Timing
When to go
The flood peaks in the dry season. Month-by-month water, wildlife and price trade-offs.
Independent guide · Botswana
The flood arrives
in the dry season
Rain falls in the Angolan highlands around January. It takes months to travel 1,600 km down the Okavango River and reaches the Delta around June — the middle of Botswana’s dry winter. At the exact moment the Kalahari is driest, the Delta is fullest, and the animals come to it.
Indicative pricing and season data as of 2026-09-25.
Peak water
Jun – Aug
Cool, dry, minimal mosquitoes. Book 12+ months ahead.
Predators
Sep – Oct
Water recedes, animals crowd what remains. Up to 40 °C.
Best value
Nov – Mar
30–50% off peak rates. Lush, stormy, outstanding birding.
The guide
Six things worth getting right before you book
Each of these changes what you should buy, not just what you should expect.
Read →
Cost
Camps & cost
2026 price bands from $150 to $3,500+ per person per night, and what bush flights add.
Access
Getting there
Maun as the gateway, 15–45 minute bush flights, and the strict 20 kg soft-duffel rule.
Signature
Mokoro
A poled dugout, not a raft — what it is, when it runs, and how guides manage hippo risk.
Wildlife
Wildlife
Wild dog, Chief’s Island predators, 480+ birds — and an honest note on rhino.
Corrections
Common confusions
Eight things about the Delta that get repeated wrongly, including the flood timing.
The Delta by budget
Four bands, one destination
The band you land in changes the trip more than the month you choose. It decides whether you get concession access — and therefore whether you can go off-road, drive at night, walk, or paddle.
$2,800 – $3,500+
Ultra-luxury fly-in
Mombo, Xigera, Jao, Duba Plains. What the top rate buys — and when it does not buy better game.
$1,000 – $2,500
Premium fly-in
Chief’s Camp, Vumbura, Abu, Selinda. The band most first-time Delta travellers should be in.
$400 – $1,200
Classic & mobile tented
A crew that moves camp every few nights. Habitat range instead of one concession.
$150 – $350
Budget & participation
Public campsites and participation trips — possible because Moremi has roads.
Ways to do it
Beyond the price band
Three formats cover almost every trip that is actually sold.