Roads, flights and bridges
How to get to Moremi Game Reserve
Every Moremi trip starts in Maun, Botswana's safari capital. From there it is 92 km and about two hours by 4x4 to South Gate, or a 30 to 45 minute light aircraft hop to the airstrips inside the Delta.
Getting to Maun first
Maun (MUB), a Kalahari town of about 55,000, is the gateway. Airlink flies from Johannesburg twice daily (about 1 h 40) and from Cape Town five times a week (about 2 h 35); CemAir adds a daily Johannesburg rotation; Air Botswana connects Gaborone daily and Kasane twice a week. Coming from Victoria Falls, Mack Air's 20-minute hop to Kasane links the two safari circuits.
Maun is also your last reliable stop for fuel, cash and supplies. There are no facilities inside the reserve beyond a basic shop at Third Bridge campsite, so buy everything here, and carry pula in cash for the gate.
By light aircraft (how most international visitors arrive)
Fly-in is the dominant way in. Light aircraft, typically Cessna Grand Caravans run by Mack Air, Moremi Air, Wilderness Air and Delta Air, shuttle from Maun to the reserve's airstrips (Xakanaxa, Khwai, Mombo, Chief's Camp and the concession strips) in 30 to 45 minutes, at a published guideline of about $210 to $240 per person each way, seat-in-plane. These are shuttles rather than scheduled flights: routings vary and your plane may make up to two stops.
Chief's Island, with Mombo and Chief's Camp, is fly-in only; no road reaches it. And pack accordingly: the strictly enforced baggage limit is 20 kg per person in a soft duffel, including hand luggage and camera gear, with free excess storage in Maun.
Self-drive from Maun: distances and times
| Leg | Distance | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maun to Shorobe | 40 km | ±30 min | Tarred; veterinary fence at Shorobe |
| Shorobe to South Gate | 52 km | ±1.5 h | Good dirt and gravel, game increases past the fence |
| South Gate to Xakanaxa | 42 km | ±2.5 h | Main track, minor water crossings |
| South Gate to Third Bridge | 58 km | 3–3.5 h | Crosses First and Second Bridge |
| South Gate to North Gate (cutline) | 30 km | 45–60 min | Straight through mopane woodland |
| Xakanaxa to North Gate | 45 km | Half a day, scenic | Delta-edge route through leadwood forest |
| Mboma Loop (from Third Bridge) | ±30 km loop | 2–3 h | Sandy; lechwe and buffalo country |
The bridges, and the 2026 flood damage
Moremi's wooden log bridges are part of its character and its logistics. Vehicles must be under 5 tonnes to cross. First and Second Bridge are normally passable if slightly alarming; Third Bridge itself, between the campsite and Xakanaxa, is the fragile one, and when it is out, the direct route closes and the detour via South Gate takes 5.5 to 6 hours.
Current status matters more than usual. Record flooding closed the entire reserve from about 6 March 2026; it reopened on 13 April 2026 with limits. As of the most recent reliable reports (late May 2026), the Third Bridge area remained closed, South Gate to Xakanaxa was fair and usable, Khwai to South Gate was difficult and needed a well-equipped 4x4 with recovery gear and experience, and Khwai to Xakanaxa was inaccessible. Check with DWNP or your campsite concessionaire days before you travel, not weeks.
What you need for the drive
- A high-clearance 4x4 is essential, not advisable. Deep sand, water crossings and the bridges rule out everything else.
- A valid campsite reservation: you will not be allowed in without one.
- Cash in pula for park entry, vehicle fee and camping (paid at the gate or in advance at the DWNP office in Maun).
- A paper map (Tracks4Africa) plus an offline navigation app. There is no signal in most of the reserve.
- Water, food and recovery gear for the whole loop plus reserve. The Third Bridge shop is basic and everything else is in Maun.
- Mind the veterinary fence rule: you may carry meat and eggs north from Maun into Moremi, but you cannot bring them back south through the Shorobe fence.
Onward north: the classic traverse to Chobe
North Gate exits the reserve over a log bridge into the Khwai community area, and from there the classic Botswana overland route continues Khwai, Savuti, Chobe and on to Kasane: many hundreds of kilometres of sandy track and one of the great self-drive journeys in Africa. Fuel up and stock up accordingly, since the next reliable supplies after Maun are in Kasane.
Should you self-drive at all? Be honest with yourself. Guided mobile safaris and fly-in trips dominate for good reason: a fully equipped rental 4x4 out of Maun is expensive enough that a guided mobile safari is often comparable value, with the routing and bridge risk on someone else's shoulders. Day trips from Maun are poor value either way; two hours to the gate each direction means you miss dawn and dusk, which is when the reserve performs.