Sample journey · 10–13 days
Botswana, slowly: delta, pans and river
The Okavango Delta by mokoro and on foot, the Makgadikgadi pans and the Chobe River
Photo: Rod Long / Unsplash
Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.
On this journey it isn't only the places that change but the way you move. In the delta, a mokoro poled by a guide past water lilies and walks across the islands; on the pans, open space where the horizon dissolves into sky; on the Chobe, a boat on the river where elephant families come down to drink in the evening. Light aircraft link the camps, so transfers are short and the views from the air become part of the journey.
Botswana is known for small camps and an unhurried rhythm: three nights in each, early mornings, long hot middays and evenings by the fire. It suits couples who want to be far from everything, and travellers who have already been on safari and want something different. No one can promise which animals will appear, which is exactly why every day is different. We'd choose the mix of camps and the season around how you picture your journey.
The route
The journey
- Maun
- Okavango Delta (water camp)
- Okavango Delta (land camp)
- Makgadikgadi pans
- Kasane & the Chobe River
01Day 1 · Maun
A flight over patterns of water
Maun is a small town on the edge of the delta and the gateway for safari flights. After landing, often on the same day, you switch to a light aircraft: a few dozen minutes over meandering channels, lagoons and palm-fringed islands, then a landing on a gravel strip where your guide is waiting. If flights don't connect, the first night can be spent in Maun beside the Thamalakane River.
02Days 1–4 · Okavango Delta: a water camp
The quiet of the mokoro
The first camp is in the permanent-water area, where life revolves around the channels. By mokoro you glide past papyrus and water lilies, looking for tiny reed frogs and kingfishers in the reeds; by motorboat you head out into open lagoons, and on the islands you walk with a guide, learning to read tracks. Mokoro trips depend on water levels, which differ each year.
03Days 4–7 · Okavango Delta: a land camp
Islands where the predators hunt
A short flight to a second camp with more dry land: wooded islands, floodplains and acacia. Here there are more open-vehicle drives, and in season wildlife often gathers near the water: elephant, buffalo, antelope and sometimes lion, leopard or wild dog. Afternoons are for resting on the tent's deck, looking out over the flooded plain.
04Days 7–9 · Makgadikgadi pans
White silence
After the green of the delta, another world entirely: the bed of an ancient lake turned into white salt plains. In the dry season you can walk with local guides, watch meerkats used to people and, in some places, spend a night under the open sky out on the pan itself. In the wetter months the grasslands turn green and zebra and wildebeest sometimes arrive, though each year is different.
05Days 10–12 · Kasane & the Chobe River
Elephants in the evening light
The last stop is the Chobe River in the north, near Kasane. Here wildlife is easiest to watch from the water: an afternoon boat trip shows elephant herds coming down to drink in the dry season, while crocodile and hippo rest in the shallows. From Kasane you can fly home or, around an hour to an hour and a half away by road, extend the journey with a few nights at Victoria Falls.
Experience highlights
- 01
A mokoro at dawn
Mist over the channel, a pole touching the riverbed without a sound and birdsong in the reeds.
- 02
The delta from the air
Flights between camps reveal the scale of the delta: a pattern of water you can't see from the ground.
- 03
A night on the pans
Where it's offered, a bed under the stars and silence all the way to the horizon.
- 04
The Chobe from the water
Elephant families wading across the river as the sun sets over the Namibian bank.
First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.
Make it your own
Linyanti instead of the pans
For those who'd rather have more wildlife than open space: the private Linyanti concessions, with lagoons, elephant and sometimes wild dog.
As a honeymoon
A private vehicle and guide, dinner for two under the stars and, to finish, a few days at Victoria Falls or on a beach in Mozambique.
Simpler
A mobile safari with tents that move through Moremi, Savute and Chobe: more adventure and simpler stays.
In another season
In the dry season wildlife more often gathers near water and the delta usually has the most water; in the wetter months the landscape is green, young animals are born and the pans come alive. We'd choose the camps around the season.
Practical considerations
- Camps are linked by light aircraft with strict luggage limits, usually around 20 kg including hand luggage, in a soft bag without wheels.
- Mornings and nights from June to August can be cold, while October days are often very hot; layers in neutral colours are the best choice.
- Northern Botswana lies in a malaria-risk area; check current health advice with a doctor or travel clinic.
- Camps usually have only a handful of tents, so in the most popular months they're worth planning well ahead.
General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.
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Drawn to the quiet of the delta, the open pans or an evening on the Chobe? Tell us how you picture your journey, and we'll choose the camps and the season together.
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