Botswana lodges are the crème de la crème of the world of luxury safari. As the country is made up of private concessions unless you go to the extremely busy Chobe National Park or Moremi Game Reserve, the prices naturally inflate. Botswana has followed a model of high quality, low quantity in their approach to tourism and it is exceptional at just this. Botswana is home to some of the most spoiling experiences on the continent. The private reserves mean that a lodge which would cost you $700 per person per night in say, southern Tanzania, would cost you $1,300 per person per night in the watery and beautiful Okavango Delta… To get fantastic wildlife viewing and a huge diversity in activities, all in the privacy of your own slice of wilderness, you have to pay a premium!
Best value quality safari lodges in Botswana
Prices have inflated a lot in Botswana in recent years, and they just seem to be going up and up. A lodge like Pom Pom, which admittedly is in an exceptional game viewing area, is now $1,150 per person per night. Aside from the exceptional guiding and wildlife, the actual accommodation is fairly rustic. A fantastic option for some people, though we wonder whether Botswana isn’t going a bit over the top in prices across the board...
A fantastic new property has opened in the Kwara concession; Splash Camp which is a part of the Kwando range. It is very nicely presented and offers a bit more luxury for your money in an exceptional wildlife area but still comes in at $1,416 per person per night.
In order to slash the price of being in these private wildernesses though, we would recommend travelling off season in either May or November, to get still exceptional wildlife, but for a lot less. For example, Pom Pom over these months decreases to $826 per person per night, and Splash reduces to $1,040.
The best barefoot luxury safari lodges in Botswana
Barefoot-luxury safari lodges are a pretty special experience. Little Vumbura in particular is an office favourite. Set on a little island surrounded by water and in one of the most enviable parts of the Delta, Little Vumbura is a seriously special experience. The style is understated, yet authentically luxurious and we absolutely love it. It is not cheap though! Even without all the added luxuries like private pools and a more glitzy design, Little Vumbura is priced at $2,830 per person per night.
Going a little more intrepid, but no less luxurious is Duba Explorers. This is a tented camp, and really does capture the spirit of exploration in the wilderness, certainly without compromising on luxury. Duba Explorers is for those who crave authentic experiences, but expect a certain standard of opulence on their adventure. It is not a cheap camping experience at $1,900 per person per night.
The most luxurious safari lodges in Botswana
The most luxurious safari camp in Africa, and probably one of the best hospitality experiences in the world comes in Mombo Camp located on Chief’s Island in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Private pool galore, the world’s most impressive wildlife viewing opportunities, golden bathtubs, huge rooms and excellent food; it doesn’t get much better than this. As it is one of Africa’s flagship safari lodges… There is again, a price tag to match! In recent years, prices have soared and now in peak season, for one night the per person price is $3,800 USD… If you want the life of luxury, have a good Botswana budget, but can’t justify that per night amount, you could look at the still exceptionally spoiling Vumbura Plains, Duba Plains or Zarafa which are all priced at $3,000 per person per night.
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Selinda - Selinda
Our View
Selinda is part the Great Plains Conservation Group who have some other fantastic camps in the area and operate an incredible service. Although their camps are really luxurious, they are also extremely relaxed. You decide what you want to do - if you want to get up and go for a game drive at 0900 instead of 0530, you can. The area is brilliant, especially since the channels are filling up with water again making the game in the area fantastic. Huge herds of elephant push through in the dry months from May to October.
