A Chobe safari costs from about US$229 per person for a day trip from Victoria Falls with a boat cruise, lunch and a game drive, to US$644 to US$766 per person a night at an inclusive Kasane lodge with park fees and two activities a day. Most visitors spend two or three nights on the riverfront or come for the day from the Falls. Chobe National Park in northern Botswana is known for very large dry season elephant herds.
Chobe safari cost at a glance (US dollars, per person).
Chobe is the easiest big game safari in Botswana to reach and to budget for. A single day on the river can be the wildlife highlight of a southern Africa trip, and a couple of nights in Kasane cost far less than a fly in camp in the Okavango Delta. Country wide rates and the park fee position sit on our Botswana safari cost page.
Chobe Safari Cost per Person: Day Trips, Lodges and Packages
The price of a Chobe safari depends mostly on where you sleep and whether activities are bundled. Kasane, the gateway town, has everything from a riverfront campsite to inclusive lodges, and every figure below comes from an operator’s or lodge’s own published rate.
| Chobe safari style | Price | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Day trip from the Falls | US$229 a day | Shearwater |
| Full board camp | US$435 to US$640 | Chobe Elephant Camp |
| Inclusive lodge | US$644 to US$766 | Chobe Bakwena |
| Mobile camping | US$230 to US$470 | Bush Ways routes |
| Houseboat and hotel | About US$915 | Pangolin, 6 nights |
Lodge and camp figures are per person per night sharing; the mobile and houseboat rows divide a package by its nights. Bush Ways’ seven night Buffalo route through Moremi, Savute, the riverfront and Victoria Falls costs US$1,625 to US$1,780, about US$230 to US$255 a night, while its six night Serval route with en suite tents costs US$2,680 to US$2,830, about US$450 to US$470. Pangolin Photo Safaris’ Best of the Chobe trip, three nights on its houseboat and three at its Kasane hotel, costs US$5,495.
Two things catch people out. Town hotels usually sell the room and meals only, with each cruise and drive bought separately and the park fee on top. Inclusive lodges look dearer per night but carry two activities a day and the park fees, so compare the full day, not the room. Our Botswana budget safari guide covers the cheapest ways to see Chobe from Kasane.
Chobe Day Trip Costs from Kasane, Victoria Falls and Livingstone
A Chobe day trip from Victoria Falls is one of the most booked excursions in the region, and it is the cheapest way to see the park. Shearwater Victoria Falls sells its day trip at US$229 per person, minimum two guests, with a 25 percent discount for children under twelve. It runs about ten hours.
Pick ups are usually around 07:00, with the cruise in the morning, lunch in Kasane, an afternoon drive and a return to the Falls in the early evening. Livingstone in Zambia is about an hour from Kasane over the Kazungula Bridge, and Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe a little further through the Kazungula border.
Staying in Kasane instead? Hotels there sell the same pieces one by one. Chobe Safari Lodge, for example, runs three hour game drives from 06:00, 08:00 and 15:00, a three hour sunset cruise from 15:00 and full day drives from 08:00 to 18:00, all priced on its rate sheet with the park fee charged on top. A full Chobe day trip from Kasane combines one cruise, lunch and one drive.
It is a long day from the Falls with two border crossings, and queues at Kazungula can build by mid morning. Most people still come back pleased, especially from the river. A night in Kasane adds the dawn drive and the sunset cruise without the border at both ends, and Chobe Bakwena Lodge charges US$75 per person each way for a shared transfer from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe or US$90 from Livingstone.
Paperwork costs money too. You leave Zimbabwe or Zambia and come back the same day, so a single entry visa may not be enough, and a new visa is a fee. The KAZA UniVisa covers both Zambia and Zimbabwe and has allowed day trips into Chobe through Kazungula, but it has been suspended and restored over the years and is open only to certain nationalities. Check the current rules for your passport, and carry whatever documents your operator asks for, including for children. Our Victoria Falls Zambia safari and Zimbabwe safari guides cover the visas on each side.
Chobe River Boat Cruise and Game Drive Safari Prices
A Chobe River boat cruise is the part of the safari most people talk about afterwards, and how it is sold changes the price. The river forms the border with Namibia, and in the dry months breeding herds of elephants walk down from the woodland to drink, wallow and swim across to Sedudu Island or the Namibian floodplain. From a boat you sit at their eye level, a few metres off the bank.
