Top 10 Family Activities in Botswana
What To Do In Botswana With Children?
Booking your family safari to Botswana opens a door to a world of exciting adventure. From the minute your Cessna touches the bush strip, your family will be in the wilds with expert guides. These extraordinary enthusiasts love to share their understanding of the bush and its wildlife. They will take you into the beating heart of Botswana, walking, driving, on the water and even riding horses and elephants.
Our Journeysmiths have curated the top 10 family experiences in Botswana to whet your appetite.
Our Journeysmiths have curated the top 10 family experiences in Botswana to whet your appetite.
- Take a private mobile camping safari
- Meet the elephants at Baines’ Camp
- Capture the perfect animal portrait
- Walk with San Bushmen
- See the Big Five in a day
- Spot 100 birds in a day
- Sunset boat ride on the Chobe River
- Watch an elephant drink from your pool
- Celebrate Christmas in the Okavango Delta
- Follow a pack of wild dog across the Linyanti
- Take a helicopter safari and see elephant conservation
1. Take a private mobile camping safari
We can arrange a guide and support team to take your family on a private camping safari. Each day, decide with your guide what your family would like to do, then set off on foot or by vehicle or mokoro. Explore plains and waterways in search of elephant, antelope and giraffe. Enjoy the freedom! Then walk into your comfortable little camp, set up in a beautiful spot by your smiling support team.
2. Meet the elephants at Baines’ Camp
Doug and Sandi Groves have devoted the last 30 years to looking after orphan elephants in the Okavango Delta. Your family can spend part of a day with them, meeting Jabu and Morula, two orphans now thriving after a traumatic start to life. Walk with the elephants, touch them and be inspired as Doug and Sandi tell you about their work and experiences. We can arrange this as part of your stay at Stanley’s or Baines’ Camp.
3. Capture the perfect animal portrait
Safari guides are often expert photographers too. They can get you into the ideal position to take amazing photographs of animals. The non-threatening profile of the vehicle means you can approach close and capture an expression or action shot that tells a story and portrays the true essence of the animal. Hippo, giraffe, leopard - every creature is a unique character.
4. Walk with San Bushmen
Imagine taking a walk in the Kalahari Desert with a San bushman. What seems at first sight a parched area of scrubland becomes a fascinating treasure trove. Your San Bushman will quietly lead you to secret sources of water and medication. He will show you how the desert offers everything you need to survive, if only you know where and how to look. The Kalahari changes spectacularly through the seasons and contrasts magically with the Okavango Delta.
5. See the Big Five in a day
In a ground-breaking conservation effort, endangered rhinoceros have been relocated from South Africa to the safety of the vast Chief’s Island reserve in Botswana. The rich habitat surrounding Mombo and Chief’s Camp has always been a great place to see the rest of the Big Five as well; lion, buffalo, elephant and leopard. Your guide’s tracking skills should make finding a rhino on the reserve a little easier than a needle in a haystack. And the joy of finding it will be enhanced knowing that the rhino is free at last to roam in safety.
6. Spot 100 birds in a day
Now here is a challenge! Get your binoculars and bird book ready and see if your family can identify a century of Botswanan birds. Bateleur eagles riding thermals, kingfishers plunging into pools and a pair of saddlebill storks waddling across a pan are a joy to see. Brilliantly coloured bee-eaters, a cloud-like flock of quelea and a committee of lappet-faced vultures hopping around a carcass make six species. 94 to go, but Botswana has over 600 bird species in total so get spotting.
7. Sunset boat ride on the Chobe River
Slowly, the red sun sinks and a thousand elephant emerge from the baked plain to plunge thankfully into the Chobe River. It happens every day, gathering in intensity from August to November. The best vantage point is the river itself, as sounds of sploshing, trumpeting elephantine joy carry across the water. Any animal in need of a drink gathers here too, as a long, hot day on the Chobe plains draws to a close.
8: Watch an elephant drink from your pool
The swimming pool at Little Tubu Tree camp is beside an old elephant trail. The three delightful tented suites and the bush lounge-diner sit higher and are elevated on wooden platforms so you can gaze for miles. At siesta time, as you relax on your deck you might watch a couple of elephant sauntering along the trail. Sometimes they find your man-made watering hole too tempting and can’t resist sucking up twenty gallons or so before moving slowly on.
