Chobe National Park

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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.

The park is being eaten alive by too many elephants.

Same as above

We took a mid-day (motored) game drive and still saw lots of animals, including lions. We took a pontoon trip in late afternoon/sunset and were able to see elephants, crocodiles and hippos up close, which was really special.

It was the busiest park we visited and since you have to drive 30 Min to park entrance all are there at the same time - makes it a little less authentic and more organized!