This blog post was supported by the Botswana Tourism Organisation and Desert & Delta Safaris. I have not been told what to write; all opinions are my own and honestly held. I do not accept freebies or payment in exchange for positive reviews. All prices are correct at the time of writing. Every word was written by my own fair hand without the use of AI, so if you spot any mistakes, I’m the one to blame.
Planning a safari can be overwhelming. Even once you’ve decided which country you want to visit, it can seem like there’s an infinite number of hotels, camps and safari lodges to choose from, and it can be very hard to differentiate between them.
So how do you choose the best Botswana safari lodge?
I’ve been on safari in five different countries – Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda – and experienced a wide range of accommodation, from luxury safari lodges to standard hotels to tented camps. So I have a good understanding of the different options out there – while still having an unbiased opinion because I don’t work for a travel agency or safari company.
I’ve stayed in nine different safari lodges in Botswana and visited several more, and during that time I’ve learned what the options are and what to look out for when choosing your Botswana accommodation.
So while this is by no means an exhaustive list, and there are hundreds of safari lodges in Botswana that you could consider, hopefully this post will help you narrow down your search and make it easier for you to decide where to stay in Botswana.
The different types of Botswana safari lodge
Botswana safari accommodation can broadly be split into six types:
1/ Luxury safari lodges
These are small, exclusive places, with no more than about 10-20 rooms. They’re located in the heart of the action in the wilderness, very close to the national parks or sometimes even inside, and wildlife often roams thorough the property.
Rooms are either eco-style cabins or fixed luxury safari tents with comfortable beds, en-suite bathrooms and private terraces, all arranged around a communal dining and lounge area. Most will have a pool and spa treatments on offer, and some may have a photography hide or waterhole so you can watch wildlife and take amazing safari photos without leaving the camp.
All safari camps in the bush are off-grid: power comes from solar panels or a generator and water must be pumped from boreholes or shipped in. Everything is beautifully designed, and the service is impeccable. All food, drinks and activities are included in the price.
2/ Tented camps
Similar to the luxury lodges but for the more budget-conscious, here the setup is broadly the same, but with a bit less luxury. Accommodation is in fixed canvas safari tents, still big enough to stand up in and with a proper bed, but the design will be less fancy. Bathrooms may be more basic or there may be a shared bathroom block. Food and activities will be included, but drinks may not be.
3/ Mobile safari camps
A mobile safari is a small-group or private game tour where you move around and everything travels with you. During the day while you’re on a game drive, the team will set up the entire campsite, and then a few days later, take it all down again. You get a proper bed, and a bathroom, but with less luxury – though some mobile safari tents are more akin to glamping or yurts than basic camping.
The advantage of mobile safaris is that because the camps leave no footprint, they are allowed to stay overnight inside the National Parks and reserves. This is a really great way to get fully immersed in the wilderness and as close to nature as possible.
4/ Safari campsites
If you’re on a tight budget, you can self-drive and sleep in public campsites in the national parks. Many people rent 4WD cars with a fold-out tent on the roof to keep you up high and away from the animals which can and do wander through the campsite at night, but you can also pitch a regular tent.
Campsites have fixed pitches which you have to book in advance, and shared bathroom and shower blocks. This is definitely for the more adventurous types as not only will you need to pitch your tent and prepare your own food, but you’ll need to navigate the parks without getting lost or stuck – and most Botswana national parks don’t have phone signal. But camping is by far the cheapest way to do a safari in Botswana, and it’s another great way to get really close to nature – sometimes even too close for comfort, if you ask me!
5/ Houseboats
On the Chobe River it’s also possible to stay in a houseboat and view wildlife as you motor gently up and down the river. These are normally on the luxury end of the Botswana accommodation scale, with all food and activities included.
6/ Safari hotels
In the main tourist towns like Maun and Kasane, there are also plenty of normal hotels – as in, a single multi-storeyed building with many rooms, a restaurant, gym, pool, spa and so on. These can be bigger and offer more facilities because they’re in a town and connected to the grid, so electricity, water and rubbish disposal are easily arranged.
What makes these ‘safari’ hotels is that they’re close to the national parks and offer game viewing drives or boat safaris. You’ll also often find animals wandering through the property.
Things to consider when choosing safari lodges in Botswana
So how do you decide which are the best lodges in Botswana for you? Here are some of the factors you’ll want to consider.
Location
The first and most important question is: where do you want to go? From the Okavango Delta to the Kalahari Desert, Botswana has plenty of options for incredible wildlife viewing and diverse landscapes.
