5/5
Johannesburg to Victoria Falls: Khama, the Okavango Delta and Chobe
9 days from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls through Botswana: rhino at Khama, two nights in an Okavango Delta camp by mokoro, two nights on the Chobe River and the Falls, in lodges instead of tents.
9 days · Johannesburg to Victoria Falls · up to 12 guests
The Chobe River at Kasane, where Botswana faces Namibia Photo: Pavel Špindler, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C5%98eka_Chobe_River_v_Kasane,_hranice_Botswany_a_Namibie_-_Botswana_-_panoramio.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Johannesburg to Victoria Falls
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Easy to moderate: one guided island walk of 2 to 3 hours on flat, sandy ground, sitting low in a mokoro for 1 to 2 hours at a time, and about 3 km on the Victoria Falls path with some steps. The effort is the road: about 4.5 hours on day 2 and about 6 hours on day 3, plus two flights and early starts for wildlife. Any walk, drive or boat trip can be sat out at the camp or the lodge.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 6 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 800 (estimated price)
- Season
- May to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Rhino at sunset and again at dawn in the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community-run reserve
- Two nights in a permanent tented camp in the Okavango Delta, reached by mokoro, with your own bathroom
- A dawn walk on a Delta island with a licensed guide, reading the night's tracks in the sand
- The Delta edge and the Chobe River from the air on the flight from Maun to Kasane
- Elephants crossing the Chobe River on a late-afternoon cruise, after a dawn game drive at the gate opening
- Victoria Falls with a guide on arrival day, entry paid
- The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg before the trip heads north
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 800 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Johannesburg
OR Tambo Airport to the Apartheid Museum, then your hotel
- Dinner
- Stay in Johannesburg
- Drive about 1 h

Fly into OR Tambo International Airport (JNB), where a driver meets you at arrivals. If you land by about 11 am, your See Sight Tours guide takes the early arrivals to the Apartheid Museum, south of the city centre, for about two hours with the entry paid. Its rooms walk you through the laws, the resistance and the 1994 election, and they explain much of what you will see on the road north. From there we drive to a hotel in the northern suburbs, close to restaurants and a short walk from shops.
Evening
Later arrivals go straight to the hotel and can rest; if you want the museum and land late, add a night before the trip. At about 6 pm the guide meets the whole group for a briefing on the flights, the borders, the Delta camp and how each day is paced, then we walk to a welcome dinner nearby. Pack for tomorrow's flight tonight: one soft bag works best for the whole trip.
Included
- Pick-up at OR Tambo International Airport (JNB)
- Apartheid Museum with your guide, entry included, for guests who land by about 11 am
- Welcome briefing and welcome dinner
Easier option: Skip the museum and go straight to the hotel to rest.
Free time: Free until the evening briefing if you skip the museum
Activity: The museum's opening days are confirmed with your final itinerary.
Into Botswana and the Khama Rhino Sanctuary
Johannesburg by air to Gaborone, then by road via Palapye to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Khama Rhino Sanctuary
- Drive about 4.5 h

Morning
After an early breakfast we drive to OR Tambo for the flight to Gaborone, about an hour in the air; you clear Botswana immigration at the airport instead of a long road border. Our own vehicle and driver meet us there, and we head north on the A1 through the eastern Kalahari bush.
Afternoon
The drive is about 345 km and four and a half hours, broken by a sit-down lunch in Palapye, roughly three hours in. Past Serowe, the home village of Botswana's first president, Sir Seretse Khama, the road reaches the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a reserve run by a community trust that protects white and black rhino. We check in to an en-suite chalet or lodge room, then go out at about 4 pm in an open 4x4 with a sanctuary guide. As the light softens the rhino come out to graze and to the waterholes, alongside zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and springbok.
Evening
Dinner tonight is together, at the sanctuary or the lodge.
Included
- Flight from Johannesburg to Gaborone
- Sit-down lunch in Palapye
- Sunset game drive in the Khama Rhino Sanctuary with a sanctuary guide, fees included
Activity: About 4.5 hours on a tarred road after the flight, broken by lunch. Keep a warm layer for the late drive from May to August.
