Wildlife & Wilderness of Botswana

Delta, falls, saltpans, bush: Discover the best of Botswana’s wilderness

Take a journey into the wilds of Botswana. Glide along the Okavango Delta in traditional mokoro canoes and admire a billion stars from the otherworldly and eerily silent Makgadikgadi Pans. Search for the emblematic wildlife of Africa on the Savuti Marsh and the Moremi Reserve and take to the Chobe River, home to the highest concentration of elephants anywhere. Finally discover why David Livingstone, upon seeing Victoria Falls, declared ‘scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.’

Aldo Kane Collection: A hand-selected range of adventures by our Brand Ambassador:

"This was always on my bucket list of trips, to see the Okavango Delta floods. I recently had the opportunity to travel down the iconic Okavango Delta waterways in traditional Mokoro canoes with the local Exodus expert Polers. Without a doubt, it was one of the most serene ways to travel I've ever experienced. It was so quiet that we could literally glide past herds of elephant, giraffe, buffalo and sections teeming with hippos without disturbing them." 

This trip includes a few of our Citizen Science Departures. These special departures offer you the opportunity to be involved in the collection of freshwater samples during the trip. The environmental DNA information derived from this sample will contribute directly to the eBioAtlas; the world’s largest repository of flora and fauna species data, contributing to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity both locally and globally. To book onto one of these special departures, see the Dates & Prices tab. For more information on these departures and the eBioAtlas, click here.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that improve life for the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. To read more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice, click here, and to find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation click here.

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned accommodation and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food and supporting other local enterprises.
• We employ local site guides in Chobe National Park and several other conservation areas.
• In the Okavango Delta, we work with polers from the Polers’ Trust. This is a community project formed to create an ecotourism business that would benefit all the local people. By using these facilities and going on boat tours with the Polers’ Trust, we ensure we are helping the community by providing employment and supporting environmental initiatives.
• At our Okavango Delta camp, we can participate in BaYei and Hambukushu music and dancing, see how delicious local food is made and buy handmade souvenirs, such as woven baskets.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
• By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We do several wildlife-oriented activities, such as game drives in Chobe National Park and exploring the Okavango Delta by mokoro dug-out canoes and on foot.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for reusable bottles.
• Our local partners support the Save Our Sausage Trees initiative in Botswana, which aims to address the issue of depleting forests in the area. The mokoro is a canoe used by the people of the Okavango Delta and is traditionally crafted from a single mature Kigelia Africana tree (or sausage tree). Although increased tourism has had obvious benefits to the area, this has also brought a higher demand for mokoro boats and therefore more trees are being cut down. As a wooden mokoro only lasts about five years, there are hundreds of these trees being felled per year and not enough to sustain this. We have consulted with the Okovango community, and we have agreed to pay half the price of a fibreglass mokoro if a poler wants to purchase the other half to save the trees.
• Some departures of this trip provide the opportunity for you to collect water samples for the International eBioAtlas initiative, which collects vital DNA information to assist in essential conservation initiatives.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us and the eBioAtlas.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
• By favouring smaller, locally run accommodation and campsites we have a much smaller impact on the surrounding environments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

Extra steps you could take to minimise your impact when travelling.

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own reusable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.

Visa

Botswana

Currently British and Commonwealth and European passport holders do not require visas for Botswana.

If you are transiting through South Africa and are a non-UK passport holder, you may require a transit visa. Please check before travelling.

Please be aware that children under the age of 18 must provide a full birth certificate (a short one won’t be accepted) as well as a valid passport. If the child is travelling with only one parent or with another adult, the missing parent (or parents) will have to provide an affidavit giving their consent for the child to travel. If flying via South Africa, you may have to pass immigration between flights and the same regulation is needed for entry into South Africa.

Zimbabwe

Most nationalities, including British require a visa to visit Zimbabwe.  This can be obtained on arrival in Zimbabwe.  The current charge for a single entry visit visa issued on arrival in Zimbabwe is US$55, although this could change. If you have not obtained a visa before travelling, you should bring enough cash with you to pay for your visa on arrival. You should ensure you have small notes as immigration officers may not be able to provide change.

