Botswana by water, wing and weight limit
You’re planning a trip where the luggage scale matters as much as the itinerary. Start with the shape of the country.
- Livingstone, Zambia2 nightsThe Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel by Anantara, on the Zambezi above the Falls.
- Khwai Concession2 nightsSediba Sa Rona camp, with game drives in six-passenger vehicles, every guest at a window.
- Okavango Delta2 nightsMbamba Camp; the delta from a helicopter and from a poled mokoro canoe.
- Makgadikgadi Pans2 nightsCamp Kalahari: a 4x4 trip across the salt pans to the meerkats, and a walk with Zu/’hoasi San guides.
- Cape Town3 nightsOne&Only Cape Town, reached by a flight from Maun.
From $16,590 per person including five on-tour flights; departures May to September; groups average 20. Tauck rates it 4 for activity, with 4-plus miles of walking most days. Its page also names Belmond Eagle Island Lodge for the delta nights, so confirm the camp on your date.
Flood season, green season
Most of Africa’s safari calendar runs on rain. Botswana runs on a flood that arrives in the dry months, and that changes when you should go.
Dry season: the delta full, the bush dry
Botswana flips the usual logic. The delta is full of water in the dry months, so mokoro and boat trips peak while the rest of the country dries out.
- Audley Travel singles out July for mokoro trips
- Tauck’s Botswana departures run only May to September
- Peak season: ask about camp availability early
October: the dry season’s tail
Intrepid counts the dry season as running to about September or October. It’s the last stretch before the rains.
- Tauck’s Botswana departures stop after September
- Ask your camp about water levels and mokoro trips on your dates
- Ask whether your camp prices October as peak or shoulder season
Green season: fewer visitors, lower rates
Intrepid and Audley describe November to April as the green season, with rain, fewer visitors and lower prices.
- Fly-in camps often quote lower nightly rates in these months
- Afternoon rain can change a game-drive plan
- Ask whether a camp offers water activities at all on your dates
Delta, Moremi, Chobe and the pans
Botswana’s safari country is a short list. Each area changes the vehicle you ride in, or whether there’s one at all.
| Area | What it’s known for | How tours get you there | Real example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okavango Delta | Mokoro canoe trips, water channels, island camps | Light aircraft or helicopter from Maun or Kasane | Tauck: Mbamba Camp, 2 nights; A&K: 2 nights at Chief’s Camp |
| Moremi Game Reserve | The game reserve within the delta; about P270 a day on one fee table | Fly-in, or by road from Maun | Ask which of your delta nights fall inside Moremi itself |
| Khwai Concession | A concession area, run under its own activity rules | Light aircraft | Tauck: Sediba Sa Rona, 2 nights |
| Chobe National Park | The riverfront near Kasane, and Savute inland | By road from Victoria Falls or Kasane airport | A&K, Intrepid and Contiki all include Chobe |
| Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans | Salt pans, meerkats, the Kalahari edge | Light aircraft or 4x4 | Tauck: Camp Kalahari, 2 nights; Intrepid visits the pans |
| Central Kalahari | The big Kalahari reserve | Ask us; few packaged tours go | Listed at about P500 a day on one 2026 table |
Ask whether your Chobe day is a game drive, a boat trip on the river, or both. It’s the difference between watching elephants and watching them swim.
Staying in a concession rather than a national park? Ask what it allows: off-road driving, night drives and walks depend on the area’s rules, not on the tour.
Pick the delta first, then add one dry-land area. Two camps in four nights is the rhythm on Tauck’s tour.
