Top Things to See in Botswana on a Budget

Go to Botswana if you want to see beautiful landscape, rich wildlife, happy people and happy elephants, with the largest elephant population in Africa.

With 2.3 million people, Botswana is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, which means that beautiful, unspoiled nature dominates the country, like its neighbour Namibia.

Since their independence from Britain, Botswana has impressively evolved from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country.  It now has one of the strongest economies in Africa and one of the world’s highest economic growth rates, thanks to its diamond mining and tourism.

Consequently, Botswana is one of Africa’s most expensive safari destinations, but the trade off is that it’s one of the safest countries in Africa.  It’s also expensive due to the high-end safari accommodation and the necessity for flights to explore the more remote places.  However, you can travel Botswana on a budget if you camp, travel in low season and stick to the easily accessible sights.

If you’re exploring and safariing around Africa, you don’t want to miss Botswana.  If you only have a few days to explore, the must-see and most accessible sights in Botswana are Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert.

 

TOP THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN BOTSWANA ON A BUDGET

 

CHOBE NATIONAL PARK

Chobe lies within the famous Okavango Delta and it’s one of the best game parks in Africa.  It’s accessible by car, which makes it less expensive than some of Botswana’s other parks.

The park is home to around 120,000 elephants, which is the largest elephant population in all of Africa.  The games drives are by Jeep or boat for 450P/$40US each.  But the best viewing of Chobe’s elephant herds are from the water on a sunset river cruise.

Take an early evening Chobe River cruise to see elephants, crocodiles and hippos.

The elephants are so much fun to watch! 

The baby elephants are the best to watch.  They’re always running around and they’re so excitable and clumsy and cute.

My morning land safari saw a pride of 8 lionesses.

One was feasting on a baby elephant.

This also happened to be where my safari truck got stuck in the sand.  I will add that the truck was completely open and exposed, with no doors or windows, which was extremely stressful.

 

OKAVANGO DELTA

This is one of the world’s largest inland deltas and it’s often called the quietest place on earth.  It’s very peaceful.

The Okavango River cuts through the centre of the Kalahari Desert, creating a unique inland water system that gives life to a variety of birds and animals.

The Okavango Delta is a unique safari destination because you can view its wildlife from a mokoro, traditional dug-out canoe, and then camp in the bush.

It’s advisable to bring an umbrella to protect from the sun, so I took the opportunity to buy the most ridiculous umbrella I could find.

One of Africa’s unique and famous baobab trees.

To avoid overpaying the agencies and lodges for an Okavango Delta tour, you can go straight to the source at Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust, which is where all the agencies book through, so you can pay about a third of the price instead (i.e. 556P ($46US) for 2 people, instead of 1500P ($126US).

If you really want to treat yourself, take an Okavanago Delta Flight.  For $120US, you can see the delta from 150m in the air.  But it’s not quite high enough to see that the delta is shaped like a hand.  And like any safari, the delta flights are hit and miss.  The people sitting on the other side of the plane saw lots of animals, but I barely saw any on my side.  But it was still very beautiful.

 

KALAHARI DESERT

At 900,000km², the Kalahari Desert covers two thirds of Botswana.  Kalahari means “the great thirst” or “the waterless place” in 2 different local languages, as the only permanent water source is the Okavango Delta.

The climate is very extreme with temperatures of 45C during the day in the summer, and below freezing in the mornings and nights in the winter.

The San people, also known as the Bushmen, are hunter-gatherers who have lived in the Kalahari Desert for thousands of years.  You can join them on a bushwalk for 80P ($7US) and/or a dance for 100P+ ($8US).

 

WHEN TO GO

 

They say the best time to travel Botswana is during the dry season from May and October.  You can expect warm, sunny days at 25-35C, and cold nights at 0-10C, depending on where you are and when.

However, the wet season from November to April is a great time to travel Botswana if you don’t mind the odd, short shower.  It’s less crowded, prices are lower, the scenery is lush and green, and you’ll see more baby animals.  You can expect temperatures of 30-35C during the day, and 16-20C at night, depending on where you are and when.

I traveled Botswana in mid-February, which is the peak of the wet season and, therefore, the worst time to go, but I didn’t have any complaints.  I saw an incredible amount of wildlife in beautiful lush and green landscape.  It was very hot during the day and chilly in the mornings and nights for camping and early morning game drives.

 

NEED TO KNOW

 

YOU LIKELY WON’T NEED A VISA

But check before you go.

TAKE ANTI-MALARIALS

And bring mosquito repellant.  A valid Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is also required if you’re arriving from an at risk country.

ENGLISH IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

The national language is Setswana and there are over 20 other languages spoken.

WI-FI IS RARE OUTSIDE OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS

And when you do find it, it’ll be slow and less secure.

BOTSWANA DOESN’T SUFFER THE APARTHEID HANGOVER LIKE SOUTH AFRICA AND NAMIBIA

And you can really see and feel the difference.  I traveled Namibia and South Africa before Botswana, but it wasn’t until Botswana that I felt like I was in the real Africa.

VICTORIA FALLS IN ZAMBIA AND ZIMBABWE IS VERY CLOSE 

It’s very accessible from Chobe and it’s the adventure capital of Africa.  But the activities are NOT cheap.  See more on Victoria Falls here.

 

SAFETY

 

Botswana is one of the safest and most stable countries in Africa.  In 2010, Botswana ranked as Africa’s most peaceful country in the Global Peace Index (GPI) and 33rd in the world.  For reference, the US ranked at 85.

However, practice regular safety precautions while traveling Botswana as it is not free from some crime.

WILD ANIMALS ROAM FREE IN CAMPSITES

The campsites near the parks aren’t fenced, but guns aren’t allowed.  For this reason, some camps and lodges do not allow small children due to some unfortunate incidents…

I wasn’t aware of this before I traveled Botswana, but maybe that was a good thing.

Many campgrounds near game parks in Africa are like this, so a bathroom trip in the middle of the night is a terrifying experience.

PUNISHMENTS FOR BREAKING THE LAW ARE HARSH

Research the local laws before you go.  It’s illegal to possess or remove any living or dead animal or animal trophy without a government permit.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS NO LONGER ILLEGAL

Which is a significant step for LGBTQA rights in Africa because it’s illegal in the majority of Africa.

 

MY EXPERIENCE

 

I traveled Botswana in mid-February on the Ultimate Africa 54 day tour with G Adventures, which is a participation camping overland tour.  Aside from South Africa, Southern and East Africa lack the infrastructure to travel independently via public transportation.  This means it lacks the easy, independent and solo traveler circuit like Europe, Southeast Asia or South America.  As a solo female traveler who typically travels via public transportation, I found that while an overland tour wasn’t preferable, it was the easiest, safest, most organized, time efficient and practical option.

See my overland tour experience here.

 

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRAVEL IN AFRICA

 

What To Know Before You Travel to Southern and East Africa

12 Essentials to Pack for Your African Safari