If this is your first Botswana safari, you’ll probably want to tick off some of the main ones, which include Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Makgadikgadi Pans or the Kalahari Game Reserve. For a ten-day to two-week trip, a good number to aim for is three or four different safari lodges, so that you can spend 2-3 nights in each place.
Accommodation type
The next question is: what sort of place do you prefer to stay in? Some people love quiet, remote luxury, some want facilities like air-con, a gym, shops or a choice of restaurants, while others prefer the freedom and wildness of camping. Botswana has accommodation options to suit all tastes and budgets.
Budget
Obviously, this is the big one. It won’t matter if you prefer all-inclusive luxury if you can’t afford it – and it probably won’t surprise you to learn that staying in a remote five-star full-service camp doesn’t come cheap. In fact Botswana is famous for being probably the most expensive country for safari.
Prices vary a lot, but the very top end luxury lodges in Botswana can cost upwards of US$5,000 per person per night in peak season. However, if you travel in low season, prices typically halve.
A mid-range lodge like some of the ones I’ll list below costs around US$1,000 pppn in peak season or about $500 in low season, while the cheaper lodges and tented camps might be about $500-600 per person in peak season. While this sounds a lot, don’t forget that the price for lodges in Botswana includes absolutely everything: food, drinks, activities and even laundry, often in the very middle of nowhere, so it’s actually extremely good value, given what you get.
Mobile camps are not all that much cheaper because it’s a lot of work for the team to bring everything out into the bush, set it up, and take it away again – but again, everything is included.
Normal camping in the national parks is cheap because it only includes the cost of your pitch. Typically, you pay around US$40-60 a night, plus the park entry fee of about $10 per person, and a small fee for the car. As an example, you can find out about camping in Chobe National Park here.
But if you can’t afford to spend thousands of pounds a night on your safari, don’t worry. There are still plenty of more reasonably-priced places to stay, and don’t forget that your days will be packed so you won’t even be in your room all that much, and the wildlife you see will still be exactly the same, no matter where you sleep. You don’t need to stay in a top-end lodge to have an incredible Botswana safari experience.
Read more: 46 Amazing African Safari Animals – A Photo Guide
Activities
Other things you may want to consider when deciding on your hotels in Botswana is what activities they offer. Do you prefer game drives or river cruises? Do you want to do other things like horseback safaris, walking safaris, scenic helicopter flights or cultural visits?
While most lodges and camps in Botswana offer similar activities, if you want to do something specific, you’ll need to check if it’s on offer.
Levels of service
As well as the variations in style and comfort of the accommodation, another big difference between the top-end luxury lodges in Botswana and those a little lower down the scale is the service. At the five-star lodges you’ll be well and truly pampered, with four meals a day, expensive wines, top-notch safari cars kitted out with rugs, ponchos, insect repellent, coolers full of drinks and snacks, and high-end guides who seem to be able to second-guess your every need before you even think of it yourself.
Other Botswana hotels are more geared to photographers, with specially-adapted cars and boats, and guides who understand things like light and angles.
Cheaper lodges, while still being comfortable, may not be quite so polished on the details: the food might not be as good, the cars a bit less comfortable, there might not be air-con, and so on. But you’ll still see amazing wildlife, and that’s the most important thing!
Botswana safari lodges: where I stayed
I don’t think anyone can claim to write a complete list of all the best safari lodges in Botswana, so I’m not even going to try. It’d be impossible to visit them all, and anyway, at the end of the day it’s a matter of budget and personal taste.
What I can do, though, is give you a brief look at each of the lodges I stayed in, and tell you what they were like and what they offer. That way you can decide if it sounds like somewhere you might like to visit too.
These lodges are divided by location and then listed in the order in which I stayed in them. No value judgments here!
Safari lodges in Chobe National Park
Chobe is one of the most popular national parks and a great place to start your Botswana holiday. With both vehicle game drives and river cruises, the wildlife viewing here is second to none. During the dry season, Chobe is said to be home to the largest population of elephants in the world.
1/ Chobe Safari Lodge
Chobe Safari Lodge is what I would call a typical Botswana safari hotel. It’s located about 10 minutes’ drive from the airport in Kasane, the gateway town to Chobe National Park. It’s quite a big hotel with 52 rooms, and sits right on the Chobe River so you can do amazing wildlife viewing cruises from their private jetty. They also offer game drives in the national park, as well as day trips to Victoria Falls, but rooms are usually sold on a bed and breakfast basis – other meals, drinks and activities you have to pay extra for.
