Best Spas in Botswana

Set on a rise above the Chobe River near Kasane, Chilwero has a full spa: Vichy showers, hydrotherapy, an indoor spa bath, a plunge pool, a relaxation area and private treatment rooms, one raised into the treetops. Treatments use Africology and Thalgo products.

DumaTau's Osprey Retreat wellness centre sits on the Osprey Lagoon in the Linyanti, with a spa treatment room, a gym and a lap pool. Elephants often wade across the lagoon in front of camp – quite a view from a sun lounger between activities.

Choose Gomoti Plains for low-key pampering. The camp lies in the Gomoti River system, in a community-run concession in the south-eastern Okavango Delta. Its spa therapist brings massages and facials to your tent, and there's a plunge pool in the main camp.

Jao's spa has two circular treatment rooms surrounded by water ponds, along a shady walkway from the main camp on the Jao Reserve in the Okavango Delta. Expect massages, facials and botanical treatments, plus a gym and a pool projecting over the floodplain.

Kings Pool, in the private Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, keeps its spa menu short and personal. Every treatment is delivered in your suite or on your verandah, with the bush providing the soundtrack instead of piped spa music.

Little Mombo has its own lounge, dining area and plunge pool. It shares Mombo's spa and gym, within walking distance on the same stretch of Chief's Island in the Moremi Game Reserve. Treatments can also be arranged in your suite.

Machaba stands on the Khwai River, on the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, and runs a small spa menu with a personal touch. Treatments and massages come to your tented suite or verandah, to the sounds of the river.

Book a sauna and an ice bath at Mombo, then cool off in the lap pool. The Sanctuary has treatment rooms, a gym, meditation cocoons and a lap pool looking over the floodplains, and every suite has yoga mats and weights.

Nxabega's massage sala sits in a quiet corner of camp, away from the main area, so treatments feel completely private. The camp lies in a concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve, and massages can also be set up on your tent's own deck.

Chief's Camp, on Chief's Island inside the Moremi Game Reserve, has a dedicated treatment room where facials and massages use Thalgo and Africology products. A small, well-equipped gym means your fitness routine needn't lapse on safari.

Sandibe's massage sala and compact gym sit near the central guest area. Massages and therapies are offered in the sala or on your suite's verandah, so you can choose between a treatment room and your own deck.

Savute Elephant Lodge, on the Savuti Channel in Chobe National Park, has a spa tent tucked into a secluded spot at the edge of camp and a room for yoga. Between treatments, the waterhole hide puts you at eye level with drinking elephants.

Selinda sits on the Selinda Spillway in the private Selinda Reserve, between the Okavango Delta and the Linyanti. A small team of therapists gives massages and treatments in the privacy of your suite.

Tawana, a Natural Selection camp on the Gomoti River in south-eastern Moremi, brings spa treatments to your suite, where yoga mats and weights are already waiting. A gym, a 16-metre lap pool and each suite's own plunge pool complete the picture.

Xigera Safari Lodge, in the western Moremi Game Reserve, has two spa treatment rooms for body and facial treatments, a gym, a pool and yoga sessions. The wellness programme focuses on mindfulness and holistic healing.