Rhino at dawn, then west to Maun
Khama Rhino Sanctuary via Letlhakane and Rakops to Maun
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Maun
- Drive about 6 h

Morning
Coffee before sunrise and a short dawn drive in the sanctuary, about 90 minutes, when the rhino are still active and the light is low. After breakfast comes the trip's one long road day: about 470 km and six hours to Maun, more than our usual 4-hour cap.
Evening
We drive it because there is no scheduled flight from the Serowe area to Maun, and the alternatives either skip Khama or add a night in a town with little to see. We break it into three parts. A coffee stop at Letlhakane, the diamond-mining town, then a sit-down lunch on the road and a stretch by the Boteti River near Rakops, the river that forms the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where cattle, donkeys and sometimes zebra come to the water. The country turns greener as you near the Okavango. We reach a hotel on the Thamalakane River in Maun by late afternoon, with the evening free to rest or eat by the river.
Included
- Dawn game drive in the Khama Rhino Sanctuary
- Sit-down lunch on the road to Maun
- Stop at the Boteti River near Rakops
Easier option: Skip the dawn drive and have a slow breakfast before the road.
Free time: Evening free in Maun
Activity: About 6 hours of driving on tarred roads with three stops. Our vehicle has air-conditioning and every guest has a window seat.
By mokoro into the Okavango Delta
Maun by 4x4 to a poling station, then by mokoro to a camp in the Okavango Delta
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Okavango Delta
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we leave the main bags in Maun and take an overnight bag on a 4x4 transfer of about an hour and a half into a community area on the edge of the Delta, where local polers wait at the water with their mokoros, the Delta's narrow poled canoes, two guests to a boat. The water carries us in, silent through the reeds and papyrus, past lily pads and small islands, to a permanent tented camp: proper beds, your own bathroom with a flush toilet and hot shower, and all meals cooked for you. This is not a bush camp and you do not pitch a tent.
Afternoon
Lunch at camp, then rest through the heat of the day.
Evening
In the late afternoon we go out by mokoro again to look for hippo, reed frogs and the birds of the channels, and come back for a fire, a sundowner and dinner. The Okavango was listed by UNESCO in 2014.
Included
- 4x4 transfer to the poling station
- Mokoro trip into the Delta with local polers
- Late-afternoon mokoro outing
- All meals at camp
Free time: Midday free at camp
Activity: Mokoro trips depend on the flood. When water is low, usually from about October, the camp uses a motorboat and walks instead; we tell you at booking.
On foot and on the water in the Delta
A full day at the camp in the Okavango Delta
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Okavango Delta
- By boat
Morning
Coffee and rusks by the fire before sunrise, then a crossing by mokoro to a larger island for a guided walk with a licensed guide and your poler, in the coolest and quietest hours of the day.
Evening
On foot you notice what a vehicle drives past: last night's tracks in the sand, termite mounds that seed new islands, red lechwe splashing off through the shallows, elephant dung still warm. The guide decides how close is safe, and the group walks in single file and talks quietly. We are back at camp by late morning for a cooked breakfast, with lunch later, and the middle of the day is yours: sleep, read, or watch the lagoon from the shade. In the late afternoon we head out again by mokoro to a spot chosen for the sunset, with a drink as the light goes over the floodplain. Dinner at camp, then the hippos calling in the dark. If you would like to see the Delta from above, a scenic flight from Maun can be added.
Included
- Dawn guided island walk with a licensed guide and your poler
- Sunset mokoro outing
- All meals at camp
Easier option: Skip the walk and stay at camp, then join the gentle sunset mokoro.
More active option: A longer walk of about three hours on a bigger island, where the guide allows it.
Free time: Middle of the day free at camp
Activity: The walk is 2 to 3 hours on flat, sandy ground at a slow pace. Wear neutral colours and closed shoes.
