In the air
From a few hundred feet up, the Delta finally makes sense: a fan of silver channels, palm-crowned islands and hippo paths cut through green floodplain.
An Okavango Delta helicopter flight shows you what no game drive can: the shape of the whole system. The Delta covers roughly 15,000 to 22,000 km² depending on the year, and from the air you see how the water threads between thousands of islands, many of which began as termite mounds. Elephants wade in lines across the floodplains, red lechwe scatter through the shallows in bursts of spray, and hippos leave dark trails through the reeds like roads on a map.
There are two ways to do it. Private helicopter flights, usually with the doors removed, give every passenger an unobstructed window seat and let the pilot drop lower and circle over a scene. Fixed-wing scenic flights from Maun cover more ground, typically for about an hour at roughly 500 ft (150 m), with each passenger beside a window. Light-aircraft transfers between camps give you a view too, but they are about getting somewhere; our flying to Botswana page explains how they work.
Helicopter & Scenic Flights over the Delta
We schedule your flight early in your stay where possible, leaving room to move it if the weather turns.
You arrive about 30 minutes early with your passport for a safety briefing, and on doors-off flights a harness fitting.
The pilot seats everyone for weight and balance, which is why you may be asked for your body weight when booking.
In the air, the pilot follows channels and wildlife rather than a fixed route, circling over a scene at a height that leaves animals undisturbed.
You land back at base or at your camp’s airstrip, often in time for breakfast or a sundowner.
Helicopter & Scenic Flights over the Delta
Where to go
Botswana’s flooded heart: papyrus channels, palm islands and small fly-in camps where the safari happens on the water as well as by vehicle.
Explore
Moremi’s northern neighbour: a community concession on the Khwai River with night drives, guided walks and superb dry-season elephant.
Explore
Salt pans, grassland and the Boteti River: green-season zebra, habituated meerkats, sleep-outs under the stars and Baines’ Baobabs.
ExploreSafaris
Victoria Falls · Kasane · Chobe Riverfront · Khwai · Okavango Delta · Maun
First-time visitors who want Victoria Falls and Botswana’s finest water country in one trip, without rushing either
Maun · Moremi Game Reserve · Khwai · Savuti · Chobe Riverfront · Kasane
Travelers who value wilderness and a guide’s company over lodge comforts, and don’t mind long, sandy drives
Maun · Makgadikgadi Pans · Nxai Pan · Central Kalahari · Okavango Delta
Return visitors, photographers and the Kalahari-curious, happy to trade some certainty for solitude
Kasane · Chobe Riverfront · Okavango Delta · Makgadikgadi Pans · Maun
Families with children roughly 12 and older who want variety, activity and a little adrenaline
Maun · Okavango Delta · Northern Delta concessions · Makgadikgadi Pans
Couples who want privacy, water and wilderness rather than a resort-style honeymoon
Maun · Okavango Delta · Moremi Game Reserve · Linyanti, Selinda & Kwando · Savuti · Chobe Riverfront · Kasane
Returning safari travelers, photographers and anyone with two weeks to see northern Botswana properly
Good to know
You are strapped in with a harness and briefed by the pilot before take-off. The main discipline is keeping loose items secured and following the pilot’s instructions, and many first-time flyers find the open door exhilarating rather than frightening.
Thirty minutes is usually suggested as the minimum to reach the more interesting water and wildlife from Maun. Photographers, and anyone keen to see how the channels change across the Delta, often prefer 45 or 60 minutes.
A helicopter is private, flies lower and slower, and often goes doors-off, which makes it the better choice for photography. A fixed-wing scenic flight covers more distance for a group and still gives everyone a window, but you shoot through glass.
June to August shows the flood at its fullest, with water spread across the floodplains. The green season brings lush color and dramatic clouds, while September and October show the channels shrinking and animals concentrated at the water.
Experiences
On the water
Glide through the Okavango’s papyrus channels in a poled canoe, low enough to meet reed frogs and lily-trotters at eye level.
On the water
Watch elephant herds drink, swim and cross the Chobe River from a boat, the riverfront’s signature way to see its wildlife.
On foot
Follow a qualified walking guide across Delta islands, Linyanti floodplains or Kalahari sand, and read the bush from ground level.
Share when you can travel, who is coming and what you most hope to see in Botswana. A specialist will shape a private route around it and walk you through every choice before anything is booked.
Plan My Botswana Safari