Things to do in Okavango Delta
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Okavango Delta
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Peak season, best game and water together, coolest in Jun and Jul, wild dogs den Jun to Aug.
Shoulder and rising water, fewer visitors, shoulder pricing and excellent early flood birding.
Late dry, best pure game concentration and fishing peak; Oct is hot and Nov brings first rains and green season rates.
Green season, lush birding and calving at under half peak price, but game dispersed and Jan to Feb worst for a first big cat trip.
What's on
- Barbel Run late Aug to early Nov
Catfish swarm and tiger fish feed behind them in the Panhandle; fishing peaks.
- Wild dog denning Jun to Aug
The best window to see wild dog pups at dens.
- Peak flood Jun to Aug
Maximum flood extent in the central and southern Delta and Moremi.
Best things to do in Okavango Delta
Mokoro Safari
Gliding at water level by mokoro is the defining Delta experience, silent and close to frogs, kingfishers and lechwe.
Moremi Game Reserve
The only protected part of the Delta, with classic Big Five drives around lagoons, floodplain and mopane forest.
Mombo Concession
Botswana's benchmark predator concession, with lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog at very low vehicle density.
Guided Walking Safari
Walking at dawn with armed professional guides reveals tracks, plants and small wildlife you miss from a vehicle.
Night Drives in Private Concessions
Spotlight drives in private concessions find hunting leopard, genet, civet and porcupine that Moremi cannot offer at night.
Birding in the Okavango Delta
Papyrus channels and floodplains hold Pel's fishing owl, wattled crane, skimmer and seasonal heronries.
Chief's Island
The classic combined morning: mokoro out along the Boro, then a guided walk on Chief's Island and mokoro back.
Khwai Village
A community encounter arranged through the Khwai Community Trust, guided by residents who lease the concession land.
Where to stay in Okavango Delta
Mombo Concession, Northern Chief's Island
maximum predator density, bucket-list trip
The benchmark predator area in Moremi, at the top of the Delta price scale.
Jao Concession, Western Delta
water, beauty, honeymoon
The archetypal wet concession, boating, mokoro and walking first, drives second.
Private Concessions South and East of Moremi
all-rounder luxury, land and water in one camp
Off-road, night drives and walks are permitted, with the lowest vehicle density.
Khwai
value, wild dogs, night drives
Road and fly-in flexibility and night drives hold the Delta's best mid-range value.
Central and Southern Water Camps
pure water Delta, birding, calm
Permanent water camps for mokoro, boats and birds, best paired with a land camp.
Duba Concession, Northern Delta
lion and buffalo drama, photography, exclusivity
A private floodplain concession held almost entirely to Great Plains, famous for swamp lions.
Think twice about
- Maun as a safari base
Day trips mean hours on sand roads, midday heat and no dawn, dusk, night or water experience. Stay at least two nights in the Delta.
Best restaurants in Okavango Delta
Marc's Eatery
Maun's best table, a garden restaurant known for warthog stew, kudu, lamb tagine and malva pudding.
Dusty Donkey Café
Maun's best cafe and brunch stop, with good coffee, all-day breakfasts, salads and wraps in a garden setting.
Tandurei Indian Restaurant
The consensus best curry in Maun, a generous Indian grill that safari groups head for after camp food.
Butter Chicken Indian Restaurant
A small, very highly rated Indian restaurant, the local tip for pure rating per review in Maun.
Hilary's
A long-running healthy cafe for salads, sandwiches, cakes and proper coffee, popular with guides and pilots.
Okavango Craft Brewery
Maun-brewed beers and brewpub food in a garden, the best place to debrief a safari over a sundowner.
The Duck Café Bar
A relaxed cafe-bar with a gift shop, good for a slow morning, a light lunch and last-minute gifts.
Il Pomodoro
Maun's competent Italian fallback, with pizzas and pasta that safari crews actually use.
Outdoor things to do in Okavango Delta
Boat Safari Okavango Delta
Motorboats go faster and further than mokoro, past swimming elephants, hippo pods and crocodiles at sunset.
Helicopter Horizons
A doors-off helicopter flight is the best way to grasp the Delta's channels, islands and elephant paths from the air.
Macatoo Camp
A dedicated riding safari with fast canters on dry islands and splashy gallops across floodplains for competent riders.
Fishing in the Okavango Delta
Catch and release fishing for tiger fish and bream, peaking with the Barbel Run from late August to early November.
Letaka Safaris
A Botswana-owned mobile safari combining drives, walks and mokoro, and the expert route to a proper Delta trip for less.
Sable Alley
Khwai Private offers drives, night drives, walks, mokoro, boats, sundowner cruises and hides in one reserve.
Self-Drive Moremi
The only true budget adventure: a rented 4x4 and public campsites, for experienced African self-drivers only.
Hot Air Balloon Okavango Delta
Seasonal ballooning over the floodplains is a superb silent complement to the helicopter when it is running.
Best hotels in Okavango Delta
Wilderness Mombo Camp
The flagship Mombo camp, with huge raised suites over the floodplain and outstanding land-based predator viewing.
Little Mombo
A small three to four suite sister to Mombo, sharing its concession and guiding with more intimacy.
Sanctuary Chief's Camp
Mombo-adjacent game on Chief's Island at a slightly lower, still ultra-luxury, price band.
Jao Camp
A stunning wet camp for boating, mokoro and walks, with spa and wellness focus and superb food.
Kwetsani Camp
A five-room luxury tented camp on stilts under canopy, overlooking a floodplain with lechwe and predators.
Tubu Tree Camp
A traditional camp in the Jao Reserve with a better land balance than the pure wet camps on Hunda Island.
Kwando Kwara Camp
An adults-only camp offering drives, night drives, walks, mokoro and boating year-round in a huge concession.
&Beyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge
Striking architecture on a dry margin, a first-time luxury Delta and honeymoon favourite.
Is Okavango Delta expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | BWP 6,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | BWP 15,500 a person |
| Splurge | BWP 47,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Moremi Game Reserve: weeks ahead
- Mombo Concession: months ahead
- Sky Beds: weeks ahead
- Tsodilo Hills: weeks ahead
- Helicopter Horizons: weeks ahead
- Macatoo Camp: months ahead
- Letaka Safaris: months ahead
- Self-Drive Moremi: weeks ahead
- Top camps sell out a year ahead for Jul to Oct; Mombo, Duba Plains, Vumbura and Tuludi for Aug to Sep need 11 to 14 months.
- Book through a Botswana specialist for concession pairing and charter sequencing, and confirm fees, night drives and mokoro water levels in writing.
Is Okavango Delta safe?
- Camps are unfenced; never walk alone after dark and never approach hippos or crocodiles at water edges.
- The Delta is malarial, highest risk Nov to May; take prophylaxis and use repellent at dusk.
- Comprehensive travel and medical evacuation insurance is essential. Emergency number and hospital care are reached via Maun.
Okavango Delta travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Basing in Maun and day-tripping the Delta is the top trap.
- One wet camp for a whole trip under-delivers on predators; split wet and dry camps.
- Mombo plus Xigera is not a real two-camp split; they are about 10 miles apart.
- Cheap Maun Delta tours with no named concession, camp or operator licence.
Getting around Okavango Delta: public transport and more
- Fly to Maun, then take a light aircraft to your camp airstrip. Inside the Delta your camp moves you by vehicle, boat, mokoro or on foot.
- Soft-sided luggage only, usually 20 kg total including hand luggage, for charter flights.
Who Okavango Delta suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Okavango Delta your trip
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