Cross the border from Victoria Falls into Botswana for a day of wildlife viewing in Chobe National Park, home to some of Africa's largest elephant herds. Most tours pair a 4x4 game drive with a Chobe River boat cruise, with hotel pickup, lunch, and border assistance included.
Free Cancellation Full-day Chobe trip from Victoria Falls: hotel pickup, boat cruise, lunch, and a game drive, about 9 hours.
Free Cancellation Full-day Chobe trip from Victoria Falls: boat cruise, buffet lunch at Cresta Mowana, and an afternoon jeep or boat safari.
Free Cancellation 10-hour small group day trip from Victoria Falls: open 4x4 game drive, Chobe River boat cruise, and buffet lunch in Botswana.
Free Cancellation Day trip from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to Chobe with a guided border crossing, boat safari, land safari, and lunch.
Free Cancellation 15-hour day trip from Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) to Chobe, with a river sunset and Zambezi Park drive on the way back.
Free Cancellation 6-hour day trip from Victoria Falls to Chobe with a river cruise, game drive, lunch, and guided border crossing.
Free Cancellation Full-day trip from Victoria Falls to Chobe: a 2-hour river cruise, lunch, and a 3-hour game drive.
Free Cancellation Nine-hour day trip from Victoria Falls: morning game drive, picnic lunch, afternoon Chobe River boat cruise.
Free Cancellation Full-day trip from Victoria Falls to Chobe: 4x4 game drive plus river cruise, lunch included, back in about 11 hours.
Free Cancellation Full-day shared trip from Victoria Falls: 3-hour Chobe River cruise, lunch, and a 3-hour game drive.
Read what travelers share about their experience visiting Chobe National Park — from practical tips to personal highlights.
Every Chobe day trip from Victoria Falls follows the same winning formula: a 70 km drive north to the Kazungula border, then a boat cruise on the Chobe River plus an open-4x4 game drive inside the park. The border sits where four countries meet, and the river's northern bank is already Namibia. What you come for is elephants — an estimated 50,000-70,000 of them live in and around Chobe, the densest concentration on Earth, and on a good dry-season afternoon you'll lose count.
In the dry season hundreds of elephants and buffalo come down to drink in the late afternoon, and visitors routinely see herds of 60-plus cross the sandy track within metres of the vehicle. Dry-season herds on the riverfront can top a hundred animals. Keep 10 m clearance and give them an exit path — your guide will handle this.
A 2-3 hour cruise drifts along the park's northern boundary past hippos, crocodiles and African fish eagles. The signature sight is elephants swimming trunk-up between the banks. Buffalo and antelope crowd the shoreline as the light drops.
The drive from Victoria Falls runs about 70 km to the Kazungula border post, where Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia nearly touch. Your guide handles the paperwork — the main practical reason to book rather than go independently. Bring your passport; queues can eat a morning without one.
Chobe's lion prides are famous for hunting elephants — rare to witness, but the prides themselves are a regular sighting. Giraffe, zebra, sable and 450-plus bird species round out the park's list. Guides communicate by radio, so sightings travel fast between vehicles.
Most full-day tours break for a buffet lunch at a riverside lodge — commonly the Cresta Mowana in Kasane — with the Chobe right outside. It sits between the morning and afternoon game-viewing sessions. Water and soft drinks are included on nearly every tour.
You leave Zimbabwe around 07:00, cross into Botswana by mid-morning, and are back in Victoria Falls between 17:30 and 18:00. The drive itself passes through park land, so wildlife sightings can begin before you've even reached the gate. Pack your passport, binoculars and a dust scarf.
Tours from Victoria Falls run from 6 to 15 hours and cost US$125-265, and the differences between them are mostly time in the park. Two pieces of paperwork cause more problems than anything else at this border, so sort those first.
Nearly every option is a guided group day trip pairing a Chobe River cruise with a game drive. Small-group versions cap vehicles at 8 guests; the extended 15-hour trip starts before dawn to catch cats at both ends of the day (minimum 2 people). A 6-hour express version squeezes both activities in for tight schedules.
July-October is peak season for both the falls and the park, and the best-rated tours sell out days or weeks ahead in that window. Unfenced park campsites need 4-5 months' notice if you're staying over — day-trip tours matter less, but don't leave a July booking to the day before.
Check whether entrance is included: some tours bundle it, others charge US$20 per person in cash on the day. The current international rate is BWP 120 (about US$11) per day, though a 2026 increase to BWP 270 was gazetted then postponed on 31 March 2026 — confirm at the gate or with your operator.