Over the Delta to Kasane
Okavango Delta by mokoro and 4x4 to Maun, then by air to Kasane
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Kasane
- Drive about 2 h

A last early mokoro back to the poling station, while the birds are busiest, then the 4x4 to Maun, where we collect the main bags. From Maun Airport we fly north-east to Kasane, about an hour in the air, on a scheduled flight or a light-aircraft charter (confirmed with your final itinerary). It replaces about 600 km of road through Nata, and on a clear day the window shows the edge of the Delta, then the dry woodland and the Chobe River.
Afternoon
Lunch is in Maun or Kasane, depending on the flight time. A short drive takes us to our lodge near the Chobe River for two nights. The afternoon is free: swim, sleep, or sit by the river and watch the boats go out.
Evening
Dinner is together at the lodge, and your guide talks through tomorrow's dawn start and how the day is paced.
Included
- Mokoro and 4x4 transfer back to Maun
- Flight from Maun to Kasane
- Lunch, and dinner at the lodge
Free time: Afternoon free at the lodge
Activity: Keep to one soft bag of about 20 kg, hand luggage included; the exact limit comes with your flight confirmation.
Chobe by land at dawn and by water at sunset
Kasane to Chobe National Park and back, twice
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Kasane
- Drive about 15 min
Morning
We leave the lodge before sunrise in two open 4x4s, at most six guests in each, to be at the Sedudu gate of Chobe National Park, Botswana's first national park, as it opens. The first hours are the best on land: the air is cool, the cats are still active, and the riverfront track is quiet before the day visitors arrive. The drive follows the river west along the floodplain, stopping wherever the animals are: elephant and buffalo herds, giraffe, sable in the woodland, and puku, an antelope rarely seen elsewhere in Botswana. Lions and leopards are seen here, though never promised.
Afternoon
We are back by late morning, with lunch at the lodge and a free middle of the day. At about 3 pm we board a boat for the river, when the elephants come down in family herds to drink, swim and cross to the islands, with hippos and crocodiles along the banks. We stay out until the sun drops over Namibia.
Evening
Dinner is free.
Included
- Dawn game drive in Chobe National Park in an open 4x4, park fees included
- Lunch at the lodge
- Late-afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River, park fees included
Easier option: Sit the dawn drive out and join only the afternoon cruise.
Free time: Middle of the day and the evening free
Activity: Bring a warm layer and a hat: dawn in an open vehicle is cold from May to August.
Across the border to Victoria Falls
Kasane through the Kazungula border to Victoria Falls, then the Falls
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Victoria Falls
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
Breakfast, then we leave Kasane at about 8:30 am for Victoria Falls, about 80 km and an hour and a half on the road. First comes the Kazungula road border: we leave Botswana and enter Zimbabwe, where you buy your visa at the post in US dollars if you do not already have one (we confirm the fee when you book), and your guide steers the group through the forms. Allow up to an hour. Past the border the road runs through mopane woodland, where elephants sometimes cross, into Victoria Falls town.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal in town, then we check in. In the afternoon a local guide walks us through the Victoria Falls Rainforest on the Zimbabwe side, from the statue of David Livingstone past the Devil's Cataract and the Main Falls to Danger Point, about two hours with the entry paid. The Falls are about 1.7 km wide and drop up to 108 m into the gorge.
Evening
In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner.
Included
- Transfer from Kasane to Victoria Falls through the Kazungula border with your guide
- Sit-down lunch in Victoria Falls town
- Guided walk of the Victoria Falls Rainforest, entry included
- Farewell dinner
Optional experiences
- Zambezi sunset cruise above the Falls (priced at booking)
Easier option: Walk only to the Devil's Cataract and Main Falls viewpoints, then rest at the hotel.
Activity: Keep your passport, the visa fee in US dollars and a pen in your day bag. The Falls path is about 3 km, mostly flat with some steps, and wet in high water.
