Generous inside, and six things reliably outside

Inside the rate

• Accommodation, all meals and most drinks. Delta camps are generally fully inclusive, house wine and spirits included, which is more generous than the East African norm.
• Two activities a day. Usually after dawn and in the late afternoon, with the mix set by the camp and by the water level.
• Guiding, in a shared vehicle or boat unless a private one has been paid for.
• Laundry, daily and back the same evening. This is what makes the light aircraft baggage limit survivable.
• Airstrip transfers, which in the Delta are frequently a game drive in their own right.
• Tea, coffee, a hot drink before dawn and a sundowner. Small things that are universal and that people ask about anyway.

Outside it

Light aircraft legs between camps. Per person, per move, and in Botswana this is a large line rather than a rounding error. It is the single biggest reason a Delta quote exceeds the sum of its nightly rates.

Park and concession fees, at some camps. Folded into the rate at others. This is the commonest reason two quotes that look identical are not, and it is worth establishing explicitly.

Premium spirits and fine wine, where the house selection ends. Most people never reach that line; it is worth knowing where it sits.

Scenic flights and helicopter excursions. Almost always extra. Over the Delta they are usually worth it, and a doors-off helicopter flight for photographers costs considerably more than a fixed-wing scenic one.

Private vehicle or boat supplements. The most consequential optional line on any Delta quote, and frequently absent from a summary.

Gratuities. Conventionally handled separately. Ask at the start what is customary rather than working it out on the last morning.

How to compare two quotes

Put the fees on the same side of the line in both, add every flight leg to both, and state the vehicle arrangement for each. Then compare.

Half the time the difference collapses. The rest of the time you can at least see what the gap is buying, which is the only sound basis for the decision.

The question people forget

How many activities does the rate cover, and what happens if we want a third?

Most camps will run an extra activity for a guest who asks, particularly a small camp. Occasionally it is charged. It is a one-sentence answer and it matters more on a three-night stay than people expect.

What we itemise

Beds, fees, every flight leg, transfers, supplements and any scenic flight, separately. A bundled per-night figure in Botswana conceals the flying, which is the part of the total most worth examining.