Botswana requires every traveller under 18 to carry an unabridged birth certificate at the border; a certified copy or digital scan is accepted. If one parent isn't travelling, you'll also need their affidavit of consent. Families have been turned away for missing paperwork.
Visa fees aren't included in tour prices, and you re-enter Zimbabwe the same day. Operators recommend a KAZA univisa or a double-entry Zimbabwe visa to cover both crossings. Passport details are required at booking for all participants.
All the Victoria Falls day trips on offer allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. Beyond that you lose the payment, so decide the night before if the weather or your energy has changed. Trips run in rain — this is a boat-and-vehicle day, not a walking one.
Several tours list full wheelchair accessibility for transport and surfaces; boat boarding on the Chobe generally works with crew assistance. There are no paved trails inside the park itself — everything is vehicle- or boat-based, which suits limited mobility far better than walking safaris.
Passport, binoculars, sunscreen, insect repellent (malaria risk is real here — CDC lists Chobe district) and cash for the park fee and gratuities. June-August mornings on open vehicles drop to 6-8 °C, so a fleece and beanie earn their space even in Botswana.
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| Classic Group Day Trip | Small Group Safari | Express Half-Day | Extended Dawn-to-Dusk | All-Inclusive Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | 9-10 hours (pickup 06:50-07:30) | 10 hours (return 17:30-18:00) | 6 hours | 15 hours (pre-dawn pickup) | 11 hours (06:50 start) |
| Price from | US$164-170 | US$170 | US$125 | US$265 | US$212-229 |
| Park fees | Sometimes excluded — US$20 pp cash on some tours | Excluded — US$20 pp payable in cash | Not included | Included | Included |
| Best for | First-timers wanting the standard cruise-plus-drive combo; ratings around 4.6-4.7 from 184-259 reviews | Photographers and anyone who hates crowds; maximum 8 guests per 4x4 with buffet lunch at Cresta Mowana | Tight schedules and Victoria Falls day-trippers who still want both boat and game drive; 4.9-rated with 32 reviews | Cat lovers — the early start targets lions at first light and again at dusk; breakfast, lunch and min 2 people | Travellers who want zero cash surprises; all fees, snacks, beverages and both 3-hour activities covered |
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Park gates run on two schedules: 06:00-18:30 from April to September and 05:30-19:00 from October to March. No driving is permitted after sunset, and night drives are banned inside the park.
Day tours from Victoria Falls collect you between 06:50 and 07:30, cross at Kazungula mid-morning, and return you to your hotel around 17:30-18:00 depending on border queues. The extended 15-hour option picks up before dawn.
Four gates serve the park. Sedudu Gate, 8 km west of Kasane, handles over 90% of Riverfront day-trippers and is where your tour enters. Campers must exit by 11:00 on departure day.
From Victoria Falls town it's about 80 km and an hour's drive to Kazungula Border Post, where your tour crosses into Botswana and continues to Sedudu Gate. All tours include hotel pickup and drop-off in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Coming from Livingstone, Zambia? Some operators collect there for an extra fee paid to a Zambian transfer company, which hands you over at the border. Ask before booking — most default to the Zimbabwe side only.
Independent travellers can take a minibus on the Kasane-Victoria Falls route, but public buses don't enter the park. Self-drivers need vehicle registration, insurance and customs documents, plus an international driver's licence. Driving is on the left.
May to October is the sweet spot, with August-October the peak: animals crowd the Chobe River as waterholes dry up, and vegetation thins enough to see them. Be aware this is also peak season for crowds and prices.
May-August has the most comfortable weather — afternoons of 27-29 °C, nights of 6-8 °C, and the fewest mosquitoes in July and August. October hits 35 °C just before the rains.
November-March is hot, humid and wet (January and February worst), but it's the best birding window: migratory species from Europe and Asia swell the 450-plus species list, and the zebra migration moves through roughly November-March. Pick your poison.
Several tours from Victoria Falls list full wheelchair accessibility for vehicles and surfaces, and Chobe River cruise boats can generally be boarded with crew assistance. Because the whole day is vehicle- and boat-based, Chobe suits limited mobility far better than walking-based parks.
Inside the park there are no paved or wheelchair-specific trails — terrain is deep sand and rough tracks. Specialist operators such as Endeavour Safaris run adapted 4x4s with lifts on Chobe itineraries. Independent visits with a standard rental vehicle aren't realistic for wheelchair users.
