Practical questions
Chobe National Park: frequently asked questions
The questions people ask before a first trip to Chobe, answered with the figures in force on 4 October 2026.
How much does it cost to enter Chobe National Park?
Non-residents pay P270 per person per day, about $20, or P190 as the client of a licensed Botswana tour operator, under the DWNP schedule in force since 1 April 2022. Add P115 a day for a foreign-registered vehicle under 3,500 kg, a rate that applies at Chobe only, or P30 for a Botswana-registered car, which includes one hired in Kasane. Fees count every calendar day including the day you leave. An increase to P500 a day was approved for April 2026 and postponed on 31 March 2026, and pages quoting P120 are using the schedule that ended in 2022.
Can I self-drive in Chobe?
Yes. The Riverfront is a short drive from Kasane: Sedudu Gate is about 7 km from the town centre, and a day visit needs no booking. Beyond the gates you need a high-clearance 4x4 in practice, because the Riverfront tracks have deep sand near Ihaha and the 40 km from Kachikau to Ghoha Gate on the way to Savuti are the sandiest stretch of the route. There is no fuel inside the park, the speed limit is 40 km/h, and off-road driving and getting out of the vehicle away from campsites are prohibited.
When is the best time to visit Chobe?
May to October for game viewing, when the inland pans dry and elephants and buffalo crowd the Chobe River. July to October is the peak, with the highest lodge rates and the fullest campsites, and October is the hottest month, with mean highs around 35 °C at Kasane. December to March is the green season: rain, scattered game, migrant birds and the lowest rates. May and early November are the best value, with dry-season viewing at shoulder prices.
When does the Chobe River flood?
From about March to May, and the water comes from the Zambezi, not from local rain. Peer-reviewed work on the basin shows the Zambezi flood backing up and pushing down the Chobe from about the start of March, spilling across the floodplain through March and April; between 2000 and 2014 the river peaked between 1 March and 17 May, and it is usually back to bank-full by mid-July. Lowest water is in October. The elephant spectacle on the Riverfront follows the drying of the inland pans from May or June, not the river level.
Is there malaria in Chobe?
Yes. NaTHNaC puts the Chobe district in the high-risk zone from October to May, when it recommends antimalarials (atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline or mefloquine), and rates it low risk from June to September, when bite avoidance is the advice. It is not malaria-free in winter. Kasane Primary Hospital is the nearest hospital, and serious cases may need evacuation, so carry insurance that covers air evacuation from northern Botswana.
How many days do I need in Chobe?
For the Riverfront alone, one or two full days from Kasane covers a morning game drive and an afternoon boat cruise with time to repeat both. Savuti is a different trip: about 165 km from Kasane, 93 km of tar and roughly 70 km of deep sand, or 200 km and six to seven hours from Maun, so plan at least two nights there. The full Kasane, Savuti and Maun traverse, with a night or two at each stop, is a trip of five nights or more.
Can children visit Chobe, and what do they pay?
Children under 8 enter free and older children pay half the adult park fee; DWNP publishes no current upper age for the half rate, and sources give 15, 17 or 18. Lodges set their own limits: Chobe Game Lodge accepts children of all ages, Savute Safari Lodge from six, and Camp Savuti from two. SKL's campsite table charges children 8 to 17 half the adult rate. Every campsite in the park is unfenced, so keep small children within reach at dusk and dawn.
How do I book a campsite in Chobe?
Directly with the private operator, never through DWNP. Ihaha on the Riverfront is run by Kwalate Safaris (kwalatesafari@gmail.com), Savuti and Linyanti by SKL Group of Camps (online at sklcamps.com or reservations@sklcamps.co.bw), and Nogatsaa by Ghoha Hills (reservations@ghohahills.com). Rates run from about US$40 to US$80 per person per night in 2026, plus park and vehicle fees at the gate. Availability opens about 12 months ahead, and you cannot stay overnight in the park without a confirmed booking.
Do I need cash at the Chobe gates?
Yes: pula, in cash, ideally in small notes. Card machines at the payment points are widely reported as unreliable. DWNP's 2009 schedule accepted rand, US dollar and sterling notes at the gates, but nothing newer confirms it, so draw pula at an ATM on President Avenue in Kasane the day before. Coming from Maun towards Mababe Gate, operators advise paying in advance at the DWNP Maun Reservations Office.
Are night drives and walking safaris allowed in Chobe?
Not inside the national park. The regulations ban driving between sunset and sunrise and walking outside campsites and facilities, and we found no designated night-drive or walking area in Chobe. Both are offered in the private concessions and forest reserves just outside the boundary, such as the Linyanti and Kwando concessions in the west and the Chobe Forest Reserve near Ngoma. Fishing is not allowed in park waters either; Kasane operators fish the river outside the park, and the national closed season is January and February.
Can I combine Chobe with Moremi or Victoria Falls?
Both are easy. Moremi lies south-west of Savuti: from Mababe Gate the track runs west through the Khwai community area to Moremi's North Gate, and both parks need campsite bookings. Victoria Falls town is about 95 km from Kasane by road through the Kazungula border with Zimbabwe, open 06:00 to 20:00 on the Botswana side, and Livingstone about 82 km over the Kazungula Bridge into Zambia, open 06:00 to 22:00. Zambia says its US$50 KAZA UNIVISA covers day trips into Botswana through the Kazungula borders.
Is my Kasane lodge inside Chobe National Park?
Almost certainly not. Kasane and Kazungula are outside the park, even where hotels describe themselves as Chobe National Park lodges. Chobe Game Lodge is the only permanent lodge on the Riverfront inside the park, alongside the Ihaha campsite. The other places to sleep inside the boundary are in Savuti and the Nogatsaa interior, and the camps marketed as Linyanti, Selinda and Kwando sit in private concessions west of the park.