11 Day Botswana Honeymoon Safari

On arrival at Kasane International Airport, Botswana, you will be met and transferred to the lodge. A drive of about 1 hour, depending on game sightings along the way. Your safari starts immediately! Keep your eyes peeled!

Chobe Game Lodge has an unrivalled position being the only lodge within the famous Chobe National Park- renowned for phenomenal game and record elephant numbers. It’s location makes it a haven of peace and tranquillity away from the crowds. The Honeymoon suite features a private patio and pool – it is an idyllic spot for a private dinner.

Arriving to a warm welcome and some refreshments you will have an introduction to the lodge and settle into your room. Chobe Game Lodge is larger than most lodges, meaning it has a superb range of facilities including a swimming pool, gym and spa and a number of eating areas. The boardwalk along the river features a number of places to dine or relax. Keep an eye out for the mongeese who are often seen scurrying about here. This is a perfect spot to ease into your safari and recover from your long journey.

Your guide will discuss your activity options with you and together you will discuss your preferences. Chobe Game Lodge offers 4x4 game drives (in silent electric vehicles) and boat cruises along the Chobe River, a quintessential Chobe experience.

Later that afternoon you will set off on your first safari activity. Perhaps a gentle boat ride to soak up the African sunset?

This morning you wake early, enjoy a light breakfast and then set off on your first morning game drive. This is generally the best time to see predators before they settle down to rest in the shade for the day. Begin by tracking the movements of the night before, your guide will interpret the ‘news’ from the tracks as you explore the river roads and deeper into the park. The electric vehicles here allow you to approach game in a less intrusive manner and are wonderfully quiet.

Morning game drives usually last around 4 hours, depending on sightings, with a coffee break along the way. Returning around mid-morning for a heart brunch you will then have a few hours to yourself to relax in your room or in the communal areas of the lodge. Most animals rest in midday heat and so will you! Chobe Game Lodge offers plenty of secluded nooks to relax with lovely views of the river, as well of course as your suite. Perhaps spoil yourself to a pampering spa treatment between activities?

Meeting your guide for high tea mid-afternoon you will then set off on your boat safari upstream. This is really a quintessential Chobe safari experience and not to be missed. Animals come to the riverbank to drink before sunset, most notably elephant in huge numbers, and the boats offer a unique perspective. The sunsets on the water are wonderful and you will stop in a scenic spot and toast the setting sun, perhaps watching a herd of elephant drinking from the waters edge.

Return to the lodge for your private three course dinner on your patio

An early morning wake-up call starts the day. Wrap up warm, the air on the water can be cool early in the morning. A quick hot drink and then you are off on your private sunrise cruise along the Chobe river – a truly special time to enjoy this mighty river, it is blissfully quiet and still – only the ripples of hippo heads popping up to investigate the latest visitor. Crocs position themselves to catch the first rays of light and predators often come down to drink after hunting over the night. Mist often gathers on the water as the sun comes up offering superb photo opportunities. A champagne breakfast is served by your captain as you glide gently along the river.

Returning to camp around 11am you will have some hours to yourself to relax in your beautiful suite, dip in the pool or enjoy a spa treatment. Meeting around 3.30pm for high tea you will then set off on your game drive returning to the lodge as it gets dark for dinner. Meals are enjoyed in a number of locations. On the terrace, in various locations along the raised boardwalk and the boma.

Depending on the time of your flight you may have the chance to enjoy an early morning game drive before being transferred to Kasane Airport for your flight to the Okavango, a flight of about 50 minutes. Your guide will be waiting to meet you and will then escort you to the camp, a short walk.

A warm welcome awaits from the team. You will settle into your new Okavango home, with its open- air design and elevated views over the Okavango, this camp has an almost tree-house feel. A private expansive viewing deck offers lovely views of the Delta and space to relax between activities.

Over refreshments you will discuss your interests with your guide as he describes the activities available and together you plan your next few days. Camp Okavango offers a slower safari experience, a chance to pause and enjoy this beautiful wilderness. Because of the aquatic environment there are no game drives offered here, and less big game viewing. Activities focus on water and walking. Meandering along the water channels of the Okavango Delta the old-fashioned way in a traditional mokoro on a motorised boat into the deeper channels. Fishing expeditions can be arranged with bream and tiger fish being the prolific species here.

You will set off on your first activity later that afternoon after – your first introduction to the watery wonderment of the Okavango. Returning to camp for pre-dinner drinks around the open-air fire pits, a delicious dinner is served on the lower deck level. Your first night in the Okavango will likely feature the wonderful sounds of the Okavango, the honking hippos and the chorus of frogs.

The next morning you awake to the sound of the African dawn and after a light breakfast you set out to explore the permanent Delta.

In the late afternoon you will take to the skies for your 60 minute scenic helicopter flight, this is a truly once in a lift time experience – whizzing low over the glistening waters of the Okavango as antelope jump over the reeds and elephant wade through the lagoons below – memories which stay with you for life, especially if you take your camera. Don’t forget to have this fully charged, you will really want to capture this moment! Stopping for romantic champagne sundowner on a remote palm island concludes a truly special experience.

