ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
8-Day Classic Khwai & Moremi Safari

Botswana - Fly-in safari

8-Day Classic Khwai & Moremi Safari

Duration
8 days
Countries
Botswana
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 9,080

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

Not every Okavango safari needs a four-figure nightly rate. Machaba Camp and Camp Okuti are proof: two comfortable, well-guided classic camps on some of the best ground in the delta system, at prices that undercut the famous names by two-thirds while sharing the same elephant, the same river and much of the same predator traffic. Machaba sits under ebony trees on the Khwai River, community land where night drives and walks are permitted and the dry-season procession to the water never really stops. Camp Okuti lies inside the Moremi Game Reserve on the Xakanaxa Lagoon, launch point for boat trips through papyrus channels and drives on the game-rich tongue of land between the lagoons. Three nights on the Khwai and four at Xakanaxa give the trip its shape: community-land freedom first, reserve depth second. May to October is the dry-season peak; the green months cut rates further and turn the mopane emerald.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Maun to the Khwai

The Johannesburg flight lands you in Maun by early afternoon, and a 20 minute Cessna hop puts you on the Khwai airstrip. Machaba's tents face the river from under big ebony trees, and elephant regularly cross in front of the mess deck. The first game drive rolls out an hour later and comes home after dark, spotlight working.

Stay 2

The Khwai Procession

A dry-season day on the river is a slow parade: elephant families spacing themselves along the water, kudu and impala threading between them, lion watching it all from the tree shade. The morning drive works both banks, the afternoon ends with sundowners at a hippo pool, and the drive home carries the spotlight again.

Stay 3

Walking and Wild Dogs

Community land allows a walking morning: two hours with an armed guide among the tracks and termite mounds, learning how much a vehicle hides. Khwai's wild dog pack ranges this ground and the afternoon drive goes looking, out through the mopane where the pack likes to lie up before the evening hunt.

Stay 4

Into Moremi

A 15 minute flight, or a morning game drive transfer through the reserve gate, brings you to Camp Okuti on the Xakanaxa Lagoon. The chalets curve along the water under old trees, and the afternoon goes straight onto the lagoon by boat, through papyrus channels where malachite kingfishers work the reeds.

Stay 5

The Xakanaxa Tongue

The land between Xakanaxa's lagoons is one of Moremi's richest drives: floodplain, mopane and riverine forest folded together, holding leopard along the treelines and big buffalo herds in the open. Two drives work it thoroughly, with lunch and a siesta at camp in between while hippo keep up their commentary offshore.

Stay 6

Gadikwe Heronry

A boat morning to the Gadikwe heronry, where yellow-billed storks, herons and spoonbills crowd the nesting islands between August and November and the channels hold crocodile the colour of wet bark. The afternoon returns to the vehicle for the drive south, where wild dog and cheetah use the drier ground.

Stay 7

A Full Moremi Day

The last full day is spent on whatever the week has earned: a return to a leopard territory, a long loop towards Third Bridge and its lechwe-filled floodplains, or another slow boat through the channels. Dinner is under the trees with the lagoon black and loud beyond the lamplight, the delta's usual closing argument.

Stay 8

Xakanaxa to Johannesburg

Breakfast over the water, a short drive to the Xakanaxa airstrip and the 25 minute hop to Maun for the early-afternoon Johannesburg connection, landing in time for evening international departures. Eight days of river, lagoon and reserve, at a price that makes a return trip a plan rather than a dream.

Safari highlights

  • Three nights at Machaba Camp on the Khwai River
  • Night drives and guided walks on community land
  • Four nights at Camp Okuti on the Xakanaxa Lagoon
  • Boat safaris through Moremi's papyrus channels
  • Classic camps at a fraction of flagship rates
  • Heronries and fishing colonies at Gadikwe

What is included

Included

  • 7 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Return regional flights Johannesburg-Maun in economy class
  • Light-aircraft sectors Maun-Khwai, Khwai-Xakanaxa and Xakanaxa-Maun, with airstrip taxes
  • All meals, house wines, local spirits, beers and soft drinks
  • Twice-daily game drives, night drives and walks at Machaba, and boat outings at Okuti
  • Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai community concession fees, government levies and VAT
  • Botswana Tourism Development Levy of USD 30 per person
  • Laundry and emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and entry permits
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Premium spirits, champagne and imported wines
  • Gratuities for guides, trackers and camp staff
  • Items of a personal nature, curios and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

How much does an 8-day Okavango safari cost?

This one starts at USD 9,080 per person sharing and runs to about USD 11,480 in peak season, which is close to the entry point for a fully catered, fly-in Okavango safari of this length. It includes seven nights at Machaba Camp and Camp Okuti, all meals and house drinks, park fees, three light-aircraft sectors and return Johannesburg-Maun flights. International flights are excluded.

How do these camps compare with the famous delta camps?

The ground is comparable: the Khwai River and Xakanaxa carry some of the heaviest game traffic in the delta system. The difference is in the build and the extras. Machaba and Okuti are comfortable classic camps, en-suite tents and chalets, good food and honest guiding, without plunge pools, spas or design pedigrees. You give up some polish and keep about two-thirds of the money.

When is the best time to go?

May to October is the dry season, when the Khwai River is the only water for miles and Xakanaxa's floodplains concentrate the game. July to September is peak. November to April is green season: rates fall further, impala drop their lambs, migrant birds pour in and afternoon storms build theatrically. Boating at Xakanaxa runs year-round on the permanent lagoon.

What can you do at Machaba that Moremi does not allow?

Night drives with a spotlight, and guided walking. Machaba stands on the Khwai Community Concession, village-owned land outside the reserve rules, so evenings can run past dark to find genet, honey badger, serval and hunting cats. In the reserve at Okuti, drives keep to daylight and vehicles to the tracks, with boats taking over on the lagoon.

Are international flights included in the price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and booked separately, normally via Johannesburg. The price includes the return Johannesburg-Maun regional flights, about 1 hour 40 minutes each way, plus the three light-aircraft sectors inside Botswana. Light aircraft limit luggage to 20 kg per person in soft-sided bags.

Is the Okavango a malaria area?

Yes, the whole delta system including Khwai and Xakanaxa is malarial, with the highest risk from November to April. Prophylaxis is recommended year-round; see a travel clinic about six weeks before departure. Tents and chalets are screened and repellent is provided. Yellow fever certificates are required only when arriving from a country with transmission risk.