Thamo Telele sits on the outskirts of Maun inside a private game reserve of about 250 hectares bordering the Thamalakane. It is the closest thing Maun has to a safari camp within reach of the airport: tented rooms on decks, giraffe on the property, and horses rather than game-drive vehicles as the signature activity.
Quick facts
- Area
- Maun
- Property type
- Tented Camp
- Setting
- 250-hectare private reserve on the edge of Maun
- Nearest park or reserve
- Moremi Game Reserve
Tents and chalets
Nine safari tents on raised wooden decks and two thatched double chalets, all en-suite, some with outdoor showers and claw-foot baths. Air conditioning and fans, Wi-Fi and laundry.
Facilities at Thamo Telele
A 17 m swimming pool, a lounge and bar with an outdoor deck, and communal dining. Activities booked on site include giraffe encounters, horse riding, guided walks, cycling safaris, spa treatments and birding — the property claims over 300 species recorded on the reserve.
Who it suits
Riders, birders and anyone who wants a bush property rather than a town hotel without flying anywhere to get it.
Location and access
The property gives a 40-minute drive or a five-minute helicopter flight from Maun airport, with daily transfers. The final approach runs on reserve tracks, so arrange the transfer rather than driving a sedan in.
How we checked this listing
Tent counts, activities and transfer times come from the property’s own website. We have not stayed here.
A game reserve on the edge of a town
Two hundred and fifty hectares is not a wilderness, and Thamo Telele does not pretend otherwise. What it is, is enough ground for giraffe, zebra and plains game to live on within sight of Maun, which changes what an arrival night can be. Instead of a hotel room and a restaurant you get a walk, a ride, and animals outside the tent.
For a first or last night that is a meaningful upgrade on a town hotel, and it costs you nothing in flight logistics. It is not a substitute for Moremi or the Delta — our Moremi guide covers what a real reserve offers — but it is a better use of a spare day than shopping.
Horses, and why they matter here
Horse riding is unusual in Botswana and heavily restricted in the national parks, so a property that offers it on its own ground is offering something you cannot easily buy elsewhere. The same is true of the cycling safaris. Both are only possible because this is private land with no dangerous game on it.
That is the trade. You ride and walk freely because there are no lion and no elephant here. If you want big game you fly into the Delta; if you want to be on a horse, this is where you do it.
Who Thamo Telele suits
- Riders, for whom a Botswana property with its own horses is a rare find.
- Birders using Maun as a base, with riverine and dry-country habitat on one property.
- Travellers with a spare day at either end of a Delta trip who would rather spend it in the bush than in town.
It suits you less if you want big game, or if you need to be a short drive from the shops and the banks.
Book or compare
We have not been able to confirm a booking route for Thamo Telele specifically. Rather than send you to a property that is not this one, the availability button compares stays across Maun. It does not claim to open this property.
We publish no rate here. Prices move with season, occupancy and cancellation terms, and a figure copied once is a figure that goes stale.
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What we publish, and what we do not
We publish no rates, no availability, no star ratings and no review scores of our own. Prices and room availability are shown by the property at the link below, not by us. This property was formerly called Royal Tree Lodge and much of the web still lists it that way.
If anything here is out of date, tell us through our contact page and we will check it against the source and correct it.