If you want to know more, you can read my full review of Chobe Safari Lodge here.
Why should you stay at Chobe Safari Lodge?
Chobe Safari Lodge wasn’t my favourite accommodation in Botswana: to me it lacked the magic you get with the smaller camps hidden out in the bush. But it’s a perfectly decent hotel and a great place to kick off your Botswana safari adventure. They also accept children under six, which many of the smaller camps don’t, so if you’re looking for a family safari, this could be a great place for you.
2/ Muchenje Safari Lodge
Muchenje Safari Lodge is a small, privately-owned safari lodge, with just 11 rooms, that sits on the west side of Chobe National Park in the Chobe Forest Reserve.
Muchenje sits on an escarpment overlooking the Chobe River flood plain. During the dry season, the river retreats and the flood plain becomes lush and grassy, with plenty of animals grazing. But in the wet season, the entire area floods and instead of a green plain, the lodge overlooks a lake!
Each of the rooms is a luxurious self-contained cabin with huge double beds with mosquito nets, beautiful bathrooms, air-con, and a private veranda with stunning views of the flood plain (or lake, depending on when you visit).
There’s also a pool, a comfortable bar and lounge area, and a communal dining area where they serve delicious meals, family style. The food at Muchenje was some of the best I had during my time in Botswana.
Why should you stay at Muchenje Safari Lodge?
I only stayed 1 night here but I would happily have stayed longer. There was just something about the location on top of the escarpment that felt so peaceful – and the views were incredible.
Wildlife spotting on the west side of Chobe National Park was fabulous too – fewer tourists come this way, so we only saw one or two other cars the entire time. This was also one of the few safari lodges I stayed that had air-con, which was much appreciated in the 40-degree C temperatures (104 F) we had in December!
If you’re someone who likes peace and privacy in a one-of-a-kind lodge, Muchenje is for you.
Read more: What To Wear On Safari: My Detailed Safari Packing List With Photos
3/ Chobe Game Lodge
Not to be confused with Chobe Safari Lodge, or any of the other hotels in Chobe, Chobe Game Lodge is a historic five-star lodge situated inside Chobe National Park. It’d say it’s more like a hotel than a bush lodge, in that it’s on the grid and has 44 rooms, arranged in blocks of four. It also has a spa, gym, pool and two bars, and riverfront access with their own private riverboats for game cruising.
Chobe Game Lodge has a proud history – it was the first five-star lodge to be built in Chobe (in 1973) and is famously where Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton got married. So if you stay here you’ll be following in some very glamorous footprints (no, not mine!)
The lodge prides itself on leading the way in sustainable and responsible tourism. They were the first lodge to bring in electric safari cars and solar-powered river boats, which as well as being better for the environment are also much quieter and allow you to get closer to the animals. And their brilliant team of guides, the Chobe Angels, are all women – leading the way in female empowerment in Botswana.
Why should you stay at Chobe Game Lodge?
Chobe National Park is very popular and can get a bit crowded with cars, but being located inside the park allows you to get the jump on all the other tourists who have to travel in from outside. The lodge is also a great balance between the kind of luxury wilderness bush camps I love, but with all the mod cons it’s nice to have to make your stay comfortable, like air-con and a gym. The food was pretty amazing too.
Places to stay in the Okavango Delta
The legendary Okavango Delta is the world’s largest inland delta and another must-visit for any first-time visitor to Botswana. Covering over 6,000 square miles (or 16,000 square km), the Delta is a fabulous wilderness of twisting waterways, boggy marshes and tangled forests, and because most of it is wet and uninhabitable for large parts of the year, it’s teeming with wildlife.
The Delta is divided up into the large and more accessible Moremi Game Reserve (about which more below), and a bunch of private reserves (called concessions). Every area, and every camp is different, so you’re probably going to need to go back a few times to try them all. I know I am!
4/ Khwai Expeditions Camp
Khwai Expeditions Camp is another Botswana safari lodge that’s independently owned and run – by a local lady from Botswana named Tshidi – so you know that if you stay here, your money is going back into the local economy.
Khwai sits in a forest setting in the private Khwai concession – like a game reserve but it’s private land managed by the community. The lodge is tiny, with only 6 rooms plus a family cottage. The rooms are luxury safari tents on permanent platforms raised on stilts above the forest floor and connected by a boardwalk, and the main restaurant and lounge area overlooks a small waterhole, which was pretty dry when I was there, but we were still visited by an elephant, a hippo and several baboons.