Departure from Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls to Victoria Falls Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
A free morning. If you want the Falls again, go back at opening, before the tour groups, with a new ticket; from about July the view is clearer as the spray drops. Or take a helicopter flight over the Falls, walk out to the Victoria Falls Bridge, or browse the craft market for baskets and carvings. Your guide stays until the airport transfers leave and checks everyone's flight times. Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) is about 20 km south of town, roughly 25 minutes by road, and a driver takes you there in time for your flight; most flights go to Johannesburg for connections home.
Evening
If you would like a second night at the Falls, for rafting or the Zambezi cruise, ask us when you book and we add the night and the transfer. For the flight home, allow at least two hours at the airport and choose a flight that leaves after about 1 pm so you keep the morning.
Included
- Drop-off at Victoria Falls Airport (VFA)
Optional experiences
- Helicopter flight over the Falls (priced at booking)
- Victoria Falls Bridge tour
- White-water rafting below the Falls, in season, with an extra night
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm to keep the morning.
- Johannesburg1 night
- Khama Rhino Sanctuary1 night
- Maun1 night
- Okavango Delta2 nights
- Kasane2 nights
- Victoria Falls1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: May to October is the dry season. The Delta flood usually reaches the Maun side from about June and is highest until about August, which is when the mokoro trips run best; from about October the camp may switch to motorboat and walks as the water drops. As the bush dries, animals gather on the Chobe River, so September and October are the strongest months there, but also hot, often above 35°C. Dawns from May to August are cold in open vehicles and boats. Victoria Falls is fullest and spray heaviest from about March to June, lowest in October and November.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want the classic Johannesburg to Victoria Falls overland route without camping
- First-time safari travellers who want rhino, the Delta, Chobe and the Falls in one trip
- Solo travellers and couples who like a small group and one guide throughout
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who cannot manage one 6-hour road day
- Travellers who want three nights or more in the Delta (see our fly-in Botswana trip)
- Travellers who want guaranteed predator sightings
- Travellers who need step-free access; the mokoro and the Falls path are not accessible
- A budget camping trip
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Johannesburg1 night
- Khama Rhino Sanctuary1 night
- Maun1 night
- Okavango Delta2 nights
- Kasane2 nights
- Victoria Falls1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights: 1 in Johannesburg, 1 at or near the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, 1 in Maun on the Thamalakane River, 2 at a permanent tented camp in the Okavango Delta, 2 at a lodge in Kasane near the Chobe River, 1 in Victoria Falls town
- Rooms and tents with their own bathroom every night, no camping; at least a 3-star-plus standard, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at OR Tambo (JNB) and drop-off at Victoria Falls Airport (VFA)
- Flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone and from Maun to Kasane
- Our own vehicle and driver from Gaborone to Maun, and from Kasane to Victoria Falls
- A 4x4 transfer and mokoros with local polers into and out of the Delta
- Two open 4x4s for the Chobe game drive, at most 6 guests each, and a boat for the Chobe River cruise
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, including in the Delta
- Sanctuary guides at Khama, licensed guides and polers in the Delta, licensed guides in Chobe, and a local guide at Victoria Falls
Activities
- Johannesburg: the Apartheid Museum, for guests who land by about 11 am
- Khama Rhino Sanctuary: a sunset and a dawn game drive
- Okavango Delta: mokoro trips and a guided island walk at dawn
- Chobe National Park: a dawn game drive and a late-afternoon river cruise
- Victoria Falls: a guided walk of the Rainforest
- All park, sanctuary, community-area and Falls entry fees
Meals
- Breakfast daily (8)
- 7 lunches: Palapye, on the road to Maun, two at the Delta camp, Maun or Kasane, the Kasane lodge and Victoria Falls town
- 6 dinners: a welcome dinner in Johannesburg, Khama, two at the Delta camp, the Kasane lodge and a farewell dinner in Victoria Falls
Not included
- International flights to Johannesburg and home from Victoria Falls
- The Zimbabwe visa, and any visa your passport needs for South Africa or Botswana
- Any Botswana visitor levy in force when you travel (we confirm at booking)
- Travel insurance, which should cover medical evacuation from remote areas
- Dinners on days 3 and 7
- Drinks, except where the Delta camp includes them
- Tips
- Optional activities: the Falls helicopter flight, the Zambezi sunset cruise, rafting, Delta scenic flights
- Luggage over the flight limit
- Personal expenses
Local fees
- Zimbabwe visa fee for most passports, paid in US dollars; any Botswana visitor levy, if one applies when you travel, confirmed at booking.
