About This Property
Jao Camp sits on a remote forested island in the private Jao Reserve — about 600 km² on the western edge of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Rebuilt in 2019, it is a Wilderness / Jao Reserve camp of five expansive suites and two two-bedroom villas, all with private plunge pools, on raised walkways under a canopy of leadwood, African mangosteen and ebony.
This is a land-and-water camp. Game drives work the floodplains and, for the best dry-land viewing, Hunda Island — red lechwe in numbers, lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, sitatunga and, with luck, wild dog. When the water is up, mokoro trails and motorised boats thread the channels; catch-and-release fishing is seasonal. Night drives and guided walks are offered. Jao Reserve lists more than 450 bird species in the Delta.
Each suite is open-plan: bedroom, lounge and dressing area, full-height sliding doors, an en-suite with a freestanding bath, double vanities and indoor and outdoor showers, and a private deck with a plunge pool and daybed. The two villas add a second en-suite bedroom, a shared lounge and dining area, a fire pit, and a dedicated guide, chef, butler and vehicle. Go2Africa notes a daybed in each villa bedroom that can be made up for a younger guest.
The two-storey main area holds a library, gallery and museum (with a giraffe skeleton that Go2Africa guests remark on), a wine cellar, bar and dining room, a traditional boma, two plunge pools linked by boardwalks, a small gym and a spa among the trees. Bush Buddy mentors look after children aged 6–17.
Jao Reserve lists the camp as 100% solar. Wi-Fi is available in the entertainment lounge. Laundry is included. Children from six are welcome on current operator sheets, with a private vehicle required for ages 6–12. Maun is a 35–40 minute hop; the airstrip is about ten minutes from camp.
It is a fully inclusive, design-forward Okavango stay — not a hotel, and not the simpler sister camps (Jacana, Pelo, Tubu Tree) that share the same reserve.
Why We Love It
We love Jao for the mix that this western concession actually delivers: a private 600 km² reserve with water at the door when the flood is in, and Hunda Island when you want dry-land game. The same stay can hold a mokoro at dawn and a night drive after dark.
Five suites and two villas, plunge pools on every deck, a spa, a gym and a wine cellar — it is indulgent without pretending to be a hotel. Go2Africa still calls the spa one of Botswana’s best, and the Bush Buddy programme (ages 6–17) is rarer than operators admit in the Delta.
We also like the honesty of the location. This is not always the densest cat country in Botswana. Come for lechwe, channels, sitatunga and the island architecture, and pair it with a drier camp if you want both. Expert Africa puts it as a camp to enjoy for itself as much as for the game.
The 2019 rebuild (steel, wood, glass, recycled materials) is the version we send people to — not the nine-suite camp still lingering on some older fact sheets. Confirm you are booking the current five-suite, two-villa layout.
Rooms & Details
Suite
Five elevated suites sit on stilts under the tree canopy. Each is open-plan — bedroom, lounge and dressing area — with full-height sliding doors onto the channels and floodplains. A private deck holds a plunge pool and a daybed.
The en-suite bathroom has a freestanding bathtub, double vanities and indoor and outdoor showers. Maximum two guests per suite. Jao sits on a private island on the western edge of the Delta, with Moremi Game Reserve the neighbouring public reserve.
Jao Villa
Two exclusive-use two-bedroom villas. Each bedroom is en suite, with indoor and outdoor showers and a freestanding bath; a daybed can convert for a younger guest. Shared lounge and dining area, a private deck with plunge pool and fire pit, plus a dedicated guide, chef, butler and vehicle. Priced for four people, with full access to the spa, gym, gallery and main camp.
Main camp
The two-storey guest area has a ground-floor sitting room, library, gallery and safari shop opening to a fire-pit deck, with lounge, bar and dining room above. Two plunge pools, a spa, a small gym, a wine cellar and a traditional boma. No television.
Other Okavango camps on this site include Camp Okavango, Xigera Safari Lodge and Sanctuary Baines’ Camp.
Amenities & Features
Photo Gallery
Rates
Prices start from $1,848 per night. Final pricing depends on season, room type, and availability. Check current rates on our booking partner's site for the most accurate pricing.
Rates are per person sharing and fully inclusive (all meals, selected local drinks, twice-daily scheduled activities, laundry, park fees). Go2Africa publishes USD 1,950–4,000 per person sharing. 2026 Wilderness / operator tables published by Chalo Africa and info-botswana start lower, from USD 1,848 per person sharing (January–March 2026). This row uses 1848 as the lowest published 2026 rack. Villa rates are published per villa for four people (from about USD 8,272 in low season 2026). Single supplements apply. Premium imported drinks and champagne, spa treatments, private vehicles (required for children 6–12) and scenic helicopter flights are extra. Flag if you prefer Go2Africa’s 1,950 headline as Price From.
