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African Safaris and Tours
Botswana Family Safari
Botswana Family Safaris – Tailor-Made Trips Paced Around Your Children
A family safari in Botswana comes down to pace: fewer camps, longer stays, and activities that suit your children's ages. Get that right and the rewards are enormous. Children watch elephants wade the Chobe River, drift by boat through the papyrus channels of the Okavango Delta and sit quietly beside a meerkat colony on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans. Our family itineraries cover the Okavango Delta and Moremi, the Khwai Private Reserve, Savuti and Chobe, and the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi, using camps chosen because they welcome children rather than merely tolerate them.
Game drives, boat trips, shared meals around the fire and lazy afternoons by the pool give parents and children time together that's hard to find at home. Every itinerary below is a starting point: we adjust the route, the pace and the camps to fit your family.
A few things to settle early when planning a family safari in Botswana:
- Age limits. Many camps set minimum ages for children, and some activities have their own. See Botswana safari lodges for child policies.
- Family rooms. Decide whether you need a family tent or interleading rooms, or are happy for children to share your room. Our Botswana family-friendly lodges are a good place to start.
- Your own vehicle. Game drives run for several hours, and a private vehicle lets you stop, linger or head back to camp when little ones have had enough.
- Camp layout. Ask whether a camp is fenced or unfenced, and how children are escorted around it after dark.
- Downtime. Ask about babysitting, children's activities and a pool or games room for the middle of the day.
Much of northern Botswana carries a seasonal malaria risk, and young children are among the higher-risk groups. See malaria in Botswana and malaria in Africa, and talk to a doctor or travel clinic before you book.
For the seasons, the Okavango flood and when each area is at its best, see when to visit Botswana.
Tell us your children's ages and what gets them excited, and we'll build the trip around them. We've been planning tailor-made safaris since 1999.
Botswana Family Safari Itineraries
Botswana For Families
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Desert first, then the Delta. Over nine days this family safari crosses the Makgadikgadi Pans to the banks of the Boteti River, then finishes in the Khwai Private Reserve bordering Moremi Game Reserve, so children see the wildlife of the salt pans, the river and the floodplains in one trip.
Botswana Ultimate Family Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Built for families who want Botswana's best-known wildlife areas in one trip: the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Savuti and Chobe National Park, over nine days. Every stop is a family-friendly lodge or tented camp, with rooms, meals and activities arranged around children.
Horse Riding Makgadikgadi
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Every rider aged eight and over gets their own horse on this six-day family riding safari across the Makgadikgadi. Riding over grassland and salt pan is a quieter, closer way to see the pans and their wildlife than from a vehicle.
Jack’s Camp And Kubu Island
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Meerkats, San guides sharing their bush skills and, for many families the highlight, a seasonal two-night quad-bike expedition across the pans to Kubu Island. Six days on the Makgadikgadi Pans with Jack's Camp.
Okavango And Kalahari Family
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Seven days through Moremi, the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari, at camps chosen for their children's programmes, which keep young explorers busy and learning while parents enjoy the game drives.
Okavango Family Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Children learn bush safety and how to read the animals, insects and birds around them on this four-day Young Explorers safari in the Shinde Concession, a wild, remote corner of the northern Okavango Delta with game drives for the whole family.
Savute And Delta Family Safari
This Safari is Tailor-made Rates On request
Short on time? This five-day family safari links Savuti and the Okavango Delta, two of Botswana's great wildlife areas, with camp teams arranging activities and meals around your family at every stop.
Botswana Family Safari FAQs
Which parts of Botswana do your family safaris cover?
Our family itineraries cover the Okavango Delta and Moremi, the Khwai Private Reserve, Savuti and Chobe National Park, and the Makgadikgadi Pans and Boteti River on the Kalahari side. Some stay in a single area, while others link two or three, so you can choose between a simpler trip and a fuller tour of the country's wildlife areas.
What's the difference between a child-friendly and a child-tolerant camp?
A child-friendly camp plans for children, with family rooms, flexible meal times and activities designed for younger guests. A child-tolerant camp accepts children but runs its day around adults, often with stricter rules on ages, activities and vehicles. On a family safari we build the route around child-friendly camps wherever the area allows.
Do we need a private vehicle on a family safari?
For most families with younger children, yes. Some camps require families with young children to book a private vehicle, and the age threshold varies from camp to camp. With your own vehicle and guide you set the pace, stopping for a long look, cutting a drive short or heading back for a rest, without affecting other guests.
How many camps should a family safari include?
Fewer than you might plan for a trip without children. Every move between camps means packing, transfers and a new routine, which tires younger travellers, so two or three camps with longer stays at each usually works better than a quick circuit. It also gives children time to settle in and get to know their guide.
Why combine the Okavango Delta with the Kalahari or Makgadikgadi?
Combining the two gives children two very different safaris in one trip. The Delta brings boat trips, elephants wading the channels and hippos in the lagoons. The Kalahari side brings open pans, meerkats and San guides showing how they track animals and find food. Switching halfway keeps the trip fresh for children, which helps on a longer itinerary.
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.