An Okavango Delta luxury safari will vault you and your loved ones into a world of splendour, opulence and breathtaking natural beauty surrounded by the most incredible wildlife Africa has to offer.
The continent’s finest lodges await, each offering something a little different, with exquisite old-country designs and all modern comforts.
Your neighbours will largely consist of elephants, hippos, and giraffes wading through the waters whilst you sip a sundowner cocktail on your veranda wooden walkway toasting the African sunset.
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The best Okavango Delta luxury safari tours
How to organize a luxury safari in the Okavango Delta?
Pre-trip planning
To organize your luxury safari in Okavango Delta, the recommended route is to hire a travel agency specializing in Botswana safaris.
Their expertise of the top luxury lodges, tours and logistics required will be of significant benefit to guests. Trips can also be customised per the customers requirements or requests for particular activities.
Luxury safari components
Potential visitors are advised to detail their wish list in terms of accommodation, activities, preferred means of transport and food requirements, as these can vary significantly depending on preferences and budget.
The travel agency will then be able to provide a more detailed estimate.
Chartered flights are often used to arrive at different parts of the Delta and will save the visitor a lot of time. Various safari types can be explored in 4 × 4 vehicles with a private guide.
For a luxury trip to the Okavango Delta, some visitors prefer the tranquillity of private reserves with a hot-air balloon safari or they may prefer concessions with more adrenaline packed activities including quad biking and white water rafting activities.
Lastly, choosing the right accommodation for you is what will make your safari an unforgettable luxurious experience. In this regard, Botswana has some of the most exceptional lodges in the world making your stay unforgettable.
Top 10 Okavango Delta Luxury Safari Lodges & Camps
Okavango Delta is home to some of the continent’s most beautiful reserves and luxury lodges, offering magnificent food, service, wildlife and scenic views to match.
Camp Okavango
Located on the remote Nxaragha Island in the heart of the Delta’s permanent wetlands, Camp Okavango is a hidden gem that offers year-round water activities.
Explore the Delta’s meandering waterways on a modern motorboat or opt for the old-fashioned method: quietly gliding over the tranquil waters on a mokoro.
This Okavango Delta lodge’s open-air design and elevated position provides a fully immersive safari experience.
Highlights include a secluded lodge situated on its own island with very spacious rooms with air conditioning and mokoro excursions throughout the year.
Chief’s Camp
Located on Chief’s Island in the Moremi Game Reserve, this camp offers huge suites and a pavilion featuring a tranquil outside seating area and terrace plunge pool.
Guests can enjoy a private bar, boma, lounge and kitchen, all serviced by a private house-keeper, waiter, guide and vehicle.
Pricing starts from £790/$1,046 per person sharing.
&Beyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
As you’d expect from the sublime &Beyond portfolio of Okavango Delta Safari lodges and camps, Nxabega is a special place to stay deep in the watery world of the Delta.
They get all of the important things right, with outstanding luxury, fantastic views, great wildlife viewing and exceptional service.
The camp is known for its elegant tented accommodation, which boasts breathtaking views of both mature mopane woodlands and seasonally flooded grasslands.
Jao Camp
In the stunning Okavango Delta in the northwest, Jao Camp Jao sits in the 60,000 hectare Jao Reserve under a tree canopy on its own remote island, next to Moremi GR.
Privately owned by the Kays family, the camp is elevated on high terraces and feels like the world’s most spectacular tree house, perfect for game viewing.
Botanical themes run through the camp, with tables printed with leaf motifs and lamp shades mimicking palm leaves near the bar.
With just seven large villas, Jao also has plunge pools and fire-pits on the private terraces where guests can watch leopards shadowing impala.
Pricing from £1,022/$1,350 per person sharing.
King’s Pool Camp
Also in the Okavango, this 5 star camp overlooks the glistening waters of King’s Pool Lagoon in the game-rich Linyanti Wildlife Reserve.
This isolated camp with modern design, décor and open suites is set on an oxbow lagoon named after King Carl XVI Gustaf.
Nine tents look out over the water with excellent views of hippos wallowing and crocodiles snoozing.
King’s Pool has a library, bar, terrace and fire-pits as well as being completely solar-powered with one of the lightest eco-footprints in Africa.
Pricing from £1,155/$1,525 per person sharing.
Ngoma Safari Lodge
Set in the Chobe National Park in the northeast of Botswana, guests will find Ngoma perched in a vast, pristine forest reserve on the fringes of the park.
