Chobe
A river out of the Angolan highlands, a riverfront where elephants come down in their hundreds in the dry winter, and a three-kilometre runway four kilometres from Kasane.
- Arrival
- Kasane · BBK
- To Kasane
- About 4 kilometres north by road
- Private jets
- Into Kasane, an airport of entry
- Best time
- May to September
The city
Elephants on the riverfront.
Chobe National Park was declared in 1968 and covers some 11,700 square kilometres of floodplain, swamp and woodland in the far north of Botswana. It falls into four parts: the Riverfront beside Kasane, the Ngwezumba pans, Savuté and Linyanti. The Riverfront is the one most people see, and the one closest to the runway.
The Chobe rises in Angola and crosses into Botswana at Ngoma before running past Kasane into the park. When the bush dries out in winter, elephant and buffalo crowd its banks; an afternoon drive can pass hundreds of elephants, and herds crossing the Serondella Road can stop traffic altogether. From the water, a boat brings hippos, crocodiles and birds within easy reach.
- The Chobe Riverfront The busiest stretch of the park, where a single afternoon drive can show around fifteen species, lion and leopard among them.
- A river cruise The low-level view of hippos, crocodiles and water birds, from a boat on the Chobe at the end of the day.
- Savuté and Linyanti The remote south-western reaches, where the permanent waters of the Linyanti and Kwando hold game through the dry season.
Arriving
A long runway on the river.
Kasane airport lies about four kilometres south of the town, on the A33. Its present terminal, about 7,800 square metres, opened in February 2018.
- Johannesburg 1 h 35
- Luanda 2 h 25
- Seychelles 5 h 00
- Lagos 5 h 00
- Amsterdam 10 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
Rain falls in summer and the winters are dry. December to February bring over 130 mm a month; from May to September almost nothing falls, the days stay between 27 and 30 °C until August, and the game draws in to the river. The heat builds before the rains, peaking at 35 °C in October.
- 32° J 158
- 31° F 133
- 32° M 80
- 31° A 17
- 30° M 1
- 27° J 1
- 27° J 0
- 30° A 0
- 34° S 0
- 35° O 22
- 34° N 63
- 32° D 151
Where to stay
Inside the park.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Elsewhere in Botswana
More reasons to come.
Flying to Chobe?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.