Botswana's parks, compared

Name: Chobe National Park
Address: Botswana

2 parks on wildlife, activities, cost, access and health. Every rating opens to show why.

Three parks side by side reads best. Tap a park to swap it in or out.

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Compare	ChobeBest for birding	MoremiBest for big game
	4Jun to Oct	5Jul to Oct
	4Jun to OctElephants in the park: 15,404 (2018 survey); Northern Botswana: 126,114 (2018 survey); Botswana's part of KAZA: 131,909 (2022 survey)	5bestJul to OctMammal species (Delta): 130; Wild dog (Okavango): ±500, a world stronghold; Red lechwe (Delta): 30,000–90,000
Elephant	Guaranteed	Guaranteed
Lion	Likely	Likely
Leopard	Fair chance	Likely
Buffalo	Likely	Likely
Wild dog	Rare	Fair chance
Cheetah	Rare	Rare
Hippo	Likely	Guaranteed
Giraffe	Guaranteed	Likely
	4best450 speciesAbout 450 bird species listed on the wildlife page.	3400 speciesAbout 400 bird species listed on the wildlife page.
	5Water	4Water
	2The national parks regulations ban walking inside Chobe and no designated walking area has been published; guided walks run in the Linyanti concessions and the Chobe Enclave next door.	2Walking safaris are not permitted inside the reserve; walks happen in the surrounding private and community concessions such as Khwai.
	2Driving between sunset and sunrise is banned inside the park and no night-drive area has been published for Chobe; the Linyanti concessions run night drives legally.	2Night drives are not permitted in the reserve, Chief's Island included; Khwai and the private concessions run them legally.
	5bestThe riverfront boat cruise is the activity Chobe is known for: three-hour trips from Kasane's jetties past Sedudu Island from BWP 498, electric boats from Chobe Game Lodge and houseboats on the Namibian bank; no mokoro or fishing inside the park.	4Motorboat cruises from Xakanaxa to the Gcodikwe heronry, mokoro trips from Mboma when water allows, and boats year-round on the permanent lagoons, best May to Sep.
	4Any car reaches Sedudu Gate on 7 km of tar from Kasane and a Riverfront day visit needs no booking, but a high-clearance 4x4 is essential beyond the gate and Savuti is 165 km and 4 to 5 h, about 70 km of it deep sand.	4Self-driving is the main activity on the sand tracks, 92 km and about 2 h from Maun to South Gate, but a high-clearance 4x4 is essential and the four public campsites sell out 6 to 8 months ahead for June to October.
	$50cheapest bed	$30cheapest bed
	$20International adult per day ({'name': 'DWNP fee structure for national parks and game reserves, 2022 First Schedule to the National Parks and Game Reserves Regulations, in force since 1 April 2022 (checked 4 Oct 2026)', 'url': 'https://www.bwana.de/images/2022/New_fees_2022_DWNP_2022.pdf'}, 2026-10-04).	$20International adult per day ({'name': 'Government of Botswana national parks tariff (Ministry of Finance Savingram, December 2025) and DWNP', 'url': 'https://www.christourszambian.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Botswana-Park-Fee-Updates.pdf'}, 2026-10-04).
	$50Lowest listed rate per person per night across 54 places; 9 are budget tier.	$30bestLowest listed rate per person per night across 35 places; 7 are budget tier.
	$607bestMedian of 31 priced places; top end $2,250.	$718Median of 31 priced places; top end $2,889.
	3Cheapest listed bed $50, 9 of 54 places in the budget tier, park fee $20 a day.	3Cheapest listed bed $30, 7 of 35 places in the budget tier, park fee $20 a day.
	$1,635mid-range	$2,610mid-range
	$495bestBudget one: self-drive camping at Ihaha on the Riverfront	$570Budget one: self-drive camping, the classic Maun loop
	$1,635bestBudget two: a Kasane lodge, with boat cruises and game drives bought in town	$2,610Budget two: mid-range at Sango Safari Camp
	$4,440bestBudget three: fly-in to Savute Safari Lodge	$18,200Budget three: fly-in to Mombo Camp
	Kasane (BBK)nearest airport	Maun (MUB)nearest airport
