Botswana Family Holidays

Botswana Family Safari Itinerary Suggestions

Just as with any Botswana itinerary, we’d recommend getting out to see and experience as much as possible. A popular itinerary starts off in Chobe in one of the larger lodges, a good introduction to Botswana where you can still get a phone signal and wifi. Moving from here down to the wet and wonderful Delta for unique mokoro adventures, staying at little luxury camps. For those with extra time and seriously adventurous offspring, finishing off in the remote and desolate Makgadikigadi would really showcase the best of Botswana, in our view.  Show me more >

Botswana Family Safari Itinerary Suggestions

Just as with any Botswana itinerary, we’d recommend getting out to see and experience as much as possible. A popular itinerary starts off in Chobe in one of the larger lodges, a good introduction to Botswana where you can still get a phone signal and wifi. Moving from here down to the wet and wonderful Delta for unique mokoro adventures, staying at little luxury camps. For those with extra time and seriously adventurous offspring, finishing off in the remote and desolate Makgadikigadi would really showcase the best of Botswana, in our view.
 
A Botswana family safari can be seamlessly combined with an action-packed trip to Victoria Falls (a simple drive over the border at Kasane takes you into Zambia), or indeed a city break at Cape Town. Flights route via Johannesburg from Maun so a luxury beach break in Mauritius or Mozambique is a great combo.
Your question for a Botswana family safari is really whether you want to aim for private reserves or national parks. Botswana is famous for the exclusivity of its vast private reserves where only camp guests may enter the reserve, making for a completely private safari experience for you and the kids.  The national parks are governed by restrictive regulations limiting permitted activities to daytime game drives only (no night drives or walking safaris).  The private reserves cover parts of the Okavango Delta, along with the Linyanti, Selindaand Kwando reserves. 

The private reserves offer an outstanding safari experience, but they are unavoidably expensive.  There are some other areas of Botswana, open to the public, which still offer a great safari, but without the high cost of the private reserves - these areas include Chobe National Park, some areas of the Okavango, Moremi, Makgadikgadi and the Kalahari.

Whichever option you go for, we recommend that you book a private vehicle and guide so that you can dictate the pace and adapt to your children’s wants and needs. You are likely to be required to do so in many places, depending on how old your children are, and be aware that some lodges will not take children under 8.  Show me less

Best Family Safari Lodges in Botswana

In the Delta, we love Footsteps Across the Delta for one of the best family safari lodges in Botswana. Their ‘Young Explorers’ package is one of the most comprehensive family safari packages we’ve ever come across, and it’s great for any age kids. And parents too, for that matter: you won’t get a watered down safari experience just because you are trailing youngsters.  Show me more >

Best Family Safari Lodges in Botswana

In the Delta, we love Footsteps Across the Delta for one of the best family safari lodges in Botswana. Their ‘Young Explorers’ package is one of the most comprehensive family safari packages we’ve ever come across, and it’s great for any age kids. And parents too, for that matter: you won’t get a watered down safari experience just because you are trailing youngsters.

For the Selinda Spillway it’s absolutely Selinda Explorer’s Camp. Children are given a Young Explorer’s Pack on arrival which marks the start of their ‘training’, and over the course of their stay will work towards their Conservation Ambassador Badge. An extra touch that puts this top of the list of the best family safari lodges in Botswana is the bona fide letter from a local child, inviting your child to be a lifelong penpal.

Chobe is not our favourite wildlife area as we find it relatively crowded, but having said that Muchenje is one of the best family safari lodges in Botswana. Opt for the two storey family chalet, giving you a load more space, and kids love sleeping up in the thatched loft.

Camp Kalahari is a remote camp and our number one choice for the Makgadikgadi. This camp has a spacious family tent, or they can set you up very near each other if the kids are older. Kids will love exploring with the San Bushmen, meeting the local meerkats, and riding on quad bikes (12 year olds are given the reigns, and under 12s can ride with an adult. This is seasonal though, be warned!).  Show me less