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Botswana by Air

Safari

Botswana by Air

Okavango Delta, Linyanti, Kalahari

Three landscapes in one journey, linked by short flights in small aircraft.

Botswana works differently from most safari countries. There are few roads between camps, but sand strips serve as runways and a Cessna covers in twenty minutes what a vehicle would take six hours to drive. You change landscape, not country.

The Delta is water, reed and palm islands; Linyanti is dry bush holding the greatest elephant concentrations in southern Africa; the Kalahari is space, light and a silence that is almost uncomfortable at first.

Camps are small — six to twelve tents, often unfenced. At night you hear what moves around you; in the morning the tracks outside the tent tell you who passed.

Our view

Why we recommend it

Because no other country of this scale enforces low visitor numbers so strictly. You rarely share a sighting with another vehicle, and that changes what you feel.

Best time to travel
May to October for the dry season and concentrated game. The green season, December to March, brings young animals, birds and markedly lower rates.
Suggested duration
Nine to twelve days, three to four nights per camp. Fewer than three nights does not justify the flight.
Who it is best for
Travellers who take safari seriously and value remoteness over refinements. Less suitable for small children — weight limits and flight times are strict.

Pure Voyage note

The 20-kilogram soft-bag limit is a condition, not a suggestion. We arrange storage in Maun, which spares the conversation on the airstrip.

Along the way

Houses along the way

The addresses we suggest most often for this journey — as a starting point, not a fixed route.

  • Mombo Camp

    Chief's Island, Okavango

    The Delta's richest game, in a camp without fences.

  • Duba Plains

    Northern Okavango

    Lion and buffalo across open floodplain; five tents only.

  • Jack's Camp

    Makgadikgadi, Kalahari

    Meerkats, salt pans and a 1930s expedition aesthetic.

And then

Journeys that sit well beside it

Whether this journey suits you is settled fastest in conversation.

Season, length and the houses before and after shape the result more than the route ever does.

Speak with the concierge
Pure Voyage NoteJourney Note

What matters most about the flights between camps?

Luggage. The light aircraft usually allow 20 kilos in soft bags; hard cases stay behind. Plan two nights per camp as a minimum, three is more comfortable — arrival days are largely transfers. Laundry is included in nearly every camp, so you need far less clothing than most guests pack.

Noted by Pure Voyage

All journeys

Common questions

What guests ask us about this

What does a safari day look like?
Early start, a drive through the morning, rest through the heat, out again in the late afternoon. Little happens in between — which is exactly what makes the days long and restful.
From what age does safari work for children?
Many camps accept children from six, some from twelve, and family-minded houses often at any age with a private vehicle. We check this before every recommendation.

Continue through Pure Voyage

Where to go from here

Not a catalogue, but a next step: the houses, routes, countries and essays we would mention at this point in a conversation.

An Invitation

Once a month: hotels, new openings and travel ideas

One hotel that convinced us, with our advice on suite and season. The openings that actually matter. And a destination at its best right now. No offers, no advertising.