Park fees and the levy question
Botswana’s fees are in flux in 2026. Here’s what’s published, who published it, and what to ask.
| Fee | Amount | Source and status |
|---|---|---|
| Chobe and Moremi entry, non-resident adult | About P270 a day | Set in 2022 (Tourism Update); still listed in a 2026 third-party table |
| Makgadikgadi, Nxai Pan, Central Kalahari | About P500 a day | Same 2026 third-party table; increases took effect April 1, 2026, it says |
| Proposed non-resident park entry | P380 rising to P500 | Government consultation, February 24, 2026 (Daily News) |
| Children under 8 | Free | 2026 third-party table |
| Foreign-registered vehicle (self-drive) | About P115 a day | 2026 third-party table |
| Tourism Development Levy | US$30 (announced 2017) | Put on hold, bill withdrawn; no current official notice found |
The numbers don’t line up neatly, because Botswana is mid-way through raising fees that hadn’t moved in decades.
Packaged trips may fold all of this in. One 7-day Chobe and Okavango package we checked lists national park fees as included.
Self-driving or booking camps one by one? Ask for the park and concession fee line on every quote, and carry some US dollars in case a levy is collected at the border.
Tent, lodge or fly-in camp: what each costs a night
You’re paying for remoteness. The fewer people a camp can physically reach, the more each night costs.
| Style | Real example | What you get | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overland camping | Contiki Southern Africa Safari | Pre-set tents, a safari-trained Trip Manager and an on-road chef; ages 18–35 | CA$7,972 for 22 days (~CA$362 a day) |
| Lodges, small group | Intrepid Premium Botswana | Chobe Safari Lodge, Zambezi Mubala Lodge; groups up to 12 | ~$866 a day (reseller) |
| Fly-in camps, escorted | A&K Ultimate Botswana; Tauck Botswana, South Africa & Zambia | Chief’s Camp, Camp Kalahari, a helicopter hop; tour director throughout | ~$1,383–$1,390 a day |
| Private fly-in, camp by camp | Vumbura Plains, Mombo, Sandibe | Your own schedule; flights between camps usually extra | ~$800–$4,500+ per person per night |
Ranges from one third-party 2027 rate compilation; it says some rates include drinks and activities and flights between camps stay extra. Wilderness cites a general $800 to $4,500 range per person per night. Confirm with the camp.
Who runs Botswana, with real tours and prices
The field is short, and the prices start high. Here’s who runs it and what they charge.
| Operator | Tour | Days | From | Group | Where you go | Price date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intrepid | Premium Botswana | 7 | $6,060 | 1–12 | Chobe, Zambezi, Makgadikgadi, Okavango (mokoro, bush walk) | Dec 2026 date, via a reseller |
| Abercrombie & Kent | Ultimate Botswana Safari | 10 | ~$13,895 | Limit 16 (A&K) | Livingstone, Victoria Falls, Chobe, Okavango incl. Chief’s Camp | A&K’s page; a reseller lists Aug–Sep 2026 from $14,895 |
| Tauck | Botswana, South Africa & Zambia | 12 | $16,590 | Avg 20 | Khwai, Okavango, Makgadikgadi, then Cape Town | May–Sep departures, 2027–28 |
| Contiki | Southern Africa Safari | 22 | CA$7,972 | Max 26 | Kruger, Victoria Falls, Chobe, Okavango, Namibia | Nov 22, 2026, Canadian site |
| Globus | Splendors of South Africa & Victoria Falls with Botswana or Chobe | Ask us | Ask us | Max 24 in Africa | South Africa plus a Botswana extension | 2027 variations; ask for the Botswana nights |
| Wilderness, &Beyond, others | Custom fly-in safaris | You choose | ~$800–$4,500+ a night | Just you | Vumbura Plains, Mombo, Sandibe, Duba Plains | Third-party 2027 rate compilation |
Our arithmetic: from-price divided by days. Tauck’s fare includes five on-tour flights and three Cape Town nights.
Botswana suits small groups, because the planes are small. A&K limits this trip to 16 on its own page; Tauck averages 20 and seats six per safari vehicle.
Want Botswana on a lower budget? Overland trips like Contiki’s camp their way through Chobe and the delta. We couldn’t find a G Adventures Botswana trip to list, so ask us for current overland options.
