What are you looking for?

Zambia vs Botswana

Africa's best authentic tailor-made safaris

When choosing between a safari in Zambia or Botswana, it’s clear that both are incredibly protected and have outstanding wildlife and national parks. Still, each is tailored to a very different style of traveler.

Botswana is possibly the best self-drive safari destination in Southern Africa, with decent connecting roads, plentiful wildlife, plenty of inexpensive campsites, and an effective bureaucracy that makes camp and national park bookings pretty simple with a bit of practice.

A Botswana Safari can also be considered one of the most luxurious safari destinations in Africa, with many first-rate luxury lodges, most especially in and around the Okavango Delta. Though a Botswana safari caters to both confident self-drive 4×4 explorers and well-heeled safari-goers, quality mid-range and more affordable luxury accommodation can be difficult to come by.

Safari-goers observe a juvenile lion, credit: Chiawa Camp | Zambia Vs Botswana
Safari-goers observe a juvenile lion, credit: Chiawa Camp | Zambia Vs Botswana

When comparing Zambia vs. Botswana in this category, a Zambia safari has much more to offer, with outstanding luxury experiences that are often half the price of comparable lodges in Botswana and private, exclusive-use houses and smaller eco-lodges that provide great value, especially for families and larger groups.

Zambia’s poorer-quality highways and more difficult-to-access wilderness areas make self-drive travelers’ lives much more difficult. Many who accept the conditions are rewarded with some of Africa’s finest nature and desert views, but self-drive visitors are few and far between.

When comparing Zambia vs. Botswana, this low-density exclusivity separates a Zambian safari as the perfect location for a luxury safari experience that won’t break the bank.

But it’s Zambia’s two ‘most unique’ attractions that are also its most famous. Both are shared along the border with Zimbabwe, and both are the biggest of their kind in the world. In full flood, Victoria Falls boasts Earth’s largest sheet of falling water, and downstream, Lake Kariba is the world’s largest man-made dam by volume.

Both offer superb adventurous and more sedate activities as well, from white water rafting, bungee jumping, and skydiving to canoe safaris, fishing, and houseboat cruises.

Ready to plan your tailor-made safari?

960 Reviews - 5/5 Stars

Craft your journey with the expertise of our dedicated Africa Safari Experts

Start Planning

What Our Guests Have to Say?

Read recent reviews from travellers who have planned and booked their trips with us

star-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-icon
Safari Bookings review

"We wanted to spend a week in Kruger and Chrizaan put together a visit to two areas (Sabi Sands and Timbavati). She chose two lodges that met our budget requirements and both were very good (Nkorho Bush Lodge and Motswari Main Camp). All the transits between..."

Forbes, Australia•22 Sep 2026•

Read More
star-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-icon
Trustpilot review

"We really enjoyed our trip from South Africa to Botswana and Zimbabwe! Sometimes a lot of whether a trip is successful comes down to the logistics. In this case, Susan Veldman and the company took care of all details related to our accommodations, transitio..."

Martha Engber, United States•22 May 2026•

Read More
star-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-icon
Trustpilot review

"All advising given by Discover Africa (in our case, by Justin Van Wyk) was really helpful and the programe they have outlined was great. Everything went really smooth and professional."

Luis Cortez, Portugal•15 Apr 2026•

Read More
star-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-icon
Trustpilot review

"We booked our safari trip through Justin van Wyk from Discover Africa, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. He organized and booked everything from A to Z, so we didn’t have to worry about anything at all. Throughout the entire trip, we stayed..."

Gianluca, Switzerland•12 Apr 2026•

Read More
star-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-icon

"I was recommended Discover Africa by a friend who raved about them for their African Safari adventure and they didn't disappoint. From the start the communication was timely, despite the time zone difference, and the advice was thorough and precise. It seem..."

Stephen Suster, Australia•18 Jan 2026•

Read More
star-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-iconstar-icon

"We had a great trip in Namibia. In 11 days we did a roundtrip, which was organised through online meetings. Every thing went on as agreed on and ver smoothly. We had a very good guide/driver, who explained us a lot about the country, politics, history and m..."

Peter Esslinger, Switzerland•30 Nov 2025•

Read More
View All Testimonials

Our safari traveller reviews are independently verified and sourced from trusted third-party review platforms.