Plan your safari

Moremi Game Reserve

Moremi, the game-rich heart of the Okavango: big cats, wild dog and deep water.

Plan your safari Highlights

The Moremi Game Reserve protects the eastern third of the Okavango Delta, and many regard it as the richest game area in Botswana. Chief’s Island, at its heart, concentrates lion, leopard and cheetah on dry ground surrounded by floodwater. For this reason, camps like Mombo built their reputations here.

Moremi is also one of the best places in Africa to see African wild dog, and its mix of mopane woodland, floodplain and lagoon means a single day can move from 4x4 game drive to boat to mokoro. In addition, it pairs naturally with the private concessions of the wider Delta and with Chobe to the northeast.

Moremi safari at a glance

Best timeJune–October dry season; the Okavango flood typically peaks May–June, when boating and mokoro are at their best
Signature experienceChief’s Island’s big cats, African wild dog, and game drives and water activities from the same camp in one day
WildlifeLion, leopard, wild dog, elephant, buffalo and abundant plains game; rhino are no longer a reliable sighting in Botswana
How many daysThree nights in Moremi, usually paired with a private Delta concession and Chobe or the Kalahari
Getting thereLight aircraft from Maun to the camp airstrip; Maun connects through Johannesburg
What it costsPrivate, tailor-made and priced to your budget; Botswana is the most expensive country per night in Africa by design

Reviewed by NndeeAfrika · Updated 5 October 2026

Highlights of Moremi Game Reserve

Chief's Island

Dry-season refuge for huge concentrations of game, and the predators that follow them.

African wild dog

Moremi is a stronghold for one of Africa’s rarest and most exciting predators.

Land & water in one day

Game drives, boating and mokoro from the same camp as the flood allows.

The wider Delta

Combine with private Okavango concessions for walking and night drives.

Explore The wider Delta →
Sunset over the water at Moremi with boats moored at a jetty, Botswana

Moremi is water as much as land: you reach much of the reserve by boat

Best time to visit Moremi

Jun–Oct

Dry season; the flood peaks May–June. As a result, game concentrates on the islands and viewing is superb.

Nov–Apr

Green season brings birthing, storms and lower rates; however, some areas turn wet.

Quieter seasons, considered

Meanwhile, in the green months rates ease at many of these camps, the plains empty of vehicles and the light turns dramatic. What each season gives, and what it trades, is set out in our Safari Planning Guide.

Planning & cost

Safari cost

Priced to your budget, and built around your camps, the season and how you like to travel. In other words, there are no fixed packages.

How we travel

Instead, we design every journey privately, with private guides and vehicles arranged where specified, the finest lodges, and a specialist on call throughout. At fly-in camps, game drives may be shared unless a private vehicle is reserved.

Practical details,
in one place

Money, health, connectivity and packing work the same way on every safari we plan, so they live in one place rather than on every page.

Moremi Game Reserve FAQs

Yes. Moremi is the protected reserve covering the eastern Delta, including Chief’s Island. In contrast, private concessions used by individual camps make up the rest of the Delta.

June to October, when the dry season and the arriving flood squeeze wildlife onto the islands. The Okavango flood usually peaks in May and June, so water activities are at their best early in that window. On the other hand, the green season (November–April) is beautiful and better value, with more mobile game.

Many journeys combine both: Moremi for sheer density of game, and a private concession for walking, night drives and off-road driving that the reserve itself does not allow.

Moremi Game Reserve is the protected eastern heart of the Okavango Delta, including Chief’s Island. Private concessions make up the rest of the Delta, and they allow off-road driving and night drives that the reserve does not; most itineraries combine both.

Three nights, ideally at a camp that offers both game drives and water activities, paired with a private concession elsewhere in the Delta and with Chobe or the Kalahari for contrast.

Getting to Botswana: flights, visas and health

Correct when we wrote it. Before you travel, we check every requirement for your exact route and tell you what to apply for and when.

AirportsMaun (MUB) for the Okavango Delta and Kasane (BBK) for the Chobe, both reached via Johannesburg. Camps are reached by light aircraft from there.
Getting thereFly to Johannesburg (nonstop from Atlanta on Delta or Newark on United), then a two-hour regional flight. Total journey 22–26 hours from most US cities.
Visa: US citizensNo visa required for US passport holders on tourist stays of up to 90 days. Apply only at the official portal: current entry rules on travel.state.gov.
HealthYellow fever certificate required if arriving from a risk country. The Okavango and Chobe are malarial; the Kalahari is low risk. Country guidance: CDC Travelers’ Health.
PassportSix months’ validity beyond your return date, with at least two blank pages. Travel insurance including medical evacuation is required on every journey we plan.
Full flight guidePlan your safari

Plan your Moremi safari.

So tell us how you like to travel and start with a complimentary consultation.

Plan your safari

For official background on the Okavango Delta, see the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Okavango Delta.