Bush planes, soft bags and the 20 kg rule
The first time you see the scale at Maun airport, you’ll be glad you packed light. Here’s the rule and how to meet it.
Delta camps are reached by light aircraft, and the aircraft sets the rules. Mack Air flies Cessna Grand Caravans that carry up to 12 passengers from small airstrips.
Mack Air’s limit is 20 kg per person, hand luggage included, with each bag no bigger than 30 by 35 by 70 cm. It prefers soft bags, because smaller planes mean smaller holds.
Tauck matches it: 44 lb for checked and carry-on combined, a soft carry-on with no wheels, and a Tauck duffel mailed about 30 days before you go.
Over the limit? Tauck flies extra bags separately from Kasane to Maun at $230 a piece. Pack to the limit instead.
Pack for the small plane
What a Botswana safari costs, all in
The fare is most of it in Botswana, because camps fold in meals and activities. Tips, visas and the night before you fly are what’s left.
All-in math
What a Botswana safari costs once you land
We filled in A&K’s Ultimate Botswana Safari and the middle of Asilia’s tip guidance, as if no tips were included. A&K includes some, so zero out any your quote covers.
The $50 is a KAZA Univisa for the Zimbabwe side of the Falls; a single-entry Zimbabwe visa is about $30. Meals on your own are our starting estimate for the town nights; safari camps usually feed you. Flights from the US go on top.
Find your Botswana safari
Be honest about the budget. In Botswana it narrows the field faster than anything else.
Matcher
Which Botswana safari fits you?
Five taps: budget, camp style, month, add-ons and length. It suggests the tours above, or a private trip.
A day in the delta, as Tauck runs it
This is the day people fly to Botswana for. It happens at two altitudes.
Helicopter over the channels
Day 6 of Tauck’s tour takes in the Okavango Delta by helicopter, the best way to see the pattern of water and islands.
Poled along in a mokoro
Then down at water level in a dugout canoe. Tauck lists reed frogs, dragonflies, red lechwe, reedbuck, giraffes and a malachite kingfisher.
Mbamba Camp
The second of two delta nights. Most safari meals on this tour are buffets, with Tauck guests at their own tables.
Mokoro trips are quiet and low to the water. A guide poles the canoe; you sit and watch.
Tauck rates this tour 4 for activity, a notch above its South Africa Elegant Adventure: most days involve 4-plus miles of walking. If that’s too much, ask about a lodge-based trip with fewer camp changes.
Adding Victoria Falls: visas for US citizens
Most Botswana trips start or end at the Falls. The visa choice depends on which side you sleep on.
Victoria Falls sits on the Zambia–Zimbabwe border, close enough to Botswana that the KAZA Univisa covers day trips to Kasane and Chobe. Tauck sleeps on the Zambia side in Livingstone; A&K spends time on both sides.
Zambia
US passport holders don’t need a visa, per the State Department, which wants six months of passport validity and three blank pages per entry.
Zimbabwe
A visa is required, sold on arrival or through Zimbabwe’s eVisa site. The State Department puts a 30-day single entry at about $30.
The KAZA Univisa
About $50 for 30 days, covering Zambia and Zimbabwe plus day trips into Botswana through Kazungula. It’s sold at the Victoria Falls and Kazungula borders and at Victoria Falls, Harare and Bulawayo airports.
Two catches. Sleep a night in Botswana and it’s void, and issuing has stopped before, in 2015–2016 and again in 2017 when stickers ran out.
For a US traveler who doesn’t need a Zambian visa anyway, a single Zimbabwe visa often does the job. Bring US dollars in cash either way.
Going on to South Africa?
South Africa needs two consecutive empty visa pages per entry. Zambia and Botswana each want three blank pages. Add it up before you go; the State Department also tells travelers transiting South Africa to check its page rules. Our South Africa safari guide covers the Cape Town add-on.
Passports, flights, money and safety
The paperwork is light, but pages and minors’ documents trip people up. Check both tonight.