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 800 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
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Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Eight nights in hotels, lodges and a Delta tented camp, all with private bathrooms; flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone and from Maun to Kasane; breakfast daily, 7 lunches and 6 dinners; the Khama game drives, mokoro trips and a Delta walk; the Chobe drive and cruise; the Falls entry with a guide; the Apartheid Museum; all park fees; and your See Sight Tours guide.
How big is the group, and who leads it?
The small group runs with 7 to 12 guests, against up to 22 on the overland trucks: two guests to each mokoro and at most six in each open 4x4 in Chobe. A See Sight Tours guide travels with you from Johannesburg to the Victoria Falls airport, with sanctuary, Delta, Chobe and Falls guides where the parks require them.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. The Delta walk is 2 to 3 hours on flat, sandy ground at a slow pace, and the Falls path is about 3 km with some steps. You need to step in and out of a low mokoro. The hardest part is sitting: about 6 hours on the road on day 3. Any walk, drive or boat trip can be sat out.
What if my flight lands late on day 1?
That is fine. A driver meets every arrival at OR Tambo and takes you to the hotel, and the trip really starts with the 6 pm briefing and welcome dinner. Land by about 11 am to join the Apartheid Museum visit; if you land after about 4 pm or overnight, we suggest booking a night before the trip, which we can arrange.
How much luggage can I bring on the small planes?
Plan on one soft bag of about 20 kg, hand luggage included, with no hard suitcases. The Maun to Kasane flight may be a light aircraft with a strict limit, and the mokoro carries only a small overnight bag; the main bags wait in Maun. We confirm the exact limit when we confirm the flight.
Are there early mornings?
Yes, a few, because animals are most active at first light. Day 3 starts with coffee before sunrise for a dawn rhino drive, day 5 with a dawn walk, day 7 leaves before sunrise for the Chobe gate, and day 8 leaves Kasane at about 8:30 am. Day 3 is also the one long road day, about 6 hours, because there is no scheduled flight from the Serowe area to Maun; it is broken by stops and lunch.
I am travelling solo. What does a room of my own cost?
A room or tent of your own is from CAD 800 more, shown before you book and not added later. You join the group on the same terms as everyone else, with the same seats in the boats and vehicles.
What is the Okavango Delta camp like?
A permanent tented camp in a community area on the edge of the Delta, reached by 4x4 and mokoro. You sleep in a proper bed in a large tent with your own bathroom, flush toilet and hot shower, and all meals are cooked for you. It is not a bush camp, and you never pitch a tent. We name it when we confirm your dates.
When is the best time to go?
May to October, the dry season. The mokoro trips run best from about June to September, when the flood reaches the Maun side; in October the camp may use a motorboat instead. Chobe is strongest in September and October, but hot. Dawns are cold from May to August, and the Falls are fullest until about June.
Do I need visas for South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe?
Canadian passport holders do not currently need a visa for a short visit to South Africa or Botswana; South Africa asks for two blank passport pages. Zimbabwe needs a visa for most visitors, including Canadians, bought at the Kazungula border or as an e-visa. We confirm the rules for your passport when you book.
How does booking work, and can we choose our own dates?
Send your preferred dates as an enquiry. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. The small group starts from CAD 4,695 per person sharing, with taxes. A private trip for your party, on a date you choose, starts from CAD 8,450. To travel independently on your own dates, ask us and we quote it.
How is this different from your Okavango, Chobe and Victoria Falls trip?
That trip starts in Maun and flies into a fly-in Delta camp for three nights, with no long road days, at a higher price. This one starts in Johannesburg, adds the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, reaches the Delta by mokoro for two nights and keeps one long road day. Both end at Victoria Falls.