Botswana Off The Beaten Path Safari

Makgadikgadi Pans, Okavango Delta, and Victoria Falls

Overview

A perfect combination of abundant wildlife, local guides, exceptional lodging, and unique destinations converge on this seamless off the beaten path African safari. Botswana is home to the most wildlife species on the African continent. Embed yourself in the heart of this untouched, natural landscape, enjoying unique lodges, superlative wildlife viewing, and cultural experiences unique from the traditional African safari.

Well-appointed and locally owned safari lodges and camps anchor this trip, beginning with a fabulous lodge situated on a private game reserve near the banks of the Thamalakane River. Then, migrate to the edge of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park along the Boteti River, where impressive zebra and wildebeest migrations occur right below the viewing deck of your riverside safari-style tent!

Private helicopter flights whisk you into the heart of the Okavango Delta to two different camps – a treehouse camp set on a palm island on the Matsebi River and a remote, luxurious fly-in camp. Both locations brim over with fantastic wildlife viewing, from lion, leopard, and cheetah to giraffe, elephant, hippo, and various antelope, among countless others.

Lastly, migrate to Victoria Falls, one of the “seven natural wonders of the world”, by way of Chobe National Park, where you will complete your trip to perfection with outstanding lodging, incredible viewing of the falls, and fabulous, celebratory dining.

Enjoy a classic African safari experience, with off the beaten path touches that allow you to immerse, connect, and explore these wild landscapes in ways unique from the typical traveler.

Price From

$16,195 USD
Trip Type

Small Group Adventure
Departure Dates

Jun 15 - 26, 2026
Aug 11 - 22, 2026
Sep 6 - 17, 2026
Oct 1 - 12, 2026
Jun 9 - 20, 2027
Aug 13 - 24, 2027
Sep 16 - 27, 2027
Oct 1 - 12, 2027
Mouse over or tap the departure dates to see trip prices.
Duration

12 days / 11 nights
Trip begins/ends
Maun, Botswana / Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

*Price per person based on double occupancy. Trip price includes all lodging, meals, ground transportation, guide services and activities as described in this itinerary.

Call Toll-Free 800-445-2995

Do you want to customize this trip?

We customize trips all the time! Email us today: [email protected].

Trip Details

Trip Highlights

What’s Included? Everything you need, plus everything you want.

Unparalleled Wildlife, Remote Places: From Makgadikgadi Pans to Okavango Delta, see all forms of Africa’s megafauna from expansive private reserves.
Natural Wonders, Protected Places: Makgadikgadi Pans and Chobe National Parks, Okavango Delta, and Victoria Falls.
Nicely Appointed, Wild Accommodations: Start and end each day at unique riverside lodges, private reserves, fly-in and treehouse camps, and Victoria Falls.

The Essentials

Botswana Off The Beaten Path Safari

Trip Type: Small Group Adventure

Territory: Africa

Region: Botswana

Trip Price: From $16,195

Single Supplement: $3,900

On-Trip Airfare: $1,875

Duration: 12 days/11 nights

Trip Begins/Ends: Maun, Botswana / Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Minimum Travelers: 4 travelers

Maximum Travelers: 14 travelers

Select Terms & Conditions

Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.

Energy Index

No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities

Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration

High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun

Botswana Off The Beaten Path Safari

The Energy Index for this trip is No Sweat, with Nice & Active elements, at elevations ranging from 2,800 to 3,500 feet. There are two days where you'll be hiking 1 to 2 miles per day, with elevation gain/loss not typically more than 100 feet. Throughout the trip, you'll ride in safari-style jeeps, and the roads can often be uneven and bumpy. Other activities are mokoro and motorized boat tours.

Make It Private

Make this trip all yours!

Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!

Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.

In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!

Trip Highlights
The Essentials
Energy Index
Make It Private

What’s Included? Everything you need, plus everything you want.

Unparalleled Wildlife, Remote Places: From Makgadikgadi Pans to Okavango Delta, see all forms of Africa’s megafauna from expansive private reserves.
Natural Wonders, Protected Places: Makgadikgadi Pans and Chobe National Parks, Okavango Delta, and Victoria Falls.
Nicely Appointed, Wild Accommodations: Start and end each day at unique riverside lodges, private reserves, fly-in and treehouse camps, and Victoria Falls.

Botswana Off The Beaten Path Safari

Trip Type: Small Group Adventure

Territory: Africa

Region: Botswana

Trip Price: From $16,195

Single Supplement: $3,900

On-Trip Airfare: $1,875

Duration: 12 days/11 nights

Trip Begins/Ends: Maun, Botswana / Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Minimum Travelers: 4 travelers

Maximum Travelers: 14 travelers

Select Terms & Conditions

Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.

Energy Index

No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities

Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration

High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun

Botswana Off The Beaten Path Safari

The Energy Index for this trip is No Sweat, with Nice & Active elements, at elevations ranging from 2,800 to 3,500 feet. There are two days where you'll be hiking 1 to 2 miles per day, with elevation gain/loss not typically more than 100 feet. Throughout the trip, you'll ride in safari-style jeeps, and the roads can often be uneven and bumpy. Other activities are mokoro and motorized boat tours.

Make this trip all yours!

Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!

Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.

In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Maun, Botswana

Meetup in Maun, gateway to the Okavango Delta, and transfer to a classic safari-style camp set along the Thamalakane River. Enjoy afternoon tea and then walk with the “local” giraffe herd on a unique experience in (and with!) nature. Cap the day with your first “sundowner” at a nearby waterhole whilst observing giraffe, zebra, and ostrich.

