4-Day Botswana Safari Tour from Maun: Mokoro, Pans & Delta

A mokoro glides through the Okavango Delta's channels while you spot hippos and crocodiles from water level.

A 4-day safari tour from Maun combining open vehicle game drives across the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans with traditional mokoro safaris on the Boteti River and Okavango Delta. You stay at Boteti Tented Safari Lodge, travel with a live English-speaking guide, and move between three distinct ecosystems (salt pans, river channels and delta islands) in four days. Maun airport pickup and all listed activities are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and Boteti Safari Lodge

• Arrive at Maun Airport
• Drive 20 minutes to Boteti Lodge
• Check in and enjoy complimentary drink
• Relax or explore lodge surroundings
• 2-hour sunset Mokoro safari on Boteti River
• Dinner by open fire at lodge
• Overnight in safari tent

Day 2: Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans Exploration

• Continental breakfast in Makgadikgadi Pans
• Drive across Makgadikgadi Pans
• Lunch at Baines Baobab area
• Afternoon wildlife viewing in Nxai Pans
• Return to Boteti Lodge
• Dinner at lodge
• Overnight in safari tent

Day 3: Mokoro Safari and Nature Walk

• Early coffee or tea with biscuits
• Morning Mokoro safari in Okavango Delta
• Nature walk and channel exploration
• Lunch on scenic island
• Continue exploring channels and islands
• Return to lodge by 16:00
• Drinks on wooden deck at sunset
• Dinner under stars in open Boma
• Overnight in safari tent

Day 4: Relaxation and Departure

• Bush breakfast at lodge
• Leisure time at lodge amenities
• Transfer to Maun Airport or drop-off point

The experience

Four days means you can move between three separate landscapes without rushing through any of them. Day one brings you from Maun Airport to Boteti Tented Safari Lodge with a 2-hour sunset mokoro safari on the Boteti River, where hippos and crocodiles surface at dusk and the birdlife is dense enough to hold your attention for the whole drift. If water levels drop too low for mokoro, the guide pivots to a Xobe Village Cultural Tour instead: the lodge adjusts the day to what the season allows.

Day two is a full open vehicle game drive across the Makgadikgadi Pans, starting before dawn with continental breakfast at a spot inside the pans themselves. The drive crosses the vast salt flats, then stops for lunch at Baines Baobab, where ancient baobab trees frame the meal. The afternoon pushes into Nxai Pans, where wildlife congregates and the landscape shifts again. You return to the lodge by late afternoon. Day three reverses the pace: an early mokoro safari through the Okavango Delta's channels with a nature walk and packed lunch on an island, returning around 4pm for sunset drinks on the wooden deck. The final morning is unhurried: bush breakfast, time at the pool or lodge grounds, then transfer back to Maun.

Accommodations are tented rooms at Boteti Tented Safari Lodge throughout, with meals and drinks prepared at the lodge or packed for the day trips. The guide is live and speaks English. The itinerary is fixed but the mokoro option on day one depends on water levels. Infants sit on an adult's lap in the vehicle.

What’s included

• Maun airport pickup and drop-off.
• three nights in tented rooms at Boteti Tented Safari Lodge.
• a 2-hour sunset mokoro safari on the Boteti River (or Xobe Village Cultural Tour if water levels are low).
• a full day open vehicle game drive to Makgadikgadi Pans, Nxai Pans and Baines Baobab with continental breakfast and lunch.
• a full day mokoro safari and nature walk in the Okavango Delta with packed lunch.
• all meals at the lodge and on day trips.
• a live English-speaking guide throughout.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (13 to 80 years) · Child (3 to 12 years) · Infant (under 3)

GroupUp to 18

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 4 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48h

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Boteti Tented Safari Lodge

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English, so anyone comfortable following commentary in English can join. The itinerary mixes water-level travel and open vehicle drives, so if you want to see the delta from inside a mokoro and the pans from a game drive in one trip, this four-day loop does both without backtracking.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 12 years); Infant (under 3).

What's the difference between the mokoro safari and the game drive across the pans?

The mokoro safari on the Boteti River and Okavango Delta puts you in a traditional shallow-draft canoe, moving silently through water channels and islands at water level where you see hippos and crocodiles up close. The game drive crosses the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans in an open vehicle, covering vast distances across salt flats and grassland to spot wildlife and baobab trees from above ground.

What happens if water levels are too low for the mokoro on day one?

The guide substitutes a Xobe Village Cultural Tour, so you still have a full afternoon activity but on land instead of water. The rest of the itinerary stays the same.

How much time do you actually spend in the Okavango Delta?

Day three is a full day in the delta, starting before dawn with an early mokoro safari, a nature walk, and a packed lunch stop on an island. You return to the lodge around 4pm, so you have roughly eight hours on the water and islands.

Does the price include drinks and meals?

Meals at the lodge and packed lunches on the day trips are included. Drinks and bottled water are available at checkout as an optional add-on.

What's included in the Maun airport pickup?

The guide meets you at Maun Airport and drives you to Boteti Tented Safari Lodge, a 20-minute journey. On the final morning, you're transferred back to Maun Airport or your preferred drop-off point in town.