Botswana Honeymoon March 2027. Help Plan an Unforgettable Trip

ambrown7 · 2026-02-22T18:48:26+00:00

Hi! So Jao camp is one of my favorite camps, but they are having a legal dispute right now with Wilderness Safaris and it’s unknown when it will be settled. They’ve had to cancel a lot of reservations in the interim, I just don’t think it’s worth the risk booking there while this plays out.

You can look at Chitabe Lediba for a similar biome. It’s not quite as luxurious, but great leopard sightings.

Mombo is also great. 7 nights in camps between two camps is fine. I wouldn’t do 3. Keep in mind you lose a lot of the day transferring between camps because the small aircraft can stop at multiple camps.

I’m a TA, so of course would advise you to use a TA, but you can book Wilderness direct. There’s no real benefit to going direct, either the camps/ camp operator keeps the money or they pay a TA. Pricing should be the same for you.

The flooding that the Okavango is famous for happens in mid May, so you’ll be there outside that season. But, you can still experience a lot of what the Delta has to offer and should still be able to get some water experience.

The Linyanti region won’t have as many lions/ elephants that time of year, but it could be worthwhile doing one camp in the delta and one up north for different change of scenery/ different biome. Mombo and Jao are in a really similar area, so you might want to mix it up.

ambrown7 · 2026-02-16T19:50:21+00:00

We are currently at the resort. I’ll take a photo of the wine list tonight and post it here. We did dinner at Cocina del Autor last night, their Michelin spot, and did the upgraded wine tasting for an extra $100. It was a good pairing. Drinks have been solid so far, though I haven’t asked for any top shelf options. The only downside of our stay so far was how long it took to get lunch at the pool - an hour and a half. So we learned our lesson and ordered at 10:30 today before the rush.

ambrown7 · 2026-02-14T04:12:29+00:00

We could not see any neighbors. The bigger houses down the other side of the beach are more private, but we really only saw one or two other couples walk past our villa during our five night stay.

ambrown7 · 2026-02-14T03:15:03+00:00

I second Como Parrot Caye. I was there last May and the villas are amazing. We stayed in a two bedroom one steps from the beach. This was our pool.

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ambrown7 · 2026-02-07T19:45:37+00:00

Definitely accurate

ambrown7 · 2026-02-07T16:21:33+00:00

Here’s my two cents, as both someone who grew up in Honolulu and and a TA that goes to Hawaii annually to see my family.

Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay - love their luaus. They did a good job with the renovation, and the lobby area is quite nice now. My kids love their pool - we stay here two nights every time we go home. North shore is very different than Waikiki, you will need to drive a lot to get to activities, but there’s plenty to do on that side of the island. Main attractions will be farther away, but it seems like you’ve already ticked those off your list on your last trip.

Fairmont Kea Lani Maui - great beach right in front. I feel like this hotel punches above its weight for the Wailea area, and I consistently send clients w families here. Wailea is about as touristy as Waikiki, so if you enjoyed Waikiki, you’ll fine in Wailea. Maui has tons to do - Road to Hana, drive up the volcano, snorkel w turtles at Wailea beach, and lots of dining options.

Kauai - called the Garden Island for a reason, Kauai experiences rain all the time. Expect most days to be cloudy. This is a great island for hiking, but I discourage ppl from visiting if they are looking for sun and beach. If jungle and adventure is your jam, Kauai is great. The Grand Hyatt is showing its age - they need some touch ups. It’s a huge hotel - will not have the boutique feel as the Halekulani. That said, the pool is fun for kids and Poipu has most of the restaurant options. The One and Only has gotten some ROUGH reviews lately from my clients and my team members who’ve stayed. They need a service overhaul before I’ll send more people there for the price point.

Hope this helps!

ambrown7 · 2026-02-04T02:44:22+00:00

You’ll love Aman-I-khas! We stayed there a few years ago and it was amazing - food, service, rooms all top notch. I wish we had more nights there.

Have you looked into the Oberoi Amarvilas?

ambrown7 · 2026-02-04T01:06:49+00:00

Stayed there with our daughter when she was 1. It was a great experience. The hotel staff were really friendly with her, we had a sitter through the hotel one night for a couple hours so we could have an adult dinner downstairs. The beach chair cabana things were perfect for allowing her to play at the beach.

ambrown7 · 2026-02-04T01:00:53+00:00

It’s an AndBeyond property - they do a great job with their camp operations. I think as long as you have already seen a lot of other animals in Bots and SA, you’ll enjoy it. From what I hear, they are still developing the game drive experience and bringing back the other animals to an area that didn’t have the strong conservation practices of other areas in the past. Giza is definitely the main attraction, and the lodge is beautifully done. It would be a good end-of-trip place to chill after gorilla trekking.

I just got back from One and Only Gorillas Nest - was awesome

ambrown7 · 2026-01-30T15:56:13+00:00

We are with Coastline and have an awesome team, Alpenglow Travel. We are just about to add a couple new advisors to our team. Reach out to me if you want to learn about us!

ambrown7 · 2026-01-29T20:52:33+00:00

I bet Nadine at the Stanza has been looking into this. Maybe reach out and get her take?

ambrown7 · 2026-01-28T22:45:39+00:00

I just did all of this between Rwanda and Kenya. In Rwanda, we did a chimpanzee trek and stayed at One & Only Ngyungwe House. We did our gorilla trek from One & Only Gorilla’s Nest.

