Choosing the wrong accommodation near Chobe National Park can mar your safari experience.
Your lodge might be so far from the park that you don't have enough time to enjoy the wildlife sightings. Or you could end up in a noisy lodge, unable to get solid rest after a stressful day at the park. To help you avoid these problems, we've created a list of the best places to stay near Chobe National Park.
Our selection of these lodges is based on the experience we've gathered managing safaris for foreign tourists over the past five years. Keep reading to see why these lodges made our list.
1. Best luxury lodge: Chobe Game Lodge
2. Best budget-friendly lodge: Chobe Under Canvas
3. Best family-friendly lodge: Kubu Lodge
4. Best for romantic getaways: Chobe Marina Lodge
5. Best solar-powered camp: Chobe Elephant Camp
Chobe Game Lodge is the only permanent lodge inside Chobe National Park. This makes it the perfect place to stay if you want easy access to Chobe National Park.
One unique feature of this luxury lodge is that it offers wheelchair-access rooms. Other room types at the building are:
Each room at the Chobe Game Lodge is spacious, clean, and decorated with luxurious designs and furniture. The rooms are also stocked with mosquito nets, bottles of water, and snacks. Expect large en suite bathrooms with big showers and constant running water.
Since this lodge is located inside the park, guests can take early morning drives before the usual crowd of tourists trails into the park.
Early morning drives are great for enjoying peaceful sightings of prime wildlife like lions, leopards, zebras, and hyenas.
Chobe Game Lodge hosts these early morning game drives in eco-friendly trucks and assigns the drives to knowledgeable safari guides. These guides are highly skilled at tracking and finding the different kinds of animals in the park.
The lodge also offers safari boat cruises, where you can catch aquatic animals like hippos, crocodiles, and even some land animals who visit the river to drink and bathe.
The true charm of Chobe Game Lodge is its friendly staff, who are renowned for adding personal touches to every guest's experience.
Claire, a former guest at the lodge, shares her experience with the staff at Chobe Game Lodge:
Granted, the Chobe Game Lodge is more expensive than other lodges. But its proximity to the park and the modern in-house facilities justify the high price.
Some of the facilities at Chobe National Park are as follows:
Thanks to its desirable spot at Ghoha Hills, the Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge offers 180-degree views of the Chobe River. This river attracts a large variety of animals, especially during the dry season. Right from the windows of your room, you can spot zebras, buffaloes, elephants, and other predators gathering at the riverbank.
On entry to the lodge, a friendly staff welcomes you with beautiful African songs, and attends promptly to your every need. Then, you are taken to your elegant canvas suite for a well-needed rest.
The tents are mounted on wooden decks, providing spectacular views of the sunrise and sunset. Rooms are furnished with large, cozy beds and efficient electric fans that keep the room cool amidst the blazing African heat.
The water in the ensuite bathrooms is frequently recycled to keep it clean. Laundry service is quick and reliable, and the meals are so delicious that they earn high praises from guests. The dining area doubles as a common area where you can charge your devices and use Wi-Fi.
Ghoha Hills Safari Lodges is the best places to stay near chobe national park. its guests to the nearby Savuti Marsh for up-close wildlife sightings nearby Savuti Marsh. You'll be accompanied by enthusiastic safari guides, who will happily educate you on the animals in the park.
You can also visit other parts of Chobe National Park for a game drive, but you'll have to contend with the bumpy roads and constant traffic on the way to the park.
Chobe Under Canvas is one of the best budget-friendly lodges and the best places to stay near Chobe National Park. This mobile camp offers affordable tented rooms with enough space to hold big beds. The tented rooms also come with private butlers and ensuite bathrooms.
Sadly, there is no running water at this lodge. What you'll get instead is a bucket overhead shower, which your butler refills constantly.
At meal times, guests gather at the dining area to eat delicious meals cooked over a blazing fire. Wine and cold beer are also available in the dining area.
Since Chobe Under Canvas is the best places to stay near chobe national park, you can spot a large variety of wildlife walking past just by stepping out of your room.
And if you listen closely at night, you can hear lions roaring from the nearby wilderness. I know that's scary, but you wouldn't have to worry about any wild animals walking into your tent. The rooms are secured with khaki canvas materials and mesh windows, both sturdy enough to prevent animal access.
Experienced, English-speaking safari guides are available to take you on game drives and educate you about the resident wildlife.
If you stay longer than a day at the lodge, you'll experience the special photographic boat cruise along the Chobe River.
On the boat cruise, a skilled photographer will show you how to take beautiful photos of wildlife from different angles. At the end of the cruise, the guides will give you the SD card containing all your wildlife photos.
If you want to enjoy luxury while staying close to nature, you should consider staying at Ngoma Safari Lodge. Its thatch roof is made out of the natural volcanic rock in the Chobe Forest Reserve, and the rooms are surrounded by teak trees and bushwillow thickets.
Ngoma Safari Lodge is nestled in the peaceful northern area and the best places to stay near chobe national park. So, you can enjoy the environment without being disturbed by the hustle and bustle in the park.
