Maun began as the capital of the BaTawana people in 1915 and grew into a dusty cattle-and-safari town on the Thamalakane River. Today it is Botswana’s tourism capital: a spread-out, practical place of malls, 4x4 workshops and riverside lodges, with an airport that sends a steady stream of Cessnas out over the delta every morning.
Few people come to Maun for Maun, but most delta safaris start or end here, and it is worth a night either side. You can take a scenic flight, a short sunset mokoro trip or a day trip into the delta or Moremi, and the riverside bars are where guides, pilots and travellers swap sightings at sundown.
Top things to do: Maun
Take a scenic flight
Maun Airport is the launch pad for delta flights. A 45-minute light-aircraft or helicopter flight is the fastest way to understand the geography of the delta. Compare scenic flights from Maun.
Day trips into the delta
Full-day mokoro trips and Moremi game drives leave from Maun every morning. They are the best-value way to see the delta if you are not flying into a camp.
Sundowners on the Thamalakane
Several riverside lodges have bars on the water. When the river is high (roughly June to September) the Thamalakane fills and the lodges are at their best.
A town and food tour
A short guided walk through the Old Mall market with a tasting of Setswana dishes such as seswaa (pounded beef) and pap fills a spare afternoon.
How to get to Maun
- By air: Maun Airport (MUB) is served from Johannesburg and Gaborone, with seasonal flights from Cape Town and Kasane. The airport is right on the edge of town.
- By road from Kasane: about 600 km via Nata, roughly 6–7 hours on tar. The direct sand route via Savuti is 4x4 only.
- By road from Namibia: via the Mohembo crossing and the Panhandle, or via Ghanzi from Windhoek.
Insider tips
- Stock up in Maun: it has the last well-stocked supermarkets, pharmacies, ATMs and fuel before the delta, Moremi and Khwai.
- Stay near the airport if you have an early charter; many camps’ flights leave in the morning.
- The currency is the Botswana pula (BWP). Cards are accepted in hotels and malls; carry cash for tips and small vendors.
- Keep your luggage soft-sided and within the light-aircraft limit before you leave home.
Best tours & safaris: Maun
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Maun:
Short mokoro trip from €50 Sunset Mokoro Tour in Maun, a Taste of the Okavango Delta
Short on time or money? This hour-long mokoro trip at an education centre in Maun gives you the silence, the lilies and the skill of the polers at golden hour, for a fraction of the price of a full day. It is a taste, not the deep delta — but a lovely one.
- One-hour mokoro trip at sunset
- Local guide and stories of the delta
- The cheapest way onto the water
Walking tour from €63 Maun: Town Tour with Local Guide & Traditional Food Tasting
Most visitors see Maun only between the airport and a lodge. This short walking tour fills the gap before a flight with the town’s story, a local market and a tasting of Setswana food such as seswaa and pap.
- History and culture of Maun with a local guide
- Local market at the Old Mall
- Tasting of traditional Setswana dishes
Helicopter flight from €295 Maun: 45-Minute Doors-Off Scenic Flight
The delta only makes sense from the air: a maze of channels, lagoons and palm islands that no road can show you. This private helicopter flight leaves from Maun with the doors removed, so nothing sits between your lens and the herds wading below.
- Private doors-off helicopter over the delta
- Unobstructed views for photographers
- Elephants, buffalo and hippo seen from above
Day trip from €151 Okavango Delta: Full-Day Mokoro/Canoe Tour All-Inclusive
The classic delta day and the most-reviewed Okavango experience on GetYourGuide. Members of the local polers’ community take you out along the reed-lined waterways in a mokoro, you stop for lunch on an island and then walk with your guide to read tracks and look for plains game. Transfers from Maun and meals are included.
- Poled through the channels in a traditional mokoro
- Lunch on an island in the delta
- Guided nature walk to look for game on foot