The lodge was newly refurbished a couple of years ago and the attention to detail in the design is luxurious. It also has a swimming pool and second plunge pool, a massage room, and an outdoor gym to help you work off all that amazing safari food. There’s no air-con though – which at times was a bit challenging when the days reached 40 degrees C (104 F).
Why should you stay at Khwai Expeditions Camp?
As it’s small and independently-owned, Khwai is one of the cheaper places on this list – costing around $600 per person per night in peak season, including all activities, food and drink. For comparison, just down the road there’s a five-star luxury lodge – Xigera Camp – which at $2,500 a night is more than four times the cost of Khwai Expeditions.
Personally, I’d rather have four nights on safari somewhere a bit less fancy than one night in the lap of high-end luxury, and remember that once you’re out on your game drives, the wildlife you see is exactly the same!
One thing to note that is that since Khwai is still quite new and staff have been hired from the local community, the service was a bit hit and miss. The team are still learning, so you might need to be patient with mealtimes and service delivery. But everyone was lovely and very keen to help, so it wasn’t a problem.
5/ Xugana Island Lodge
Xugana (pronounced Koo-garna) is built on an island in the Okavango Delta, so it’s completely surrounded by waterways and the only way on or off is by light aircraft or helicopter (it has its own airstrip). This means that unlike everywhere else on this list, they don’t offer game drives, only walking safaris, boat cruises, and helicopter rides (these cost extra).
What you lose in game driving excitement is more than made up for by the joy of being in such a stunning location. There are only eight rooms, built in pairs in four thatched cabins, each with a private veranda overlooking the water. At night I could hear hippos grunting just below my balcony rail.
Xugana is run by Desert & Delta Safaris, a leading Botswana safari company, so the service is impeccable and the food fresh, healthy and plentiful.
Why you should stay at Xugana Island Lodge
Xugana is a great place to visit if you want to experience a different side of the Okavango Delta. While I don’t think it’s ever possible to get bored of game drives, it was nice to visit somewhere so serene and peaceful, and that waterfront setting is simply magical.
Botswana Safari Camps in Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve is the oldest and largest protected area in the Okavango Delta. Located on the eastern side of the Delta, it combines some wetland and marshland with drier, forested areas as well. I loved it here – the wildlife viewing was incredible and the woodland environment absolutely stunning.
You definitely need to include at least a couple of nights in Moremi Game Reserve in your Botswana itinerary.
Here are a couple of places you might stay:
6/ Okuti Camp
Okuti Camp is five-star camp run by luxury safari company Ker & Downey, one of the top safari companies in Botswana. The camp is tiny, with only 7 rooms, giving it a perfect air of exclusivity and privacy.
Okuti Camp sits on the Maunachira River, which flows past the camp and out into the Xakanaxa Lagoon, where hippos wallow. All the rooms and the main dining and lounge areas have river views, and you can do boat cruises along the nearby waterways from the lodge’s private jetty – as well as the hippos, look out for masses of bird life, elephants and sinister crocodiles.
Cabins are huge and beautifully decorated in an African style with indoor and outdoor showers, and like other camps in the marshy Delta they are raised on stilts and connected by boardwalks. The forest setting here is superb – I regularly saw bushbucks and brightly coloured starlings and barbets as I walked from my room to the dining area.
Why should you stay at Okuti Camp
Ker & Downey properties are more high-end, with air-con in the rooms and a guarantee of no more than four people per car, ensuring everyone gets a window seat and place to rest their camera. Everywhere in the camp is wheelchair accessible.
However, this does mean that Okuti is a bit more expensive, costing about US$ 1,160 per person per night in high season (half that in low season). All activities, drinks and excellent meals are included though, and the per night price comes down if you book a package.
I loved Okuti, and would definitely recommend it if it fits within your budget.
7/ Camp Moremi
Camp Moremi sits right next door to Okuti, so you get the same stellar landscapes, the same gorgeous riverfront setting, and the same incredible wildlife viewing. So in many ways they’re pretty similar, but Camp Moremi is run by Desert & Delta Safaris, so you get the same level of service and the same delicious fresh food as at Xugana.
Camp Moremi was completely rebuilt in 2018 so everything is still gleaming and fresh. There are 12 huge fixed safari tents under thatched roofs, with double walk-in showers (so you and your partner can shower together if you want to), comfy seating areas, and private veranda. Like most of the Botswana safari lodges on this list it also has a pool, elegant lounge area, fire pit for evening drinks, and an open bar.
