ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
9-Day Okavango Ultimate Fly-In Safari

Botswana - Fly-in safari

9-Day Okavango Ultimate Fly-In Safari

Duration
9 days
Countries
Botswana
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 36,880

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

This is the top of our Botswana range, built around three private concessions that almost never appear on the same programme. You begin at Vumbura Plains in the far north, where the Okavango Community Trust concession gives you boats, mokoro and open grassland in the same day. From there a light aircraft carries you to Duba Plains, a camp of five rooms on a palm island in a 33,000-hectare reserve owned by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, where lion and buffalo have been filmed for two decades. The programme finishes at Mombo on Chief's Island, which holds the highest predator density in the Delta. The order matters. Water first, while the flood is high in the north, then the flooded plains of Duba, then Mombo's dry islands where the game concentrates and the cats hunt in the open. Nothing repeats. May to October is the strongest window, with the flood at its peak from June to August and game concentrating on the remaining water through September and October. Vehicle numbers are capped in all three concessions, so sightings stay quiet.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Into the Northern Delta

You land at Maun and walk straight from the terminal to a light aircraft for the flight north to Vumbura Plains. The concession is leased from five Okavango communities and holds the best antelope diversity in the Delta, sable included. Lunch is unhurried, the plunge pool on your deck is cold, and the first game drive runs out across the floodplains until dark.

Stay 2

Water and Grassland

Vumbura Plains works both halves of the Delta in a single day. You spend the morning on a game drive through palm islands and open grassland, where lion, leopard and wild dog all move through the same concession. In the afternoon you swap the vehicle for a boat, threading channels where red lechwe splash clear of the bow and hippos surface behind you.

Stay 3

Mokoro at First Light

A poler takes you out by mokoro while the water still holds mist, close enough to reeds that you notice painted reed frogs gripping the stems. Back at camp you have the middle of the day to yourself among the seven raised suites of your camp. The afternoon drive pushes further into the concession, and a night drive on the way home picks up genets and porcupine.

Stay 4

Flight to Duba Plains

A short flight carries you to Duba Plains, a camp of five tented rooms and a two-bedroom suite set on a palm island in a 33,000-hectare private reserve owned by film-makers Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Canon camera bodies and long lenses are handed out for your stay. The afternoon drive takes you onto the floodplains the Tsaro lions patrol.

Stay 5

Lions and Buffalo

Duba is the ground behind the Jouberts' film Relentless Enemies, and the buffalo herd here is still the axis everything turns on. You leave before sunrise to find the lions where the water is shallow enough to cross. Later, water levels permitting, you take a boat or mokoro through the channels, and walk with your guide on one of the drier islands.

Stay 6

On to Chief's Island

You fly south to Mombo, on the northern tip of Chief's Island inside Moremi Game Reserve, with a 35,000-hectare private area to itself. Eight tented suites face open floodplain where the game stands in plain view from the deck. The first afternoon drive is a slow one, letting your guide read which prides and leopards are currently holding the ground.

Stay 7

Predators of Mombo

Mombo carries the highest predator density in the Okavango, and full days out are the way to use it. You take breakfast in the vehicle and follow lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog as the morning opens up. After the heat, a photographic hide at ground level puts you eye to eye with elephant and buffalo coming down to drink.

Stay 8

Last Light at Mombo

A final morning drive works the Mombo floodplains while the light is still low and long. The afternoon is yours to spend on the deck watching the plain change colour, or out again with a night drive using a filtered spotlight to pick up serval, civet and hunting leopard. Dinner is under the trees, with the camp's lamps left low.

Stay 9

Maun and Onward

Coffee comes to your tent before a last unhurried breakfast, then the light aircraft lifts off the Mombo strip for the short flight to Maun. You clear the small terminal in minutes and connect to your onward regional or international flight. Most travellers route through Johannesburg or Cape Town, and a night in either city sits neatly on the end of this.

Safari highlights

  • Three private concessions, no shared national park roads
  • Vumbura Plains: boats, mokoro and grassland in one day
  • Duba Plains, the Jouberts' lion and buffalo reserve
  • Mombo on Chief's Island, the Delta's densest predator ground
  • Four light aircraft sectors, all camp transfers included
  • Canon camera kit provided for your stay at Duba Plains

What is included

Included

  • 8 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Light aircraft flights Maun-Vumbura, Vumbura-Duba Plains, Duba Plains-Mombo and Mombo-Maun
  • All road transfers between airstrips and camps
  • All meals and local drinks at every camp, including house wines, beers and spirits
  • Twice-daily scheduled safari activities: game drives, night drives, guided walks, boating and mokoro where water permits
  • All park, concession and conservation fees, including the Great Plains conservation levy at Duba Plains
  • Botswana tourism development levy
  • Laundry at all three camps
  • Use of Canon camera bodies, long lenses and binoculars at Duba Plains

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and any entry fees payable on arrival
  • Travel and medical insurance, including emergency evacuation cover
  • Premium imported spirits and champagne
  • Private vehicle and private guide supplements
  • Spa treatments, helicopter and hot air balloon flights
  • Gratuities and items of a personal nature

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 9-day Okavango Delta fly-in safari cost?

This programme starts at USD 36,880 per person sharing in shoulder season and runs to about USD 46,280 in peak season. That price covers eight nights at Vumbura Plains, Duba Plains and Mombo, all four light aircraft sectors, all meals and local drinks, all game activities, park and concession fees and the Botswana tourism levy. International flights are not included.

Are international flights included in the price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded. You fly yourself into Maun, usually via Johannesburg with Airlink or Air Botswana, or via Cape Town. Every flight inside the itinerary is included: the four light aircraft sectors between Maun, Vumbura Plains, Duba Plains and Mombo, plus all road transfers between airstrips and camps.

How many nights do I need in the Okavango Delta?

Three nights is the working minimum for one camp. Eight nights across three camps, as here, is what lets you see genuinely different country: the water-rich north at Vumbura, the flooded lion plains at Duba, and the dry islands of Mombo. Two nights per camp costs you a full day to flying and arrival, which is why we use three, two and three.

When is the best time to visit the Okavango Delta?

May to October. The annual flood peaks between June and August, which is when boating and mokoro are at their best in the northern concessions. September and October are hot and dry, and the game concentrates hard on the remaining water, which produces the strongest predator viewing at Mombo. January to March is green, wet and much cheaper.

Is the Okavango Delta malaria-free?

No. The Okavango Delta is a malaria area, with the highest risk from November to May during and after the rains. Speak to a travel clinic about prophylaxis at least two weeks before you travel, and use repellent and long sleeves at dawn and dusk. All three camps have mosquito nets and spray tents at turndown.

What is the difference between Mombo and the other Okavango camps?

Mombo sits on a 35,000-hectare private area at the northern tip of Chief's Island inside Moremi Game Reserve, and carries the highest predator density in the Delta. It is dry-land game viewing, with eight tented suites and no other operator on the ground. Vumbura and Duba are water-led by contrast, which is why the three are combined here.

How much luggage can I take on a Botswana light aircraft?

20 kg per person including hand luggage and camera gear, packed in a soft bag with no rigid frame or wheels, no larger than about 25 x 30 x 62 cm. This applies to all four sectors. Laundry is included at every camp and turned around daily, so you can pack for three or four days rather than nine.