Botswana is undoubtedly one of the most incredible wilderness areas on Earth. The south and east consist of the jaw-dropping Kalahari Desert and lunar-like pans at Nxai and Makgadikgadi. The north and west, on the other hand, comprise the dazzling water worlds of the Okavango Delta and Chobe River ecosystem. This diversity in terrain lends itself to an array of activities to suit virtually anyone with an interest in the outdoors. Whether it’s your first trip to Botswana or your 10th, there is always something exciting to experience in one of Africa’s friendliest countries. Deciding what to see and do in Botswana is no easy task – safari happens almost everywhere you look in this country! But we’ve been traveling the length and breadth of Africa and tailor-making Botswana safaris for thousands of travellers since 1998. To help you decide, we’ve nailed down our favorite things to do in Botswana

1. Meet the San Bushmen

Synonymous with the Kalahari, the San are indigenous hunter-gatherer groups that are the first nations of Southern Africa. They conquered this challenging terrain about 20 000 years ago, honing their survival skills over generations. Today you can learn about everything from medicinal plants to folklore about how the eland got its long horns or how the world came into being. Join the San on guided walking adventures while you learn about their unique culture, their incredible tracking and hunting skills, as well as their extraordinary knowledge of medicinal and poisonous plants. If you’re keen to learn about the life of one of the oldest cultures on Earth, then is what to do in Botswana.

2. Guided Game Drives

As Africa Safari Experts, we go on a LOT of game drives and Botswana never fails to enthral. The guides are passionate and the animals in abundance. This is a wildlife paradise and going on a guided game drive is one of the most exciting things to do in Botswana. It’s almost as easy as throwing a dart at the map of the country and heading there. On a more serious note, if you want to experience Botswana in all its game-viewing glory, head to Chobe to see our planet’s biggest elephant herds and Moremi Game Reserve for a predator spectacle.

3. Aquatic Safaris in the Delta

Historically the way to paddle around the Okavango Delta, traditional mekoro (canoes) were made from hollowed-out sausage tree trunks. Nowadays, lighter, faster and more environmentally friendly fibreglass canoes are used at almost all lodges. A ride in a mokoro is one of the most serene experiences you will ever have: you are poled along quietly, and your guide will point out beautiful lilies, tiny painted reed frogs and goliath herons. Don’t worry about hippos: the poler taps the side of the mokoro gently to warn them that humans are on the way! It’s the Okavango Delta’s quintessential game viewing ‘vehicle’ and allows you to get closer to animals in ‘the Venice of safari’.

4. Go Birding

Before going on a Botswana safari, many clients claim they’re ‘not into birds’. But then they experience the fun challenge of spotting the Pel's fishing owl in that distant tree or trying to get the perfect shot of a fish eagle’s take-off. After one safari to Botswana with its 550 species, they’re singing a different tune, becoming instant twitchers.

Go in summer (November to March) to experience Botswana’s best birdwatching months. This is when the migrants come in and join the residents for a place that’s chockful of ‘ticks’: pied kingfishers, oxpeckers, black egrets (who hunt fish by luring them into the darkness made by covering the water with their feathers), African fish eagles, giant eagle owls (often found, oddly, sitting on the ground), beautiful carmine bee-eaters; ground hornbills (the inspiration for Zazou from The Lion King), jewel-like malachite kingfishers, and the hardest to photograph of all, flighty lilac-breasted rollers.

5. Track the Big 5 in the Okavango Delta

The Big 5 – rhino, elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo – tops the list of what to see in Botswana for every first-time safari goer. There’s a very good chance you’ll see all of them in Botswana, especially in Moremi and the Okavango Delta. Rhino, sadly, are under great threat, but innovative conservation programmes are helping these magnificent creatures, who’ve survived for millennia, to live another day.

6. Sunset Cruises on the Chobe River

Situated up north in Chobe National Park, the Chobe River is often where safaris to Botswana end. And what a finale! The classic way to crown your day is with a sunset cruise where you can spot fish eagles, crocs, hippos, myriads of birds and even water monitors from the boat. A bonus of boat-based game viewing is the unique angles it offers for wildlife photography. But the absolute showstopper is always the crossing of elephant families from one bank to another. Crossing patiently, the leader feels for submerged rocks and logs, tests how deep the water is, and essentially chooses the safest route. The babies, as always, are in the middle of the group, often paddling like crazy with their little legs when it gets too deep. It’s a humbling encounter and one of the best things to see in Botswana.