There’s no nonstop from the US. Tours route you through Johannesburg or into Livingstone, then fly on to Maun or Kasane; Tauck ends with a flight from Maun to Cape Town.
Spend the night before your first bush flight in Johannesburg or Livingstone. A missed connection is hard to fix when the next plane is a 12-seater.
Tipping, solo travel and families
Botswana camps run on small teams, and the tip box keeps them there. Bring cash in US dollars.
| Who | Asilia | Rhino Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Safari guide | $10–$20 per guest per day | ~$25 per couple per day |
| Tracker or poler | $5–$20 | ~$20 per couple per day |
| Camp staff (tip box) | $5–$15 per guest per day | — |
Solo
Camps price tents for two, so solo travelers pay a supplement almost everywhere. Ask whether the operator will match you with a roommate; Intrepid does twin share by default on most trips.
Families
Tauck’s Bridges family safaris start at age 5; Collette sets 13 as its safari minimum.
Camps can set their own minimum ages for activities, so check each camp before you book.
Children under 8 enter parks free on one 2026 fee table. Bring the unabridged birth certificate for anyone under 18.
Ten things to settle before the deposit
Delta camps are small, and the dry months are peak season. That’s why the paperwork comes before the packing.
Before you pay
Our booking-timeline guide and insurance purchase-window page explain why those deadlines matter.
Who Botswana suits, and who should look elsewhere
Book it if
- You want water safaris by mokoro and boat, not just game drives
- Remote camps with few other vehicles are worth paying for
- You can travel May to September, or want green-season rates
- You’re happy living out of a 20 kg soft bag
- You’d like to pair the bush with Victoria Falls or Cape Town
Look elsewhere if
- Your budget sits under about $800 a day and you don’t want to camp; look at South Africa
- You want the Great Migration; Tanzania or Kenya fits that better
- Small planes make you nervous
- You need a fixed, accessible room and level paths; ask camp by camp first
- You want to self-drive a big park on a budget; Kruger is easier
Our take
Choose your months, then your camps. In Botswana the camp, not the tour company, decides most of the experience.
For a first trip with a group, Tauck and A&K cover the delta, the pans and the Falls in under two weeks. For privacy, a private fly-in trip costs more per night and less in compromise.
Tell us your month and your nightly ceiling. We’ll price a packaged tour against a camp-by-camp trip, with fees, flights and tips in both.
Where to go from here: Botswana’s neighbors and operators
Free · No obligation
Want Botswana priced for your month?
Tell us your dates, your nightly budget and whether you want Victoria Falls or Cape Town on the end. We’ll quote a packaged tour and a camp-by-camp trip side by side, with park fees, bush flights and tips in the total.
Prefer to book the extras yourself?
Hotels, day trips and flights around the tour
Hotel nights before and after
Arriving a day early gives you a buffer if a flight runs late, and most people add a night when the tour ends.
Your free days
The days either side of the tour are yours. Day trips and tickets for the start and end cities:
Getting there and around
Fly into one city and home from another when the tour is one-way.
These are affiliate links: if you book through them, Seabound Journeys may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend. Our disclosure. We’re happy to book these for you too.
What Botswana safari travelers ask us
When is the best time for a Botswana safari?
The dry season, roughly May to September or October, is the main window, and it’s when the Okavango Delta is in flood, so mokoro (dugout canoe) trips are at their best; Audley Travel singles out July. The green season, about November to April, brings rain, fewer visitors and lower prices. Tauck runs its Botswana tour only from May to September.
How much luggage can I bring on a Botswana bush flight?
Plan on 20 kg (44 lb) in total. Mack Air allows 20 kg per person including hand luggage, with each bag no larger than 30 by 35 by 70 cm, and prefers soft bags. Tauck applies the same 44 lb limit to checked and carry-on bags combined, wants a soft carry-on with no wheels, and charges $230 per extra piece flown separately from Kasane to Maun.