Ngoma Safari Lodge is a passionate endeavour to support the ecosystem through sustainable tourism and empowerment of the local community, where awaking guests will find animals drinking water at the water hole.
Lovingly named the ‘Land of the Giants’ by locals, Chobe National Park is where the largest hordes of elephants can be found.
Eight luxurious villas can be found, built entirely out of natural materials that blend in harmoniously with the surroundings with the beautiful Chobe Forest Reserve.
Pricing from £700/$920 per person sharing.
Xaranna Camp
Deep in the Okavango in northern Botswana, guests can visit the luxuriously isolated Xaranna Camp.
Here, they can enjoy the best of the Okavango at one of the best luxury safari camps with day or night game drives, birding, boating and mokoro as well as guided nature walks.
Fishing is also permitted between the months of March and December.
Just nine ensuite safari tents can be found that luxuriously combine canvas, soft drapes and bleached timber.
Pricing starts from £815/$1,075 per person sharing.
Zarafa Camp
Located in northern Botswana, Zarafa is one of the best Botswana safari camps and lodges in the Selinda Concession.
The camp is owned by nature documentary filmmakers and conservationists Dereck and Beverly Joubert and sits along the banks of the pristine Zibadianja Lagoon offering excellent wildlife views.
With just four luxury tents, guests are treated like royalty and also offered the loan out of state-of-the-art camera equipment, affording them the best possible photography during their stay.
Pricing starts from £1,285/$1,695 per person sharing.
Abu Camp
Up north in Botswana, Abu Camp can be found on a 180,000-hectare private concession in the Okavango Delta, guests can the very best in luxury safari accommodation, impeccable service and an extraordinary safari and wildlife experience.
The birding is superb, and predators including lions, leopards, wild dogs and cheetahs can also be spotted.
Abu is set in a pristine riverine forest and blends in seamlessly with the magnificent hardwood trees. Each of the six en-suite tents has its own distinctive furnishings and fittings, imparting an air of opulence in the bush.
Pricing starts from £1,550/$2,048 per person sharing.
Khwai Tented Camp
Set within the Okavango Delta’s community-run Khwai Concession, this beautiful camp is tucked under the trees on the edge of the Khwai River.
This river is all that separates the iconic Moremi Game Reserve and the concession, with hippos, elephants and even lions crossing over from time to time.
The elegantly designed camp hosts six luxury African safari tents and one family unit.
Pricing starts from £585/$775 per person sharing.
Luxury safari tour in the Okavango Delta: Pricing and itinerary
There are numerous different luxury safari tours in the Okavango Delta that can be designed and customised per the customer’s requirements.
The following is an example of a 10 day luxury safari tour that will immerse guests in a luxury safari experience including a canoe safari whilst discovering the most incredible wildlife and scenery Okavango Delta has to offer.
Day | Itinerary | Stay |
1 | Maun airport pickup & transfer. Lunch & mokoro river safari. Open fire dinner | Luxury tented camp, Boteti river |
2 | Sunrise wakeup & Mokoro Excursion and Nature Walk. Island hopping & enjoy a packed lunch or picnic. | Luxury tented camp, Boteti river |
3 | Moremi and Khwai Safari with breakfast/lunch enjoying the sights of elephants, giraffes & zebras | Luxury tented camp, Boteti river |
4 | Scenic flight over the Delta with views of the stunning waterways | Luxury tented camp, Boteti river |
5 | Breakfast & Maun drop-off |
Pricing for the tour above starts from £765/$1,000 per person per day.
In addition to day and night drives, boat safaris and mokoro canoe rides, visitors can take a scenic helicopter transfer or a sunrise hot air balloon ride followed by a champagne breakfast.
Other activities that can be added on include a trip to Mombo, home to huge numbers of game and predators including the big cats.
Take a packed breakfast for a morning game drive en route to your onward flight to the ultra luxurious and eco friendly Zarafa Camp where hippos and elephants await.
This type of tour includes multiple different types of safaris accompanied by a private guide: In a 4×4, on foot, by hot air balloon and by boat. Transfers are completed by chartered plane, taking guests directly to their lodge.
FAQs
What other areas in Botswana are worth visiting for luxury safaris?
Luxury safaris in Chobe National Park is a great alternative, with incredible lodges, lush waterways, exceptional service and wildlife on offer.
What is the budget for a luxury safari in the Okavango Delta?
The price of a luxury safari in the Delta will depend on multiple factors including the accommodation and transport means chosen. Visitors can budget for a minimum of £1,130/$1,500 per person per day.