9. Celebrate Christmas in the Okavango Delta
On the twelfth day of Christmas my parents gave to me—twelve lechwe leaping. Next Christmas Day your family could be gazing up at a gloriously beautiful leopard snoozing on the branch of a sausage tree. Christmas is a great time to safari in the Okavango, and it’s the lowest season pricewise. Perhaps you could spend a week on safari then head down to sunny Cape Town for a sublime combination holiday.
10. Follow a pack of wild dog across the Linyanti
Wild dog, sometimes called “painted wolf” for their colourful coats, roam the landscapes of northern Botswana. They are always on the move and hunt as a pack. It’s thrilling to see them racing across a pan in pursuit of an antelope. The antelope often wins! Then your guide will park up close to the pack as they rest. These beautiful, intelligent creatures are vulnerable to lions, hyenas and livestock farmers. They live by their wits, their speed and co-operation within the pack.
And as an extra treat: Take a helicopter safari and see elephant conservation
As a special treat we can give your family an eagle’s eye view of the Okavango from a helicopter. See filigree fingers of blue water creating islands of green and ochre. Watch herds of buffalo, giraffe and elephant from the sky. Your helicopter can fly on to the “panhandle” where farming communities live. Elephants can destroy their crops and you will see innovative projects, where people are taught to protect crops without harming elephants.
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Botswana
Enjoy Botswana’s magnificent landscapes and abundant wildlife through intimate, small-scale lodges. From wild wetlands to star-scattered desert skies, there’s nowhere quite like Botswana for an unforgettable private wilderness escape.
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Botswana Downtime & Combinations
Between safaris there is plenty for children to do in camp while the adults relax. Safari lodges may be small and in remote locations, but they have excellent facilities and your hosts’ purpose is to give you the best possible time. In this section we also suggest a couple of places that combine easily to complement your Botswana safari.
Kalahari, Botswana
Deception Valley Lodge
Luxurious and comfortably traditional, Deception Valley Lodge is a family-run property set to the north of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Nestled on a private concession, it offers exclusivity, seclusion and unspoilt wilderness. Home to a variety of game, big and small, as well as the indigenous San Bushmen, your experience at the lodge is bound to be extraordinary.
Kalahari, Botswana
Tau Pan Camp
Tau Pan Camp is situated inside the world famous Central Kalahari Game Reserve right on the edge of the beautiful Tau Pan. “Kalahari” is derived from the Tswana word Kgala meaning “great thirst” – and it has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent water.
Makgadikgadi, Botswana
Jack's Camp
An iconic camp that harks back to an era of glamour, Jack’s Camp is set in the striking Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Whether visiting in the dry or green season, Jack’s offers guests an exceptionally stylish place to stay while admiring the wildlife and unique beauty of the pans.
Makgadikgadi, Botswana
Leroo La Tau
Atop 10-metre high cliffs on the western bank of the Boteti River, the distinctive Desert & Delta owned Leroo La Tau sits. An exceptional vantage point for the flowing river below, you’ll be treated to incomparable views of the rich wildlife without even leaving your room.
Makgadikgadi, Botswana
Camp Kalahari
One of just three camps sat within a one million acre private reserve, the remote and understated Camp Kalahari is the epitome of seclusion. The quality of the experience here will ensure that even the finest tastes are well catered for, but it is also a place for those with an adventurous nature. Forget the rush of the modern world and become an explorer, scouring the flats for the wildlife that’s adapted to survive the arid conditions.
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Botswana Family Safaris
Botswana is Africa’s most exclusive safari destination. Each enormous private reserve has just one or two luxury lodges guaranteeing a series of private experiences as you travel from one exquisite location to the next. Expert guides will take your family on safari among big cats and vast elephant herds in beautiful deltas and deserts.
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Activities on a Botswana Safari
Imagine gliding silently along an Okavango waterway in a mokoro canoe as zebra and impala graze the grasslands. Or cantering on horseback with your guide alongside giraffe. In the Kalahari, take an early morning walk with a San Bushman as he explains the ancestral secrets of survival.
