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African Safaris and Tours
Botswana Camping Safaris
Botswana Camping Safaris – Wild Campsites, Small Groups, Semi-Participation
A Botswana camping safari takes you to wild campsites in and around the parks and reserves: Moremi Game Reserve and the wider Okavango Delta, Khwai, Savuti, the Chobe riverfront, Nxai Pan and the Central Kalahari. You travel in a small group with a safari crew who stay with you from the first night to the last. Routes run on scheduled and tailor-made departure dates.
These are semi-participation trips. You pitch and take down your own tent and help load and unload the 4x4; the crew cook, wash up and run the camp. For the record, a tent goes up in about three minutes with a beer in hand and comes down in five with a coffee.
The vehicles are 4x4s modified for the deep sand and waterlogged tracks that lead to the more remote campsites. Town campsites such as Kasane and Maun have permanent ablution blocks. In the wild campsites, the crew set up a hot bucket shower and a separate bush toilet. Most campsites in the parks and reserves are unfenced. We have done this kind of camping ourselves, and nothing else feels quite like it.
The best part, for us, is the evening: sitting around the fire, swapping stories, with lions calling somewhere out in the dark. By day, game drives do most of the work. On the Delta routes there are mokoro trips and guided walks on the islands, where water levels allow. Several routes also cross into Namibia's Zambezi Region (formerly the Caprivi) or finish in Livingstone, Zambia, close to Victoria Falls.
For how activities, trip length and travel between areas work, see our Botswana safaris guide. For seasons and the flood, see when to visit Botswana. Most routes cross northern Botswana, where there is a seasonal risk of malaria. Read our Botswana malaria guide and malaria in Africa, and speak to a doctor or travel clinic before you go.
Tell us how you like to travel and our consultants will match you with the right route. Start planning your Botswana camping safari.
Choose Your Botswana Camping Safari
Botswana Buffalo Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Eight days through northern Botswana on a semi-participation camping safari, with three nights in the Moremi and Khwai area and three in Chobe National Park. The route finishes in Livingstone, Zambia, close to Victoria Falls.
Botswana Elephant Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
A 15-day camping route from Kasane through Namibia's Zambezi Region (formerly the Caprivi) to the Tsodilo Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its rock paintings, then the Okavango Delta, Moremi and Chobe National Park, finishing in Livingstone, Zambia.
Botswana Fish Eagle Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Eleven days of semi-participation camping across the waterways of the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve, then on to the wildlife and birdlife of Chobe National Park. Ends in Livingstone, Zambia, the town beside Victoria Falls.
Botswana Kalahari Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Seven days camping in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, pairing desert wildlife with an introduction to San culture. A camping safari for travellers who want people and place as much as game.
Botswana Leopard Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
The longest route here: 17 days of semi-participation camping through the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Chobe National Park. Choose it for both the Delta's water and the Kalahari's desert on one trip.
Botswana Lion Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Fifteen days from Kasane through Nxai Pan, the Okavango Delta, Moremi, Khwai, Savuti and the Chobe River, camping in the parks along the way. The semi-participation safari finishes on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.
Kubu Island Quad Bike Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Six days on quad bikes in the Makgadikgadi, exploring the pans around Camp Kalahari and riding out to Kubu Island, a national monument of baobabs on Sua Pan. Three nights are spent in camp and two camping out on the pans.
Botswana Camping Safari FAQs
What is a semi-participation camping safari?
It is a camping safari where you share a few camp jobs and the crew do the rest. You pitch and take down your own tent and help load and unload the 4x4. Cooking, washing up and running the camp are handled by the safari team that travels with you for the whole trip.
What do you sleep in on a Botswana camping safari?
You sleep in a compact camping tent that you pitch yourself at each campsite. It is smaller and simpler than the walk-in Meru-style tents used on mobile and luxury tented safaris. Some routes also include a lodge night at the end, for example in Livingstone.
Are there showers and toilets on a camping safari?
Yes, though they vary by campsite. Town campsites such as Kasane and Maun have permanent ablution blocks. In the wild campsites inside the parks and reserves, the crew set up a hot bucket shower and a separate bush toilet. Either way, the facilities are shared within the group rather than en-suite.
Do I need camping experience for a camping safari?
No. A tent goes up in about three minutes and comes down in about five, and the crew handle the cooking, cleaning and the rest of the camp work. Your part is to pitch your own tent and help load the vehicle each time the group moves camp.
What vehicles are used on a camping safari?
Camping safaris use four-wheel-drive vehicles modified for Botswana's deep sand and waterlogged tracks. These tracks lead to campsites well away from the tar roads. You help pack the tents and gear into the vehicle when the group moves on, and help unpack it at the next campsite.
Where do Botswana camping safaris start and finish?
Start and finish points vary by route. Some begin in Kasane, and most of the longer northern routes end in Livingstone, Zambia, close to Victoria Falls. Others focus on the Central Kalahari or the Makgadikgadi. Each itinerary on this page shows its own route and length.
How does a camping safari differ from a budget overland safari?
On a camping safari, the crew cook, clean and run the camp, and you help only with your own tent and the vehicle. On a budget overland safari, participants share all the camp duties. Camping safaris also travel in small groups in modified 4x4 vehicles.
Map of Lodges in and around Botswana
Botswana Travel Topics
10 Reasons To Visit Botswana
Ten reasons, from the Okavango's flood and Chobe's elephant herds to the Makgadikgadi salt pans, Kalahari lions and San trackers, wild dogs in the Linyanti, mokoro trips, and a low-volume tourism policy that keeps vehicle numbers down.
Best Botswana Safari Lodges
Our pick of Botswana's safari lodges, region by region: Mombo and Xigera in the Delta, Chobe Game Lodge on the river, Jack's Camp on the pans and Savute Elephant Lodge, plus how to choose between them.
Botswana Chobe National Park
A practical guide to Chobe: getting there from Kasane, river cruises versus game drives, where the elephants come down to drink, the lodges we use, and how to add Victoria Falls on the way in or out.
The Perfect Okavango Delta Honeymoon Safari
Planning a honeymoon in the Okavango Delta: the camps that suit couples, from Camp Okavango to Mombo, with sunrise boat cruises, mokoro trips, and private dinners and helicopter flights where the camp offers them.
10 Reasons To Visit The Savuti
Ten reasons to put Savuti on your route: bull elephants, big lion prides, wild dogs, the Savuti Marsh, San rock art in the Gubatsa Hills, and a channel with a habit of drying up for years at a time.
5 Best Lodges In The Chobe National Park
Five lodges in and around Chobe National Park that we would happily send you to: Chobe Game Lodge with its all-female guiding team, Ngoma, Muchenje, Chobe Chilwero, and &Beyond Chobe Under Canvas, which moves camp to follow the game.
How Much Does It Cost to Go on a Safari in Botswana?
What a Botswana safari actually costs, and why: camping versus mobile versus lodge, the season you travel, flights between camps, park fees and tips, and where a few honest savings can be made.
10 Best Lodges In Okavango Delta
Ten Okavango Delta camps we rate, from Eagle Island and Xigera to Jao, Jacana and Duba Plains, with what each does best, from mokoro trips on the water to family suites and walking safaris.