Do US citizens need a visa for Botswana?
Not for tourist stays of up to 90 days within a 12-month period, per the State Department. Your passport needs at least six months of validity and three or more unused pages, one blank per entry. Travelers under 18 need an unabridged birth certificate, according to Tauck’s entry guidance.
Is there a tourism levy or park fee in Botswana?
Botswana announced a US$30 Tourism Development Levy for visitors from outside southern Africa in 2017, then put it on hold and moved to withdraw the bill; we found no official notice that it’s collected now, so ask us before you travel. Park fees are rising: in February 2026 the government proposed lifting non-resident park entry from P380 to P500 a day. The fly-in package we checked included park fees; ask about yours.
Can I add Victoria Falls to a Botswana safari?
Yes, and most tours do. US citizens don’t need a visa for Zambia. Zimbabwe requires one, sold on arrival at about $30 for a single entry. The KAZA Univisa, about $50 for 30 days, covers Zambia and Zimbabwe plus day trips into Botswana through Kazungula, but an overnight in Botswana voids it, and issuing has lapsed in the past.
How much does a Botswana safari cost?
On the tours we checked, from about $866 a day (Intrepid’s 7-day Premium Botswana, via a reseller) to about $1,390 (Abercrombie & Kent’s 10-day Ultimate Botswana Safari), per person, before international flights. Individual luxury camps can run from about $1,900 to more than $5,000 per person per night in 2027, per one rate compilation.
Is Botswana safe for a safari?
The State Department rates Botswana Level 2, “Exercise increased caution,” because of crime (advisory issued June 17, 2026). Read the advisory and follow your operator’s guidance in towns such as Maun and Kasane.
What vaccines or malaria pills do I need for Botswana?
We don’t give medical advice. Check the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages for Botswana and every other country on your route, including Zambia and Zimbabwe if you add Victoria Falls, and see your doctor. Yellow fever certificate rules depend on where you’ve traveled from.
Sources · 31 links · checked October 2026
- Tauck: Botswana, South Africa & Zambia
- Intrepid Travel: Best time to visit Botswana
- Audley Travel: Best time to visit Botswana
- Mack Air: Traveller information (luggage)
- Botswana Daily News: tourism user fees to rise (Feb 24, 2026)
- Botswana Daily News: tourism development levy (May 2, 2017)
- Mmegi: Botswana introduces $30 per visitor tourism levy (Apr 28, 2017)
- Tourism Update: Botswana puts tourism levy on hold (May 31, 2017)
- Your Botswana: ministry withdraws the levy bill
- Tourism Update: Botswana increases park and licence fees (2022)
- SafariFind: Botswana national park fees 2026
- SafariFind: Best safari lodges in Botswana, 2027 nightly rates
- Safari.com: 7-day Chobe & Okavango package (inclusions)
- US State Department: Botswana travel advisory (Level 2, June 17, 2026)
- US State Department: Botswana country information
- US State Department: Zambia country information
- US State Department: Zimbabwe travel advisory
- US State Department: Zimbabwe country information (visa on arrival)
- Tourism Update: Zambia waives visas for selected countries (2022)
- ATTA: Zimbabwe e-visa update and KAZA Univisa (Apr 2025)
- Victoria Falls Guide: KAZA Univisa (updated June 2025)
- Victoria Falls Guide blog: KAZA Univisa suspensions, 2015–2017
- CDC Yellow Book: yellow fever and malaria information, by country
- A&K: Small Group Journeys (Ultimate Botswana Safari)
- USTOA / Travelstride (reseller): A&K Ultimate Botswana Safari
- TourRadar (reseller): Intrepid Premium Botswana
- Contiki: Southern Africa Safari
- Globus: terms and conditions (Botswana deposit, Africa final payment)
- Asilia Africa: How to tip on safari
- Rhino Africa: Your guide to tipping in Africa (2026)
- Tauck FAQ (Bridges minimum ages)