Botswana lodges are the crème de la crème of the world of luxury safari. As the country is made up of private concessions unless you go to the extremely busy Chobe National Park or Moremi Game Reserve, the prices naturally inflate. Botswana has followed a model of high quality, low quantity in their approach to tourism and it is exceptional at just this. Botswana is home to some of the most spoiling experiences on the continent. The private reserves mean that a lodge which would cost you $700 per person per night in say, southern Tanzania, would cost you $1,300 per person per night in the watery and beautiful Okavango Delta… To get fantastic wildlife viewing and a huge diversity in activities, all in the privacy of your own slice of wilderness, you have to pay a premium!
Best value quality safari lodges in Botswana
Prices have inflated a lot in Botswana in recent years, and they just seem to be going up and up. A lodge like Pom Pom, which admittedly is in an exceptional game viewing area, is now $1,150 per person per night. Aside from the exceptional guiding and wildlife, the actual accommodation is fairly rustic. A fantastic option for some people, though we wonder whether Botswana isn’t going a bit over the top in prices across the board...
A fantastic new property has opened in the Kwara concession; Splash Camp which is a part of the Kwando range. It is very nicely presented and offers a bit more luxury for your money in an exceptional wildlife area but still comes in at $1,416 per person per night.
In order to slash the price of being in these private wildernesses though, we would recommend travelling off season in either May or November, to get still exceptional wildlife, but for a lot less. For example, Pom Pom over these months decreases to $826 per person per night, and Splash reduces to $1,040.
The best barefoot luxury safari lodges in Botswana
Barefoot-luxury safari lodges are a pretty special experience. Little Vumbura in particular is an office favourite. Set on a little island surrounded by water and in one of the most enviable parts of the Delta, Little Vumbura is a seriously special experience. The style is understated, yet authentically luxurious and we absolutely love it. It is not cheap though! Even without all the added luxuries like private pools and a more glitzy design, Little Vumbura is priced at $2,830 per person per night.
Going a little more intrepid, but no less luxurious is Duba Explorers. This is a tented camp, and really does capture the spirit of exploration in the wilderness, certainly without compromising on luxury. Duba Explorers is for those who crave authentic experiences, but expect a certain standard of opulence on their adventure. It is not a cheap camping experience at $1,900 per person per night.
The most luxurious safari lodges in Botswana
The most luxurious safari camp in Africa, and probably one of the best hospitality experiences in the world comes in Mombo Camp located on Chief’s Island in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Private pool galore, the world’s most impressive wildlife viewing opportunities, golden bathtubs, huge rooms and excellent food; it doesn’t get much better than this. As it is one of Africa’s flagship safari lodges… There is again, a price tag to match! In recent years, prices have soared and now in peak season, for one night the per person price is $3,800 USD… If you want the life of luxury, have a good Botswana budget, but can’t justify that per night amount, you could look at the still exceptionally spoiling Vumbura Plains, Duba Plains or Zarafa which are all priced at $3,000 per person per night.
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Entamanu Ngorongoro - Ngorongoro Crater
Entamanu was all that we could have hoped for and more. The location is amazing, the views down into the crater are probably the best thing that I’ve ever seen. The Nomad staff and guides are amazing, we saw loads of game down in the Crater too – the best was a big lion pack with lots of cubs and we followed them for ages. They were playing around and totally oblivious to us! I couldn’t recommend this place highly enough, the Crater is an amazing place and made only more special by our guide. - M. Swaythey
Our Rating:
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Cost: $850
Ephelia - Mahe
We stayed at Ephelia on Mahe this Easter, with our children. The absolute bliss of this place is that everything is beautifully done; from buffet breakfast to iced water on the beach. The children loved the zip lines, through the forest, and the beach was fabulous. A great family holiday hotel, and a superb start to our Seychelles adventure. - A Hope
Our Rating:
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Cost: $179
Erebero Hills - Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Our View
Opening in June 2026, Erebero Hills is set to be one of the most sought-after safari spots in Africa. Asilia is one of our favourite luxury safari companies in Tanzania. Luckily, they have expanded into the rest of east Africa, landing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. Erebero provides an uber luxurious base for some of the world’s best primate viewing.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,100
Essque Zalu Zanzibar - Zanzibar, North Coast
Essque Zalu, Zanzibar - hotel attractive well run new hotel at N tip of Zanzibar. Service excellent and food good - but they could have managed a more varied menu. Sea view villa and surrounds were terrific as was swimming pool. - M Braithwaite
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Cost: $430
Ewanjan - Serengeti, Central
Ewanjan Tented Camp is the permanent sister camp to Lemala's Ndutu and Mara River mobile camps. Set in the game rich Seronera Valley of the central Serengeti. The camp offers breathtaking views of the Serengeti plains with great year around game viewing.
Between April and June and from November through to January this area receives the wildebeest migration, turning the area into an exciting wildlife paradise having said this, the Seronera valley is renowned for its year round game viewing due to its abundance of water, as well as its large population of resident cats.
Between April and June and from November through to January this area receives the wildebeest migration, turning the area into an exciting wildlife paradise having said this, the Seronera valley is renowned for its year round game viewing due to its abundance of water, as well as its large population of resident cats.
Our Rating:
Cost: $785
Fanjove Island - Tanzania Mainland Coast
Fanjove Island Just what we were looking for. A true beach escape, with amazing fresh seafood and plenty of activities around the island like snorkeling, kayaking, and even a little scrabble. The bandas on the island were breathtaking. - K Corner
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Cost: $380
Faru Faru - Serengeti, Western Corridor
Our trip was amazing and all thanks to your team. We were extremely grateful for the detailed itinerary and how professional everyone was! We felt very secure that we would get to where we needed to on time always too! I heard of nightmare transfers and I’m glad we did not experience any of that. We made it just in time for our lovely friend’s wedding too after our honeymoon! My entire experience from booking to leaving was a pleasure! I can’t say enough how wonderful our experience was at Faru and Ras Kutani. [...] It’s going to be hard to ever beat that trip!Thank you thank you thank you again! Please send our love to Tom and Ed! - Chen, USA,
Our Rating:
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Cost: $1,535
Our View
The only resort in the unspoiled divers’ paradise of Faafu Atoll, Filitheyo is a 4-star-plus resort, 120km from Male International Airport.
Our Rating:
Cost: $286
Flame Tree Village - Rwanda
Our View
Flame Tree Village is a small lodge in a good location in Kigali, perfect for a quick overnight before or after visiting the Mountain Gorillas. It is not a luxury option but is clean and comfortable, and good value.
Our Rating:
Cost: $100
Flatdogs - South Luangwa
Had deliberately chosen Flat Dogs as something a bit different from Old Mondoro & Tafika primarily because wasn’t sure how the girls would find the camps. Thought they might want something a bit larger with the chance of more company plus the pool. Whilst they certainly enjoyed the pool at Flat Dogs they much preferred the seclusion/exclusivity of the smaller camps. Tree House was a great location with some great viewings of elephants & giraffe in particular. However, the fact the tree was fruiting inevitably attracted vervet monkeys & baboons & we had a few interesting encounters with them! Alice also experienced a close encounter with 1 of the vervet monkeys when it leapt on to our table & stole her food at lunchtime. The staff were great & ensured she was ok & replaced her food.dn’t fault the camp or levels of service but the volume of vehicles in that area probably lets it down. We had some great sightings particularly wild dog, my favourite, but within minutes the vehicles start to queue. I do think that some guides develop their skill in spotting other vehicles rather than game! I guess it is a classic case of what you pay is what you get.
We enjoyed it but were ready to move on.
- C Gee
Our Rating:
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Cost: $300
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