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| ATA - Africa Travel Association - Official website of the ATA - Easily the best Africa site on the web. Africa Travel Magazine - Botswana - Excellent site for travel info about travelling to Botswana. Air Highways - A great site for air travel information anywhere in the world. |
| A Botswana Safari is as good as it gets! Botswana is one of the most underrated safari destinations in Africa. Botswana is also one of my favourite places to visit for a genuine African safari. There is a huge abundance of wildlife in Botswana - everything you could want - and more! Botswana spoils the visitor for choice - with three major safari destinations. Chobe, Okavango, and Kalahari. Each of these regions of Botswana offers fabulous wildlife viewing opportunities. |
| Botswana Safari - Chobe National Park Chobe National Park covers an area of over 10,500 square km. It is home to the greatest abundance of wildlife in Africa. The elephant population alone is estimated at around 120,000! Chobe is also home to vast numbers of giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog and eland. The predators are also here in force. You'll see lion, hyena, jackal, leopard and cheetah. Unfortunately, mosquitoes are here in vast numbers too! Precautions against Malaria are a must, and a supply of repellent is a good idea too! Several tour companies operate in the Chobe region of Botswana. Most accommodation is in camps - but there are some excellent safari-lodges here too. See our list of Recommended Botswana Safari Tour Operators for suggestions. |
| Botswana Safari - Okavango The Okavango is the largest inland delta in the world. In this part of Botswana you will find lagoons, lakes, islands by the thousand, and countless meandering water channels that snake their way slowly and silently to nowhere in particular. In short, the Okavango is the perfect environment for wildlife to thrive - undisturbed by man. On the mainland around the delta's edges, and on the islands, lions, elephants, hyenas, wild dog, buffalo, hippo, crocodiles and numerous other species live out their lives in huge numbers. The Okavango is the most exciting and most diverse national park in Botswana. It is a must visit for anybody with an interest in African wildlife. Like Chobe, most of the accommodation here is in tented camps - but there are some wonderful safari lodges here too. There are virtually no roads here - you will arrive by light aircraft and travel mostly by boat. This is not a go-it-alone area. You will need to use an experienced tour guide. Check our Recommended Botswana Tour Operators |
| Botswana Safari - Central Kalahari Game Reserve The Central Kalahari Game reserve is bigger than many European countries! It is an unimaginably huge expanse of arid - but varied landscapes. It is often referred to as a desert - but unlike most deserts, it is teeming with life. Accommodation is very basic here - spartan campsites at best. And the climate is harsh - scorching days and sub-zero nights. The Central Kalahari is a fabulous place for viewing wildlife - but there is no luxury here. If you don't mind roughing it, this is a highly rewarding safari destination. |
| When To Visit for the Best Botswana Safari From April to November, the animals migrate towards the waterways of the Okavango. This is the best time to be here. November and December - the calving months - are excellent too The rainy season, from January to March, is when the animals migrate away from the waterways and into their summer grazing areas, while the delta comes alive with hundreds of bird species. Summers, from December to February, can be unbearably hot, and rain may make some areas muddy and impassable. During the rainy summer season, animals in many game areas disperse. Summer is not the best time to be here. Come between April and December. Getting To Botswana The best and most popular way to get here is by air from Johannesburg. You can fly to Johannesburg from almost anywhere in the world. Visit Air Highways for the best advice and information regarding Botswana flights. Or better still - book with one of our Recommended Botswana Tour Operators Botswana Passports & Visas You will need a passport valid for six months beyond your departure date. People from most Commonwealth countries, many western European countries and North America, do not need visas at the time of writing this. But check with your tour operator - things change! If you do need a visa - obtain it from the Botswana Embassy in your home country. Visas, if required, can also be obtained at the point of entry to Botswana. Check with your tour operator for latest visa information. Botswana Money Botswana's unit of currency is the Pula, which is divided into 100 Thebe. Major credit cards are accepted widely. Most hotels and lodges accept foreign currency or travellers cheques. There are also Exchange bureaus at major border posts. Credit card cash advances are available in major cities through Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and First National Bank. Health Precautions must be taken against Malaria. A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is required if you are entering from an infected area. Hepatitis A & B, Cholera and Typhoid are potential risks. HIV is prevalent - Serious precautions should be taken. We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel insurance for your Botswana trip. Botswana Crime The crime rate against tourists in Botswana is very low. In fact, Botswana is probably the safest destination in Africa for a family holiday. However, you should take the usual common sense precautions. Don't display valuables. Don't wander around alone at night. |
| Finally Botswana is a wonderful place to visit. You will have a great time here. But do it right! Use our recommended Botswana Tour Operators for the best advice and information. |
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| Africa Travel Magazine For a vibrant, exciting, in-depth, and bang up to date view of what's really going on in the Africa travel market - The Top Ten Site recommends The Africa Travel Association's superb Africa Travel Magazine The Top Ten Site has no financial links to Africa Travel Magazine. This is not a paid advertisement We just like the things they do, and we like the way they do them! In our view, the Africa Travel Association is the world's finest resource for news and views about all things Africa. |
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