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Botswana

Africa’s Wilderness Wonderland

What We Love

About Botswana

  • Abundant
    Wildlife
  • Unspoiled
    Wilderness
  • Excellent
    Birding
  • Remote
    Camping
  • Exclusive
    Lodges
Botswana
Into The Wild

Botswana Destinations

Okavango Delta

A wonderland of waterways, palm-fringed islands, and lush floodplains. Moremi & Khwai are a self-drive traveler's dream!

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Chobe National Park

For wildlife enthusiasts, it’s a front-row seat to Africa’s giants - massive herds of buffalo, elephants, and plains game - seen from both land and water vantage points!

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Makgadikgadi Pans

An otherworldly expanse of ancient salt flats dotted with boulder-strewn islands and majestic Baobabs. For self-drive adventurers, Makgadikgadi Pans is a place to embrace solitude.

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Central Kalahari

For the wild at heart, it’s a playground of rugged 4x4 tracks, remote wilderness camps, and an epic route between Khutse and CKGR.

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Mabuasehube

Where the wild whispers louder than any roar. Whether or not you spot a big cat, this remote corner of the southern Kalahari guarantees a raw, unfiltered wilderness experience.

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Tuli Block

A captivating gem of diverse landscapes, the Tuli Block is a mosaic of vast plains, riverine forests, rocky hills and majestic sandstone ridges running alongside the Limpopo River.

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Through The Lens

Sights & Scenes

Good to Know

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to take precautions against malaria in Southern Africa?

Malaria is present in varying degrees across Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana. Each country has both high and low-risk regions, with risk levels often changing based on rainfall, season, and geography.

We recommend the following precautions for all travelers:

  • Consult your doctor or pharmacist before departure to discuss the most suitable preventative medication for your route.
  • Always cover up in the evenings (long sleeves and trousers) and apply mosquito repellent to exposed skin.
  • Avoid bright or dark clothing at dusk and dawn, as these may attract biting insects.
  • Use mosquito nets where provided, and consider treating clothing with repellent for extra protection.

Refer to the following malaria maps for country-specific guidance:

For additional information on malaria prevention, visit the CDC Traveller’s Guide or consult a travel health professional.

What is the best season to travel in Botswana?

Best visited during the dry winter months from May to October. This is best for wildlife viewing opportunities when animals congregate around limited water sources. Specifically, June to August is considered ideal due to pleasant weather and lower malaria risk. The zebra and wildebeest migration normally hits the Nxai Pan area by December or January.

When do bookings open for Botswana itineraries?

Reservations for the year ahead open at varying times, but our best advice is to book at least 12 months in advance. Waiting until closer to your travel dates may mean your consultant will need to secure the next-best alternatives—especially bucket-list destinations during the peak season from June to October.

How many people can be booked per campsite in Botswana?

Generally, 8 people and 3 vehicles are the limit per campsite.

*Please note: Group size must be specified in advance, as it is essential for us to design a suitable route & book appropriate camps or rooms.

Client Comments

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Name Surname

Country

Thank you so very much for the bookings you made for us! Every camp site was beyond our expectations. We all had a wonderful experience and had some amazing sightings, including a mother hyena and her young pup. Also on our favourite list was the camp at Bains Baobabs. Once again a big thank you.

Claudia Lloyd

Just wanted to say a huge thanks for helping plan & book our Botswana trip. It was perfect for us. We really enjoyed getting to see so much of the country. The Botswanan people were lovely & helpful, we saw incredible amounts of game, & the different campsites were all unique & fantastic. We will totally recommend a Botswana trip to fellow Canadians, & will recommend using your service if they want help planning.

Amy Beck

Canada

We have only been back a few days from our Bots/Zim adventure and are already planning to go back :) We had such an amazing time.Everything went off flawlessly and all our campsites were awesome! Thanks again for amazing service, will definitely be in touch for the next one!

Dale Swanson

From our first contact Lea and Francois have been absolutely fantastic. They listened to the tour brief and planned our entire trip with a clear and professionally presented itinerary. Their rates are very reasonable, their communication is excellent and nothing is a problem for them. It’s a pleasure to do business with Ultimate Routes. We will use them for all our overland adventure planning.

Graham Guthrie

South Africa

It's about almost two weeks now that we returned to Germany after our epic trip through Botswana. Going solo through CKGR from South to North was an experience that changed our lives forever. “to be alone” was elevated to the next level. Everything went well and it was an experience we will definitely never forget. Thank you so much for supporting us with route planning and managing the bookings, I will recommend you whenever I can and hopefully come back to you for our next trip.

