Price
2026
Macatoo is a flexible holiday, and you can book by the night. Minimum stay is 3 nights, but we recommend 7 nights to make the most of your trip.
Green Season - £656 per person, per night, sharing
December – March
Mid-Season - £860 per person, per night, sharing
1 April – 14 June, 15 October – 30 November
High Season £1,035 per person, per night, sharing
15 June – 14 October
2027
Macatoo is a flexible holiday, and you can book by the night. Minimum stay is 3 nights, but we recommend 7 nights to make the most of your trip.
Green Season - £685 per person, per night, sharing
December – March
Mid-Season - £905 per person, per night, sharing
1 April – 14 June, 15 October – 30 November
High Season £1,085 per person, per night, sharing
15 June – 14 October
Dates & Prices
BOTSWANA
Okavango Delta Macatoo Safari
Overview
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the top places on earth for game viewing. Macatoo is a firm favourite among equestrian safari goers from the eventing and hunting world who are looking for exciting riding and a party atmosphere. This safari is the last word in African luxury and coupled with excellent horses and guides, make it very hard to beat.
The Okavango Delta is an intriguing phenomenon, with ever-changing landscapes due to the seasonal flood waters coming through from Angola. The movement of the game, the dramatic seasonal changes in the flora and the varying interests of our guests ensures that no two riding safaris are the same; each one is unique.
The African Horseback Safari in Botswana is based at Macatoo Camp, situated on the western side of the Okavango Delta. Covering 17,000 km sq, the Okavango is the largest inland delta in the world, a mix of labyrinth channels, palm fringed islands and fertile floodplains. Trapped in the parched sands of the Kalahari Desert, it is a magnet for the wildlife who depend on the delta’s life-giving waters. More than 400 species of resident and migrant birds, lions, elephant, hyenas, wild dog, buffalo, hippo and crocodiles congregate with a variety of antelope and smaller animals – warthog, mongoose, genets, monkeys and bushbabies to name a few.
The main attraction of the African Horseback Safari at Macatoo Camp is the joy of riding good horses over superb country, with just about every landscape dotted with game. The riding is varied, sometimes quietly walking, stalking big game and admiring the bird life, sometimes cantering through the water-meadows alongside galloping giraffe and lechwe.
In addition to the horse riding, there’s also interesting bush walks, stunning night game drives and wonderful boat rides in traditional dug out ‘mokoros’ along the waterways of the Delta – for this reason, this safari also welcomes non riding partners.
Location
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Airport
Maun, Botswana
Duration
Flexible
When to go
Open all year
Riding level
Intermediate Plus to Advanced
Weight
95 kg / 15 stone / 209 lbs
Group size
12 max
Accommodation
Permanent camp
Included
All the riding, accommodation, drinks including alcohol, activities at camp including bush walks, night game drives, fishing, bird watching and boat rides along the Delta waterways and local 14% tax.
Extras
Single supplement of 50% on daily rate will apply if not prepared to share twin-bedded accommodation. We also keep one tent dedicated to single travellers staying a minimum of 7 nights where no single supplement would apply, subject to availability.
Giving back
A conservation donation of £10 per person, per night, will be added to your invoice to support conservation projects and anti-poaching efforts in the Okavango Delta. African Horseback Safaris is proud to match each donation.
Non-riding partner
10% discount will be offered on the daily rate for any non-riding partner joining a safari. Non-riding activities include game drives, boat trips, mokoro, fishing, bird watching and game walks. All activities are subject to water levels.
Excluded
Flights, transfers and tips.
Price guarantee
All our riding holidays hold a price guarantee. We believe in your piece of mind on price when you book with us and will refund the difference should you find the same riding holiday elsewhere at a lower price.
Exchange rate
Rates are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations, please refer to our Terms and Conditions for full details.
Transfers
The flight costs to Macatoo camp as indicated below include your meet and greet in Maun/Kasane and road/boat transfer from the airstrip to Macatoo Camp. It is a 30-minute scenic flight from Maun or 1 ½ hours from Kasane, which is located on the Botswana side of Victoria Falls, followed by a game drive or boat trip depending on water levels. Costs per person:
2026
Maun – Macatoo Camp – £305 each way
Kasane – Macatoo Camp – £430 each way
2027
Maun – Macatoo Camp – £320 each way
Kasane – Macatoo Camp – £450 each way
Note: For stays of 7 nights there is a 50% discount on your flights between Maun and Macatoo. For stays of 10 nights or more, your air charter flights are free.
Departure dates
Open all year round. For available dates, please enquire by submitting a booking form or call us.
Riding & Itinerary
Day 1
On arrival in Maun, you are met and transferred by plane and will enjoy a game drive to our camp which overlooks a seasonal flood plain lagoon. After lunch under the trees, there is usually time for a rest before the evening ride when you can get to know your horse. We return to a candle-lit dinner.
Day 2
Awoken by a cup of tea or coffee in bed, followed by a light breakfast, we then ride westwards following elephant trails from one palm island to another, through seas of grass, into the backcountry. After lunch and a siesta, we ride out into the plains, later enjoying a refreshing drink while the sun goes down.