Boat size changes the trip more than people expect. Large double deck boats from Kasane hotels carry dozens of passengers and a bar, and get crowded at the rail. Small open boats with six to ten seats slip into the shallows beside the elephants. If the cruise is the main event, pay for the small boat. Fishing on the river closes early in the year for the breeding season, with dates that vary by source, so ask before planning around it.
A Chobe game drive on the riverfront runs for about three hours in an open vehicle, starting at the Sedudu gate just outside Kasane. Lion are seen often in the dry months; leopard less so. Giraffe, kudu, sable and roan come down to drink, and wild dog turn up occasionally. Rhino are not part of a typical drive, and sightings are never promised. The honest drawback is traffic: in peak months a lion near the track can draw a queue of vehicles, and disappointed travellers usually describe exactly that, plus October dust and heat. Going out at gate opening and choosing an operator that caps vehicle numbers both help.
Chobe Safari Lodge Prices and Other Kasane Lodge Rates
What is the price of a room at Chobe Safari Lodge? The lodge does not publish a rack rate on its own website; rooms are priced through its online booking engine and its reservations office, by date and room type. What it does say matters for the budget: unless you book a package, safari activities cost extra and are listed on its rate sheet, with the park fee charged on top of each game drive and cruise.
Chobe Safari Lodge has run for more than sixty years and is one of the oldest lodges in Chobe, ten minutes’ drive from the park gate and Kasane airport. It has 32 Safari Rooms, 20 River Rooms, 8 Classic Rondavels and 16 family rooms facing the river, plus a riverfront campsite with 23 stands, each with electric points. Chobe Bush Lodge next door adds 38 rooms and 4 family rooms. Both share an activity office, and the lodges run their own double deck cruise boats from beside the park office.
For a published inclusive rate, look at Chobe Bakwena Lodge on the Chobe River near Kasane.
| Months | 2 nights | 3+ nights | Single, 3+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan to Apr | US$653 | US$644 | US$644 |
| May to Oct | US$766 | US$749 | US$1,026 |
| Nov to Dec | US$653 | US$644 | US$644 |
Those rates, per person per night, include accommodation, all meals, laundry, wine, beer and soft drinks, tourism levies and government taxes, a game drive and a boat cruise on every full day, Chobe National Park fees and transfers from Kasane airport. Premium spirits and wines and the Kazungula Bridge toll are extra, and the lodge takes guests from eight. Note the single rate: from November to April a solo traveller pays the same as each person sharing. The lodge’s next season rates are already out, from US$718 for two nights in the early months.
At the other end, Chobe Elephant Camp, run by Bush Ways on the edge of the park, lists US$435 a night from January to March and in December, US$525 in April, May and November and US$640 from June to October, with full board, local drinks and laundry included but activities, transfers and park fees extra. Chobe Game Lodge, the one lodge inside the park boundary on the riverfront, is priced well above the town lodges; ask for its current rate with activities included.
Houseboat, Savute and Linyanti Safari Costs Beyond the Riverfront
A few Chobe safari styles sit apart from the Kasane lodges, and they cost more for good reasons.
Trip reports suggest Savute rewards a stay of two nights or more but not a day trip from Kasane, which is mostly driving. Add two or three nights for Savute or the Linyanti to the usual two or three on the riverfront if you want quieter game viewing.
Chobe Mobile Camping and Self Drive Safari Costs
A Chobe mobile camping safari is the cheapest way to see the riverfront and Savute together, and it usually starts in Maun or Kasane and links Chobe with Moremi.
Read the exclusions. Bush Ways leaves out visas, airport transfers, gratuities, drinks on the camping routes, sleeping bags and any increase in national park fees, which matters while the government schedule is under review. Self drivers should read our self drive safaris in Africa guide first; deep sand and unfenced campsites are real hazards, and a Savute crossing needs recovery gear, fuel and water.
Chobe Safari Season Prices: Green, Shoulder and High Season Rates
The Chobe safari season moves prices less than in the Okavango, but it still moves them. Here is the same calendar priced three ways.
| Months | Bakwena, 3+ nights | Elephant Camp | Serval route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan to Mar | US$644 | US$435 | US$2,680 |
| Apr | US$644 | US$525 | US$2,680 |
| May | US$749 | US$525 | US$2,680 |
| Jun to Oct | US$749 | US$640 | US$2,830 |
| Nov | US$644 | US$525 | US$2,680 |
| Dec | US$644 | US$435 | US$2,680 |
The season follows the rain. When the inland pans dry up, the river becomes the only water for miles and the animals come to it.