	Kasane (BBK), 5.6 km from town and ±10 min from Sedudu GateFrom the getting-there and flights pages.	Maun (MUB), 92 km and ±2 h to South Gate; 30 to 45 min by light aircraftFrom the getting-there and flights pages.
	Any car to Sedudu, 4x4 beyondFrom the getting-there page.	Essential, no exceptionsFrom the getting-there page.
	Jun to Octpeak game viewing	Jul to Octpeak game viewing
	Jun to OctFrom the best-time page.	Jul to OctFrom the best-time page.
	No published wet-season closure; a storm can close a Savuti track overnightFrom the best-time page.	Open all year; occasional wet-season closures (6 Mar to 13 Apr 2026)From the best-time page.
	High Oct–Maymalaria	High Oct to Maymalaria
	High Oct–May, low Jun–Sep (NaTHNaC)From the health page.	High Oct to May, low Jun to Sep (NaTHNaC)From the health page.
	Not publishedNo current statement from Botswana's veterinary services or NaTHNaC says whether tsetse are present in or absent from the park; control spraying targeted the Kwando and Linyanti rivers in 2006.	Not publishedOnly the history page discusses tsetse, as the shifting fly belts of old Ngamiland; the health page is silent.
	October, 35.8°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page.	October, 36.5°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page.
	Kasane Primary Hospital, ±7 km from Sedudu GateAir evacuation: Insurance cover essential.	Maun, ±2 h from South GateFrom the health page.
	5First safari	5First safari
	4Kasane Primary Hospital is about 7 km from Sedudu Gate and Chobe Game Lodge takes children of all ages in its family suites; malaria risk is high from October to May and every public campsite is unfenced.	4Malaria risk is low Jun to Sep, the best all-round months, and Sandibe, Gomoti Plains, Kiri and Monachira take all ages; campsites are unfenced and the nearest hospitals are in Maun, ±2 h from South Gate.
	5Elephant and giraffe are guaranteed on 99 per cent of trips and lion and buffalo likely on 91, and Airlink flies daily to Kasane, ten minutes from the park gate.	5Hippo on 100 per cent of reported trips and elephant on 99, lion 91 and leopard 77, with 30 to 45 min light-aircraft hops from Maun's scheduled airport.
	3About 11,700 km² in four areas: the Riverfront sits 7 km from Kasane, while Linyanti is the remotest and Nogatsaa the quiet alternative for pans and no crowd.	4bestProtected core country with no off-road driving, three vehicles per campsite and Chief's Island reachable only by air; the Khwai strip is the busiest in the area.

Each park in one line

Chobe Botswana's elephant park: the Chobe Riverfront ten minutes from Kasane, and the sand country of Savuti and Linyanti beyond it.

Moremi The protected core of the Okavango: flood-fed lagoons, red lechwe and some of Africa's best predator country.

Head to head

Chobe or Moremi?

How the ratings work

Big game is calculated from each park's sightings table on its wildlife page: guaranteed counts 3, likely 2, a fair chance 1, rare 0.5 and absent 0, across elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, wild dog, cheetah, hippo and giraffe, scaled so that 16 points is 5 out of 5.
Birding follows the species count on the wildlife page. Low-budget safari follows the cheapest listed bed, the share of budget places and the daily park fee.
Walking, night drives, water, self-drive, families, first safari and wilderness are our ratings, whole numbers from 1 to 5. Press "Why?" on any row to read the facts each one rests on, with the page they come from. Where a rule is not published we say so rather than guess.
Prices are per person per night in US dollars as listed on the lodges pages, before park fees; the three-night totals come from each park's costs page and use the dated rates there. Fees are the international adult rate per day.

Facts checked July to October 2026 on each park's own pages; ratings updated 2026-10-13. Also as data.json.