Photographic safaris have set out from this wooded island in the north-eastern Okavango Delta since the 1970s, onto a lagoon that holds its water all year. Boats and mokoros go out on Xugana Lagoon in every month. The safari is made of channels, papyrus and wooded islands. There are no game drives, and everything is explored from the water or on foot.
The safari is made of channels, papyrus and wooded islands.
The lodge reopened on 15 April 2025 after a rebuild that turned everything towards the water. Tents line the island’s edge behind screens of foliage. The pool looks out over the lagoon, and a fire deck reaches out across it, where private dinners can be laid on request. Ebony and African mangosteen trees shade the multi-level decks, and a new power plant now runs the lodge off the grid.
Hippos grunt from the deep water in front of the decks through the night, and by day crocodiles lie out along the reed fringes. Elephants and buffalo work the larger islands, wading the channels between them, while red lechwe graze the wet margins. Where the papyrus stands thickest a sitatunga is always possible, reason enough to keep binoculars raised on every outing.
By dusk the frogs in the papyrus have taken over from the birds.
Fish eagles call across the lagoon from first light, while African jacanas pick their way over the lily pads. Kingfishers drop into the shallows from overhanging reeds, and storks wade the lagoon’s shallow edges. By dusk the frogs in the papyrus have taken over from the birds. Summer is the peak for birding, when migrants arrive to breed around the lagoon.
Two outings a day are discussed with the guides on arrival, and each follows what the water and the animals are doing. Motorboats with aluminium hulls and canvas roofs cover the distance, running the deeper channels and out across the open lagoon. Mokoros go where engines cannot. They are poled quietly through lily-covered shallows, with the passenger sitting just above the waterline. From that height, an elephant feeding at the water’s edge fills the whole frame. The only sound is the pole, and the reeds brushing against the hull.
On the larger islands, walks go out with the guides. The island lies within a private concession. The pace is slow, and the subject is whatever the ground offers. The guides read fresh spoor in the sand, while birds work the woodland edge around them. A stay here covers the water half of an Okavango Delta itinerary. The sister camps on Xakanaxa Lagoon cover the land half with game drives, and a few nights at each make a complete trip.
From that height, an elephant feeding at the water’s edge fills the whole frame.
The middle of the day belongs to the pool, where buffalo grazing across the lagoon are about as busy as the view gets. After the afternoon outing, the evening moves onto the fire deck, with flames catching on the black water and the first stars showing over the reeds. Dinner is communal as a rule, and with boat crews and walking groups returning from different corners of the lagoon, the table has plenty to compare. The rondavel-style bar sits in the main area, and the curio shop and reception share the multi-level decks.
Xugana Island Lodge takes no more than 22 guests at a time, arriving at Xugana airstrip, a short transfer from the lodge. Families are among them: children are welcome from six, and families choose between the family tent added during the rebuild and a pair of tents booked as interleading rooms. That rebuild changed the decks and the power supply, but it left the days alone. They keep to a pattern older than the new decks: boats go out in the early morning, then head out again as the afternoon heat lifts off the water.
accommodation
Xugana Island Lodge has ten tents and one family tent, for a maximum of 22 guests. Each tent is raised, with an enclosed viewing deck facing the lagoon. Ceiling fans keep the air moving in place of air-conditioning, and each en-suite bathroom has indoor and outdoor showers.
activities
Guests choose two guided outings a day. Motorboat safaris cover the deeper channels and mokoro trips cross the shallows, while walks on the larger islands are guided. Catch-and-release fishing for bream and tigerfish runs in season. There are no game drives.
dining
Meals at Xugana Island Lodge are communal, served at covered and open-air tables across multi-level decks shaded by ebony and African mangosteen trees, all facing the lagoon. Private dinners can be laid on the overwater fire deck, the floating deck or the boat jetty. Stays are all-inclusive, covering all meals and local-brand drinks, and the self-service rondavel bar stands beside the pool.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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By light aircraft to Xugana airstrip, about two kilometres from the lodge, followed by a short transfer to the tents. Shared seat-in-plane flights come in from Maun or Kasane, and from other camps in the delta, so a stay can start straight from another lodge. They may call at other strips on the way, and the departure time is confirmed the afternoon before.
To fly at your own hour, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan, into Xugana airstrip. On the shared flights each person may bring 20 kilograms in all, hand luggage and cameras included, packed in soft bags with no frame, because the bags travel in a pod beneath the aircraft.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates the northern half of Botswana, the Okavango Delta within it, as high risk for malaria from October to May, when it recommends antimalarial tablets, and as low risk from June to September, when it advises avoiding bites instead. The CDC lists the Okavango and Ngamiland districts among the places where it recommends preventive medicine.
We are travel planners, not doctors, so whether to take tablets, and which, is for you to settle with your own doctor or a travel clinic. Low risk is not no risk, and a lagoon that holds water all year has mosquitoes in the dry months too, so long sleeves and repellent on the evening decks make sense in any season.
There are no game drives at Xugana Island Lodge. It is a water lodge on a permanent lagoon, and the days are spent on boats, in mokoros and on foot, with two outings a day agreed with your guide on arrival. Motorboats cover the deeper channels and the open lagoon, and mokoros, the traditional dugout canoes, are poled quietly through the shallows and reed beds.
Walks cross the neighbouring islands in small groups with two guides, so you never walk alone, and catch-and-release fishing for bream and tigerfish can be added in season. Hippo, crocodile, red lechwe and elephant live around the lagoon, and the birding is strong. For lion and leopard from a vehicle, we pair the lodge with a land camp, such as its sister camps on Xakanaxa Lagoon inside Moremi.
Yes, from the age of six. The 2025 rebuild added a family tent, so parents and children can stay together, and the pool above the lagoon fills the hot middle of the day. Every outing is by motorboat, by mokoro or on foot, so the lodge suits children who enjoy the water.
Mokoro trips and island walks ask for patience and quiet, which suits older children best, while the motorboat outings are easier for younger ones. Give us the children's ages when you first get in touch and we will shape each day to suit them.
June to October, and July to September above all. The flood from the Angolan highlands reaches the delta in Botswana's dry winter, so the channels run full just as the land around them dries out and game gathers along the water. October brings the most concentrated game and the hottest days, often above 40C.
Xugana Lagoon is permanent water, so the boats go out in every month. November to March is hot and green, with afternoon storms, the delta's best birding as summer migrants arrive to breed, few other visitors and big skies for photographers, though the shallower mokoro routes shrink while the channels are low. April and May are the in-between months, as the water starts to rise again.
It is one of the longest-established lodges in the Okavango Delta, taking photographic guests since the 1970s. It closed in October 2024 for a full rebuild and reopened on 15 April 2025, keeping its setting under the ebony and African mangosteen trees on the lagoon shore, with new tents and new main areas.
There are now ten tents and a family tent, for no more than 22 guests, each on a raised deck facing the water, with indoor and outdoor showers and an enclosed viewing deck. An overwater fire deck reaches out across the lagoon, the pool looks over it, and a new power plant lets the lodge run off the grid, with fans rather than air conditioning.
rated five stars by our clients
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
