Plan your safari
Mokoro canoes gliding through the Okavango Delta channels at sunset, Botswana

Okavango Delta Safari

An Okavango Delta safari explores Africa’s great water wilderness by mokoro and 4x4.

Plan your safari Highlights

The Okavango Delta is one of Africa’s most remarkable ecosystems: a vast inland delta where the Okavango River spills into the Kalahari to create a maze of channels, lagoons and palm islands.

As a result, a safari here mixes water and land: glide silently by mokoro past elephants, track lion and wild dog on game drives, and stay in some of the most exclusive camps on the continent.

Highlights of Okavango Delta

A guide poling a mokoro through the reed-lined channels of the Okavango Delta

Mokoro safaris

Glide through the channels in a traditional dugout canoe.

A leopard on a fallen log in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Predator viewing

Exceptional lion, leopard and endangered wild dog.

Water & land game drives

A rare mix of boating and 4x4 wildlife viewing.

Exclusive camps

Intimate, low-density lodges deep in private concessions.

Where to go for the Okavango

The Delta lies in northern Botswana, but it rarely travels alone. These are the countries we pair it with for a complete Southern Africa journey.

Guides poling mokoro canoes through the Okavango Delta’s channels

By mokoro through the Delta’s quiet channels

Know before you go

Flights, entry rules, health and money: the practical details we handle for you, all in one place. Requirements can change, so we confirm everything when you book. Planning for older travelers? Motorboats are easier to board than a mokoro; see our guide to safaris for older travelers.

Getting there from the USA

Fly to Maun via Johannesburg. Newark and Atlanta nonstops take 15–16 hours, then a two-hour connection. After that, light aircraft hop you between Delta camps in 15–30 minutes.

Visas & entry

Botswana is visa-free for US citizens (up to 90 days). Passport valid six months with blank pages.

Health

The Delta is a malaria area, so prophylaxis is advised. In addition, camps carry medical kits, and our journeys include evacuation cover.

Money & tipping

Camps are fully inclusive, so bring modest US dollars in small bills. Tipping is at your discretion: around $20–25 per guest per day for your guide and $10–15 for camp staff is a common guideline.

Best time to visit the Okavango Delta

May–Oct

Peak flood and dry season, with the best wildlife and water levels.

Jul–Sep

Highest water, ideal for mokoro and boating safaris.

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

The full detail on money, health, connectivity and packing is in our Safari Planning Guide.

Okavango Delta FAQs

May to October combines the dry season with the annual flood, delivering the best wildlife and the highest water for mokoro and boat safaris.

A mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe poled through the Delta’s shallow channels. It is, above all, a quiet, magical way to experience the water wilderness up close.

Outstanding. In fact, the Delta is one of the best places in Africa to see lion, leopard and the endangered African wild dog.

Fly to Johannesburg nonstop from Atlanta or Newark (about 15–16 hours), connect two hours to Maun, then a light aircraft hops you to camp in 15–30 minutes. So the total journey is typically 22–26 hours, and we arrange every leg.

No. US passport holders enter visa-free for stays of up to 90 days. However, your passport needs six months’ validity beyond your return date and a few blank pages.

In the rainy months many of the same camps drop their rates by 20–40%, and you also get emerald landscapes, newborn wildlife, superb birding and far fewer vehicles. So tell us your budget and we’ll show you what the green season buys.

Yes. Prophylaxis is advised, so see a travel clinic 6–8 weeks before departure. Also, camps carry medical kits, and every journey we plan includes emergency evacuation cover and requires travel insurance.

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 (Delta) or Newark (United), then take 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. Confirm the 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 Okavango Delta safari.

An Okavango Delta safari changes character entirely with the water levels.

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.