Why should you stay at Camp Moremi
To be honest, I’d find it hard to pick between Okuti and Moremi, as they’re pretty similar. The clincher will probably be in deciding whether you want to do your whole safari with Ker & Downey or with Desert & Delta, and that will depend on your budget and where else you want to go.
It can be a good idea to stick with one company for the whole thing, as then you can book a package and get a better deal. Though if you do this you’ll miss out on independent camps like Muchenje and Khwai, covered above.
Other places to visit in Botswana
While most people going on their first safari in Botswana head for the star attractions like the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park, there are plenty of other amazing destinations in Botswana. Here are a couple of other hotels you could consider.
8/ Leroo La Tau
A bit more off the beaten track, Leroo La Tau is another Desert & Delta Safaris lodge situated on the edge of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in Northern Botswana. It’s a very different environment from the Okavango Delta – close to the Kalahari, the region is much drier and more desert-like with sparser trees and dry, sandy terrain. You’ll still see wildlife here though, especially during the dry seasons when all the animals are forced to congregate around the few remaining waterholes.
This was the main reason why I thought Leroo La Tau was one the best lodges in Botswana. The lodge sits high on a steeply sloping riverbank looking down into the Boteti River. The river has been dry for many years, leaving only a small waterhole where herds of zebras, as well as giraffes, elephants, wildebeest and more, come to drink.
Rooms are beautiful (though there’s no air-con and Wi-Fi is only in the communal areas), but the lodge’s star attraction is its hide, which overlooks the waterhole. On a good day you’ll see more wildlife coming and going here than you ever will on any game drive.
Why should you stay at Leroo La Tau
As another Desert & Delta camp you know you’re in safe hands, with excellent service, a slick operation, knowledgeable guides and fantastic food. But the real icing on the cake is that hide. If I had to pick just one lodge on this list to go back to, this is the one.
You can read my full review of Leroo La Tau here.
9/ Hotel Sedia
Hotel Sedia is not what I’d call a safari lodge but I’m just adding it in here as it’s a useful place to know about. Located in the town of Maun, Hotel Sedia is a four-star hotel with a pool, shady gardens, and a restaurant serving really excellent food.
My favourite things about Hotel Sedia were the pool, the incredible colourful birds that filled the trees in the garden, and the chance to have a guilt-free lie-in after so many early starts for game drives!
Why should you stay at Sedia Hotel
Maun is the main gateway to the Okavango Delta, so it’s likely your trip will be passing through here. If you need a place to break up your journey, or just want a day to relax in comfort after all the early starts and long days on safari, this is the perfect place to do it.
Read more: Top 50 African Birds: A Safari Photo Guide
How to book game lodges in Botswana
Planning and booking a safari in Botswana can be confusing and complicated. As well as choosing where to stay, you need to figure out how to get around. Distances are long and roads are sometimes impassable, so most people travel by light aircraft.
While you can organise flights yourself, it’s much easier to book your entire safari as a package with a reputable travel agent or safari operator – and there are great discounts to be had if you do it this way too.
Making sure all the pieces of the jigsaw fit together is time-consuming and complicated, and you need to have someone in your corner to help if something goes wrong. I highly recommend either booking direct – all the companies do package discounts if you book your entire trip through them – or use a reputable travel agent.
Any good safari travel agent will be able to organise a bespoke package depending on your requirements and budget, so if you like the look of any of the Botswana safari lodges I’ve mentioned here, you can just tell your agent and they can include them in your itinerary.
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Where to next?
Why not check out some of my other Africa posts?
- Is Cardamom House In Vipingo The Best Beach Hotel In Kenya?
- Kenya Vs Tanzania: Travel Experts Decide
- Ol Doinyo Lengai Tanzania – Climb the Terrifying Mountain of God
- 28 Brilliant Things To Do In Uganda
- 7 Best Weekend Trips from Kampala, Uganda
- 40 Safari Photography Tips For Stunning Wildlife Photos
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Bella is a multi-award-winning travel writer, wildlife photographer and science and history documentary director from London. Among many awards and nominations she won Blogger of the Year at the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2023 and Best Photography at the Travel Media Awards 2020. Her work has been published by National Geographic, Wanderlust, and BBC Travel among others. Her films have been shown around the world including on the BBC, Discovery and PBS.