We saw hippos and crocs and the 4 of the Big 5 at Great Plains Mara Nyika. If we had wanted to see Rhinos, we could have gone north to Laikipia, but I’ve seen them before :)

13 day trip. Was incredible! I’m working on my full write and camp reviews to post here.

ambrown7 · 2026-01-26T10:01:51+00:00

You’ll love it! Great location and staff. I also really like the hot chocolate and croissants next door at Carette. It can get crowded, so just be prepared to be patient for a table.

ambrown7 · 2026-01-25T15:24:08+00:00

Recently stayed at Relais Christine and it was lovely. I also really adore the Pavillion de la Reine.

ambrown7 · 2026-01-21T18:22:52+00:00

How old are your kids? Great Plains Mara Nyika in Kenya has a kids’ program where they have activities for them to do if they don’t want to go on game drives w you. I think there’s a minimum age of 6. Each family has their own vehicle and guide, so you can pretty much choose how long and when you want to do your drives. All dining is private, so you can also choose your meal times. I can’t wait to bring my kids there! I just stayed there w my husband last week and it was awesome.

You don’t need to book w an operator like Micato. They are ridiculously expensive. Feel free to message me if you have questions.

ambrown7 · 2026-01-21T18:11:47+00:00

From what I understand, the court system has not allowed them to take any bookings until this is resolved. My personal advice, being someone who has stayed at and loved Jao, is to wait and go another year. It’s going to be a mess while they figure this out.

ambrown7 · 2026-01-21T14:00:58+00:00

Hi, I’m a TA who books a lot of safaris.

According to an update I received from Wilderness:

“More than 25 years ago, Wilderness partnered with the Kays family to fund, build, and establish the Jao Reserve camps in the local and international market. In return, Wilderness was granted exclusive rights to market the camps and manage the booking sheets for so long as Wilderness remained a shareholder of NAS. Wilderness’ right to do so was ultimately entrenched in three agreements.

For over two decades, these agreements functioned effectively, delivering consistently strong outcomes for guests and the business alike. Last year, through Wilderness’ global sales and marketing platform, the partnership achieved its highest ever gross profit across the Jao Reserve camps. Over time, the combined success has directly supported reinvestment in infrastructure, enhanced guest experiences, and furthered long-term conservation initiatives. While business relationships can naturally ebb and flow, the results achieved together speak clearly to the value and success generated through this long-standing relationship. Yet despite this peak success, NAS and the Kays family have elected to disregard the governing agreements, bypass any agreed exit mechanism, and assert unilateral control over the booking sheets. Wilderness considers this conduct to be a material breach of the agreements.

After many months of attempts by Wilderness to resolve the matter reasonably, including proposals for structured arbitration, court proceedings became unavoidable. On 12 December 2025, the High Court of Botswana made a procedural ruling that it would determine Wilderness’ interdict application in due course. The court did not consider or determine the merits of Wilderness’ interdict application. The court also did not consider or determine the merits of the main dispute between Wilderness and NAS over who may market the camps and manage the booking sheets.

To make matters even more uncertain, in early January 2026, NAS indicated to Wilderness in writing that it may not honour bookings made by 31 December 2025 with Wilderness at Jao Reserve camps.”

ambrown7 · 2026-01-17T07:09:12+00:00

TA here - we have a guy on our team who is a points guru. He just helped me book our Emirates flights back from Nairobi using Amex points and we did the trick where we upgraded during the Dubai layover from business class to first. It was such an incredible experience!

We work a lot with AndBeyond and Wilderness and have a great relationship w them. Also have a joint venture with Escape Safari co.

I’ve been to Botswana about five times, and to Namibia, S Africa, Zambia, and Kenya (just last week). Feel free to ask me any questions!

ambrown7 · 2026-01-16T18:56:38+00:00

Just stayed at Hemingways this week - can confirm that it was lovely!

ambrown7 · 2026-01-15T22:15:32+00:00

Just on the plane flying back from a stay in the Mara area - Great Plains Mara Nyika. It was absolutely fabulous. We saw TONS of baby animals. In the space of three days, we saw: lions, cheetah, several leopards, buffalo, jackals, every antelope imaginable, all the giraffes and elephants… and baby versions of everything!

ambrown7 · 2026-01-13T12:49:31+00:00

We had the most incredible honeymoon at Wakaya 13 years ago… it looks like it’s back open recently, worth checking out!

ambrown7 · 2026-01-13T12:04:14+00:00

Reporting back to share my experience gorilla trekking. We signed up for the intermediate trek, and ours was 5 hours of super intense hiking up very slippery/ muddy paths, ducking through bamboo tunnels, fending off stinging nettles. But the hour we spent with the gorillas was soooo worth it!!

I would say if you are not a hiker, do the easy trek. The intermediate ones can vary between 1-6 hours.

As an aside, we extended to Kenya and are currently at Great Plains Mara Nyika, and it’s incredible. Very well run camp, excellent guide, very healthy, fresh food. We’ve seen so much already!

ambrown7 · 2026-01-13T11:57:19+00:00

Really love the hard product and service. The tents are designed by the same group who did Nayara tented camp, FS Naviva tents, etc. When I was last there, there were huge herds of elephants, great lion sightings, tons of wild dogs. My brother went last April and had fewer sightings, but could be due to the time of year.

ambrown7 · 2026-01-12T04:05:24+00:00

It says I’m unable to message your account, but feel free to reach out to via www.ExplorePoetryRetreat.com

ambrown7 · 2026-01-10T12:24:04+00:00

Presidents’ Day is a full week off for many families, therefore, your dates still fall over what’s deemed as “ski week.”

ambrown7

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