Okavango Delta Travel Guide
Okavango Delta Travel Guide
There are few truly wild places left in the world, and Botswana's Okavango Delta is one of them. This vast inland delta is fed by floodwaters from Angola, creating a lush, seasonal oasis that transforms the Kalahari Desert into a haven for wildlife. Remote, water-locked, and teeming with game, the Delta offers one of Africa's most exceptional safari experiences. Whether you're looking for thrilling game drives, tranquil mokoro safaris, or up-close wildlife encounters, this guide covers everything you need to know.
Highlights
- Unrivalled game viewing in Botswana's remote Okavango Delta wilderness
- Year-round safari destination with excellent Big Five sightings on Chief's Island
- Exclusive access to private concessions offering night drives, bush walks, and off-road safaris
- Scenic mokoro safaris through papyrus-lined channels and floodplains
- Luxury safari camps and lodges in pristine, off-the-grid locations
- Incredible birding safaris with over 400 recorded species, including slaty egret and wattled crane
- Daily fly-in safaris from Maun with easy access to remote camps by airstrip
- Photographer's dream – dramatic landscapes, shifting light, and predator-prey action
Why Go on Safari in the Okavango Delta?
Okavango Delta leopard
Vast, Untouched Wilderness
The Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason: it's one of the largest and most pristine inland deltas on Earth. With a constantly shifting landscape of floodplains, channels, islands, and woodlands, the region feels raw and untouched.
Big Game Viewing All Year Round
Thanks to the permanent water, wildlife is resident year-round. Expect elephants, buffalo, hippos, giraffes, zebras, red lechwe, tsessebe, kudu, and more. The Okavango also supports healthy predator populations, including lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, and African wild dog.
Water-Based Safari Experiences
Mokoro trips—traditional dugout canoe safaris—are a signature Delta experience. You can also enjoy motorboat excursions, especially in permanent water areas, to explore lagoons and remote channels.
What Wildlife Can You Expect?
Game drive in the Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta offers some of the best game viewing in Africa. You'll likely see:
- Big Five sightings (particularly on Chief's Island)
- Large herds of elephant and buffalo
- Rare amphibious species like sitatunga and red lechwe
- Predators including lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, and hyena
- Over 400 bird species, from slaty egrets and Pel’s fishing owls to wattled cranes and kingfishers
The landscape's diversity means every game drive or boat ride offers something different.
Choosing Your Safari Lodge
&Beyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
Your lodge or camp will shape your experience. Here's what to know:
- Land-based camps focus on 4x4 game drives and walking safaris.
- Water-based camps offer mokoro excursions and boat cruises.
- Mixed-activity camps provide both, depending on water levels.
Many of the most rewarding experiences are in private concessions, where you can enjoy off-road game drives, night safaris, and guided bush walks—activities not permitted in national parks.
Yes, Okavango lodges are expensive, but the exclusivity and quality are unmatched.
How to Get There
Access is exclusively by light aircraft from Maun or Kasane. Flights take 15–45 minutes, depending on camp location. Once you land, the game viewing starts immediately—your transfer to camp is often part of the safari.
Our Take on the Delta
We've been there. We keep going back. What makes the Okavango Delta stand out is its remoteness, the sheer volume and variety of wildlife, and the unusual mix of land and water safari activities. It's a place where you can still feel like the only person for miles, with nothing but the sound of birds, hippos, and the breeze in the reeds.
No matter how many times you visit, the Okavango always delivers something extraordinary.
Chief's Camp
Chief's Camp is an idyllic luxury safari camp and one of only two lodges situated on Chief's Island in Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta – the only place in Botswana where rhinos can be found in their natural environment. The area around Chief's Island is seasonally submerged by floodwaters and offers exceptional game viewing all year round. Chief's Island is home to the Big Five and is known as the "predator capital of Africa".
