Okavango Delta Travel Guide
Okavango Delta Travel Guide
There are few wild places on Earth that offer the same unique combination of spectacular wildlife, beautiful scenery, palm-fringed waterways, remote islands and vast unspoilt wilderness as Botswana's Okavango Delta. The Okavango swamps are formed by the annual flooding of the Okavango River, which opens into a vast life-giving oasis in Botswana's desert. The delta attracts huge numbers of wildlife due to the permanent water available here.
Highlights
- Vast unspoilt wilderness area
- Large choice of safari lodges
- Excellent game viewing (including the Big Five on Chief's Island)
- Mokoro trips (dugout canoes) through the Delta
- Boat cruises
- Open 4x4 safari vehicle game drives
- Guided bush walks
- Prolific birdlife
Wild and untouched, Botswana's Okavango Delta offers a unique safari experience that combines incredible wildlife and beautiful scenery few places on Earth can live up to.
Wildlife
The world's largest inland delta, Botswana's Okavango Delta turns the surrounding Kalahari into a wildlife paradise that remains largely untouched by its isolation and inaccessibility by road. The network of papyrus-lined water channels snaking through the wilderness creates islands and floodplains that are a refuge for many species of animals, including the Big Five.
Okavango Delta leopard
No matter what time of year you go on an Okavango Delta safari, you're likely to encounter large numbers of elephants and buffalos as well as hippo, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, impala, kudu, waterbuck, tsessebe, red lechwe and healthy populations of sitatunga, a rare swamp-dwelling amphibious antelope. Predator sightings include lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, black-backed jackal and African wild dog.
Over 400 species of bird can be found distributed throughout the Delta, depending on the habitat they favour. The slaty egret tends to stick to the reeds near shallow pans while wattled cranes can be spotted searching for food in the wet grasslands and floodplains.
Accommodation
A large variety of safari camps and game lodges are situated in the Okavango Delta and your choice of accommodation will determine the type of game viewing experience. Some camps and lodges offer more land-based safaris, meaning their primary game-viewing activity is game drives. Others are more water-based, offering water-based activities such as mokoro trips and boat cruises. Many lodges offer a combination of land-based and boat-based game viewing.
Game drive in the Okavango Delta
The safari lodges in the Okavango Delta are expensive compared to other safari destinations but well worth the cost. Some of the lodges are situated in private concession areas where night drives, bush walks, fishing and off-road driving is permitted. These activities are not permitted at lodges situated inside the national parks.
Getting there
By air - Okavango Delta safaris start with a domestic flight in a light aircraft from Maun to your lodge or safari camp's airstrip. Depending on where your accommodation is located in the Delta, the flight takes between 15 and 45 minutes. You'll be met at the airstrip and transferred to your final destination.
Our take on the Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta offers a truly unforgettable wilderness experience with some of the best game viewing and most remote lodges in Botswana. Its vast size and abundant wildlife ensure that every visit to the Okavango is different.
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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11 Day Botswana and Victoria Falls Safari
It is easy to combine Botswana and Victoria Falls. This trip idea combines four of Botswana's top safari destinations with two nights at Victoria Falls. The duration is flexible, and you can spend an extra night at any destination on this trip. Botswana has many excellent safari lodges, but we always recommend using ones in the same group or family so you can benefit from long-stay specials. This trip idea is based on Desert & Delta Lodges, which are reasonably priced and lie mainly in the national parks.
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".
