Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park was probably my favorite stop because of it being on the river. We saw so many elephants playing in the water........hundreds of buffalo crossing the river. And so much greenery! Very different than the more desert-type areas.

Amazing array of wildlife up close and personal

The weather for our trip in July was wonderful. The guides were very helpful in giving information about the park and the animals there. There was a plethora of elephants, some of which came right up to the jeep. It is a beautiful area, with amazing animals.

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.

Well managed but limited game in March

I enjoyed my drive through the park with our hired guide. We saw many impala, hippos, elephants, baboons, etc. I am not a "birder" so I cannot intelligently comment on the birding, but I did see and enjoy many interesting and unusual birds like the lilac-breasted roller. Unfortunately the lions, zebras and giraffes were difficult to find and it was pretty quiet overall. I understand that this was mainly due to the time of year. I personally enjoyed a boat cruise on the Chobe River that went by the park, more than the game drive, due to the beautiful scenery. I was grateful there didn't seem to be self-drive tourists and everyone on the road was very respectful.

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.

Day Trip to Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park is worth visiting only for a day if you do not have time for longer visit. It is easy to access and reach from Zambia and Zimbabwe if you happen to spend time either of these countries. You can find real bushes and secluded areas from Botswana, but Chobe is easy to reach and services are great to support your visit. We visited there on May, 2016 and trip was organized by a local travel agency in Zambia. We were a group of 5 people from Zambia and we joined another group from Zimbabwe (6 people). The morning was spend on the river with the guide who's experience and knowledge were excellent to support a very informative drive. We had coffee, cookies and soft drinks onboard, and we saw a lot of animals in the water and on the banks. There were hippos, elephants, crocodiles, lizards and lot of different kind of birds and the scenery itself was exactly the same you can find from public websites. After the pleasant boat ride, we had a lunch break with decent food in one of the lodges were we had an opportunity to fresh up and rest. Afternoon was spent on a game drive and then we had only a group of 5 in the same car. We basically drove the marked roads in the area and again the guide was excellent. We were able to spot a lot of animals and in this area, animals are quite used to vehicles so they are not running away as soon as you spot them. If you get overwhelmed about the scenery on the river, the view from here to the river is even more spectacular with the number of elephants, hippos, giraffes and other animals you could see in the wide area. The highlight of the visit was when we spotted lions - our guide was able to drive very close and that was one of the best experiences on our three week's trip.
When visiting Chobe like this, keep in mind that it is a public park with many other visitors in the same area and there are self-driving tourists, as well. Definitely you find more bush vibe from private parks but for the day trip this was value for the money.

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