Stephanie Fels

Germany

Best self drive route through Botswana from Ultimate Routes!! Thank you Lea & Francois everything was perfect, booked and organised at every pitstop we had. Looking forward to starting planning our next trips with you.

Madelein Rabie

South Africa

Hallo Kari. Graag wil ek baie dankie sê vir die reëlings vir ons toer. Alles het seepglad verloop. Ons was baie tevrede met die kampplekke asook die reëlings mbt die huur van ‘n voertuig. Ons sal Ultimate Routes beslis aanbeveel vir enige iemand wat so ‘n toer beplan. Nogmaals baie dankie.

Annatjie Viljoen

Eersten moet ons baie dankie sê vir ‘m onvergeetlike vakansie waermee julle ons gehelp het. Al ons besprekings was 100% en ons het geen probleme ondervind nie. Julle diens was uitstekend en ek gaan binnekort weer kontak maak om ons volgende toer na Mosambiek te bespreek.

Herman Steyn

The bookings you arranged all worked very well and we had no problems. For future trips we’ll definitely be using Ultimate Routes to arrange .

Grant Teasdale

Hi team, thank you again for another memorable holiday. Ultimate routes are the best!!!!!

Ann Marshall

Dankie weereens vit julle hulp. Ons honeymoon was amazing! Ons verlang alklaar na die stilte en die sonsondergang.

Elrone Claassens

Ultimate Routes has planned our self-drive trip around Botswana with our best interest at hand. We never felt that we missed out on anything on-route and will definitely make use of their services again.

Letitia Le Grange

South Africa

We had a very nice trip, just wish we had had more time to have lesson night stops. Thank you, will use your service again!

Johan van Eeden

Ek beveel julle aan by vriende om gebruik te maak van julle diens.

Jaco Els

Onverbeterlik 10/10!!!!

Roelf Louw

We'd just like to say a massive thank you for the work your team put in for our reservations, particularly at such short notice! We had a great and seamless trip through Botswana and the campsites, itinerary, and info provided was really helpful and just the right level of detail. Will definitely be recommending your company to others who are coming to Africa!

Mike & Lana Barnes

Baie dankie vir jou epos en baie dankie vir al julle reelings. Ons trip was 'n reuse sukses en ons sal sommer more weer terug gaan. Weereens dankie vir al die reelings. Ons sal julle defnitief aanbeveel en weer van julle gebruik maak.

Krüg Hamman

We had an absolutely wonderful trip, thank you to the Ultimate Routes team for making our Botswana dreams come true! Sightings were terrific, so many elephants and saw lions most days. Also saw Wild Dogs between Khwai and Mababe Gate. Had Elephants walk through most of our camp sites, Honey Badger, Hyenas as well. Also had lions come through at Nxai Pan, saw their tracks in the morning, none of us even knew they were there.

Matthew Smith

Your help for our bookings was great and you achieved the nearly impossible. Thank you so much again.

Karl Schefer

Ultimate Routes gives the client precisely what they require, all so well detailed and planned. They made it an absolute pleasure to travel to these wonderful new destinations.

Flavia Halamandres

South Africa

Hi Lea and Francois, we had an AMAZING trip and cannot thank you both enough for all the time and effort you put into setting it up. We made a couple minor changes as we were traveling, but for the most part the number of days at each place worked out well. Thank you again SOOOO much - it was such a spectacular trip!

Reisa and Kevin Latorra, Jim and Lisa Osse

Ten opsigte van ons trip. Alle besprekings was baie goed en almal het ons verwag by aankoms. Die voertuig bespreking was great. Voertuig was fantasties en yskas het gewerk. 'n Baie lekker trip want lank sal onthou word met alles wat goed volgens plan verloop. Baie dankie vir al julle insette met die trip.

Pieter Schutte

Our trip was amazing! When approaching a trip like this, I did not know where to start. I was fortunate enough that Debbie gave us your contact information. You made our trip easy and incredibly memorable. Thank you.

Nate Skelton

We would like to thank you for your perfect and all our wishes fulfilling plan for our road trip. Your bookings matched nearly all our ideas of perfect camping sites. It was really an amazing and fantastic trip without any problems.

Stephan & Christel Mohr

Absolute professional service. I have booked. Thanks Lea & Francois.

Guillaume Zietsman

South Africa

Thank you again for your arrangements and I can assure you that we will make use of your services for our future Bots & Zim trips. We have shared your info with quite a few our of or traveling companions as well. Thank you again for your assistance .

