Botswana on your own
Elephants by the tens of thousands, unfenced campsites in the heart of the Okavango Delta: the step up from Namibia — wilder, more demanding, unforgettable.
When to go
Dry season May to October: passable tracks, wildlife concentrated on the rivers and the flooding delta (the paradox: the Okavango's water arrives from Angola in the middle of the dry winter). Rainy season November to April: muddy, often impassable tracks, closed camps — but zebras migrating across the pans.
What it costs
Pricier than its neighbours: equipped 4x4 €130-200/day (often rented in South Africa or Namibia), public park campsites €30-50 per person, substantial park fees. Budget €4,000-6,000 for two over 12-14 days camping, excluding flights — the delta lodges, for their part, run to hundreds of euros a night.
Driving & transport
Left-hand driving. Main axes tarred (Maun–Nata–Kasane), but the parks must be earned: Savuti's deep sand, Moremi's black cotton mud, log bridges. 4x4 mandatory in the parks, sand-driving experience strongly advised, a two-vehicle convoy ideal. Elephants on the roads, tarred ones included: permanent vigilance.
Botswana made the opposite choice to mass tourism: few visitors, immense parks left raw, unfenced campsites where lions walk through at night. Self-driven, it is African adventure at its purest — and a technical notch above Namibia: deep sand, seasonal water crossings, real GPS navigation.
The classic loop links Maun to Victoria Falls via Moremi, Savuti and Chobe, in 10 to 15 days. It is prepared seriously (public campsites booked months ahead, an equipped 4x4, full autonomy) or simplified into a "tar roads + guided excursions" version from Maun and Kasane.
The destinations that matter
6No. 012 to 3 nights (Maun base)Okavango DeltaA river that never reaches the sea, vanishing into a labyrinth of islands and lagoons: southern Africa's most extraordinary ecosystem is discovered by dugout canoe.No. 022 to 3 nightsMoremi Game ReserveThe land side of the delta — mopane forests, lagoons and the country's best predator density: Moremi is the holy grail of African self-driving.No. 031 to 2 nightsSavutiA savanna far from everything, famous for lions that hunt elephants: Savuti is the wildest — and sandiest — leg of the northern crossing.
No. 042 nightsChobe ParkHundreds of elephants swimming across the river at sunset: the Chobe riverfront delivers southern Africa's most reliable wildlife spectacle.No. 051 to 2 nightsMakgadikgadi PansThe floor of a vanished lake the size of Switzerland: salt crust to the horizon, lone baobabs, meerkats tamed by patience — and the starriest nights there are.No. 062 to 3 nightsCentral Kalahari (CKGR)A reserve half the size of Portugal, a handful of tracks, zero services: the Central Kalahari is the very definition of African solitude.
Our flagship guide — €44
Guide available“Botswana on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Explore other countries