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Istanbul to the Okavango: Maun and Moremi

Istanbul → Maun → Moremi

Moremi
"Moremi Game Reserve in summer 05.jpg" by Mothusi Sekhomba, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
MaunAirview1 (Maun)
Photo: Susanne Mattes, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A safari town & a reserve in the delta Best season (general guide): May–Oct

Northern Botswana's Okavango Delta is one of Africa's great wildlife areas, a maze of channels and islands in the Kalahari. This route spends two nights in Maun and four in Moremi. From Istanbul you'll connect through Johannesburg to Maun. Maun is Botswana's main base for trips into the Okavango Delta, on the Thamalakane River. The Okavango is a large inland delta, where the river spreads out and evaporates in the Kalahari instead of reaching the sea.

How to pace it: Spend days one and two in Maun: day one, Thamalakane river; day two, scenic flight over the delta. Then spend days three to six in Moremi: day three, light aircraft into the reserve; day four, game drive; day five, mokoro trip; day six, walking safari.

Visitors travel the channels in a mokoro, a dugout canoe poled by a local guide. Moremi is known for large populations of elephants, lions, leopards and the endangered African wild dog.

Maun is the administrative centre of the North-West District and one of Botswana's largest towns. Its name comes from a word of the Tswana or San languages meaning place of short reeds. The Okavango River rises in the highlands of Angola.

The delta is home to the red lechwe, an antelope adapted to wetlands. Moremi was created in 1963 at the request of the BaTawana people, who wanted to protect the wildlife.

Practical notes: Moremi Game Reserve lies on the eastern side of the delta and is named after Chief Moremi of the BaTawana. It was made a game reserve rather than a national park so that the BaSarwa, the Bushmen who lived there, could stay. The dry season, from about May to October, is the best time for wildlife; this is when the flood from Angola reaches the delta. Many camps in the reserve are reached by light aircraft from Maun. The delta's waters peak in the dry winter months, after the rains far upstream.

Safety: Canada advises a high degree of caution in Botswana (advisory updated 26 May 2026), and the US rates Botswana Level 2 (17 Jun 2026).

Suggested outline

  1. Istanbul

    Start

  2. Maun

    By air · 2 nights suggested

    The gateway town to the Okavango Delta.

    Thamalakane River Maun
    "Thamalakane River.jpg" by Staff, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

  3. Moremi

    By light aircraft · 4 nights suggested

    A game reserve on the delta's eastern side.

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Maun — Arrive; Thamalakane river· Istanbul → Maun (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day
  2. Day 2 · Maun — Scenic flight over the delta
  3. Day 3 · Moremi — Light aircraft into the reserve· Maun → Moremi (by light aircraft)
  4. Day 4 · Moremi — Game drive
  5. Day 5 · Moremi — Mokoro trip
  6. Day 6 · Moremi — Walking safari
  7. Day 7 · Moremi — Travel home from Moremi· Moremi → Maun (by light aircraft), then Maun → Istanbul (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

Flights, leg by leg

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Maun

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Moremi

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