Derek Ellis

Firstly we had an amazing trip and had fantastic experiences. Thank you so much for the hard work and organization in making our first self drive trip (and hopefully many more to come) so awesome.

Charles Thatcher

Ek en Niel wil net baie baie dankie sê vir al jul hulp, baie dankie vir jou spesifiek Francois, ons sou nooooit reggekom het op ons eie. As ons by ons bestemming aangekom het, het ek net my vouchers of kwitansies gewys, en alles was in orde. Selfs die koornidate kon ons net insit, en tracks4africa het ons by ons slaapplek gebring.

Lizelle Tolken

Ultimate Routes took our idea and took it beyond our expectations. Taking us off the main roads and experiencing places that we would have never considered visiting. Looking forward to our Caprivi and Botswana in 2021, also booked through Ultimate Routes.

Michael Alberts

South Africa

Personally I absolutely loved the trip and cannot thank you and your team enough for planning this epic trip for us! You guys did a fantastic job planning for people you do not really know all that well and ensured a smooth and easy holiday for us. Having said all that, I will definitely do my next big trip through you again! I am really happy! So that you once again!

Coenraad Berrange

Hi Lea, Francois and the UR team Mike and I are just back from our 6 week trip to Nam, Zam, Mana Pools & Bots. It was epic, we made happy memories and your planning and help to make it so is much appreciated. Every check-in was easy and quick, every campsite a perfect fit for us, every route manageable and enjoyable and we loved every minute.

Cyndy Purchase

Stellenbosch

Lea and Francois response times were superb. The admin fee charged is very reasonable and their suggestions superb! We’ve now booked and paid, waiting so excitedly for the time for our trip next year! Thank you both so much!

Sandy & John Stewart

South Africa

We had a wonderful trip to Botswana and thank you for the itinerary that you planned for us. All the accommodation selected for us was excellent, but Goo Moremi was great and Koro Lodge was exceptional.

Steve Tappin

Ek wil julle weereens bedank vir 'n wonderlike toer wat julle vir ons gereel het. Alles het korrek volgens plan verloop.

Jan Kotze

From the moment we contacted Ultimate Routes, we were impressed by the professionalism and efficiency of your team. Throughout the entire planning process, you were attentive to our needs and preferences. During our trip, we were amazed by how seamlessly everything flowed. Not once did we encounter any issues with paperwork or logistics—all thanks to the organization of your team. It truly made our experience stress-free and enjoyable.

Cobus Rautenbach

I recently made a booking with Ultimate Routes with specific requirements for my tour and they made it all happen. From keeping off main routes and just travelling on back/gravel roads & mountain passes, through small towns – wow they got me smiling. Their service is great and they reply quickly to emails. Well done guys. I’m looking forward to what you come up with next on my upcoming 2019 tours.

Dylan Veneman

South Africa

I was skeptical about using your services as I have planned trips myself for many years and it is very frustrating and time-consuming. I found Ultimate routes on a Tracks 4 Africa newsletter and followed you on Facebook. It was not long before I called and asked how much this wonderful service costs and was shocked to hear how cheap it was. To be quite honest, it sounded too good to be true. Then I asked you to plan this Botswana trip and boy, was I impressed!

Russel Tarr

Ons het dit baie geniet. Als het 100% smooth verloop, geen issues gehad met "in book" nie. Ek is so bly ons deur julle geboek het.

Yolande Kruger

Ek het die beste diens van Lea en Francois gekry! Besprekings in lyn met my planne vir ʼn toer deur Botswana se Kalahari en selfs plek gekry vir ons by Rooiputs. Briljant! Daar was nie enigsins ‘n sloerdery nie, alles net flink en dadelik gedoen. Dankie julle twee!

Pieter Rootman

South Africa

We had a very nice trip and will certainly ask you to arrange our trips in the future. Thank you for everything and for being able to arrange our very last minute holiday.

Ryan Vivier

A big thank you for all the organising of our recent trip to Moremi and Kwai, it is as always amazing.

Luke Struggnell

Heart, experience, latest travel and accommodation info, integrity, giftedness, technologically astute, tuned to your heart!

Ronel Smit

South Africa

Baie dankie. Julle het verseker die besprekings deel baie vergemaklik en alles het mooi uitgewerk. Ek sal verseker jul aanbeveel by vriende en familie en ek sal weer van jul gebruik maak.

Henry Francis

Botswana is calling

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