Review: Northern Botswana in July 2026
We were part of a group that traveled from California to Botswana in mid-July for a 10 day/9 night safari equally spread between Sable Alley (pic 1), Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge (pic 2) and Belmond Eagle Island Lodge (pic 3). This was my first trip to Botswana and first safari experience.
It rained well into June, so there was still dense, green vegetation; lots of water; and very healthy-looking animals and birds. We tried our best to document all we saw, and we ended up counting 39 unique animal and 76 unique bird species.
Overall, the trip felt pretty non-stop with the same general pattern followed at each camp: breakfast, morning safari, lunch with a couple hour break, afternoon safari and dinner with an open evening (most of the time for me, it was right to the room to prep for the next day and to fall asleep as soon as possible). Even though we're generally just sitting and looking around all day, it is exhausting over the duration of the trip, but in a very, very good way!
If I go on another safari, I will pack even less (the laundry services are great) and take more to donate to the locals.
Sable Alley (Khwai Private Reserve)
The safari drives were beautiful as well as sightings-filled. It was a bit of work for the guides to get into decent viewing position because the mopane woodlands were dense in places, but they are able to drive well off the road in the Khwai Private Reserve. This was also the only stop where we were able to go on night drives, and those were so interesting and different. A highlight was being able to spend significant time following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt in the morning.
The tents here were the most difficult to control the temperature, so it was quite cold getting out of bed to get dressed. The room itself was beautiful with a private pool on the deck, which was basically a cold plunge at this time of year. The staff was extremely friendly and were willing to accommodate any request although their follow through wasn't always great.
Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge (Chobe National Park)
The large amounts of rain meant a lot of watering hole options for animals, so the watering hole in front of the Elephant Lodge did not have the expected action, but I loved the openness of the Chobe National Park and all of the sightings that enabled. As this was our only stop that wasn't a private reserve, we did have more vehicles around some of the action but overall that wasn't a hinderance. A highlight was observing a pride of lions, including 2 cubs, eating and resting around an elephant carcass.
We had the best overall service experience here as our room attendant took time to personally meet us and ask about our needs. The wine options here were also very good (notable compared to the disappointing selection and quality at the Eagle Lodge).
Belmond Eagle Island Lodge (Okavango Delta)
There was a lot of water in the delta around Eagle Island, so some driving routes/areas were inaccessible, but we did enjoy 2 boat safaris. The main attractions there were elephants, crocodiles and hippos and it was exhilarating to see them in a different way. There was significantly reduced hippo activity near the lodge and many fewer bird species than were expected during this time of year because of the "generational amounts of water." A highlight was spending time 2 different days with 2 juvenile leopards on a very large termite mound as they patiently scanned for their mother.
The tent suite at this lodge was also beautiful with a large stand-alone tub and a plunge pool on the deck, and the room was stocked with the most food and drink choices of the 3 locations. The staff here was very responsive and they were good at anticipating what we might want while we were out of safari. I highly recommend taking advantage of the helicopter ride. Seeing an aerial overview of the land and the large mammals from above was incredible (especially a herd of well over 100 African buffalo).
Overall, I would recommend each of the 3 locations to anyone thinking of visiting these areas and properties. It was a fantastic trip and I came away with amazing memories of the land, animals and people of Botswana.