Most tourists who come to Botswana for a few weeks' safari fly between a series of remote safari camps; this is by far the easiest and most popular way to visit the country. Combinations of the Okavango Delta, and the Kwando-Linyanti and Chobe areas are most common, with relatively few people venturing further south or west into the Kalahari.

When to book?

These trips are not cheap, but they are not difficult to arrange for a knowledgeable tour operator who knows Botswana. If you have a favourite camp or operation, or will be running to a tight schedule, then book as far ahead as you can. Eight to ten months in advance is perfect. Bear in mind that most camps are small, and thus easily filled. They organise their logistics with military precision and so finding space at specific camps at short notice, especially in the busier months, can be tricky.

Unless you're lucky, or book very early, expect one or two of your chosen camps to be full. Usually there will be good alternatives available. That said, it's fairly rare for visitors to have a really bad time in any of the upmarket camps in Botswana, as standards are generally high – so don't be put off just because your first choice isn't immediately available.

The exception to this is usually the rainy season – when camps often close for maintenance for a few weeks; those that do stay open, however, are seldom full.

How much?

Fly-in safaris in Botswana are not cheap. Expect to pay an average of around US$375–600/£250–400 per person sharing per night, for a trip starting from Maun between about July and October. This will include light aircraft transfers and all meals, laundry, activities and local drinks.

Depending on the particular trip, April, May, June and November should cost less. Expect something nearer US$340–500/£225–325, again, including internal flights and everything.

Prices in the wet season are generally lower (except the camps in the Kalahari); then a rough cost of US$225–375/£150–250 per person sharing per night should be quite realistic.

If you spend more than two or three nights at each camp you visit, then these rates will drop; if you fly between camps every day or two, only spending one or two nights at each camp (not recommended) then they'll rise.

None of these trips are cheap, so you should expect a good level of service and knowledge from the operator who is arranging it for you. If you don't get it, go elsewhere.

How to book?

It's best to arrange everything at the same time, using a reliable, independent tour operator. Many operators sell trips to Botswana, but few know the country and the camps. Insist on dealing directly with someone who does. If the person you're dealing with hasn't visited most of the places that you're thinking of going to, or many of the camps, then find someone who has.

Botswana's areas, camps and lodges do change, so up-to-date local knowledge is vital in putting together a trip that runs smoothly and suits you. Make sure that whoever you book with is bonded, so your money is protected if they go broke. If you're unsure, pay with a credit card. Never book a trip from someone who hasn't spent time there – you are asking for problems.

Booking directly with the Botswana companies is possible, but piecing together a jigsaw of complex transfers and flights can be tricky. All the operators in Botswana are primarily interested in selling space at their own camps and lodges – regardless of whether these are the best camps for you or not. It's wise to seek out an independent operator.

European, US and other overseas operators usually work on commission for the trips that they sell, which is deducted from the basic cost that the visitor pays. Hence you should end up paying the same whether you book through an overseas operator or with a company in Botswana.

Perhaps because of the UK's historical links, or the high number of British safari-goers, there seems to be more competition amongst UK tour operators than elsewhere. Hence they've a reputation for being generally cheaper than US operators for the same trips – and the best usually work out much cheaper than similar trips booked directly.


Most fly-in trips to Botswana last between ten days and three weeks, and are often limited more by travellers' available budgets than anything else. The Okavango Delta, Kwando-Linyanti and Chobe areas are the most common destinations, but Deception Valley Lodge, beside the Central Kalahari, and Jack's Camp, in Makgadikgadi, also have their own landing strips and are sometimes added on to the start or end of trips.

Less commonly, it's quite possible to plan a trip that's part mobile or self-drive, followed by a few days of relative luxury at a fly-in camp or two (usually in the Delta).

Concentrating on the fly-in element, the key to an interesting fly-in trip is variation: making sure that the different camps that you visit really are different. For me this means that they're in different environments and have different activities. So mix deep-water camps with shallow-water ones, and forested areas with open ones. That way you'll not only have the greatest variety of scenery, of which there's a lot in the Delta, but also see the widest variety of game.

I also prefer to mix camps run by different companies – one from Wilderness, one from CC Africa and one from Kwando for example. I find that this makes a more interesting trip than staying at camps which are all run by the same company (sometimes in predictably similar styles).

When flying in, the costs of visiting the camps in the parks are very similar to the costs of those in the private concessions. Because of the ability to do night drives, to drive off-road, and (sometimes) to go walking, I generally prefer to use camps in private areas. Hence I've included relatively few of the camps which are inside the parks here.

For most trips, if you work on spending around three nights at each camp that you visit, that's ideal. Four would be lovely, though often visitors haven't got that much time (or money), whereas two nights is OK for some camps, but a fraction too short for most.

Suggested fly-in itineraries

Here I'll give you a few ideas for combinations of areas that I think work well together, giving a real variation to trips. These are not lists of my all-time favourite camps; I have deliberately chosen not to pick out just my favourites. (Simply because the type of camps that I love – the simpler, smaller ones with their emphasis on guiding and wildlife – may not be so ideal for you.)

Instead, these are trips in which I think the various areas, camps and experiences go well together – and demonstrate what I mean about varying the areas that you stay in and the companies that you use.

Livingstone, Kwando-Linyanti and Okavango Delta: 11 nights/12 days
• 2n Livingstone, a hotel or lodge
• 3n Selinda, NG16 – mostly open, permanently dry areas best for game viewing
• 3n Kwara, NG20 – for deep-water motor-boat trips plus some game viewing in areas of denser vegetation
• 3n Kwetsani, NG25 – for picturesque shallow-water mokoro trips, plus some game viewing in open floodplains

Livingstone, Kwando-Linyanti, Okavango and the Pans: 15 nights/16 days
• 2n Livingstone, a hotel or lodge
• 3n Lagoon, NG15 – dry-land game viewing in mostly riverine forest
• 4n Vumbura, NG20 – for some deep-water, some shallow-water mokoro trips, and some game viewing in an open floodplain environment.
• 3n Sandibe, NG31 – for shallow-water trips and game viewing in a more forested environment
• 3n Jack's Camp – something totally different on the great salt pans

Just the Okavango Delta: 11 nights/12 days
• 3n Xakanaxa Camp, Moremi – for dry-land game viewing
• 2n Xugana, NG21 – transfer here from Xakanaxa by boat for deep-water trips
• 3n Nxabega, NG31 – for shallow-water trips and game viewing
• 3n Deception Valley Lodge – something totally different in the Kalahari