Botswaña Tourism 🥰

Spent the last few months vetting safari operators across the Okavango Delta before launching Okavango Collective, and one thing became clear fast: most travelers can't tell a responsible elephant encounter from a harmful one until they're already on the ground.

A few things I now check before recommending any operator:

• No riding, no performance tricks. If elephants are trained to do tricks for tourists or offer rides, that's a red flag for how they're handled off-camera.

• Distance and behavior matter more than proximity. The best operators let elephants set the distance. If guides are pushing vehicles closer for a better photo, they're prioritizing tips over welfare.

• Ask who owns the land. Botswana's community-run concessions (where local trusts control tourism revenue) tend to have far better track records than foreign-operated camps with no local accountability.

• Guide certification is not optional. Botswana requires professional guide licensing — always ask for it directly.

Botswana remains one of the few countries doing elephant tourism right at a policy level (no captive elephant camps, strong anti-poaching enforcement), but individual operators still vary wildly.

Building a directory of vetted operators who meet this bar — happy to share the checklist with anyone planning a trip.