We saw the wild dogs on our very first game drive!
Our trip was set-up excellently with all our accommodations and transfers going as planned. The accommodation and food at each lodge was amazing. We could not have asked for better. The staff at both lodges were very kind and friendly and really made us feel welcome. Our game drives were loaded with highlights. The guides and trackers at the Kwando camps are absolutely excellent. They are knowledgeable and dedicated to making the game drives memorable.
We can’t thank Rory and The African Wild enough for planning a truly fabulous safari for us. We loved every minute!