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User Reviews of Okavango Delta (156 Reviews)

Best Park Okavango Delta Safaris Botswana
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Average User Rating

4.7756 / 5 4.8 /5
4.5390 / 5 4.7922 / 5 4.6821 / 5 4.6202 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 128 / 3 128
4 star 23 / 3 23
3 star 4 / 3 4
2 star 0 / 3 0
1 star 1 / 3 1
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Male avatar icon lfostvedt United States flag US       Visited: July 2011 Reviewed: Oct 2, 2011

20-35 years of age

The Water level was the highest in 50 years and we were not able to get deep into the delta.

4 / 5 4 /5
2 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 3 / 5
I went to the delta in July 2011 and there is nothing more peaceful than a makoro ride through the delta (as long as you are not arachnophobic). I think I had too high of expectations for the safari after seeing the planet earth footage. It is important to remember that all of the planet earth footage is aerial footage and a Okavango Delta safari is a non-motor vehicle safari. Unfortunately for my trip, a pride of lions had come to the island we were camping at two weeks earlier, made a few kills, and scared most of the animals away. So don't be too surprised if you don't see much of the larger safari animals. It is really just luck of the draw. We did see some really interesting birds including a saddle-billed stork, a Hoopoe, and a Scimitar-billed wood-hoopoe.

That said, one of the most amazing parts of my trip in Africa was an flight over the delta. During the flight we saw all of the tracks in the delta where animals crossed from one island to another. We saw
Read more groups of elephants, giraffes, buffalo, tons of different types of antelope and many other wildlife which we didn't see while in the delta. The flight over the delta is an essential part of any trip to the Okavango Delta.

In conclusion, I definitely want to go back to the delta. I think there were many parts of my trip that were just the result of bad luck.
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Female avatar icon Yenbay South Africa flag ZA       Visited: May 2016 Reviewed: May 31, 2016

Email Yenbay  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Magic surroundings, unique scenery,

4 / 5 4 /5
2 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5
The Okavango Delta scenery is quite unique and as you have to fly a small plane to get to one of the lodges, you can realize it as soon as you board. It is very remote and with the water reflection the light is a wonder and you ear the bush noises so clearly day or night (you can ear hyenas grunting , lions roaring, bell frogs croaking etc.). For wildlife, scarce elephants and hippos are guaranteed. But you may not see cats if you don't book in a lodge offering game drives. Most of the lodges have boat activities and bush walks (a great experience indeed), but few have game drives. If you think you will be frustrated not to see lions, choose lodges with gale drives. If you can afford to stay in two places (one in the north, one in the south), it might be advisable as you'll probably see different things. Quality wise, the accommodation we booked was not a bargain. Lodges are very expensive and the service is not quite as good as we might expect for what we paid (I know, it is
Read more the bush but...) The thing is if you are used to other safari accommodations (I live in South Africa and have tried quite a few..) you can have real value for money (even if it is not as spectacular as the Okavango)...
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Male avatar icon hjreitsma Netherlands flag NL       Visited: March 2005 Reviewed: Jun 10, 2017

Email hjreitsma  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The Okavango Delta

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5 3 / 5
The Okavango Delta
Henk Reitsma
Some years ago my wife and I made a roundtrip through a number of countries in Southern Africa. We travelled with a group from Cape Town to the Victoria Falls. The absolute highlight was our visit to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. It was March, so in the wet season with the Delta completely filled.
We slept two nights on a houseboat placed on the edge of the Delta area.
We departed in the morning to the Delta and first had to drive a few kilometers with a truck (Photo 1), passing a small village with rondavel huts (photo 2). Along the road laid the carcass of an elephant (Photo 3), probably shot by the village people to protect their crops.
There were 10 boats (mokoro’s ) and 10 guides (Photo 4) waiting for our group with 20 participants and subsequently we started our tour over the Delta through high grasses and reed. In each mokoro two persons were sitting. The guides were very careful to avoid the hyppo’s and
Read more asked us not to make noise. We heard elephants in the distances and saw a glimp of the herd when standing in the mokoro. However I almost lost my equilibrium and almost fell in the water.
After two hours we entered a small island to have lunch (Photo 5) and subsequently made a walk (Photo 6) over this island guided by two guides. We found the remains of a buffalo, probably killed by a lion (according to our guide), which reminded us again that we walked through a terrain with wild animals.
On our way back we saw some deer in the distance. After 1 ½ hour we arrived at our point of departure. It was a splendid tour through a wonderful water world. Even after a couple of years I still have vivid memory of our visit to the Okavango Delta.
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