Getting There

By Plane

To South Africa -- You will fly directly to Johannesburg or Cape Town, the major airport hubs in South Africa. From both of these airports, you can fly into airports adjoining the Kruger National Park and surrounding private game reserves (quite a few lodges have their own airstrips), and to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal (a 3-hr. drive from the Zululand reserves). Port Elizabeth, the exit or start of a Garden Route trip from or to Cape Town, is a short flight from Cape Town or Johannesburg.

To add Botswana to a trip to South Africa, you will have to fly via Maun, gateway to the Okavango (from Johannesburg or Cape Town), or Kasane, gateway to Chobe (from Johannesburg only). Vic Falls can also be reached from Kasane, or you'll have to fly to Livingstone (the Zambian town nearest the falls) or Victoria Falls airport in Zimbabwe from Johannesburg.

From the U.S., the direct flights to South Africa are with South African Airways (SAA; tel. 800/722-9675; www.flysaa.com), Delta Air Lines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), LTU (tel. 866/266-5588; www.ltu.com), Swiss Air (tel. 877/359-7947; www.swiss.com), and Lufthansa (tel. 800/399-5838; www.lufthansa.com). Note: The 15 1/2-hour Washington, D.C.-Johannesburg flight is currently SAA's only nonstop flight from the United States. New York flights now make a stop in Dakar. And because of SAA's new partnership with Star Alliance, the airline is no longer partnering with Delta or flying out of Atlanta.

From the United Kingdom, SAA (tel. 0171/312-5005; www.flysaa.com), British Airways (tel. 800/AIRWAYS or 0181/897-4000; www.british-airways.com), and Virgin Air (www.virgin-atlantic.com) offer direct flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town. British Airways also operates a number of flights from New York to South Africa via London. Connection time is usually no longer than an hour, and flights continue on to Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. Virgin Atlantic Airways (tel. 800/862-8621 in the U.S., or 0293/747-747 in Britain) also flies daily from New York to Johannesburg via London. Alternatively, check out any of the European carriers, such as KLM (tel. 800/447-4747 in the U.S., 08705/074074 in the U.K., or 800/505-747 in Australia; www.klm.com), which flies via Amsterdam, and Air France (www.airfrance.fr), which flies via Paris.

From Australia and New Zealand, contact SAA (tel. 02/9223-4448) or Qantas (tel. 13-13-13; www.qantas.com.au).

To Zimbabwe -- The easiest way to get to Victoria Falls is to fly to Livingstone or Victoria Falls International airport via Johannesburg; contact either SAA (tel. 27/11/978-1763; www.flysaa.com), British Airways (tel. 27/11/921-0222; www.british-airways.com), or Nationwide Air tel. 011/395-7623; www.flynationwide.co.za).

Victoria Falls is not far by road from Kasane, in Botswana; this is accessible with Air Botswana.

To Botswana -- To reach the Okavango Delta, you'll need to fly to Maun: Air Botswana is the only international carrier that flies here directly from Johannesburg and Cape Town (tel. 267/395-1921; fax 267/395-3928 in Botswana; tel. 27/11/975-3614 in Johannesburg). The toll-free number in the U.S. and Canada is tel. 800/518-7781, where it's marketed through Air World Incorporated. In the U.K., call BA Travel Shops (tel. 0207/707-4575). Air Botswana also flies from Johannesburg to Kasane (ideal to reach the Chobe reserve), and from Kasane to Victoria Falls.

In the unlikely event that you will want to visit Gaborone, the capital, Air Botswana also flies from Johannesburg to Sir Seretse Khama International (tel. 267/395-1921), as do SAA and British Airways.

To charter a light aircraft, contact an air-charter company that operates small planes from Maun to all the delta camps. Note that strict luggage restrictions currently apply: 10 to 12 kilograms (22-25 lb.), preferably packed in soft bags. Charter prices vary, so be sure to compare the following companies' prices for the best deal: Sefofane (tel. 267/686-0778) is recommended; alternatively, Mack Air (tel. 267/686-0675) or Delta Air (tel. 267/686-0044).