Worth knowing
Chobe's riverfront is busier and more accessible than the Delta — the trade-off for its ease, its elephants and its river. For deeper wilderness, it pairs well with a remoter Delta or Linyanti camp.
Getting there
Fly to Kasane, or combine easily with Victoria Falls nearby
Best for
Vast elephant herds, river boat safaris, and an easy Victoria Falls pairing
The land
A great river frontage and woodland in Botswana's north
Good to know
Famous for elephants and river safaris; pairs with Victoria Falls
What it is
Chobe is elephant country on a grand scale — and the river where they gather is a safari in itself.
Chobe protects one of the largest elephant populations in Africa — tens of thousands of them — and along the Chobe River in the dry season the sight is extraordinary: great herds streaming down to drink, bathe and cross, alongside buffalo, hippo, lion and an abundance of game. The river makes Chobe special, offering one of Africa's great boat safaris — big game viewed from the water, at eye level, in golden evening light. Easily reached via Kasane and a short hop from Victoria Falls, Chobe is the accessible, elephant-thronged, river-centred jewel of Botswana's north.
The reason to come
Elephants and the river
Chobe's signature is the meeting of vast elephant herds and a great river. In the dry season the Chobe River draws the wildlife in astonishing numbers, and the boat safari — big game at eye level from the water, in evening light — is one of the most relaxed and spectacular ways to watch wildlife anywhere. Add the easy Victoria Falls pairing, and Chobe is a highlight.
The elephant herds
One of the largest elephant populations in Africa — great herds at the river in the dry season.
The river boat safari
Game viewed from the water — elephant, buffalo and hippo at eye level in golden light, a Chobe classic.
The Falls pairing
A short hop from Victoria Falls — Chobe and the Falls combine into one easy, spectacular trip.
Safari from the water
Why the river changes things.
Most safaris are driven; Chobe's best is floated. The river lets you watch great herds of elephant and buffalo from the water, at eye level, drifting in golden evening light — a relaxed, intimate, spectacular angle on big game. Combined with the elephants' sheer numbers and the nearby Falls, it makes Chobe unmissable.
When to come — honestly
Best in the dry winter.
May – October
Best
Dry winter — the prime season. The river draws enormous elephant and buffalo herds as inland water dries, and the boat safaris are at their spectacular best.
November – April
Good
Green season — lush and birdy with newborns and migrant birds, the herds more dispersed inland as temporary water spreads.
Chobe's riverfront spectacle peaks in the dry season, when shrinking inland water funnels vast elephant and buffalo herds to the river. The green season disperses them across a flushed landscape — lush and birdy, but without the great riverside concentrations.
A river and its elephants
Abundance on the frontier
Chobe's elephant population is among the densest and largest in Africa, part of a vast transboundary population that ranges across northern Botswana and its neighbours — a rare conservation abundance, though one that brings real pressures on the habitat along the river.
Sitting at the meeting point of four countries near the Zambezi, and beside Victoria Falls, Chobe is the most easily combined of Botswana's parks — the accessible, river-centred counterpoint to the fly-in Delta.
We pair Chobe with the Delta or Linyanti for contrast, and with Victoria Falls for the natural combination, basing you for the river and the elephant season.
Beyond the obvious
Three ways to read Chobe.
River boat safari
Watching great elephant and buffalo herds from the water at eye level.
Elephant herds
One of Africa's largest elephant populations, at the river in the dry season.
Victoria Falls pairing
The short, easy combination with one of the world's great waterfalls.
Why Wild Voyager
We match you to the right camp and concession.
Botswana runs a deliberate high-cost, low-volume safari — exclusive concessions, fly-in camps, water and land. In Chobe National Park that means basing you for the river and the elephant season, and pairing it with the Delta for contrast and Victoria Falls for the natural combination.
We pick the camp and concession, not the cheapest bed
Botswana lives or dies on the concession and the camp — the traversing, the water, the exclusivity. We match you to the right one, and time it to the flood and the season.
We base you in the right place
Chobe centres on its river frontage near Kasane, the busier but spectacular side, with quieter areas deeper in the park. We base you for the river and the elephants, and tie it to the Delta and the Falls.
We guide for wildlife, not a checklist
Our guides work the water, the terrain and the light for real encounters — they would rather earn you one great sighting than rush a list.
Journeys
Trips through chobe-national-park
Where to stay
Where you’ll stay in chobe-national-park
Signature Collection
Luxury Collection
PhotoChobe Game Lodge
Luxury
Chobe Game Lodge
The only lodge inside Chobe National Park, on the riverfront.
PhotoSanctuary Chobe Chilwero
Luxury
Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero
Hilltop suites above the Chobe River near Kasane.
Classic Collection
Wildlife you may see
Watch the herds
from the river.
Chobe is elephant country and the great Chobe River boat safari, an easy hop from Victoria Falls. We pair it with the Delta and the Falls.
Plan a Botswana trip