If you plan on visiting Zambia as well then there is the UNIVISA (a shared visa for Zimbabwe and Zambia) that will allow you multiple entries into Zimbabwe.

Please note that if flying via South Africa you will probably have to pass immigration there. Children under 18 will have to have an unabridged birth certificate showing the names of both parents. If the child is travelling with only one parent, they will need to have an affidavit from the other parent, of no more than three months, confirming the child can travel with the other parent; a court order granting full legal guardianship of the child; or a death certificate of the deceased parent.

Vaccination

Botswana

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for hepatitis A, polio, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you have travelled from (or transited through) a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic. We also suggest you seek advice from your doctor or travel clinic about which malaria tablets to take.

Zimbabwe

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for hepatitis A, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you're arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Malaria is also a known risk. Please seek advice from your doctor or travel clinic on the best course of action for all the above.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners included.

• Breakfast: Cereals, coffee and toast and the occasional fried breakfast/brunch.
• Lunch: Cheese, cold meats, salads, bread or rolls.
• Dinner: Potjies (stew), braais (barbecue), stir-fries, etc.

Vegetarians and vegans can be well catered for on this holiday. Please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests so our local team can be well prepared.

The trip leaders do all the shopping and meal planning for each group. They will always try to obtain fresh produce wherever possible. Each tour has one cool box for meat and fresh produce only and one cool box for cold drinks. We supply squash, tea or coffee with meals. All other beverages will be at your own expense.

On some days where early morning game drives are included, lunch may be substituted for a large brunch on return from the game drive – this is customary. We will always ensure the number of meals detailed in the trip notes are provided.

The water provided on this trip is safe, clean drinking water, normally from boreholes. You can buy bottled water if you prefer, but we encourage you to make use of the safe drinking water provided as this helps diminish plastic consumption.

Weather

There is no best time to visit the Okavango Delta, as it flows year round. The wettest season is January and February, when travel on dirt roads becomes difficult. March to September, although dry and bright, can be cold at night (in June and July it can be chilly, so bring appropriate gear).

Delta water levels reach their highest in July. From December to June, water levels in the Zambezi are at their highest, and the spray can be seen several miles away as it soars as much as 500ft (150m) in the air. October and November are the hottest months, and midday temperatures can be very uncomfortable. The rains normally start slowly in late November. December can be wet, but it does not rain for long periods and should not put anyone off travelling, as there is always plenty of sunshine.

Is this trip for you?

This trip has been rated Activity Level 2 (Leisurely/Moderate). For more information on gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines.

Transport

Expect some long and hot drives as we travel between game parks. On some days, we travel on paved roads, but a lot of distance is covered on dirt and sand roads. Depending on water levels, driving in the delta can also be challenging.

Camping

During the full-service camping safari, we have a separate supply vehicle with a camp crew who set up camp for us. The camp crew will also cook the food, wash the dishes and attend to all camp chores, so you can fully enjoy the wilderness.

We normally use Botswana Tourism (HATAB) sites, which are only available for private groups. There are no facilities, so we use bush toilets and a bush shower. These sites are not fenced and have no running water. We carry a water supply on our vehicles and fill up daily from public sites. There is plenty of water in which you can wash, but we must be sparing. This all adds to the remote wilderness experience. Other nights will be spent in developed campgrounds with facilities usually including toilet blocks, a bar and, sometimes, a swimming pool.

Weather

October and November are the hottest months, but are also good for game viewing. Please see the Weather & Seasonality section of the Trip Notes for more information.

Legal note

All group members joining this tour will be asked to sign an indemnity form at the start of the trip. This indemnity form is a requirement of the South African Tourism Service Association of which our local supplier is a member. As a client of Exodus Travels Ltd, your rights under the Package Travel Regulations (1992) are unaffected, and Exodus remains liable for the actions of our sub-contractors.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.