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AfriGuide🇧🇼 BotswanaOkavango Delta Fly-In · 4 days
💧 UNESCO DELTA Bestseller Mokoro · walk · drive Fly-in tier · max 8

Okavango Delta Fly-In — 4 Days, Mokoro & Island Camp

★ 4.9 · 1,180 reviews · Moremi · NG concessions · English, Setswana · Fly from Maun (MUB)
Duration
4 days · 3 nights
Group
Max 8 · 6/vehicle
Start
Maun (MUB)
Includes
2 light-aircraft hops
Stay
Tented island camp
Game
Elephant · hippo · leopard

About this safari

Four days inside the Okavango — the world's largest inland delta, fed by rain that fell in Angola six months earlier. From Maun you fly 25 minutes by 5-seater Cessna into a private concession airstrip, then a transfer to an island tented camp surrounded by water. The signature activity is the mokoro — a traditional dugout canoe (now made of fibreglass for the trees' sake) poled by a local guide through head-high papyrus, hippo channels widening into floodplains. Add walking safari with an armed ranger and a full day of 4×4 game drives. Most people pair it with Chobe's elephants — we'll suggest the right combo when you book.

Highlights

Mokoro through the floodplains
Silent, low to the water, papyrus closes overhead · frogs, lechwe, lily-trotters · two sessions over the stay.
Walking safari with armed ranger
2 hours on foot from the island · track-reading, plant lore · approach buffalo and elephant respectfully.
Light-aircraft transfers
Cessna 206 over the delta · 25 min from Maun · the only sensible way in · panoramic flood patterns.
Tented island camp
8 raised meru tents, ensuite, bucket-shower with a view · solar lights · communal boma fire.
4×4 game drive day
Adjacent concession allows off-road · leopard, wild dog, elephant herds at sundown.
Sundowner on a termite mound
G&T at the highest point on your island · sun drops · hippos start announcing themselves.

Day-by-day itinerary

01
Day 1
Maun · fly to the Delta · first mokoro
  1. 10:30 — Meet at Maun airport (you've connected via JNB or CPT).
  2. 11:00Cessna flight to your private concession airstrip · 25 min · delta unfolds below.
  3. 12:00 — Pickup by safari vehicle · 30-min transfer to island camp.
  4. 13:00 — Welcome lunch on the deck.
  5. 15:30First mokoro session · 2 hours through floodplains and lagoons with your poler.
  6. 18:00 — Sundowner at the boma fire.
  7. 19:30 — Dinner under the marula tree.
02
Day 2
Walking safari · mokoro · sundowner
  1. 05:30 — Coffee on the deck · hippos still arguing in the channel.
  2. 06:00Walking safari · 2 hrs with armed ranger · animal tracks, plant uses, approach a herd at distance.
  3. 09:00 — Brunch back at camp · siesta.
  4. 15:00Second mokoro session · explore a different lagoon system.
  5. 17:30Sundowner on a termite mound · highest point on the island.
  6. 19:30 — Boma dinner around the fire · star talk after.
03
Day 3
Full-day 4×4 · big cats
  1. 05:30 — Early breakfast.
  2. 06:30Full-day 4×4 game drive into the wider concession · picnic lunch in the bush.
  3. 13:00 — Bush brunch · ostrich-egg shaded lunch table.
  4. 15:30 — Continue tracking · leopard or wild dog if luck holds · elephant herds at the waterhole at golden hour.
  5. 18:30 — Spotlight drive back to camp · genets, civets, owls.
  6. 20:00 — Celebration dinner.
04
Day 4
Last walk · fly back to Maun
  1. 06:00 — Last walking session · 90 min.
  2. 09:00 — Brunch · check out.
  3. 10:30 — Transfer to airstrip.
  4. 11:00 — Cessna back to Maun · 25 min.
  5. 11:30 — Land at MUB · onward connection (Chobe extension, JNB, CPT, international).

What's included

  • Round-trip Cessna · Maun ↔ island airstrip
  • 3 nts tented island camp
  • All meals + house wine, beer, soft drinks
  • 2 mokoro sessions + 2 walking safaris
  • Full-day 4×4 game drive
  • Conservation & concession fees
  • Ranger + poler on every activity
  • Laundry · WiFi at main lodge

Not included

  • × International flights to MUB / JNB
  • × Visa (free for most, 30 days)
  • × Travel & medical insurance (required)
  • × Premium spirits & champagne
  • × Tips · ranger $25/day · poler $20
  • × Maun pre/post hotels

Cancellation policy

Bot safari operators have tight cancel windows — book early.

100%
Refund 60+ days before.
50%
60–21 days before.
0%
Inside 21 days.

1,180 reviews

4.9
★★★★★
The Okavango benchmark
★★★★★
"The mokoro is the quietest place on earth. Hippos in the next channel, our poler whispering bird names, a leopard yawning across the way."
Lena F.
Munich · Jul '25 · flood
★★★★★
"Walking safari with KB our ranger — we tracked elephant footprints, then heard them ahead. He talked us through every cue. Best safari moment of our lives."
Peter H.
Sydney · Aug '25

Common questions

Best time to go?

Counter-intuitively the dry season is when the Delta floods — rain falls in Angola Mar–Apr, the water arrives Jun–Aug. So June–September is peak: clear skies, full channels, game concentrated. Oct–Nov is dry and hot, water receding, mostly game drives. Jan–Feb is "green season" — cheaper, fewer water activities but lush, birding paradise.

Why is Bot safari expensive?

Botswana intentionally runs a low-volume, high-value model. Private concessions limit visitor density, fly-in is standard (no overland-truck tourism), and conservation fees fund the wildlife corridors. It's the most exclusive safari destination — and the wildlife density shows it.

Can I add Chobe or Victoria Falls?

Absolutely — the classic combo. Fly Maun → Kasane after this trip, do 2 nights at Chobe (highest elephant density on earth), then cross to Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe. Add 3 nights for $1,890/pp.

Luggage limits on the Cessna?

Soft duffel bags only · 20 kg / 44 lb total including hand luggage. We can store hard cases in Maun until you fly out. The camp has laundry so pack light.

Malaria?

Yes — Okavango is a malaria zone year-round. Prophylaxis required. Camps have mosquito nets and spray, but take the pills. Speak to your travel clinic before you fly.

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