Botswana

Botswana, in a few days

From the Okavango Delta by dugout canoe to the elephant herds of Chobe, by way of the Makgadikgadi salt pans, by bush plane and 4x4: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

Day by day

1

Maun and the Makgadikgadi

Days 1-2

The gateway town to the Okavango Delta, and the road east to the Makgadikgadi, some of the largest salt pans in the world. Scenic flights over the delta leave from its airstrip.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Scenic flight over the delta45 min · from €120
  A light aircraft at low altitude over the patchwork of water and land, where herds and hippos show up as dots in the channels.
• 4x4 into the Makgadikgadi pansFull day · from €80
  A day across the white salt crust, a landscape so flat and empty that the horizon disappears.

✦ Free to visit

• Maun, the gateway to the delta
• The baobabs of Kubu Island
• Meerkats
• Sunsets over the salt pans

📲 Book things to do in Maun and the Makgadikgadi on GetYourGuide

2

The Okavango Delta

Days 3-4 · ✈️ Bush flight 30 min

A river that never reaches the sea and spreads instead into the Kalahari, forming a maze of channels, lagoons and islands. UNESCO-listed since 2014, it is explored by mokoro, the traditional dugout canoe.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Mokoro safari (dugout canoe)Full day · from €90
  A poler standing at the back guides the canoe through the reeds and water lilies, at water level and in silence.
• Guided walking safariHalf day · from €60
  On foot with an armed tracker, reading footprints and droppings, and seeing the bush at the pace of the animals.

✦ Free to visit

• Hippos and elephants
• Channels and lagoons
• Birdlife
• The night sky over the bush

📲 Book things to do in The Okavango Delta on GetYourGuide

3

Chobe National Park

Days 5-7 · ✈️ Flight 1h

Home to one of the largest elephant populations in Africa, which gather along the Chobe river in the dry season. The river is best seen from a boat.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Boat safari on the Chobe riverHalf day · from €45
  An afternoon on the water, when elephants come down to drink and swim, a few metres from the boat.
• 4x4 safari (the elephant herds)Full day · from €75
  A full day on the park tracks, following the herds between the forest and the riverbank.

✦ Free to visit

• One of the largest elephant populations in Africa
• Lions and buffalo
• Sunsets over the river
• Victoria Falls (nearby)

📲 Book things to do in Chobe National Park on GetYourGuide

Worth sorting before you go

Bush planes and 4x4 · Light aircraft hop between the delta camps, most of which have no road access. For the parks, a 4x4 with a guide.

📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly

🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta

🚗 Car hire
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking

💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut

🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer

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Flavours & local habits

🍽️ Worth tasting

• Seswaa: beef or goat boiled for hours, then pounded into shreds, the national dish.
• Pap (bogobe): a stiff porridge of maize or sorghum, served with stews and seswaa.
• Game meat cooked on the braai, the southern African barbecue.
• Morogo: wild leafy greens, cooked down with onion and tomato.
• Rooibos tea, and the traditional sorghum beer.

⚠️ Best avoided

• Book camps and mokoro trips months in advance: capacity is small by design.
• Self-driving is only for experienced 4x4 drivers: sand tracks and deep water crossings are the norm.
• Never get out of the vehicle in wildlife areas unless your guide says so.
• Travel in the dry season if you can, and expect high prices: Botswana deliberately favours small numbers of visitors.

Words that help

English ↔ Setswana

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The practical page

Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/botswana

Packing checklist

Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.