Day 2: Boteti River & Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

Today you are off to your next destination. You will lodge at Meno a Kwena, situated between the wetlands of the Okavango Delta and the deserts of the Kalahari, on the edge of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. The camp is perched on a rocky clifftop above the Boteti River, perfect for wildlife watching right from the deck of your room. Take-in a walk with a local Bushman, who will share impressive and varied traditional skills used to survive the harsh desert landscape. Enjoy a wonderful al fresco dinner under the stars at camp.

Day 3: Boteti River & Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

Today, enjoy a full day exploring the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. The first of several safari game drives on the trip, the woodlands, palm belts, and grasslands of the area create a haven for wildlife. Oryx, impala, springbok, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, jackals, leopards, and lions are regularly seen during game drives in the area. Dry country birdlife is also prolific. Afternoon tea and wildlife viewing over the Boteti River, right below your camp, will bring your day to an exhilarating close.

Day 4: Okavango Delta

After breakfast, transfer to the Moreomaoto Cultural Village for a cultural encounter before taking to the air to transfer deep into the Okavango Delta. You will lodge at Mokolwane Camp, an exclusive camp in one of the largest, nearly untouched parts of the Okavango Delta. The diverse landscape teems with massive herds of elephants and an almost unreal number of predators.

Day 5 & 6: Okavango Delta

For the next two days, you will rise early for morning game drives before returning to camp for brunch. After brunch, relax at camp and enjoy game viewing right from your rooms! Afternoon includes tea and game drives to areas teeming with herds of elephants and all the Okavango predators. Leopard sightings are prevalent in the area, while elephants are the most dominant “Big 5” species, with between 5,000 to 10,000 elephants in the reserve at various times of the year. Wildlife viewing action is unparalleled and each day you will enjoy remarkable game drives in the company of exceptional guides. Fabulous camp dinners under starry skies punctuate each day.

Day 7: Okavango Delta to OBP Safari Camp

This morning, enjoy a morning game drive before returning to camp for brunch. Afterwards, board for another helicopter flight to the northern area of the Okavango Delta. Sublimely appointed, our fly-in OBP Safari Camp will serve as a luxurious basecamp for the next three nights. The camp will place you in the heart of nature, while not sacrificing lodging comfort. This pristine wilderness area is teeming with game and has more wildlife species than anywhere else in Africa!

Day 8: Okavango Delta & OBP Safari Camp

You can choose from several options for your day today: watch lions hunting, spend the day at a busy waterhole, or enjoy a boat ride to observe elephants from the safety of your boat as they wash and feed on the roots of aquatic plants. Picnic and siesta in the arms of a giant baobab tree, spend the afternoon seeking out hyena dens, and as the day cools down, watch for hunting cats.

Day 9: Okavango Delta & OBP Safari Camp

Enjoy an all-day predator search, where you will seek out your favorite species: leopard, lion, cheetah and wild dog. All are present and roam wild and free, seeking out their next meal among the wildlife in the area. Spend your last night in the Okavango Delta around the firepit under a blanket of a billion stars, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the pure magic that is Africa!

Day 10: Kasane & Victoria falls, Zimbabwe

Board for a light aircraft to transfer to Kasane Airport. Upon arrival, a short drive delivers us to the banks of the Chobe River for a private river cruise and picnic lunch. Following the cruise, you will migrate across the border into Zimbabwe, and to your lodging in Victoria Falls.

Day 11: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Enjoy a fabulous tour of Victoria Falls today. The falls are truly awe-inspiring – the sight, sound, and rumbling of nature’s “supreme masterpiece” will not be forgotten. In the afternoon, visit a local village for another interesting cultural encounter. Finish with a very special farewell dinner along the banks of the mighty Zambezi River.

Day 12: Departures home from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Bid farewell to Africa following breakfast with a transfer to the Victoria Falls International Airport for flights home.

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Lodging

Thamo Telele River Lodge

Thamo Telele River Lodge is located just outside of the iconic safari town of Maun, within a 250-hectare private game reserve. The game reserve is an oasis for giraffes, plains game, and birds.

Meno a Kwena Safari Camp

Meno a Kwena Safari Camp, located 2 hours from Maun, was originally used by South Africa's famed explorers. Perched on a rocky clifftop above the Boteti River, you'll have views of game from right outside your tent!

Mokolwane Tree House Camp

Mokolwane Tree House Camp, while a short 30-minute flight from Maun, brings you into the heart of the Botswanan bush. Located in a 200,00 hectare game reserve in the Xudum concession, this area is home to massive herds of elephants, predators including wild dogs, and boasts the third highest density of leopards in Africa!

OBP Safari Camp

OBP Safari Camp is a luxurious mobile camp in the heart of the wilderness, situated in a reserve that boasts more wildlife species than anywhere else in Africa! Camp staff move the camp to be situated in the prime location for the time of year and current conditions in the area, so it will always be in the best location for wildlife viewing year-round!

Ilala Lodge

Ilala Lodge is the geographically closest hotel to the spectacular Victoria Falls, located only an 8 minute drive away! This unique location allows guests to view the iconic "smoke that thunders" right from the grounds of the hotel. This family-owned property with a top-rated restaurant onsite makes the perfect basecamp for your Victoria Falls adventure.

The Palm River Hotel

Located only 4 kilometers for the majestic Victoria Falls, The Palm River Hotel offers a luxurious basecamp for your Victoria Falls adventure! Located on the banks of the Zambezi River, you can spend your downtime admiring the views and enjoying a meal on the waterfront.