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People of Botswana
Here’s something you might not expect. The people looking after you on safari might create some of your happiest safari memories. You’ll remember laughter and those after dinner stories and jokes around the campfire. During a three-night stay in a luxury camp, you’ll get to make friends with your guide, the chef, the vegetable gardener and the other people who love their work.
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Animals on a Botswana Safari
Botswana is a great choice for an exclusive family safari. Roaming the spectacular deserts, deltas and savannahs are literally millions of animals. The fertility and abundant water of the Okavango and Linyanti Deltas supports an incredible 200 different mammal species. The Government’s high value, low volume tourism policy helps conservation and enables you to enjoy a top quality private safari.
Kalahari, Botswana
Dinaka
Dinaka rests within its own private concession on the northern edge of the world-renowned Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Surrounded by an expanse of ever changing desert landscape, Dinaka has several, permanent, life-sustaining waterholes which attract an abundance of wildlife all year round. The red sands in this corner of the Kalahari offer exceptional game viewing and a luxurious lodge to stay in too.
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Top 10 Botswana Activities
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Go Exclusive In Botswana
The best way to give your family the facilities it seeks may be to book out an entire camp or lodge. Perhaps you are planning a multi-generation safari. Or you may want to fulfil a dream of walking, mokoroing and camping out in the Okavango. You may simply crave an extra degree of privacy. Most lodges we use take fewer than 16 guests, some take only eight, so booking a whole lodge is a viable option.
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Top 10 Family Activities in Botswana
Booking your family safari to Botswana opens a door to a world of exciting adventure. From the minute your Cessna touches the bush strip, your family will be in the wilds with expert guides. We curated the top 10 family experiences in Botswana to whet your appetite.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Shinde Camp
Shinde Camp is one of the most beautifully located in the Okavango Delta, a sophisticated tented camp set on a lush island surrounded by crystal-clear waters and shaded by ebony and mangosteen trees.
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Botswana is one of the best places for a family holiday of a lifetime! There are millions of animals across plains, deserts and deltas.
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Gomoti Plains
Gomoti Plains was one of the most eagerly anticipated safari properties in Botswana and opened its doors to guests in March 2017.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Baines' Camp
A luxury safari lodge in the Okavango Delta with a range of exhilarating activities.
Family Accommodation
Zarafa Dhow Suite
Zarafa is one of the most exclusive camps in Botswana with just four luxuriously appointed marquee style tented suites. With a maximum of eight guests, the emphasis here is on individual hospitality, privacy and serenity. A family of up to five may like to treat themselves to the sumptuous Dhow Suites — the most exclusive private property in Botswana.
Makgadikgadi, Botswana
Jack’s Private Camp
Blending the spirit of 1940s African exploration with modern exclusivity and opulence, Jacks Camp has long set the standard for luxury safari experiences. With the addition of the secluded Jack’s Private Camp, guests can enjoy an even more exclusive, private and tailored adventure in the midst of the stark beauty of the Kalahari Desert.
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Xigera Safari Lodge
Catering to just 24 guests, Xigera Safari Lodge in the Okavango Delta offers an exclusive, intimate and personal experience, with phenomenal animal encounters both on land and on the water. The thoughtful service and generous hospitality is the cherry on top.
A pristine labyrinth of wildlife-rich waterways
Okavango Delta
Botswana’s Okavango Delta is one of southern Africa’s most iconic landscapes. The elaborate waterways ebb and flow with the seasons, creating an unparalleled wildlife viewing experience any time of year.
Diverse habitats allow wildlife to flourish – including endangered species like wild dog and rhino
Moremi
From dry savannah to delta wetlands, the Moremi Game Reserve is a wildlife oasis. Created in 1963 to protect wild animals from hunters, Moremi’s expanse includes one-third of the eastern Okavango Delta.
A dry season haven for elephants and big cats
Linyanti & Savuti
The Selinda Spillway connects the Okavango Delta to the floodplains and swamps of the Linyanti River. During the dry season, this region becomes a magnet for incredible concentrations of wildlife.
