Safari · Southern Africa
12 Night Botswana & Victoria Falls
The most expensive safari country in Africa, and the reason is deliberate — Botswana caps visitor numbers to keep the Delta empty. You are paying for the absence of other people.
The most expensive safari country in Africa, and the reason is deliberate — Botswana caps visitor numbers to keep the Delta empty. You are paying for the absence of other people.
A low-volume, high-value policy, and it is not marketing.
Botswana restricts concession licences and bed numbers rather than chasing volume. The result is that a sighting in the Okavango is often you and one other vehicle, where the equivalent in the Mara might be twenty. That policy is why Botswana prices sit above Kenya and Tanzania — UK specialists commonly quote £6,000–£9,000 per person against £5,000–£8,500 for East Africa. If the budget is the constraint, East Africa gives you more days for the money. If emptiness is what you're buying, this is where it is.
Twelve nights, west to east, ending at the Falls.
1An inland river delta that floods in the dry season — the opposite of everywhere else.
Where you stay: Water camps for mokoro, land camps for game drives. The best trips do one of each.
Getting there: Light aircraft from Maun, 20–40 minutes. Soft bags only, 20kg.
2The predator ground. Wild dog here as well as the usual cats, which is rare.
Where you stay: Private concessions allow off-road and night driving; the reserve proper does not.
Getting there: Short light-aircraft hop within the Delta.
3The largest elephant population in Africa, concentrated on one river in the dry months.
Where you stay: Kasane on the riverfront, or a lodge inside the park for earlier access.
Getting there: Light aircraft to Kasane, about an hour.
4Ninety minutes by road from Chobe, and the natural place to finish.
Where you stay: Zimbabwe side has the better viewpoints; Zambia side is quieter. We'll advise on visas either way.
Getting there: Road transfer, about 90 minutes including the border crossing.
Everything below is quoted up front. Nothing appears after you've paid a deposit.
Guide prices per person, two sharing, outside school holidays. The hotel standard is the biggest single variable.
| Standard | What that means | Guide price pp |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | Comfortable camps, shared activities, reserve-side | from £6,499 |
| Superior | Private concessions, off-road and night driving, fewer beds | from £8,299 |
| Premium | Top-tier Delta camps, private guide and vehicle throughout | from £11,900 |
In Botswana the concession is everything. A private concession permits off-road driving, night drives and walking, none of which are allowed inside Moremi proper. That single distinction changes the safari more than any lodge upgrade, and it is where we'd spend the money first.
May to October. The Delta floods in the dry season, which sounds wrong and isn't.
The Okavango's flood arrives from Angolan rains months earlier, so the water peaks between June and August — the middle of the dry season. That is when the mokoro channels are navigable and game concentrates on the remaining land. May to October is the season, with July to September the peak for both wildlife and price. November to April is green season: dramatic skies, newborn game, excellent birding, far fewer people and rates discounted 30–40%. Some water camps close entirely.
We'll be straight about whether Botswana or East Africa suits your budget better, and what a private concession actually adds.
If you want empty. A leopard sighting in a private concession might be your vehicle alone; in the Mara it can be twenty. If you'd rather have more days for the money, East Africa is the better buy and we'll say so.
A shallow dugout canoe, poled from the back through the Delta channels. You sit at water level, which is a completely different experience from a game vehicle.
Zimbabwe has about three-quarters of the viewpoints. Zambia is quieter and has Devil's Pool in low water. Visas differ — we'll sort the right one.
Very. Light aircraft into the Delta take 20kg in soft bags with no frame. Hard suitcases are refused, not negotiated.
Similar shapes, and the ones people most often weigh up alongside it.
Same approach, different shape. All reshapeable around your dates.
13 nights · Jul–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £4,299pp
10 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £2,899pp
11 nights · Jun–Aug, Dec–Feb · from £4,899pp
14 nights · May–Oct · from £3,299pp
11 nights · Apr, Oct · from £2,699pp
12 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £3,399pp
