Botswana itinerary, day by day

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.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: May to October

Maun · Photo Roger Brown / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Botswana in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · flights

1Maun and the Makgadikgadi

Day 1

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Audi Camp (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Thamalakane River Lodge (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The Duck Café ↗ ★ 4.6 · 254 reviews
KFC Maun ↗ ★ 4.5 · 741 reviews · €
Dusty Donkey Café ↗ ★ 4.5 · 472 reviews · €€
Marc's Eatery ↗ ★ 4.5 · 369 reviews · €€
The Boma Restaurant & Riverview Bar ↗ ★ 4.2 · 160 reviews

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

✈️ Bush flight · 30 min · to the delta

2The Okavango Delta

Days 2-3

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Maun Lodge (€75 a night) · Mid-range: Cresta Riley's Hotel (€110 a night) · Luxury: O Bona Moremi Safari Lodge (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The Duck Café ↗ ★ 4.6 · 254 reviews
Dusty Donkey Café ↗ ★ 4.5 · 472 reviews · €€
Marc's Eatery ↗ ★ 4.5 · 369 reviews · €€
Okavango Brewing Company ↗ ★ 4.5 · 129 reviews
The Boma Restaurant & Riverview Bar ↗ ★ 4.2 · 160 reviews

Photo Mark de Jong / Pexels

Botswana in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · flights

1Maun 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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Audi Camp (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Thamalakane River Lodge (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

✈️ Bush flight · 30 min · to the delta

2The Okavango Delta

Days 3-4

🎟️ 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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Maun Lodge (€75 a night) · Mid-range: Cresta Riley's Hotel (€110 a night) · Luxury: O Bona Moremi Safari Lodge (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Mark de Jong / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h · heading north

3Chobe National Park

Days 5-7

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Elephant Trail (€26 a night) · Mid-range: Chobe River Cottages (€139 a night) · Luxury: River View Lodge (€363 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Pepe Nero Ristorante Italiano ↗ ★ 4.5 · 150 reviews
Chobe Marina Lodge ↗ ★ 4.4 · 838 reviews
The Coffee Buzz ↗ ★ 4.4 · 115 reviews · €€
Nando's Kasane ↗ ★ 4.2 · 654 reviews · €€
Pizza Plus Coffee & Curry ↗ ★ 4.2 · 299 reviews · €€

Photo John Allan Kondwani Zabula / Pexels

Botswana in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · flights

1Maun and the Makgadikgadi

Days 1-3

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Audi Camp (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Thamalakane River Lodge (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

✈️ Bush flight · 30 min · to the delta

2The Okavango Delta

Days 4-7

🎟️ 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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Maun Lodge (€75 a night) · Mid-range: Cresta Riley's Hotel (€110 a night) · Luxury: O Bona Moremi Safari Lodge (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Mark de Jong / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h · heading north

3Chobe National Park

Days 8-12

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Elephant Trail (€26 a night) · Mid-range: Chobe River Cottages (€139 a night) · Luxury: River View Lodge (€363 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo John Allan Kondwani Zabula / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h · return

4Maun and the Makgadikgadi

Days 13-14

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.
Book on GetYourGuide →
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.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

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

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Audi Camp (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Thamalakane River Lodge (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando Huelgas / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

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.

⚠️ What to avoid

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.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Botswana guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Botswana, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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