| Months | Weather | Elephants | On the river |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan to Mar | Hot, storms | Inland | Birds, no fishing |
| Apr to May | Drying | Returning | Good |
| Jun to Aug | Dry, cold dawns | Building | Very good |
| Sep to Oct | Dry, very hot | Peak | Best, busiest |
| Nov to Dec | First rains | Dispersing | Good |
June to October is the high season everywhere, and September and October bring the biggest herds on the river and the most vehicles, with October afternoons often well above 35C. June to August mornings in an open vehicle or on the water are cold enough for a fleece, a hat and gloves, which surprises first timers every year. From November the first storms refill the pans and the herds spread out; the green months to March are hot and humid, with migrant birds, newborn antelope, fewer visitors and the lowest rates, and the cruises still deliver hippo, crocodile and birds. Our best time to visit Botswana guide covers each month in detail.
What a Chobe Safari Price Includes and the Park Fee Question
A clear Chobe safari quote lists every activity, the board basis, the transfers and whether park fees are included.
Park fees are charged per person for each calendar day inside Chobe by Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, at different rates for citizens, residents and international visitors. The schedule is under review, the figures in circulation disagree, and we could not confirm the current rate on a government source, so this page quotes none. Inclusive lodges and mobile safaris normally fold the fee into the rate; on a day trip or at a town hotel, ask the operator to show it as a line in the quote.
What moves the price, roughly in order: sleeping in town versus an inclusive lodge, a lodge inside the park, the season, adding Savute or the Linyanti by air, and paying for a small or private boat. Our Botswana safari packages page shows how Chobe fits into longer trips, and the African safari cost guide compares Botswana with its neighbours.
Hidden Chobe Safari Costs: Tips, Visas, Transfers and Single Supplements
The lodge or day trip price covers most of a Chobe safari trip. These lines sit outside it.
Bring small US dollar notes or pula for tips, paid at the end of each stay. Card machines are common in Kasane but rare on mobile trips, and trip reports mention running short of cash on the last morning.
Worked Example: A 3 Night Chobe Riverfront Safari Costed per Person
Here is a realistic Chobe safari budget for one named trip shape: 3 nights at an inclusive riverfront lodge, two people sharing, arriving by road from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and returning there, travelling in August. It uses Chobe Bakwena Lodge’s published 3 night rate.
The overnight costs about ten times the day trip and gives you four to six activities instead of two, plus the dawn and dusk hours when the river is best. For many people the right answer is in between: one or two nights in Kasane on the way from the Falls to the Okavango.
Chobe Safari Combo Costs: Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls and Gorilla Trekking
Chobe is the hinge of most northern Botswana trips, and the combinations have published prices. Lelobu Safaris sells a five day Chobe and Okavango package for US$3,480, a seven day Okavango and Chobe fly in trip for US$2,780 and a nine day Okavango, Chobe and Victoria Falls trip for US$3,250. Pangolin’s eight day Chobe and Okavango Delta photographic trip starts at US$10,850. The classic shape runs Victoria Falls, two or three nights on the Chobe riverfront, then a flight to the Okavango Delta or Khwai, as our Okavango Delta safari guide describes. Our Botswana and Victoria Falls itinerary sets out routes, and the Zambia safari and Namibia safari guides cover the wider circuit. Our guide to the best African safari countries compares that circuit with East Africa.
Gorillas pair well too. Flights from Kasane or Victoria Falls connect through Johannesburg or Nairobi to Entebbe or Kigali for three or four days of gorilla trekking in Bwindi or Rwanda. A Uganda permit costs US$800 for foreign non residents, US$700 for foreign residents and UGX 300,000 for East African citizens; in April, May and November it drops to US$600 and US$500, but those permits cannot be rescheduled and are paid in full at booking. Gorilla habituation costs US$1,500, with a rise to US$1,800 announced. Rwanda’s permit costs US$1,500, with the RDB 30 percent offer bringing it to US$1,050 from November to May when you add nights in Nyungwe or Akagera.
Secure the permit first, since it sells out before Chobe lodges do; our guides to Uganda gorilla permits, gorilla trekking from Entebbe and gorilla trekking and Victoria Falls explain the logistics.
Chobe Safari Cost FAQ
How much does a Chobe safari cost?
From about US$229 per person for a day trip from Victoria Falls, plus park entry, to US$644 to US$766 per person a night at an inclusive riverfront lodge with two activities a day and park fees. Full board camps start at US$435 a night with activities extra, and mobile camping routes through Savute cost US$1,625 to US$2,830 for six or seven nights.
