Whether a safari by water or helicopter is more your speed, the newly reopened Belmond Eagle Island Lodge excels at both.

Why Go: Surrounded by some of the deepest stretches of the Okavango Delta, Xaxaba Island has long been a point of interest in Botswana. A photographic camp arrived as explorers combed the area in the early 1900s; and later, Belmond—a pioneer of luxury camps in Botswana—opened a dozen tented accommodations to great success. More recently, African safari lodges have become a stage for …