Chobe National Park

Amazing sites and sounds of the African bush.

Having lived in Botswana about 10years ago, I decided to embark on a self driven safari. The Chobe National Park has a lot of wildlife, as such one does not waist time looking for them. The weather was perfect because in August the temperature is mild with no rain. August is considered one of the best times to visit Chobe National Park and neighbouring attractions such as Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park and the Okavango Delta. Accommodation at Chobe Safari Lodge was excellent and so was the sunset cruise along the Chobe River. My highlights included seeing some of the largest African elephants on earth crossing the Chobe River; the majestic Southern Hornbill; a Hyena walking on the side of the road looking for animal carcasses and; lastly seeing Lions and the African Spotted Dogs on the hunt. In my opinion visiting the Chobe National Park and surrounding attractions is a vacation of a lifetime and I would recommend it to all nature lovers like myself.

A great experience

Before our group came to Chobe National Park we were at two parks in South Africa. We saw more or less all the animals we saw in South Africa and then some more. :-) The guides were very competent, the scenery is great, we saw lots of wild animals, including a leopard and a cobra and of course lots of elephants. The scenery is great, the park is a must. Botswana is definetely worth a visit. We stayed close to the park and also heard a lion at night.

A great safari experience

This was our first safari experience and will not be our last. We loved Chobe and were surprised at how close we got to so many animals. We stayed at Salute Elephant Camp with Belmond and had a great experience. The accommodation was good, we enjoyed the game drives and the experience was made even better by our guide. May was a good time to go as it was approaching 'winter', so only 30º which was just right for me.

An experience of a lifetime

Doing a safari in Botswana was on my "bucket list" and it did not disappoint. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. We rented a safari truck and did a private safari trip, cooked our own food (had fridge in the truck) and there were many beautiful and secluded campsites at the Park. They were certainly in the wild but we felt very safe in the campsites. They were very professionally run w great staff. Highlights are the beautiful weather, endless numbers of animals, and just taking in the moment.

Elephants galore!

We visited Chobe on a day trip from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, organised through the company Wild Horizons. Chobe national park is about an hour's drive from Victoria Falls town, plus about 15 minutes at the border crossing in each direction.

We had a morning river safari with 2 incredible guides, and saw a huge variety of wildlife, including hundreds of birds, several types of antelope, crocodiles, hippos and a staggering number of elephants. Chobe has one of the biggest populations of elephants in Africa, and as our guide said, once you've seen one group of elephants there are sure to be many more nearby. We certainly were not disappointed!

After lunch we had a 3 hour game drive, again with a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. We were able to get much closer to the elephants and other animals, and even saw 3 lions (2 female and one male) stalking a puku near the river. Our guide also pointed out insects and plants of interest, and went out of his way to try and ensure that everyone was happy with their safari experience.

We would definitely return to Chobe on safari and would recommend it to others. It represents an amazing and authentic safari experience and fantastic value compared to some of the other more popular parks in southern Africa. We would also recommend booking through Wild Horizons as they offered a great all inclusive package with transfers and a brilliant buffet lunch, the staff were helpful and all were respectful of the environment and stressed the importance of conservation measures to protect this incredible place.

For my photography. Magnificent sightings and exceptional birdlife. Would highly recommend

A gorgeous park with amazing elephant and hippo viewing, as well as good birding opportunities.

I'd been on safari at other locations for about ten days already in South Africa, and I'd previously been on two safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, but here we saw the highest concentration of elephants and for the first time got to observe them at length as they drank and played in and around a large body of water. Being able to view wildlife from a boat on the river was also a new experience and allowed us to see a different array of behaviors.

Chobe is also the only place I've seem hippos out and about in large numbers during the day. This is apparently because they need to spend more time eating because of the fierce competition for resources from the large elephant population.

The scenery was gorgeous, especially from the river. I appreciated the number and variety of birds that could be viewed on the river even in midday.

We were there only for a day trip. The weather was hot but not oppressive, and the boat and jeep both had shades to protect from the sun. A rainshower came while we were having lunch but left as quickly as it came and did not interfere our game drives/boating.

We had previously stayed on private reserves in South Africa and our guides in Chobe, while knowledgeable, did not seem to have the same depth/variety of knowledge. For example, our group had a lot of interest in plant life, and our guides did not know much beyond the major grasses and trees. Perhaps they knew them in the local language, but not in English or Latin. Since this was just a day trip for us, though, we didn't have a lot of time to study plants so it wasn't a major drawback.

Our lunch was good and there appeared to be a variety of accommodations in town for varying budgets. The roads to and from the park were wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised by the way drivers observed the speed limit.

The town near Chobe is well built-out, so you don't feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. However, there were some lodges located within the park or on the river, and these had more of a remote feel.

On the drive/boat ride we encountered other vehicles, but there were no "traffic jams." All vehicles/boats I saw had guides, and there were never more than three vehicles (but usually one) at a single viewing spot. Drivers were careful not to block each others' sight lines.

Amazing wildlife experience on and off the Chobe River

Overall our Chobe Nat Park experience was amazing. We only were in the park one day but we had a river safari and land safari, both were wonderful. We travelled to Chobe while on our SmarTours vacation with the optional Victoria Falls extension. Our all the safari tours we experienced Africa, this was the best safari to view elephants. It was amazing to watch parade after parade of elephants travel to the river to drink water and play in the mud. The weather was hot around 104F but was expected since we traveled during the summer. We stayed in Zimbabwe at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which I couldn't rate any higher than Excellent. Our tour was through Wild Horizon and they did a great job transferring us through the border of Botswana. The line through customs was rather long on the way back which was not preferred since we were roasting in the sun and it was hot. We only safari'ed in Botswana, would have like to seen Zambia and Namibia but we would have had to buy more visas which are fairly expensive. Not sure of the hotel we ate lunch at but the food was amazing, some of the best food we had while in Africa. The wait staff was excellent. The lunch was included with the tour through Wild Horizon. Our overall experience in Chobe was excellent and I would highly recommend to anyone wanted to see wildlife especially elephants. I would definitely go back if I ever had the chance.

The most concentrated and profuse assortment of wild animals.

A great place for wildlife lovers

Chobe National Park is an amazing place for wildlife and safari lovers.
The parc is really beautiful and the guides very competent. I did an early morning drive and saw lions, baboons, elephants, giraffes...
I also did the cruise on Chobe river and it will remain as one of the highlights of my stay in Botswana. Everyone is very quiet and respectful of the animals, you can observe crocodiles, hippos, herds of elephants and a large variety of birds.
I definitely recommend this place!