Botswana on your own

The Okavango Delta itself has no roads: its permanent swamps and islands are explored by mokoro (dugout canoe) or from the air, from Maun or from a camp. What a self-drive reaches is its eastern, dry-land fringe: Moremi Game Reserve through South Gate, with the Third Bridge and Xakanaxa campsites along the lagoons, and the Khwai area at North Gate, the link towards Savuti and Chobe. The western Panhandle (Shakawe, Mohembo border post) is reached on tarmac from Maun but is fishing and river country rather than a game drive.

In practice: book the Moremi and Khwai campsites first (operators in the table below), cross the log bridges slowly and check the flood level before Third Bridge in the dry season, when the water arrives; then add a mokoro day or a scenic flight from Maun for the inner delta. The Okavango self-drive article details each gate and camp.

Chobe is really three sectors, each handled differently. The riverfront, along the Chobe River, is reached from Kasane through Sedudu gate: the easiest sector, doable as a day trip, with one public campsite (Ihaha, run by Kwalate Safaris). Savuti, to the south-west, is reached on deep-sand tracks and camped with SKL. Linyanti, to the north-west, is the most remote, also run by SKL.

Chobe is first and foremost about elephants. The Great Elephant Census (Chase et al., PeerJ, 2016), the first standardised continent-wide survey, counted 352,271 savannah elephants on its study sites in 18 countries, 84% of them in protected areas, with populations shrinking by 8% a year, mainly because of poaching. At the water's edge in the dry season, that translates into one simple driving rule: always give way and keep an escape route.

For a day on the riverfront or the Kasane–Savuti–Moremi crossing, see the two Chobe articles below; the Botswana guide details the full itinerary.

The water that floods the Okavango Delta comes largely from rain falling on the Angolan highlands, and it spreads through the delta during the dry southern winter, when tracks are passable and wildlife gathers near water. The extent varies hugely from year to year: using more than 3,000 satellite images, McCarthy et al. (Ambio, 2003) measured a flooded area of roughly 2,450 to 11,400 km² over 1972-2000, a variability tied to rainfall over the Angolan catchment and to local rain.

In practice: May to October for a first self-drive trip (dry tracks, concentrated wildlife, and from July to October outside the malaria transmission period given by Institut Pasteur); the rainy season, November to April, is for experienced crews, with parts of Moremi and Savuti sometimes cut off by water and mud.

In Botswana, camping in the parks and park entry are two separate bills. Campsites are concessioned to private operators; entry fees go to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). The process described by Tracks4Africa: book each night with the operator, then send the confirmations to the DWNP (dwnp@gov.bw) to obtain the entry permit, fees being paid separately. Peak dates are sometimes booked a year ahead.

At each park gate you show your campsite confirmation: without it, no night in the park.

The government had planned to raise fees on 1 April 2026. On 24/02/2026 the Daily News, the government news service, reported the non-resident entry fee moving from P380 to P500. On 31/03/2026 the Ministry of Environment and Tourism postponed the reform; Minister Wynter Mmolotsi later announced a two-year delay to rework the tariff with the industry.

The fees in force are not published online by the DWNP and reported figures differ: operators and rental companies quote P270 per non-resident adult per day at Chobe and Moremi, the Daily News mentioned P380. Budget for the higher figure in cash and confirm with the DWNP before you leave. The exit day counts as a day: three nights in a park means four days of fees.

From Namibia, three posts serve travellers: Ngoma, on the Chobe River, 57 km from Kasane; Mohembo, at the top of the Okavango Panhandle; Mamuno, on the Trans-Kalahari road, 322 km from Windhoek and 494 km from Maun. From Zambia, the Kazungula bridge is the crossing; in February 2026 the government announced it would move to 24-hour opening.

A foreign-registered vehicle enters under a temporary import permit issued by customs (BURS) and pays the P40 National Road Safety Fund levy, valid until the end of the calendar year. With a rental car, ask for the cross-border authorisation letter when you book.

According to Institut Pasteur, transmission is seasonal from November to May-June in the northern half of the country (Okavango, Ngamiland, Chobe, Boteti, Tutume…), with chemoprophylaxis recommended for those areas and that period; there is no risk in the south or in Gaborone. France's foreign ministry describes malaria as endemic in the northern districts. Yellow fever vaccination is only required if you arrive from a country with transmission risk, airport transit included.

The country has nonetheless cut its malaria burden sharply. A study of the elimination phase (Chihanga et al., Parasites & Vectors, 2016) records 1,808 cases from October 2012 to December 2014, 60% of them in Okavango district, hit by an outbreak in 2013 and 2014: precisely the delta region. Medical evacuations mostly go to Johannesburg (France Diplomatie): insurance covering repatriation is essential.

French nationals need no visa: a stay of up to three months is granted at the border at the officer's discretion. Passports must be valid for at least six months after entry. A minor travels with a full certified copy or multilingual birth certificate, plus consent from the absent parent if travelling with only one parent (France Diplomatie, page updated 15/09/2026). Other nationalities should check with their own government: the tourism board notes that most European and Commonwealth citizens need no visa.

The currency is the pula (BWP), divided into 100 thebe. On 22/09/2026 the Bank of Botswana published 1 BWP = €0.0660 and $0.0756 (about 15.2 pula to the euro, 13.2 to the dollar). Cards work in Maun and Kasane; in the parks, carry cash for entry fees and the unexpected (see the money note below).