Home / Multi-Day Safaris / 9 Day Botswana Explorer: Chobe, Salt Pans, Okavango & Moremi

9 days · 8 nights

9 Day Botswana Explorer: Chobe, Salt Pans, Okavango & Moremi

The big Botswana road trip: Chobe’s elephants, meerkats on the salt pans, mokoro in the Delta and the predators of Moremi.

DURATION

9 days / 8 nights

ROUTE

Victoria Falls → Chobe → Elephant Sands → Makgadikgadi

STYLE

Budget, mid-range or premium

GROUP

Small group or private

Price

On request

Trip overview

This is Botswana the way our guides love it best: overland and close to the wild. From Victoria Falls you cross into Chobe, where elephants walk past camp. You follow the elephant highway south to Elephant Sands, then head out onto the vast white Makgadikgadi salt pans to meet the habituated meerkats and sleep out under the stars.

From Maun you’re poled deep into the Okavango Delta by mokoro, and you camp on an island. The trip ends in Moremi Game Reserve, one of Africa’s best places for painted dogs, leopard and lion. Travel on a participation camping budget, in comfortable mid-range camps and lodges, or in premium style with fly-in camps.

Rates depend on travel dates, travel style and group size. We send a full, no-obligation quote.

Choose your travel style

Same route, three ways to travel. Every option includes your guide, transfers and activities, and the difference is where you sleep and how you move.

Budget

Camping & simple rooms

Guided camping safaris and simple en-suite rooms. Shared safari vehicles, with a camp crew that cooks and runs camp. The most affordable and most immersive way to travel.

Chobe · 1 nightGuided camping inside Chobe National Park (dome tents)
Elephant Sands · 1 nightElephant Sands campsite
Makgadikgadi · 2 nightsPan-edge camping and salt-pan sleep-out
Okavango Delta · 2 nightsMokoro island camping (dome tents) from Maun
Moremi · 2 nightsThird Bridge or Xakanaxa public campsites

Mid-range

Comfortable lodges & tented camps

Comfortable lodges and classic tented camps with en-suite bathrooms, good food, and a mix of shared and private activities.

Chobe · 1 nightChobe Safari Lodge, Kasane, or similar
Elephant Sands · 1 nightElephant Sands Lodge chalets
Makgadikgadi · 2 nightsPlanet Baobab or similar
Okavango Delta · 2 nightsClassic tented camp in the Delta or similar
Moremi · 2 nightsMobile tented safari camp in Moremi

Premium

Luxury lodges & fly-in camps

Luxury lodges and fly-in camps, private guiding where available, light-aircraft transfers in the Delta and gourmet dining.

Chobe · 1 nightChobe Game Lodge (inside the park) or similar
Elephant Sands · 1 nightElephant Sands Lodge chalets
Makgadikgadi · 2 nightsCamp Kalahari or Jack’s Camp or similar
Okavango Delta · 2 nightsFly-in luxury camp such as Camp Okavango or similar
Moremi · 2 nightsCamp Xakanaxa or similar

Lodges shown are examples (“or similar”). We confirm camps for your dates and send a quote for each style.

Full itinerary

1Day 1
Victoria Falls to Chobe
Morning pick-up in Victoria Falls, cross at Kazungula into Botswana, and spend the afternoon on a Chobe River boat safari.
Overnight: Chobe · Meals: L, D
2Day 2
Chobe to Elephant Sands
Morning game drive in Chobe National Park, then drive south to Elephant Sands for sundowners as elephants come to the waterhole.
Overnight: Elephant Sands · Meals: B, L, D
3Day 3
Makgadikgadi Pans
Head onto the Makgadikgadi Pans. Late-afternoon meerkat encounter, then dinner and a sleep-out under the stars (dry season).
Overnight: Makgadikgadi · Meals: B, L, D
4Day 4
Makgadikgadi
Sunrise with the meerkats, explore the pans and baobabs, and spend the evening at camp.
Overnight: Makgadikgadi · Meals: B, L, D
5Day 5
Into the Okavango Delta
Drive to Maun and on to the mokoro station. Polers take you through the channels to your island camp.
Overnight: Okavango Delta · Meals: B, L, D
6Day 6
Okavango Delta
Dawn walking safari on the islands, a mokoro excursion and sunset on the water.
Overnight: Okavango Delta · Meals: B, L, D
7Day 7
To Moremi Game Reserve
Mokoro back to the station, then a game drive into Moremi to camp at Third Bridge or Xakanaxa.
Overnight: Moremi · Meals: B, L, D
8Day 8
Moremi
A full day of game drives looking for painted dogs, leopard and lion.
Overnight: Moremi · Meals: B, L, D
9Day 9
Moremi to Maun
Final morning drive, then transfer to Maun Airport for your onward flight.
Overnight: — · Meals: B

What's included

8 nights' accommodation in your chosen style
All meals as listed
Professional safari guide and 4x4 safari vehicle
Mokoro excursion with local polers
Park and camping fees in Botswana
Meerkat encounter and pan activities

What's not included

Flight out of Maun (we can book it)
Visas (Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, depending on passport)
Travel and medical insurance (compulsory)
Optional activities not listed
Drinks unless stated, gratuities and personal items

Gallery

Traveller reviews

Rated 5 out of 5

Every transfer, border and lodge ran like clockwork. The team in Vic Falls were always a message away.

Sample reviewer, United States

Rated 5 out of 5

The best trip of our lives! Everything was perfectly organised and the guides were amazing.

Sample reviewer, United States

Rated 5 out of 5

They listened to what we wanted and built the itinerary around it. Faultless.

Sample reviewer, United Kingdom

Sample reviews shown for layout. Replace with verified Google or TripAdvisor reviews before launch.

Frequently asked questions

What is a participation camping safari?

On the budget option, guests help pitch their own dome tents while the crew cooks and runs camp. It’s the most affordable and most immersive way to see Botswana.