Botswana is one of Africa’s most iconic safari destinations, it has long been known for its exclusivity and top end properties as well as incredible wildlife and guiding, now it is also building a reputation for some of the most exciting experiential adventures in Africa such as mekoro and walking trails and some excellent mobile camping safaris, which will feature in a blog later this month.

These developments have led to the opening of a number of more authentic camps as people seek out true safari experiences in wonderful locations without the high costs of some of Botswana’s more famous luxury properties. In this blog we are going to introduce you to some of our favourite safari camps that we think offer a great safari experiences in a traditional style without compromise. Among these there are those which are still luxurious without being over the top and those which are simple affairs that can packed away at the end of the season leaving hardly a trace of their existence.

Selinda Explorers is in the private Selinda reserve which is located in the Selinda/Linyanti area of Northern Botswana, this is arguably one of the best areas for wildlife in the country if not in Southern Africa. This stunning camp has great levels of comfort with colonial influence, and endless amounts of style.

It is owned and operated by one of the top camp operators in Africa and while it’s sister camps are some of the most expensive in Africa, this option offers all of the benefits such as world class guiding and private, exclusive locations in a traditional tented style property.

This wonderful camp in the Khwai Community area offers a combination of excellent value and authentic Okavango experience, these two together are hard to find which is why this camp is often fully booked a long way in advance. This is a camp with a very laid back feel and a good safari experience that is hard to find at the better value end of Botswana safaris. We love to combine this camp with some of the mobile options or even a self drive to add a bit of comfort to an adventurous itinerary.

If you are looking to truly explore Botswana then you need to head to the pans and the Kalahari, San Camp is a brilliant and quirky tented camp on the Makgadikgadi Pans. This is not only a very different experience to Northern Botswana but it is remote, relaxing and wild as well as being a great take on a a tented safari. There are not many tented camps in this part of the country so this is quite a unique place. During the green season this is also a great spot from which to witness the migration of Zebra from the north to the pans for the lush crash that appears after local rains.

This camp is a proper seasonal tented camp, this type of camp has been missing from the Botswana offering for some time but available in other parts of the continent, this great option is operated by one of Botswana’s longer standing safari companies that has always pitched itself at those looking for wildlife focussed experiences. this simple but comfortable traditional mobile style safari camp aims to explore the surrounding countryside on foot and by mokoro, making it a great camp to combine on a slightly longer itinerary with other camps in the Delta and either Chobe or Linyanti which offer vehicle safaris.

The main part of the Chobe National Park lies not far to the West of Kasane and within striking distance of Victoria Falls, for this reason it is one of the most visited safari areas in the country. While the waterfront, as it is known, is a great safari area it is busier than we would like, this camp sits further to the West of the National Park in a more remote area and offers a much more authentic experience than the lodges in other parts of the park so for those looking to visit Chobe we do really like this option.

This is great mobile style safari camp that reminds us a lot of those in East Africa, it is also operated by &Beyond who operate some of the best high end properties in the country and this camp offers the same levels of service and guiding so it is great value for the standards on offer.