Secret Namibia · Beyond Namibia safari · 9 days
The 9-Day Best of Botswana Fly-In Safari links the three landscapes that make Botswana one of the great safari destinations in Africa. Start on the Chobe River, home to the largest elephant population on the planet, with game drives and river safaris from Chobe Game Lodge.
At a glance
The 9-Day Best of Botswana Fly-In Safari links the three landscapes that make Botswana one of the great safari destinations in Africa. Start on the Chobe River, home to the largest elephant population on the planet, with game drives and river safaris from Chobe Game Lodge. Fly into the Okavango Delta for three nights on a private island at Xugana Island Lodge, exploring the channels by mokoro and motorboat, and finish with three nights at Camp Moremi on the Xakanaxa Lagoon, in one of the richest game areas of the Moremi Game Reserve. Light aircraft link the camps, every lodge is fully inclusive, and the flights themselves are an unforgettable view of the Delta from above.
Flying between camps turns the travelling days into part of the safari: an hour over the dunes or the escarpment instead of a day on gravel, and more time where it matters. Every flight, transfer and activity is arranged; you simply arrive.
Botswana and the Zambezi region follow the same rhythm as Namibia: dry and cool from May to October, with September and October the hottest and best for big concentrations of game, then green and stormy from November to April. In the Okavango the flood arrives from the Angolan highlands around June and lingers into September, so mokoro and boating are at their best in the middle of the dry season. Victoria Falls is fullest from February to May and at its lowest, with the clearest views, from September to December.
What is decided: the shape of the trip: the areas, the order, the properties and the number of nights in each. It is the version we would build first for most travellers.
What we confirm together: your dates, who is travelling, room categories and any extensions before or after. Every safari is tailored from here, and nothing is held until you ask us to.
The route
The route runs from Kasane on the Chobe River, by light aircraft into the Okavango Delta and on to Moremi Game Reserve, finishing in Maun. The flights are short, between thirty minutes and an hour and a half, and the camps meet you at each airstrip; the only driving is in the game vehicles.
Flight times are approximate and schedules are confirmed the evening before. Luggage on light aircraft is limited to about 20 kg per person in soft bags.
Day by day
Your safari begins at Kasane Airport, where the Chobe Game Lodge team meets you for the short drive to the lodge, the only permanent game lodge on the banks of the Chobe River inside Chobe National Park. Every room faces the river, and the lodge runs electric boats and electric game drive vehicles, so your safaris here are almost silent.
Spend two days between the water and the land: afternoon river safaris among herds of elephant crossing and bathing, hippo and crocodile on the banks and a remarkable variety of birds, and game drives along the Chobe Riverfront for lion, leopard and buffalo. It is the perfect start after a long journey. Meals, local drinks and activities are included.
A light aircraft carries you from Kasane into the Okavango Delta, where Xugana Island Lodge sits on a private island on the Xugana Lagoon, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful permanent water sites in the Delta. Twelve safari suites look out over the lagoon from the shade of the trees.
The Delta is best explored from the water. Glide through the papyrus channels in a mokoro, cover more ground by motorboat through the channels and lagoons, walk the islands with your guide, and take game drives when the water allows. Catch-and-release bream fishing is possible in season, and a scenic helicopter flight over the Delta can be added. Meals, local drinks and two activities a day are included.
A short flight brings you to Moremi Game Reserve and Camp Moremi, rebuilt in 2018 as a modern safari lodge on the edge of the Xakanaxa Lagoon. Twelve thatched safari tents, a pool and a deck over the water make it a fine place to end a safari.
Moremi combines water and dry land, which means some of the best game viewing in Botswana. Morning and afternoon game drives look for lion, leopard, wild dog, elephant and the big herds of the floodplains, and boat safaris on the Xakanaxa Lagoon bring you close to the heronries and the birdlife. Meals, local drinks and activities are included.
A last early game drive, then a light aircraft flies you to Maun in time for your onward flight.
Overnight · Departure dayWhere you stay
The only permanent game lodge on the banks of the Chobe River inside Chobe National Park, with every room facing the river.
+ Read moreForty-four rooms including family suites and four river-view suites with their own plunge pools. The lodge's safari boats and game drive vehicles are electric, for near-silent river safaris and game drives among the Chobe's elephant herds.
Fully inclusive; a short drive from Kasane Airport.
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Twelve safari suites on a private island on the Xugana Lagoon, one of the most beautiful permanent water sites in the Okavango Delta.
+ Read moreMokoro excursions, motorboat safaris and walks on the islands run all year, with more than 400 bird species recorded and catch-and-release bream fishing in season. A helicopter flight over the Delta can be added.
Fully inclusive, with two activities a day.
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Twelve thatched safari tents on the Xakanaxa Lagoon in Moremi Game Reserve, rebuilt in 2018 as a modern safari lodge.
+ Read moreMorning and afternoon game drives through Moremi's woodland and floodplains, boat safaris on the lagoon and outstanding birdlife, with a pool and a deck over the water between activities.
Fully inclusive; a light aircraft flight and a short drive from Maun.
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The practical side
Included
Not included
Next steps
This page is a sample itinerary, not a quote, and nothing on it is booked or held. If it suits someone you know, send them the link; we are just as happy to start from scratch for them.
Nine days is the shape most of our guests choose for this route; a night or two more lets you linger where you like it best, and many guests swap a property for one they have heard about. Tell us roughly when you are thinking of travelling and who is coming, and we will turn this sample into a firm itinerary within a day or two.