What's Included
- Light breakfast before the morning activity
- Gourmet brunch / lunch on return (bush breakfasts and picnics also offered)
- Afternoon tea
- Dinner (elevated dining room, traditional boma, private table or suite deck); selected beverages included
- Morning and afternoon game drives in open 4x4s (Hunda Island for the best dry-land viewing)
- Night drives
- Mokoro (dugout canoe) trails (water-dependent; typically 13+)
- Motorised boat safaris / boat excursions (water-dependent; typically 6+)
- Guided walking safaris (typically 13+)
- Seasonal catch-and-release fishing
- Birdwatching (Jao Reserve: over 450 bird species in the Okavango Delta)
- Bush Buddy programme for children aged 6–17; optional scenic helicopter flights (extra)
Fully inclusive (Chalo Africa / Wilderness tables): accommodation, all meals, twice-daily scheduled camp activities, park fees, laundry and all local drinks. Excludes premium imported brands and champagne, spa treatments, gratuities, scenic helicopter flights and private vehicles. Villa stays include a dedicated guide, chef, butler and vehicle.
Location
How to Get There
From Maun
Fly scheduled Airlink (or other carriers) from Johannesburg or Cape Town to Maun International. From Maun a light-aircraft transfer of about 35–40 minutes lands at Jao Airstrip. The airstrip-to-camp hop is about 10 minutes by 4×4, or by boat when water levels are high (some operators quote around 25 minutes by boat).
From Kasane
The light-aircraft sector from Kasane to Jao is about 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes. The same short airstrip-to-camp transfer applies.
Nearby Attractions
Jao Reserve floodplains and channels; Hunda Island (dry-land game); seasonal mokoro waterways; Jao Spa, gym, wine cellar, gallery and museum; sister camps Jacana, Kwetsani, Tubu Tree, Little Tubu and Pelo on the same reserve; scenic helicopter flights (extra)
Things to Do
At the property
Between activities, use your private plunge pool and daybed, swim at the main-area pools, or book a spa treatment (extra). The library, gallery, museum, wine cellar and gym occupy the two-storey main building. Dinners can be in the dining room, the boma, a private table or on your deck. There is no television.
In the area
Shared morning and afternoon game drives, with night drives after dark. Hunda Island is the concession’s main dry-land block for predators and plains game. Seasonal mokoro and motorised boats on the channels; catch-and-release fishing when offered. Guided walks (13+). Birding includes wetland specials listed by Expert Africa (Pel’s fishing owl, slaty egret, wattled crane and others).
Day trips
Scenic helicopter flights over the Delta are the main extra outing (Jao Reserve). Full-day adventures and bush picnics are listed by Go2Africa and Jao Reserve. There is no public road into camp; itineraries usually pair Jao with another Delta or Linyanti camp rather than a long road day.
Good to Know
Children: Current operator sheets (Chalo Africa, Safari.com) welcome children aged six and over. Ages 6–12 require a private vehicle for the stay (extra). Children 6–16 must share a suite or villa with an adult. Boating from age 6; walking and mokoro from 13. Go2Africa’s Bush Buddy programme is for ages 6–17 (welcome backpacks, tracking, antlion trapping). Expert Africa’s older lodge report still lists 13+ as the default welcome age with 6–12 by arrangement — follow the current 6+ policy, but confirm. Children under six only if the whole camp is taken exclusive-use (Expert Africa). Unfenced camp, unfenced pools, elevated open-sided walkways, wildlife including elephant through camp — constant supervision. Power: Jao Reserve lists the camp as 100% solar. Expert Africa’s older report described solar plus generator. Wi-Fi in the entertainment lounge (Expert Africa); no television. Water: Drawn from the Delta and treated by reverse osmosis (Expert Africa); safe to drink. Health: Malaria area. Daylight medevac only from the bush airstrip. Payments: Visa and Mastercard; cash in USD, euro, sterling, rand or pula. Laundry included. Spa and gym: Spa treatments extra. Small gym on site. Sister camps: Jacana, Kwetsani, Tubu Tree, Little Tubu and Pelo share the Jao Reserve — do not confuse the products.
Who It's For
Couples, honeymooners and families with children six and over who want a design-forward, fully inclusive Okavango camp with both water and land. The two villas suit small families or groups who want a private guide, chef and vehicle. Birders and anyone after a serious spa-and-wine-cellar camp will do well. Not for under-sixes unless the whole camp is exclusive-use, or for guests who need in-suite television or guaranteed dense dry-season predator viewing next to camp — Expert Africa is frank that the best cats are often out on Hunda Island, not on the water immediately below the decks.
Best Time to Visit
Open year-round. High-water / peak flood typically June–August (mokoro and boats at their best); dry-season game concentrates May–October. Green season (roughly December–March) is quieter, with birding and lower rates. Water activities depend on flood levels; land activities (including Hunda Island) remain available when floods recede.
