11 days - the Okavango Delta to Victoria Falls
Eleven days from the Okavango Delta through Selinda and Chobe National Park to Victoria Falls, moving between camps by charter flight.
The journey
Flood water fills the Delta channels, so mokoro trips and boat cruises begin to work well. Dry days, high spray at the falls.
The Okavango Delta, Chitabe and Selinda, then Chobe National Park, moving by charter flight.
Upon arrival at Maun International Airport, a member of the andBeyond team greets you and helps you onto a scheduled charter flight to the Xaranna airstrip, about 30 minutes away. Keep a lookout for hippos in the waterways and elephants among the trees as you fly over the Delta.
You spend two nights at andBeyond Xaranna Okavango Delta Camp, in a safari tent with an indoor bathtub, an al fresco shower, a sala and a private plunge pool. Your stay includes three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local spirits and beers, refreshments on game drives, scheduled safari activities, emergency medical evacuation insurance, laundry and airstrip transfers.
A full day in the Delta. Included activities are a mokoro safari (water level dependent), game drives, fishing (seasonal), a guided walking safari and a boat excursion (water level dependent).
After breakfast, a short game drive takes you to the Xaranna airstrip, where a scheduled charter flight flies you to the Chitabe airstrip in about 15 minutes. The area is golden-grassed floodplain, with a remarkable variety of wildlife.
You spend two nights at andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, in a suite with indoor and outdoor showers. Your stay includes three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local spirits and beers, refreshments on game drives, scheduled safari activities, emergency medical evacuation insurance, laundry and airstrip transfers.
A full day at Sandibe. Included activities are guided walking safaris and game drives.
A short game drive takes you to the Chitabe airstrip, where a scheduled charter flight flies you to Selinda in about 20 minutes. The Selinda Spillway is an ancient waterway, home to large herds of elephants and buffalo.
You spend two nights at Zarafa in a tent with an ensuite bathroom. Your stay includes all meals, scheduled wildlife activities, laundry, return airstrip transfers and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (excluding premium spirits and champagne).
A full day at Zarafa. Included activities are boat cruises (water level dependent), fishing (seasonal), day and night game drives and guided walking safaris.
After a short game drive to the Selinda airstrip, a scheduled charter flight takes you to Kasane Airport in about 50 minutes, over lagoons and palm-covered islands. A road transfer then takes you to Chobe Chilwero.
You spend two nights at Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero in a pool suite with an ensuite bathroom. Your stay includes all meals, drinks (excluding premium brands and champagne), all game-viewing activities, laundry, emergency medical evacuation and park fees.
A full day on the Chobe River and in the park. Included activities are a sundowner cruise, fishing excursions, a photographic safari cruise and game drives.
Victoria Falls, with a guided tour of the falls, a canoe safari and a sunset river cruise.
After breakfast you are collected from Chobe Chilwero and transferred, with fellow guests, towards Victoria Falls River Lodge in Zimbabwe. The transfer takes about two hours and includes immigration and customs formalities at both the Botswana and Zimbabwe border posts.
You spend two nights at Victoria Falls River Lodge. Your stay includes all meals, local and superior drinks, shared transfers to and from Victoria Falls Airport, laundry and transfers to the national park gate or jetty for third-party activities. An optional daily transfer leaves the lodge at 10:00 and returns at 15:00, taking you to the jetty and then by road to Victoria Falls town, with a tour of the falls on the way (the rainforest entry fee is for your own account).
Today you explore the falls on a guided tour of the Zimbabwe side. The tour begins at the Victoria Falls Map Room, where your guide explains the history, layout and geology of the falls. You then walk to the David Livingstone statue and on through the rainforest to the viewpoints of Cataract View, Devil’s Cataract, the Main Falls and finally the Eastern Cataract.
Other included activities at the lodge are birdwatching, a canoe safari, a sunset river cruise and game drives.
After breakfast, an andBeyond representative collects you from Victoria Falls River Lodge and transfers you, with fellow guests, to Victoria Falls International Airport, about 30 minutes away.
The detail
Eleven days across Botswana’s wildest water and woodland, ending at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. You begin in the Okavango Delta at Xaranna and Sandibe, with mokoro trips, game drives and walking safaris, then fly north to Zarafa on the Selinda Spillway.
From Selinda a short flight takes you to Kasane for Chobe National Park, where elephants gather on the river and sunset cruises drift past hippos. The adventure ends within sight of the spray over Victoria Falls, with a guided tour of the falls, a canoe safari and a river cruise. Each camp is reached by scheduled charter flight, so there is little time on the road.
This is a Botswana-led trip, with only the last three days in Zimbabwe. If you would rather spend the whole trip in Zimbabwe, see the 12-day Zimbabwe safari through Mana Pools, Lake Kariba and Hwange.
Good to know
Photographs from the route, not stock library scenery.
Work down the list. Each step depends on the one above it.
The practical detail that decides whether a trip runs smoothly.
You move between camps on scheduled charter flights of 15 to 50 minutes, so there are few long road days. Your final documents give the flight times for each hop.
Mokoro safaris and boat excursions in the Delta depend on water levels, which change with the flood. Walking safaris and game drives run throughout the year.
Guided walking safaris at Xaranna, Sandibe and Zarafa are on foot. Wear neutral clothing and closed shoes, and keep to your guide’s instructions.
The transfer from Kasane to Victoria Falls River Lodge clears Botswana and Zimbabwe immigration and customs at the border posts. Keep your passports in your hand luggage.
The rainforest tour is wet in high water, about March to June. Bring a light rain jacket, and keep cameras and phones in a waterproof cover. The rainforest entry fee is for your own account.
Guides, trackers and camp staff are customarily thanked with a tip at each camp. Your final documents give a guide to amounts.
Plan this journey
Every journey is planned around your dates and your party. Tell us who is travelling and when, and a specialist will come back with a tailored itinerary and a quote. Payment is by invoice.
