14 Days Botswana & Victoria Falls Combo

Arrive at Maun — Botswana's safari gateway on the Thamalakane River — and board a scenic light aircraft charter over the Okavango fan. From the air you see elephant trails, hippo pods in lagoons and red lechwe on the floodplains below. Touch down at your delta camp airstrip (Jao, Vumbura, Mombo corridor or similar) and transfer by mokoro or 4×4 to camp.

Afternoon settling-in and a short channel excursion to orient yourself to the delta's rhythm — the annual flood pulse arrives from Angola's highlands months after local rains end. Sundowners on the deck as fish eagles call and herds move toward the water.

Flight: Maun–delta airstrip approx. 25–45 min
Meals: Lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Okavango water camp

Dawn mokoro excursion through misty papyrus channels — peak hour for malachite kingfishers, painted reed frogs and shy antelope at the water's edge. Your poler guides the dugout through lily pads while you scan for hippo ears below the surface and lechwe splashing through shallows.

Safari activity | Okavango mokoro safari

Traditional dugout canoe through papyrus channels — red lechwe, sitatunga, painted wolves and 400+ bird species in UNESCO's 1000th World Heritage Site.

Return for brunch, then a guided bush walk on a delta island with an armed ranger — track giraffe, zebra, warthog and buffalo at ground level; learn to read spoor and dung beetle trails. Late-afternoon mokoro to a hippo pool; optional night drive for genet, civet and leopard.

Full day exploring deeper channels and open floodplains by mokoro and motorboat. Water levels peak roughly May–August; shoulder months still offer excellent birding and resident game. Wild dog, lion and leopard follow lechwe herds through the Okavango Delta.

Picnic lunch on an island or return to camp. Afternoon motorboat to a heronry or fish eagle territory. Evening fireside briefing on tomorrow's transfer to Moremi.

Morning activity, then inter-camp charter (15–30 minutes) to a land-based camp on the edge of Moremi Game Reserve. Moremi covers the eastern Okavango and Chief's Island — one of Africa's richest predator habitats.

Safari activity | Moremi game drive

Afternoon 4×4 on Chief's Island fringes — lion, leopard, wild dog and buffalo on the floodplain edges of Botswana's flagship reserve.

Afternoon game drive seeking lion prides, leopard in riverine forest and African wild dog if packs are active. Elephant herds bathe at lagoon edges; saddle-billed storks and African jacana work the shallows.

Flight: Inter-camp approx. 15–30 min
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Dawn drive on the floodplain — wild dog packs often hunt here in cooler months. Return for brunch, afternoon drive to Third Bridge or Hippo Pool areas. Hyena, jackal and large lion prides follow buffalo herds through the mopane woodlands.

Your guide tailors the route to overnight reports — perhaps open grasslands near Chief's Island for cheetah, or lagoon circuits for elephant herds. Bush brunch under a sausage tree.

Morning mokoro excursion on the Khwai channel (community polers) — quieter than the deep delta but excellent for birds and close antelope encounters. Afternoon walking safari with armed ranger on the mopane woodlands fringe.

Safari activity | Khwai mokoro and bush walk

Mokoro on the Khwai channel followed by a guided walk with armed ranger — buffalo, giraffe and zebra at eye level in Moremi's community concession.

Evening night drive after dinner for nocturnal species: serval, civet, spring hare and hunting lions.

Morning game drive, then transfer north to Khwai community area or Savuti marsh (road approx. 3–4 hours or charter 45 min). Savuti's lion prides are legendary — famous for hunting elephant at the marsh in dry years when the channel flows.

Afternoon drive at Savuti waterhole or Khwai channel — leopard on sausage trees, elephant at marsh edge, wild dog if packs are present.

Dawn to dusk exploration of Savuti Channel (when flowing), marsh elephants and hyena clans at dusk. Golden-hour session at the waterhole — Savuti's lions are among Botswana's most photographed predators.

Midday rest at camp during heat. Afternoon drive targeting recent sightings — wild dog hunt, lion pride on a kill, or leopard in a leadwood tree.

Morning drive, then transfer northeast to Kasane and the Chobe River (road approx. 3–4 hours). Check in at your riverfront lodge with views across to Namibia's Impalila Island.

Safari activity | Chobe River sunset boat cruise

Afternoon boat safari on the Chobe River — elephant herds swimming between islands, buffalo on the banks and pied kingfishers in the golden hour.

Afternoon Chobe River boat safari — elephant herds swimming between islands, buffalo lining the banks, hippos yawning at close range. The riverfront holds Africa's greatest elephant densities.

Full-day 4×4 exploration of the Chobe riverfront and Serondela area. Lion, leopard, wild dog (occasional), sable antelope and puku alongside the ever-present elephant. Midday picnic in the park or return to lodge.

Afternoon drive along the Sedudu Valley — carmine bee-eaters in September, fish eagles on dead trees, crocodiles on sandbanks. Optional repeat sunset boat cruise.

Dawn game drive on the northern floodplain, return for brunch. Mid-afternoon boat cruise focusing on elephant crossings and hippo pods. Chobe's combination of land and water viewing is unmatched in southern Africa.

Evening at leisure — many lodges have river-view decks for independent wildlife watching. Optional visit to Kasane craft market for basket weaving and wood carving.

Morning game drive or boat cruise, then road transfer to Victoria Falls (approx. 90 minutes to Livingstone, Zambia, or Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe). Check in at your hotel with time for a guided Victoria Falls walk — the smoke that thunders plunges 108 metres into the Batoka Gorge.

Safari activity | Victoria Falls guided walk

Guided walk along the falls rim — rainforest spray, Knife-Edge Bridge viewpoints and the full scale of the Zambezi's greatest cataract.

Rainbow spray rises from the gorge; the sound carries for kilometres. Dry season (August–December) offers clearer views; green season (February–May) brings maximum volume.

Full day at leisure on the Zambezi. Optional helicopter flight of angels over the falls, white-water rafting on the Batoka Gorge, bungee jump from Victoria Falls Bridge, or a sunset cruise on the Zambezi above the falls. A gentler option is tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel terrace overlooking the bridge.

Your guide can arrange activities and border crossings between Zambia and Zimbabwe — both sides offer different viewpoints of the falls.

Leisurely breakfast, then transfer to Livingstone Airport (Zambia) or Victoria Falls Airport (Zimbabwe) for international flights. Optional morning visit to the falls from the opposite rim if you stayed on one side only.

Two weeks of Botswana's water worlds and the Zambezi's greatest spectacle — from mokoro channels to elephant rivers to the smoke that thunders.