Chobe National Park

Lots to see but too many people

We spent two nights near the park at Chobe Bush Lodge which was excellent. We went on a early morning safari drive and an afternoon boat cruise. Others from our group did an afternoon drive as well.
Even though we saw lots of excellent wildlife including two lions stalking some warthogs, it was way too crowded during both the morning drive and the boat cruise. There were often dozens of safari vehicles/boats around a good animal sighting with some vehicles hogging the best spot for ages and we often had to wait. This was mainly for lions (we didn't see anything else really special). And when it came to the sunset part of the cruise, lots of small boats sat in front of our bigger boats spoiling our view - there was plenty of room for them elsewhere. Our boat moved somewhere else to avoid these boats. These experiences spoilt the park for us. We actually saw much more in Kruger and it was less crowded.
However, friends who did the afternoon safari drive said there weren't so many other groups and they had some excellent sightings including the rare wild dog.

Good wildlife but unfortunately no rhinos. Plenty of birds and nice scenery

Chobe is a vast park but it's full of animals who are pretty used to the traffic of tourists and you can get very close to them. Just show some patience.

We loved the wildlife but were less impressed with the other catagories. We also realize it was merely a preference on our part.

The park is beautiful and defenetely worth visiting

There are different sections of the park, the northern part near Kasane is easily accessible (many local tour operators in Kasane would bring you inside for the day) and it has a beautiful road going along the Chobe river which is splendid and rich in wildlife and birds. There are different lodges with camping ground, but ihaha campsite is the best camping spot. Very reccomended is the sunset boat cruise on the Chobe river. The area overall is a bit touristy though, especially during the dry (high tourist) season. In April it was quiet, with not many cars around. Oddly, it was also difficult to spot elephants (Chobe is full of elephants) as most of the herds had migrated south after the heavy rains. The south-western areas of Linyanti and Savuti are just spectacular and out of reach from the day trips starting from the northern part. This area is full of wildlife and wild scenaries and it is more for people prepared of going camping out in the wild (campsites in Chobe are not fenced), which is the best experience for me. Beware, everywhere in the park you need a good 4x4 veichle as roads can be on deep sand. Also, if you self-drive, make sure you have a good map. Enjoy!

Breathtaking nature & wildlife

This was my first ever wildlife experience in Botswana and can proudly say I wasn't let down. The morning game drive went well, backed by the clear skies and a glorious sunset. We encountered a few wild animals like Elephants, Lions, Monkeys, Kudus, Kobs, Impalas, Zebras, and so much more. My mission was to take as many photos as I can, and these are giving me remarkable flashbacks whenever I look at them... I stayed at Chobe Marina Lodge near the waterfront thus giving me fantastic views of the mighty Chobe River and the Namibian territory across. Everyone was friendly, welcoming and approachable. I felt at ease and explored without limits for the four days I was in Kasane the gateway to Chobe National Park.

Seeing so many elephants of every size imaginable being wild and free and witnessing their natural behavior made me very happy and humbled.

The elephants are awesome, they are many!

It was an incredible day, full of magic, I was impressed to see so many elephants in their natural habitat, being so authentic and happy. I was happy to see so many colorful birds. I would have liked to have seen more cats (I only saw a lioness), I think there are more cats missing. The guide should know more about birds, he knew a lot about animals and interesting facts, but he lacked a bit more of that information. I loved the safari. Thank you very much

Chobe National Park has the greatest concentration of elephants along with multiple of the species of mammals, birds, and reptiles that are easy to approach from the boat

For the part of Chobe we were in, I think 3 stars is almost on the generous side for "bush vibe". It is pretty crowded with game drive vehicles and you can find yourself stuck in a long parade of them, although our driver took pains to try & get us out & away from the others. But with so many vehicles in the area, it didn't really give us much of a "bush vibe", which to us infers a sense of being out somewhat alone in the wilderness. When lions were spotted next to the road, it was a positive gridlock of traffic, all elbowing to get a vantage point. As cool as it was to see lions, the circus atmosphere of what had to have been 10 game drive vehicles surrounding them, took a little bit of an edge off the thrill of seeing them.