Floodplains and rich grasslands support thrilling wildlife all year round
Chobe National Park
Easily reached via Kasane Airport, Chobe National Park protects a vast swath of northern Botswana’s diverse landscapes. From forest to floodplain, all manner of wildlife can be found in this magnificent park.
Semi-arid landscapes showcase the adaptability of life
Kalahari
In dramatic contrast to the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari Desert receives almost no rain for most of the year. Wildlife and plants alike must adapt to the harsh conditions until the rainy season arrives.
Atmospheric and almost otherworldly, this is unlike anywhere else in Botswana or beyond
Makgadikgadi
The Makgadikgadi Pan is an expansive salt flat – one of the largest in the world – that offers a safari experience like no other. Zebras migrate across the pan from December to March and the birdwatching is outstanding, too.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Duba Plains Camp
One of the most remote, stylish and exclusive camps in the Okavango Delta, Duba Plains is set amid large floodplains and shaded by mighty ebony, fig and garcinia trees. Incredibly diverse game viewing and a wide variety of unique activities await you here.
Explore Desert and Delta
Ultimate Luxury Botswana Safari
From the pristine wilderness of Linyanti, to the glistening floodplains of the Okavango Delta, and beyond to the shimmering salt flats of Makgadikgadi - this Botswana safari will leave you with incredible memories from beginning to end. Experience the diverse ecosystems and wildlife Botswana has to offer in this epic journey from plains, to delta to desert.
Chobe National Park, Botswana
Chobe Under Canvas
One of the most authentic ways to visit Chobe National Park without compromising on luxury, Chobe Under Canvas offers excellent service, delicious ‘bush’ cuisine and an unmatched atmosphere. The camp is repositioned regularly to give you exceptional game viewing of the rich wildlife inhabiting the Chobe Riverfront.
Moremi, Botswana
Mombo Camp
The exquisitely stylish Mombo Camp is the epitome of luxury safari. It's set within a well-renowned wildlife hotspot deep in the Moremi Game Reserve. Known by locals as ‘the place of plenty’, not only does the area boast one of the highest concentrations of wildlife anywhere in Africa, but it’s stunningly beautiful too.
Moremi, Botswana
Chief's Camp
Deep in the heart of the Moremi Game Reserve, refined luxury awaits at Chief’s Camp. A beacon of safari chic, the camp is set on Chief’s Island - the largest land mass in the Okavango Delta - an area that has established a reputation as the ‘Predator Capital of Africa’.
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Botswana and Victoria Falls
This memorable safari combines a journey through one of Africa’s most game rich areas, with a visit to one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Experience Botswana’s abundant wildlife in the spectacular Okavango Delta and Linyanti, before heading to the winding Zambezi River to see the astonishing Victoria Falls.
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Safari and City in Ultimate Luxury
Travel across Southern Africa in complete luxury, staying at some of the most exclusive properties on the continent. With every single detail taken care of by exceptional guides and staff at each location, you can concentrate on what really matters - immersing yourself in an exclusive African safari experience.
Moremi, Botswana
Okuti Camp
Located in a beautiful position alongside the Maunachira River, the peaceful oasis of Okuti Camp lies to the east of the Moremi Game Reserve. Overlooking luscious grasslands dissected by the meandering river, the camp is a serene base from which to explore the Moremi, an area renowned for its abundance of wildlife, including the big five.
Linyanti & Savuti, Botswana
Selinda Camp
Perched on the banks of the Selinda Spillway’s watery wilderness, Selinda Camp hides amongst a grove of riverine trees. One of just a handful of Relais & Châteaux member properties in Botswana, the stylish camp was designed to create an indoor/outdoor experience and provides perfect big game viewing all year round.
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Family Safari in Botswana
From the glistening floodplains of the Okavango Delta, to the pristine wilderness of Linyanti, and beyond to the shimmering salt flats of Makgadikgadi - this family friendly safari will leave you all with lifelong memories. Experience the diverse ecosystems and wildlife Botswana has to offer in this spectacular journey from Delta to Desert.
