Moremi safari itineraries: how many days, day-by-day plans and the Chobe route

Before you plan: three facts that shape every Moremi itinerary

• You cannot enter the reserve without a confirmed campsite or lodge booking, and the public campsites sell out 6 to 8 months ahead for June to October. Secure the beds first, then the flights.
• Moremi charges park entry for every calendar day you are inside, including the day you leave: three nights is four fee-days at P270 per person per day for non-residents.
• Third Bridge stayed closed after the record 2026 floods and on 23 October 2026 we found no confirmation that it has reopened. The plans below do not depend on it; if it reopens, it can replace a Xakanaxa night.
• The bridges carry vehicles under 5 tonnes only, and track conditions change with the flood. Ask your campsite operator about the route a few days before you drive, not weeks.

3 nights fly-in: the Xakanaxa lagoon

The simplest good Moremi trip: one camp inside the reserve with both land and water activities. Choose Camp Xakanaxa for classic Meru tents, Camp Moremi for families with children six and up, or Okuti for wheelchair access. All three use the Xakanaxa airstrip.

1. Day 1Airlink from Johannesburg to Maun, about 1 h 40. Light aircraft to the Xakanaxa airstrip, 30 to 45 minutes, possibly with a stop. Afternoon game drive or boat.
2. Day 2Dawn game drive along the lagoons. Afternoon motorboat through the channels; at peak flood, ask for the Gcodikwe heronry.
3. Day 3Morning drive deeper into the Mopane Tongue. Afternoon boat or a second drive.
4. Day 4Last early drive, light aircraft to Maun and your onward flight.

3 nights self-drive: South Gate and Xakanaxa

The classic short camping trip, built on the two campsites that are easiest to book and safest to reach in 2026. You need a high-clearance 4x4, recovery gear, and everything bought in Maun the day before.

1. Night beforeMaun. Fill every tank and jerry can, buy all food and water, draw pula for the gate. Thamalakane River Lodge is from $190 per person bed and breakfast.
2. Day 1Leave Maun at 06:00. 40 km of tar to Shorobe (about 30 min), then 52 km of dirt and sand to South Gate (about 1.5 h). Pay fees, afternoon drive, camp at South Gate.
3. Day 2South Gate to Xakanaxa, 42 km and about 2.5 hours of game driving on sand with minor water crossings. Camp at Xakanaxa for two nights.
4. Day 3Dawn drive on the lagoon circuits. Afternoon motorboat from Xakanaxa Boat Station; book at least two hours.
5. Day 4Early drive, then back to South Gate (about 2.5 h) and Maun (about 2 h). Out of the gate before it closes. The full fee arithmetic is on our costs page.

5 nights fly-in: Xakanaxa plus Khwai

This is the plan we would book for most people. Two nights inside the reserve for the water, three nights in the Khwai community concession for what the reserve does not allow: night drives, walks and off-road driving to a leopard.

1. Day 1Fly Johannesburg to Maun, light aircraft to the Xakanaxa airstrip (30 to 45 min). Camp Xakanaxa or Camp Moremi, two nights.
2. Day 2Morning drive, afternoon boat on the lagoons.
3. Day 3Morning activity, then a light-aircraft hop to the Khwai airstrip, arranged by the camps. Machaba Camp or, for value, Little Sable in the Khwai Private Reserve, three nights.
4. Day 4Day drive along the Khwai River, which is known for leopard, and a night drive after dinner.
5. Day 5Guided walk in the morning; mokoro from camp when water levels allow at Machaba.
6. Day 6Last morning drive, fly to Maun for your connection.

5 nights fly-in, top end: Chief's Island plus a private concession

The same two-area logic at the top of the market. Start on Chief's Island for the predator density, then move to a private concession on the south-eastern edge of the Delta where the guides can drive at night and off-road.

Two nights at Mombo Camp (from $2,889 low to $5,043 high, 2026) followed by three at Chitabe Camp (from $1,710 to about $3,390), which is known for wild dog. Both are fly-in only: Chitabe is a 30-minute flight from Maun plus a 40-minute transfer. Children under 13 need a private vehicle at Mombo, and Chitabe's minimum age is six. Rough cost: about $11,500 to $21,000 per person sharing for the five nights, including three light-aircraft legs at the $210 to $240 guideline. That estimate uses the published from-rates for the lowest and highest seasons and excludes international flights.

5 nights self-drive: across the reserve to Khwai

For self-drivers with two people to share the driving, five nights let you cross the reserve from South Gate to North Gate and finish outside it on the Khwai, where the community concession allows activities the reserve does not.

1. Day 1Maun to South Gate, about 2 hours. Camp at South Gate.
2. Day 2South Gate to Xakanaxa, about 2.5 hours. Camp at Xakanaxa, two nights.
3. Day 3Lagoon drives and a motorboat trip.
4. Day 4Xakanaxa to North Gate. The Delta-edge route is 45 km and about half a day when it is open; in May 2026 it was reported inaccessible, and the fallback is back to South Gate and up the 30 km cutline (45 to 60 min). Camp at North Gate.
5. Day 5Khwai floodplain drives, cross the log bridge and camp at Magotho, the Khwai Development Trust's site, at P400 per person.
6. Day 6Back to Maun. Via North Gate and the cutline to South Gate, then two hours to Maun; Khwai to South Gate was described as difficult in May 2026, so ask first.

Victoria Falls, Chobe, Moremi and the Delta by air: 8 nights

The fly-in version of the same idea, starting at Victoria Falls and ending in Maun. No driving on sand, and the reserve and a private Delta concession both on one trip.

1. Day 1Victoria Falls to Kasane by road transfer, 95 km, about 1 h 15 of driving plus the Kazungula border. Kubu Lodge on the Chobe River, two nights on full board, which includes two activities a day and the park fee.
2. Day 2Chobe riverfront by boat and by vehicle.
3. Day 3Fly Kasane to Maun on Air Botswana, about an hour (a few flights a week; check the days), then a light aircraft to the Xakanaxa airstrip. Okuti, three nights.
4. Days 4 and 5Boats on the Maunachira channel and lagoons, game drives in the reserve.
5. Day 6Light aircraft to the Kiri Waka airstrip, five minutes from Kiri Camp, three nights in the NG32 concession: drives, night drives, walks and mokoro or boating when the water is there.
6. Days 7 and 8Concession activities.
7. Day 9Fly to Maun and connect with Airlink to Johannesburg.

Other combinations: Hwange and the wider Delta

Hwange in Zimbabwe joins through Kasane: fly Maun to Kasane or drive the sand route via Khwai and Savuti, then cross at Pandamatenga, from where Hwange's Robins Camp is about 57 km and 1.5 hours on a 4x4 track. Treat the transit day as transit, with fuel at both ends and border paperwork for the vehicle. Our Moremi or Hwange page compares the two parks.

Within the Okavango, the concessions around Moremi are the Delta itself. Moremi Crossing on Ntswi Island, a 20-minute flight from Maun, is the water camp to add if you want mokoro and walking, and Sandibe Under Canvas is the lower-priced way into the Chitabe/Sandibe concession.