Day 3
We leave camp early to investigate fresh game tracks, maybe joining the rare, semi-aquatic antelope and the red lechwe, as they thunder through the water meadows. A champagne breakfast is waiting for us under a large baobab tree. The evening ride is spent exploring the lower flood plains where elephant often gather at a pool. As dusk closes in, we have drinks around the fire.
Day 4
We ride through different country, making our way through clouds of bushman hair grass to plains dotted with fig trees. We might encounter giraffe or shyer antelope while passing through mopane woodlands. Our pace increases as we break through to the flood plains, often disturbing troops of baboons.We return to the camp for an afternoon spent at leisure, and later a night drive by spotlight.
Day 5
While staff pack up, we leave for our fly-camp riding deeper into the heart of the delta. On reaching another river system, we find our fly-camp already set up, looking out over a favourite elephant watering hole. We stay here for a one night bush experience. The afternoon may be spent swimming or walking. Fires are lit at night, creating a strong human presence to keep marauding animals away from the horses. Night watches are fun and guests usually join in.
Day 6
Having kept watch under the stars, the next morning we splash through water on the vast, open plains, home to wildebeeste and zebra. The riding may be fast as we approach deep, reedy areas full of bird life. After our break, we ride back to Macatoo along the myriad of waterways lined with large trees.
Day 7
Our last full day’s riding in this magical place takes us cantering through the shallow flood plains, admiring the deeper pools of lilies. Here, the buffalo gather in numbers, and we have to creep up to them using islands for cover. The evening offers a last quiet ride with memorable smells of sage as the sun goes down and final sundowners in a surprising location.
Day 8
For the final ride, we will go along some of the high palm islands which offer great vistas. We’ll maybe take a last exhilarating gallop and run with the game before returning to camp to prepare for the onward journey.
Please ask about
Hiring the camp exclusively for a private group
Beach add on in Mauritius or Mozambique
Victoria Falls add on
Cape Town add on
Horses
A mix of Thoroughbreds, Boerperd Crosses, Kalahari-Arabs and Namibian Hanoverians
Riding level
Intermediate Plus to Advanced
Type of riding
A good level of fitness is an advantage as morning rides are 4-5 hours in the saddle.
Tack
English style with English and Western style saddles
Weight limit
95 kg / 15 stone / 209 lbs
Group size
12 max
Accommodation & Meals
African Horseback Safaris Macatoo operates from the Macatoo tented camp which is a small and intimate camp, sleeping a maximum of 14 guests. Numbers are normally limited to a maximum of 12 guests in camp at any one time, but there are 7 twin / double tents so those wanting single tents can be accommodated. It is wonderfully situated on a palm island with magnificent views overlooking a large floodplain.
The accommodation is very comfortable in spacious, walk-in twin- or double-bedded safari tents, each with attached shower room with hot shower and flush loo. The tents are well situated for privacy, are raised on teak decking and each has its own lovely view to enjoy from chairs or a hammock set outside on a large private veranda. Tents are furnished with proper beds with comfortable mattresses, cotton sheets and duvets, wardrobes with hanging space for clothes and bedside tables. They have generator powered electric lights. Some even have bathtubs.
The camp also has a spacious central dining tent with bar and sofas to relax on and service is always excellent. You will be woken each morning with tea or coffee brought to your tent, laundry and so on will be done for you and the whole ethos is one where nothing is too much trouble, and everything is a pleasure.
Honeymoon Suite
For honeymoon clients we highly recommend the new, tented honeymoon suite complete with a bath on a raised platform and a larger private deck on which newlyweds and celebrating couples can enjoy a very special private dining experience. This option is available at a surcharge cost of only £220 per couple per night.
There is also a plunge pool in camp, a wonderful spot to cool off and have drinks after riding. On a safari of 7 nights or more (except between November and February when the weather and logistics mean staying away from the base camp is generally not an option), one or two nights will also usually be spent at a second camp set up in a different area of the Delta, with accommodation in tree houses on stretcher beds draped with mosquito nets and set up under the stars. When at this temporary camp, hot bucket showers are prepared for you at night or after your ride and there are shared long drop loos.
The food is outstanding in camp, you will be truly amazed by the variety and quality of the meals you will enjoy on safari. Any special requests must be given to us well ahead of time as everything must be imported from South Africa and then flown into camp.
Drinks are available at all times, and guests can help themselves to the fridge in the bar, or the cool box when out on rides.
Accommodation
Permanent camp
Single Supplement
Possible to have a single tent, a supplement fee may apply
Meals
Inform us about food allergies and intolerances
Drinks
All drinks with a limited alcohol selection included
The Destination
The Okavango Delta is one of Africa's last great natural sanctuaries, a pristine and rich wilderness home to vast concentrations of wildlife. The Okavango is produced by seasonal flooding. The Okavango River drains the summer (January–February) rainfall from the Angola highlands and the surge flows 1,200 km in around one month. The waters then spread over the 250 by 150 km area of the delta over the next four months (March–June).
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the few interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean. The Okavango Delta is renowned for its incredible wildlife, with some of the most sought-after species, including elephants, lions, leopards, buffalos, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, and many species of antelope. The delta is also a birdwatcher's paradise, with over 450 species recorded in the area.
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