On walks and water activities look out for the usual suspects which live near the water – hippo and crocodiles. Older elephant prefer to stay around the waters where the softer vegetation is found, more forgiving on their sensitive teeth. Aquatic antelope such as the red lechwe, reedbuck and sitatunga are also found here. On the larger islands plains game such as zebra, wildebeest, kudu and more are seen on walks. Birding is wonderful in these areas too, the bush is alive with birdsong and flashes of colour.

The flight time for your transfer to Camp Moremi will be advised by your guide this evening, and together you will discuss your morning activity plan accordingly. You may take the opportunity to enjoy a lie-in for a change!

An early wake- up call brings with it a new adventure. At a time to be confirmed the night before, you return to the airstrip for your flight to the Moremi, a short but beautiful flight of about 15 minutes. On arrival your new guide will be waiting to transfer you to camp with a 25 minute game drive.

One of the original Okavango camps, set along the Khwai River in the Xakanaxa region of the reserve, Camp Moremi has long held an enviable position for game viewing. The camp was completely rebuilt in 2018 and now stands are a perfect blend of traditional lodge with modern comforts. Large comfortable rooms await and inviting common areas built into the trees. A secluded swimming pool and lagoon side viewing deck provide excellent spaces in which to relax when not on safari.

Having met the team and settled into your new home your guide will discuss your particular interests for this section of the safari. Perhaps there are certain elusive species you wish to see which have so far evaded you? Activities here include both morning and afternoon game drives. These explore the many different habitats of the Moremi Game Reserve. Motorboat excursions explore the Xakanaxa Lagoon and surrounding channels.

Rejuvenated with tea and cake you will set off on your first afternoon activity into the Moremi. Having focusses on the water for the last few days you are perhaps ready to return to the vehicles for some big game viewing. You set off on your game drive, stopping as the sun begins to set for sundowners, returning to camp before dark for dinner.

This morning you wake early, eager to experience the big game viewing of Moremi. You will enjoy a full day exploring the Moremi with morning and afternoon drives, relaxing in the middle of the day in camp.

The Xakanaka region boasts some of the richest concentrations of wildlife in Moremi Game Reserve.Springing up from the juncture formed where the invigorating waters of the Delta meet the plains of the Kalahari Desert, the Moremi is home to prolific wildlife species and spectacular landscapes. The Moremi Game Reserve is the beating heart of the Okavango, a sanctuary of Mopane forests, open grasslands, seasonal floodplains and riverine habitats. Huge herds of browsing Elephant, magnificent prides of lions and their competitors the hyaena, cheetah, and a vast number of antelope, including Impala, Kudu and Waterbuck that are supported by the reserve’s amazing wetlands. African Wild Dog sightings occur frequently too.

Another full day in the Moremi. Every day brings new sightings. By now you will be familiar with the rough routine on safari, with early morning and afternoon activities, with siesta hours in between. A chance to relax in camp, recharge from the early mornings or to simple soak up the peace and quiet of the bush.

This evening you will enjoy a private dinner in a beautiful and secluded area of the camp.

Your guide will once again advise you what time your flight will be the next day, and you will plan your morning activity according.

This morning you bid farewell to the Okavango as you fly south to the drier fringes of the Kalahari to your final stop, Leroo La Tau. This is a flight of about 30 minutes.

Leroo La Tau (meaning “Lion’s Paw”) is set on the cliffs overlooking the Boteti River, on the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. This is an interesting area, the Boteti is the main outflow of the Okavango Delta this area marks the frontier between the Okavango and Makgadikgadi. The lodge offers wonderful views across the park and good game viewing can be enjoyed from the comfort of the lodge itself as animals come and go from the river.

Later than afternoon you set off on your first activity. Leroo La Tau offers morning and afternoon game drives into the park twice daily to find game along the river system and in the bushland just beyond the river’s edge. Boat cruises are offered water levels permitting.

For those interested in experiencing some local culture, guided village tours of nearby Khumaga Village offer a wonderful opportunity to meet local community.

Perhaps you prefer to take it a little easy. A visit to the riverside Hide is a great way to take time to spot animals and birds in the most unobtrusive manner, there photo opportunities are excellent.

Today you set off on a full day into the lunar like salt pans of Nxai Pan and the surrounding area, including a visit to the famous Banes Baobabs, immortalised by the explorer Thomas Baines. These ancient trees stand in a cluster overlooking the salt flats and once seen are not forgotten. This is a fascinating drive, to see animals walk across the shimmer pans, the dust in their wake thee first sign of life, offers very different perspective of a Botswana safari. The waterholes here are always busy and interesting to stop and enjoy for a while as the desert adapted species like springbok, gemsbok and others come and go.

As a final farewell gift, the lodge invites honeymooners to enjoy a traditional Setswana blessing with the staff at Leroo La Tau and members of the khumaga community. This is an optional experience for those who do not wish to do the blessing this please let us know.

Today marks the end of your safari. There may be time for one last morning activity, or you may choose to conserve your energy for the flight home. Your flight to Maun Airport will take about 25 minutes, and you will be met on arrival and assisted onto your onward flight to Johannesburg or Cape Town.