Linyanti & Savuti, Botswana
Zarafa Camp
Under a canopy of ebony trees, Botswana’s first Relais & Châteaux member property sits in all its glory. A photographer’s dream, Zarafa Camp is a private property where guests revel in luxury, as well as natural beauty. Downstream, the show stopping Dhow Suite - perhaps the most exclusive property in the whole of Botswana - promises to be absolutely unforgettable.
Linyanti & Savuti, Botswana
Linyanti Ebony Camp
On the banks of the Linyanti Channel, lies the sophisticated Linyanti Ebony Camp. Rising from marshes dotted with groves of riverine trees, the traditional tented camp is endowed with panoramic views of pristine wilderness. Home to healthy populations of predators, as well as many less seen species, the fantastic wildlife is sure to delight all year round - as are the exceptional guides.
Chobe National Park, Botswana
Chobe Chilwero Lodge
Perched atop a hill on the banks of the Chobe River, lies the sophisticated Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero. With panoramic views across the island-dotted floodplains - which many big game, predators, smaller mammals and birdlife call home - the lodge offers a memorable safari experience infused with plenty of luxury.
Chobe National Park, Botswana
Chobe Game Lodge
Chobe Game Lodge offers five-star luxury in the wilds of the bush. A haven of peace and tranquillity, the lodge overlooks the winding Chobe River, which is frequented by a whole host of bird species and wildlife including the world’s largest remaining population of elephants. Fully Ecotourism-certified, Chobe Game Lodge is sure to provide an unforgettable experience for couples, small groups and families alike
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Harkness Mobile Safaris
If you’re looking for a truly adventurous safari experience then this mobile safari camp is for you. Staying in a mobile camp that changes location regularly, you’ll be transported back in time to the very earliest days of safari.
Moremi, Botswana
Tawana Camp
With the Gomoti River on its doorstep, Tawana offers an exclusive safari experience in one of Africa’s most exciting wildlife destinations, the Moremi Game Reserve. This area is incredibly rich in wildlife, of varying species. Plains game, predators, amphibians and birdlife can all be seen here. A location as special as this calls for an equally outstanding camp, and elegant, well-equipped Tawana Camp more than delivers.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Atzaro Okavango
Accessible by helicopter, Atzaro Okavango is a newly built, beautifully designed and supremely comfortable camp offering an exclusive safari experience in the Okavango Delta, Botswana’s prime wildlife location. This exquisite property combines superb wildlife viewing with unrivalled levels of luxury.
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From the glistening floodplains of the Okavango Delta, to the pristine wilderness of Linyanti, and beyond to the shimmering salt flats of Makgadikgadi - this family friendly safari will leave you all with lifelong memories. Experience the diverse ecosystems and wildlife Botswana has to offer in this spectacular journey from Delta to Desert.
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Botswana Family Safaris
Botswana is Africa’s most exclusive safari destination. Each enormous private reserve has just one or two luxury lodges guaranteeing a series of private experiences as you travel from one exquisite location to the next. Expert guides will take your family on safari among big cats and vast elephant herds in beautiful deltas and deserts.
Article
Activities on a Botswana Safari
Imagine gliding silently along an Okavango waterway in a mokoro canoe as zebra and impala graze the grasslands. Or cantering on horseback with your guide alongside giraffe. In the Kalahari, take an early morning walk with a San Bushman as he explains the ancestral secrets of survival.
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People of Botswana
Here’s something you might not expect. The people looking after you on safari might create some of your happiest safari memories. You’ll remember laughter and those after dinner stories and jokes around the campfire. During a three-night stay in a luxury camp, you’ll get to make friends with your guide, the chef, the vegetable gardener and the other people who love their work.
Article
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Botswana is a great choice for an exclusive family safari. Roaming the spectacular deserts, deltas and savannahs are literally millions of animals. The fertility and abundant water of the Okavango and Linyanti Deltas supports an incredible 200 different mammal species. The Government’s high value, low volume tourism policy helps conservation and enables you to enjoy a top quality private safari.
Article
Botswana Downtime & Combinations
Between safaris there is plenty for children to do in camp while the adults relax. Safari lodges may be small and in remote locations, but they have excellent facilities and your hosts’ purpose is to give you the best possible time. In this section we also suggest a couple of places that combine easily to complement your Botswana safari.
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