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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Lion Sands River Lodge - Sabi Sands
Our View
Designed to offer more affordable accommodation than the nearby Ivory lodge, Lions Sands River lodge is the collections largest hotel and also its most affordable. The accommodation is simpler than the incredibly impressive Ivory Lodge and caters for a less ‘showy’ market. Game viewing in the area is just as good as at Ivory so the lodge is a great option for a more economical trip to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
Our Rating:
Cost: $600
Lion Sands Tinga Lodge | Sabi Sands - Kruger
Our View
Situated in a private concession within the boundaries of the Kruger National Park, Lion Sands TInga Lodge allows guests to explore unseen parts of the National Park which give access to a beautiful variety of wildlife off of the main tourist roads in one of the most luxurious lodges. Whilst Kruger National Park visitors have restricted road access, staying at Tinga allows exploration into areas that regular Kruger visitors could only dream of.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,100
Little Chem Chem - Tarangire
Known as the sunrise camp, Little Chem Chem is situated on the edge of an acacia forest. The camp is surrounded by the characteristic landscape of the Tarangire River with its impressive Baobab trees and overlooks the freshwater lake, Lake Burunge.
Our Rating:
Cost: $810
Little Garonga - Other Reserves
Our View
Little Garonga is a magical place to take exclusively with family or friends, and it really nails the idea of safari intimacy, but with some big splashes of luxury. It’s in a brilliant game reserve where wildlife is easy, and importantly you also get brilliant bang for your buck. While this level of safari living would be over $1,500 per person per night in the Okavango Delta, here it’s $820.
Our Rating:
Cost: $607
Little Governors - Masai Mara Reserve
Little Governors – what can I say. I loved it there. Service was excellent and I loved the hot water bottles in my bed at night. So many animals and our guides were amazing. We so enjoyed the balloon ride and have excellent pictures.- J Cole
Our Rating:
Client Rating:
Cost: $753
Little Kulala - Sossusvlei
Our View
Little Kulala is Wilderness Safaris flagship lodge in Sossusvlei. Located only 45 minutes drive from the Sossusvlei Dunes themselves, Little Kulala has the best location of all the dune camps and is unquestionably the most luxurious of all the camps in the region. The eleven rooms all look out towards the red dunes off Sossusvlei and come complete with air con, wall to wall windows, private plunge pools and rooftop star gazing beds. Quite simply, the level accommodation here is in a league of its own.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,075
Little Kwara - Okavango Delta
Our View
Little Kwara is currently closed. It is being reconstructed and we will bring you updates once this has been completed.Little Kwara is the sister camp to Kwara itself and again, Kwando have come up with the goods! The main reason we love Kwando is their dedication to the client experience. They focus so much on the quality of their guides and providing a real safari atmosphere in camp that they have become incredibly well regarded by safari connoisseurs. The camp is unpretentious, intimate and authentic and the game area, with access to big river safaris. So Little Kwara does not let you down, carrying all the quality we expect from the Kwando tag.
Our Rating:
Cost: $1,146
Little Machaba - Okavango Delta
Our view
Little Machaba is the more intimate version of Machaba Camp. While the latter has 10 rooms, this special little camp has just two tents, and two family tents, with a maximum occupancy of eight people. It’s got all the charm of its big sister, and arguably more.
Our Rating:
Cost: $
Little Makalolo Camp - Hwange
Themba and Bee were such awesome hosts. The staff is also so congenial and so wonderfully helpful. The campos is stunning and the staff wonderful providing both comfort anf really good food. The game was fantastic with lions andn large herds of buffalo and elephants!- R. Tilson
Our Rating:
Client Rating:
Cost: $908
Little Mombo - Moremi
The sequence of the camps…from Royal Livingstone to Kwetsani to Little Mombo to Jack’s was perfect! Note about Jack’s camp: we were lucky enough to be able to do their surprise sleep out on the pans! What an experience…I wasn’t sure about Jack’s camp and was worried it wouldn’t be right. But we’d seen so much wildlife in Mombo, another camp would have been redundant. Keeping the sleep out a surprise is a good thing…I’m glad we didn’t know. Don’t tell people…the surprise is worth it. And, of course, some can’t do it due to sandstorms, etc. And you were right: the kids loved the 4X4s and the meerkats.The surprise birthday party was incredible: message written w/beans on the bed when we returned from afternoon outing…champagne for us…handwritten birthday cards…animal prints from an artist
Guides were all knowledgeable, friendly, patient w/kids (Ronald in Kwetsani…but he’s going off to join his brother’s mobile safari business; Mos in Little Mombo…GREAT!!!! Excellent w/the kids; Chabba in Jack’s…wonderful wonderful. Funny, knowledgeable.) - J Lamattina
Our Rating:
Client Rating:
Cost: $3,512
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