Questions about the stay itself

Yes, for the same reasons. Shared, you go where the boat goes and return when it returns. Private, you choose the channel, stay as long as the light is worth staying for, and stop when something is worth stopping for.

For photographers on the water it is close to essential. Ask what it adds before assuming it is out of reach. It is frequently less than the room upgrade offered alongside it.

It depends on the camp, and almost nobody asks. Some assign a guide to you for your stay; others rotate guides by activity, so you meet somebody new each morning.

On a three-night stay the difference is substantial. A guide who has had you for two days knows what you want to look at.

Usually something, in a common area, of variable quality. Signal in the tents is rare and should not be assumed.

Plan to be largely out of contact. Most people find by the second day that this was a feature.

Generally not. Animals move through camp, which is why you are escorted to and from your tent after dark everywhere in the Delta. It is protocol rather than theatre.

The genuine adjustment for most first-timers is the noise at night rather than any danger. By the third night it is usually the best part.

Of course, and it is a normal request. You are not obliged to go out twice a day, and a siesta plus a long evening drive frequently beats two tired outings.

At a camp of eight or nine tents this is a conversation at dinner rather than a policy, and it costs nothing.

Generally very good, and more impressive than it has any right to be given that most of it arrives by light aircraft.

Dietary requirements are handled well with notice. Tell whoever is planning at the enquiry stage rather than on arrival, because the supply chain is an aircraft rather than a van.

A the Okavango safari is usually quoted fully inclusive: accommodation, all meals, park and conservancy fees, your guide and vehicle, and transport between parks. Most camps include soft drinks, house wine, beer and laundry.

Not included: international flights, visas or travel authorisation, travel insurance, tips, premium drinks, and extras like balloon flights and spa treatments.

For July to October, the migration months in the Masai Mara, six to twelve months is normal, and the best small camps sell out first. Christmas and New Year book up just as early.

For the shoulder months, three to four months is usually comfortable. Inside eight weeks we can still put a very good trip together, but you are choosing from what is left rather than from everything.

This site is a planning guide. When you send an enquiry it goes to Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Kenya, who prepare your itinerary and quote and handle the booking, the payments and you on the ground.

You deal with one team from the first email to the airport transfer home.

No. Sending your dates, getting an itinerary and getting a costed quote is free and carries no obligation. Money only changes hands when you decide to hold space at a camp.

The safari areas themselves are well run, and camps take guest safety seriously. The practical risks are ordinary travel risks: road transfers, sun, stomach upsets and not listening to your guide around animals.

Check your own government’s current travel advice for the Okavango before you book and again before you fly, and take out insurance that covers medical evacuation. We will not tell you an area is fine if the advice says otherwise.