Our Rating:
Cost: $2,610
Selinda Explorers - Selinda
Our View
There's a saying that small things come in little packages... Selinda Explorers Camp in no exception! With only 3 tents plus a 2 bedroom family tent transports you back to the bygone era of Livingstone and Selous, both of whom wandered right through the area in which the camp is situated. The area is a prime predator habitat, with fantastic lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog. Good densities of giraffe, buffalo (in the dry season) and all the antelope – including even roan and sable and recently spotted eland – are possible sightings.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,350
Shinde - Okavango Delta
The camp at Shinde was outstanding. The staff was fantastic. The Managers there appear to take all the feedback from their guests and implement their suggestions. The 4WD’s were beautifully equipped with insect spray, tissues and lollies as well as hot water bottles inserted into the car blankets in the morning. Hot water bottles were put into the beds at night time (which happened at all the other camps too except Linyanti Lagoon). Their library was equipped with many animal guide books and maps were on the walls. Sherry was even delivered to the rooms at night time. In addition to this, they served champagne for their sundowner drinks and nothing was a problem to any staff. They thought up fabulous places to set up the most beautiful sundowner drinks with delicious nibbles to accompany. Each location was a wonderful surprise and wonderfully executed. For our last night, they gave us our own private dinner party which was very lovely.- E. French
Our Rating:
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Cost: $1,021
Splash - Okavango Delta
Our View
A new Kwando Safaris camp, Splash Camp opened in June 2018. Within the private Kwara Reserve, this camp hosts a very friendly, authentic and relaxed atmosphere in a fantastic animal dense area. Kwando have always put customer experience at the heart of everything they do and the new Splash Camp is no exception to this.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,350
Stanleys Camp - Okavango Delta
Our View
Overall we love this camp but question the real quality of the safari on offer. Yes the area is beautiful but in our experience the resident game has been somewhat poor. With all that said, the elephant experience is just superb….but for the camps we actually prefer Stanleys to its more expensive sister Baines! Yes the camp is twice the size but it is still not big and seems to house a much more attractive character. The activities on offer at Stanleys are exactly the same as at Baines, with the superb elephant activities with ‘Elephant Guardian’ Douglas Alan Groves a must do! So, in summary, a great camp for 2 nights, not 3….come here for the elephants, go elsewhere for the game!
Our Rating:
Cost: $960
Tau Pan - Makgadikgadi Pans
We stayed at Tau Pan for 3 nights and had a most wonderful game viewing experience. The camp staff under the management of Hilda are all extremely friendly, courteous, helpful and skilled. Our guides Mat and Custom were marvelously knowledgeable about all species of mammals, reptiles and birds and extremely sharp-eyed. The accommodation is to a very high standard and extremely comfortable.Each lodge has a veranda with views to the waterhole in the distance. The communal areas were well designed, meals were beautifully prepared and presented. Being part of the national game preserve there are strict rules which prevent vehicles leaving the various various tracks through the preserve. This is to protect the fragile habitat. However it was possible to get very good views of the many species. - M Pepper
Our Rating:
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Cost: $492
Tubu Tree - Okavango Delta
Our favorite was Tubu Tree (one of your choices). I also appreciated your initial suggestion of starting in the bigger more crowded places and going smaller and more remote. Many people were doing it the opposite way and I think this worked better for us.Again, thank you for everything and I hope that we can be in touch soon to plan another trip.
- E Gozukizil
Our Rating:
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Cost: $1,753
Vumbura Plains - Okavango Delta
I wanted to drop you a note and tell you what an absolutely fantastic trip I had to Mombo and Vumbura Plains. I walked away with 2900 photos and am, by no means, a serious photographer. Thank you again for all your wonderful suggestions. They really paid off for me. You can be certain this is not my last trip there.- A Luchechko
Our Rating:
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Cost: $2,723
Xakanaxa - Moremi
Our View
Xakanaxa Camp is a small and unique little camp located at the edge of the “Mopani Tongue” region of the Moremi NP. Set in a cluster of 3 lodges, including Okuti and Camp Moremi, Xakanaxa ia slightly set away from the other two and is, in our opinion, the best of the three. With a stunning communal lounge and dining area, the rooms, while on the cosy side, are comfortable. The area around is renowned for its game year round and so is well worth a visit.
Our Rating:
Cost: $829
Xaranna - Okavanga Delta
Our View
Xaranna is a different camp with a very current feel to it. Not the type of place you would expect to stay in on safari. The prominent colours of the camp are lime green and white! It has tried to be contemporary and it just doesn’t fit in with its surroundings. More to the point, when the floods are up, which is when the delta is in peak season, there is very little land for game driving and night drives are hindered by the flood levels, therefore limiting activities. If you’re not after an authentic safari but more so the current and spruced up feel to life, then Xaranna is a good best bet.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,947
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