But the lodge is still close enough to the park that you can spend sufficient time viewing wildlife before the park closes. In fact, a shuttle bus service and local guides are readily available at the lodge to take you to the park and back to the lodge.
Each room at Ngoma Safari Lodge houses a large walk-in shower and bath, a kitchenette, and an air conditioner. You'll also find a private plunge pool at the back of your room.
The staff treats you like royalty, and gives you English breakfasts with gluten-free options. If you have an early morning drive, they'll gladly pack your food to go.
Facilities like a lounge, snack bar, gift shop, and restaurant abound at the lodge to make your visits delightful.
Situated between the Chobe River and the Savute Channel, the Savute Safari Lodge is the best places to stay near chobe national park and place to enjoy the monopoly of a prime location for viewing wildlife.
The lodge takes advantage of this opportunity by positioning facilities for wildlife sightings. Private viewing decks, swimming pool loungers, and al-fresco dining area are installed in the lodge to enhance the viewing experience.
Savute Safari Lodge supplies 24-hour electricity to its rooms, all of which are furnished with necessities like fans, comfy beds, anti-mosquito spray, Wi-Fi, coffee maker, and USB ports.
You don't have to leave the Savute Safari Lodge since is the the best places to stay near chobe national park to see some of the wildlife. The common area for guests contains a borehole that attracts animals like elephants and giraffes.
Visiting Chobe National Park with this lodge will expose you to a broader diversity of animals around the park. You'll be accompanied by enthusiastic safari guides, who will educate you about the animals, birds, and plants in Chobe National Park.
Perched on the Chobe River bank, Kubu Lodge is a scenic, family-friendly lodge and the best places to stay near chobe national park that offers easy access to the animals at the Park.
Each wooden chalet in the lodge is separated from the rest by the beautiful fig trees surrounding the river, blending beauty with serenity. Day beds are also placed strategically around the lawns to help you get the best views of the animals drinking and bathing in the river.
But Kubu Lodge offers more than just beauty. It also houses countless facilities to give you a comfortable stay. Every room in the lodge contains a comfy bed, hair dryer, coffee maker, safe, charging facilities, standing fans, and ceiling fans.
Although most of the rooms are only suitable for couples, there is a family suite that can hold four guests at once.
Explore the lodge, and you'll find facilities like a swimming pool, a restaurant, a games lounge, and even a curio shop for souvenir lovers.
While staying at Kubu Lodge, you can either self-drive into Chobe National Park or book the professional guided tours offered by the lodge. We recommend visiting the park with the lodge, as their guides will help you track more animals than you can find on your own.
Muchenje Safari Lodge is one of the few lodges located in the Western area of Chobe National Park. This grants you undisturbed access to the stunning views of impalas, baboons, and zebras that often assemble at the Chobe River.
Sometimes, animals even wander from the unfenced western boundary of the park towards the lodge, giving you an up-close look. In case you're worried about the animals harming you, Muchenje Safari has locks and trained security guards on patrol to prevent the entry of animals into the lodge.
The minimal guest size in its small array of 12 cottages affords Muchenje Safari Lodge is the best places to stay near chobe national park with it personalized experience to its occupants. The owner and their managers are always available to attend to your requests.
Here's what a past client had to say about their customer service:
The interiors of the cottages are just as appealing. Each suite houses a king-size or twin bed, an air conditioner, an ensuite bathroom, and a walk-in shower.
The Chobe Elephant Camp is an eco-friendly lodge specially developed to flaunt the incredible wildlife views of the Chobe River floodplains and provide relief from the hot African weather. The lodge is perched on a high rocky ridge to ensure that guests can see the animals from all angles.
The entire building was built out of Kalahari sands to help its interiors always stay cool. It also employs solar powered panels to provide electricity in its suites.
All the rooms boast air conditioning, cozy beds, and large mosquito nets. Guests gather at the communal area to enjoy healthy dishes and socialize with each other.
The lodge also organizes game drives and boat cruises across Chobe National Park with experienced guides who track a large number of wildlife like hippos, crocodiles, lions, giraffes, impalas, and kudus.
Chobe Marina Lodge is the best places to stay near chobe national park since the lodge is an thatched cottages suitable for tourists who still want to enjoy technology while exploring the safaris available at Chobe National Park. Every room contains a TV, free Wi-Fi, and air conditioning. And when you step out of your room, you are greeted by the gorgeous sights of wildlife roaming the Chobe River.
During your stay, the staff provides 24-hour room service and assigns you a concierge to ensure a relaxing stay. You also gain access to the in-house facilities, such as the spa, pool, and curio shop.
Each of the suites in Chobe Marina Lodge is built for specific kinds of tourists:
Unlike other lodges, Chobe Marina Lodge gives you free rein on your itinerary. You can decide when you want to take a game drive, a boat cruise, or a village tour, and the lodge will provide an experienced guide to accompany you.
Have you decided on the lodge to use when visiting Chobe National Park? Chances are, hundreds of people have chosen the same lodge.
Book your lodge with Good Earth Tours to get a quick reservation for the best suites in the lodge.