How much is a Chobe day trip from Victoria Falls?
Shearwater Victoria Falls charges US$229 per person, minimum two, with 25 percent off for children under twelve. It includes transfers, a cruise, lunch and a game drive, but not the Botswana park entry fee, visa fees or tips.
What is the price of a room at Chobe Safari Lodge?
The lodge does not publish a rack rate on its website; it prices rooms by date through its booking engine and reservations office, with activities and the park fee extra unless you book a package. For a published comparison, Chobe Bakwena Lodge charges US$644 to US$766 per person a night fully inclusive.
Which is better, Chobe or Kruger?
Chobe is better for elephants and for water: herds swimming the river, close views from a boat and an easy link to Victoria Falls. Kruger is better for rhino, for self drive on tarred roads and for budget variety. Many people who have done Kruger come to Chobe for the river, and our African safari cost guide compares the countries.
Is Chobe worth visiting?
Yes, especially from June to October, when the river draws some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. It is also the cheapest big game area in Botswana, so it works as a short add on from Victoria Falls or as two or three nights before the Okavango.
Which safari park in Botswana is considered the best?
The Okavango Delta is usually ranked first for water, private concessions and walking, with Chobe first for elephants and value, and Moremi, Savute and the Makgadikgadi close behind. The Delta costs far more; see our Okavango Delta safari cost guide.
Are park fees included in a Chobe safari price?
At inclusive lodges and on most mobile safaris, yes. On day trips and at town hotels the fee is usually added on top. The national schedule is under review and we could not confirm the current rate on a government source, so no figure is given here; ask your operator to list it.
How much should I tip on a Chobe safari?
The Botswana Safari Company’s minimums are US$20 per guest per day for a group guide, US$80 a day for a private guide and US$10 per guest per day for the staff box. Three nights at those rates come to about US$90 per person.
How many nights do I need for a Chobe safari?
Two or three nights on the riverfront covers several cruises and drives. Add two or three nights for Savute or the Linyanti if you want quieter, more remote game viewing.
Is a Chobe safari good for children?
Yes, it is one of the easier safaris for families: short transfers, big animals close to the boat and lodges with pools. Chobe Bakwena takes children from eight, and Shearwater’s day trip gives 25 percent off for under twelves. Our family safari in Africa guide has more ideas.
Are night drives or walking safaris allowed in Chobe?
Not inside the national park. Lodges in the forest reserve, on the Namibian side and in the private Linyanti concessions can offer night drives and walks on their own land, so ask before booking if that matters.
Is a Chobe Safari Worth It? The River, the Herds and the Park’s Story
Chobe was Botswana’s first national park and covers roughly 11,700 square kilometres, most of it dry woodland and sand, so the wildlife and nearly every safari concentrate where there is water. The riverfront between Kasane and Ngoma, past Sedudu Island, Puku Flats, Serondela and Ihaha, holds elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, sable and the puku antelope, which in Botswana is found almost only here. Savute in the centre has the marsh, the channel and the Gubatsa Hills with San rock paintings; the Linyanti swamps lie in the northwest, and the Ngwezumba and Nogatsaa pan country in the interior sees very few visitors. Before it was a park, Serondela was a timber and hunting area, and Chobe Game Lodge on the riverfront is still remembered for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who stayed there when they remarried by the Chobe River.
What people remember is the river at four in the afternoon: a herd walking down through the dust, calves pushed into the middle, the first elephants wading out until only trunks show. Comparing Chobe with the Okavango, Chobe is drier, busier and far cheaper, with the bigger elephant show; the Delta is water and islands, mokoro trips and very small camps. The riverfront is busy in the dry months, but the crowding is local and timed, and a boat at the right bend, or a drive west of the main loops, still gets you an empty view.
Getting to Kasane and Packing for a Chobe Safari
Kasane International Airport has direct flights from Johannesburg, a little under two hours, plus Air Botswana links to Maun and Gaborone on set days. Most other visitors arrive by road from Victoria Falls or Livingstone. Botswana does not require a visa for many nationalities on a short tourist stay, but check yours.
Pack a fleece and windproof layer for winter mornings, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, neutral clothes and repellent. A pair of safari binoculars and a zoom lens make a real difference on the river; our best lens for safari guide, the African safari packing list and insect repellent for Africa cover the rest. Chobe is a malaria area, with higher risk in the wet months, so see a travel clinic before you go. The river holds large crocodiles, so swimming is out of the question, and on drives you stay in the vehicle unless the guide says otherwise.