Baines Camp
Baines' Camp is a small and intimate luxury camp nestled in the tree line on the banks of the Boro River, in Botswana's Okavango Delta. This minimal-impact lodge is situated in a 260,000-acre private concession area, adjacent to the Moremi Game Reserve. Game drives are in open 4x4 vehicles which drive off-road and at night. Each of the six intimate suites has been craftily constructed from recycled material and buffalo dung and offers sweeping views over the river and surrounding bush.
Camp Moremi
Camp Moremi is a serene tented camp at the edge of the Okavango Delta, within the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. Renowned as one of the best game-viewing areas in Botswana, the Xakanaxa area surrounding this camp offers you the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Okavango from open 4x4 vehicles, motorised river boats or even from your private viewing deck.
Camp Okavango
Camp Okavango, situated in the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta on the secluded Nxaragha Island, is a wetland paradise offering excellent game viewing all year round. This luxury tented camp accommodates 24 guests and each room has its own private deck overlooking the Okavango. The main lodge is built from thatch and lethaka (reed) and offers a cocktail bar, a wildlife reference library and dining room which leads onto a spacious open patio.
Eagle Island Camp
Eagle Island Camp is a luxury lodge nestled within the Okavango Delta on Xaxaba Island, overlooking the Xaxaba Lagoon. The lodge has 11 air-conditioned safari tents and an exclusive luxury suite for those looking for supreme privacy. The Fish Eagle Bar at Eagle Island Camp was voted one of the most romantic bars in the world by the New York Times. The area surrounding Eagle Island Camp offers exceptional wildlife and bird sightings all year round. A special treat is the scenic helicopter flight over the Okavango Delta, which is included in your stay.
Kwando Splash Camp
Opened in July 2018, Splash Camp offers a relaxed, intimate, and friendly safari. Its excellent location offers a range of conditions: permanent and seasonal floodplains as well as extensive dry periods. In high-water season, there are labyrinths of water channels and secret islands to explore. It's said to be one of the best locations in Botswana for both game viewing and activities.
Motswiri Camp
Located in northern Botswana’s spectacular Selinda Reserve, Motswiri Camp is set on the banks of the Selinda spillway and its floodplain. This eco-friendly camp is perfectly placed to offer extensive views over tranquil watery surrounds that are rich with birds and wildlife.
Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp is an intimate camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Tucked away on its own island in a riverine forest under massive canopies of tall jackalberry trees, this exclusive oasis offers nine luxury tented suites.
Pom Pom Camp
Pom Pom Camp is situated in a private concession within the Okavango Delta and adjacent to the Moremi Game Reserve. This diverse area is a world-renowned game-viewing destination. The camp offers luxury accommodation and a truly African experience in safari-style tents.
Stanley's Camp
Recently renovated (April 2018) Stanley's Camp is an elegant tented camp located off the southern tip of Chief's Island in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. As it's situated in a 260,000-acre private concession, off-road game drives, bush walks and night drives are permitted. Its remote location ensures exclusivity and provides great game- and bird-viewing activities by vehicle, by boat or on foot. The camp offers expansive views over the surrounding floodplain.
Xugana Island Lodge
Xugana Island Lodge is a luxury game lodge situated on Xugana Island, overlooking the Xugana Lagoon. Set in the heart of the Okavago Delta in Botswana, the lodge neighbours the diverse Moremi Game Reserve. Xugana Lagoon is renowned as one of the most magnificent permanent water sites in the delta, offering spectacular game viewing and birding opportunities.
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Camp Moremi
Camp Moremi is a serene tented camp at the edge of the Okavango Delta, within the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. Renowned as one of the best game-viewing areas in Botswana, the Xakanaxa area surrounding this camp offers you the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Okavango from open 4x4 vehicles, motorised river boats or even from your private viewing deck.
Chief's Camp
Chief's Camp is an idyllic luxury safari camp and one of only two lodges situated on Chief's Island in Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta – the only place in Botswana where rhinos can be found in their natural environment. The area around Chief's Island is seasonally submerged by floodwaters and offers exceptional game viewing all year round. Chief's Island is home to the Big Five and is known as the "predator capital of Africa".
