Credit where credit’s due. It’s easy to see why Atzaro made the Conde Nast Traveller Hot List 2025.

The camp, which is the brainchild of a team of international hospitality specialists and safari experts, takes luxurious to the next level without overdoing it. That said, when you book here, you should prepare for a pampering. Yes, in the on-site spa while lying down for a treatment or two. But also in pretty much every other aspect of your stay, because this is the kind of place where the staff are always looking to do more for you. To make your experience as memorable as possible.

Located on the edge of a lagoon between the Gomoti Plains and Moremi Game Reserve, being in Okavango makes this destination enough of a draw before you take into account the quality of the site and its customer service. Okavango is synonymous in Botswana with wildlife diversity, making it one of the best places to book to capture photos and memories of a wide variety of animals, plants and landscapes.

You get what you pay for

And that, in a word, is luxury. All suites are airconditioned with kingsize beds, Turkish carpets, teak furnishings and African textiles.

Outside, your veranda gives you a choice of chairs or day bed to relax on, with a plunge pool extending out into the savannah a little, getting you even closer to your surroundings.

You’ll have a small lapa too – like an African-style pergola or gazebo, for when you fancy some shade. And freshening up can happen in a brass bathtub or under a separate shower in your outdoor bathroom, just a few paces from the edge of the lagoon where hippo and elephant have been known to bathe.

Some of the suites can be joined together if you need to go family size, or want to create a villa for up to 4 friends. One of the perks of choosing the villa option – apart from all the space you get – is your access to a private safari vehicle and guide.

Safari on land, water and in the air

Booking game drives through Botswana’s best known wilderness area is pretty much an essential for Atzaro guests. Lion, cheetah, leopard and wildcat are known to roam the plains, but as with all safaris, what you see will often depend on the time of day, the time of year, the quality of your trackers and how big a slice of good old lady luck you get.

Increase your chances of seeing what you’ve come to see by booking several safaris. Try the walking option or a night tour, or a water safari aboard a canoe-style mokoro. Adding a helicopter ride to your itinerary is expensive, but when staying in a camp as high-end as this, going high up to get a bird’s eye view of what’s going on down below seems par for the course.

Of course, you could content yourself with staying on terra firma for a spot of fishing, birdwatching, or perhaps a cruise into the sunset.

Relaxation comes easy here

It’s hard not to be impressed with the quality of presentation and attention to detail at Atzaro. The leather sofas, the shiny wood, the local arts and crafts dotted about the place. It’s easy to forget the camp only opened in 2024. The designers have done a great job bringing a classic look and feel to all the modern luxuriousness.

There are lounge areas both covered and exposed, with the latter’s large, arc-shaped sofas boasting thick upholstery and the kind of cushions you can sink into and wonder if life can get any better than this, especially when your views are of a lagoon and there’s delicious food and drink being served just a few steps away.

With the swimming pool, the designers opted to go big on the length (20m) at the expense of width, (about 2m or 3m), making it a pool best enjoyed by one or two guests at a time. You can wait your turn on one of the daybed style loungers, soaking up the sun, or you could head off to the gym, bar or gift shop and come back later.