For less mobile travellers, skip the 5-6 hour deep-sand drive to Savuti. A Kasane-based day with a 3-hour cruise and short game drive covers the best of the park with minimal walking.
There are no ATMs inside the park, and card machines at the gates frequently fail — carry cash. Withdraw pula in Kasane (Standard Chartered, ABSA and FNB ATMs take international cards) or bring US dollars for park fees on tours where they're excluded.
Most full-day tours lunch at the Cresta Mowana Safari Resort in Kasane, a riverside hotel with a buffet restaurant. Public campsites at Ihaha, Savuti and Linyanti are rustic and unfenced — Ihaha costs USD 50/night for internationals and books out 4-5 months ahead.
Tea and coffee are served before morning activities on several tours, and bottled water is nearly always included. Rubbish must be packed out; there's no refuse collection inside the park.
The speed limit is 40 km/h, dropping to 30 km/h in high-wildlife areas. Stay in your vehicle except at designated picnic sites, keep at least 10 m from elephants, never block their path to the river, and don't encircle animals — guides keep 300-500 m between vehicles at sightings.
Feeding wildlife is banned with zero tolerance. Drones are prohibited without a rarely-issued DWNP permit; flying one risks fines of BWP 500-5,000, expulsion or vehicle impoundment. On-the-spot fines in that range apply to speeding, off-road driving and littering.
No firewood collection, no washing in the river, no generators or loud music at campsites, and no alcohol while driving. Children under 18 need an unabridged birth certificate at the border — this one stops families cold, so pack it.
Most tours run 9-11 hours door to door, with hotel pickup between 06:50 and 07:30 and return around 17:30-18:00. A 6-hour express version packs in both the boat cruise and game drive, while the extended 15-hour option starts before dawn for two chances at predator sightings. Factor in border formalities at Kazungula, which can add time either direction.
Prices run from US$125 for the 6-hour express trip to US$265 for the 15-hour extended version, with most full-day tours at US$164-170. Check whether the Botswana park entrance fee is included — on some tours it's an extra US$20 per person in cash on the day. Gratuities are excluded almost everywhere.
Yes, a valid passport is required on the day of travel — you cross into Botswana at Kazungula and return to Zimbabwe. Visa fees aren't included, and operators recommend a KAZA univisa or a double-entry Zimbabwe visa since you re-enter the same day. Requirements vary by nationality, so check Botswana's visa rules before booking.
Botswana requires every traveller under 18 to produce an unabridged birth certificate — certified copies and digital scans are accepted. If only one parent is travelling, you'll also need the other parent's affidavit of consent. Families have been turned away at the border for missing paperwork, so this is the one thing you cannot leave behind.
Sometimes. The all-inclusive options (US$212-229) and the extended trip fold park fees into the price; several US$164-170 tours charge US$20 per person in cash on the day. The current official international rate is BWP 120 (about US$11), though a 2026 increase to BWP 270 was gazetted and then postponed on 31 March 2026 — confirm with your operator.
Very likely — Chobe holds an estimated 50,000-70,000 elephants, the densest concentration on Earth, and dry-season herds on the riverfront can top a hundred animals. Visitors routinely report herds of 60-plus crossing the track within metres of the vehicle. No tour guarantees sightings, but this is about as close to a sure thing as safari gets.
You don't have to choose — nearly every Victoria Falls day trip includes both, and they show you different things. The cruise gets you hippos, crocodiles, fish eagles and sometimes elephants swimming at water level; the drive covers lion, giraffe and the big elephant herds on land. If you only enjoy one, the afternoon river cruise in the dry season is the one to protect.
Yes, but arrange it in advance. Most operators default to pickup in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and add a surcharge for Zambia — paid to a Zambian transfer company that brings you to the border, where the main tour vehicle takes over. Confirm the exact arrangement and cost before booking, since not every tour offers it.
Physically yes — infants ride on laps, minimum ages run as low as 2, and boat cruises with hippos and elephants at water level suit kids well. Specialists generally recommend ages 8 and up, and 12+ as ideal, partly because Chobe is a malaria area and antimalarials are advised. Don't forget the unabridged birth certificate for under-18s.
Neutral-coloured long sleeves, closed shoes, a hat, sunscreen and insect repellent — the tour listings recommend exactly this. June-August mornings on open vehicles drop to 6-8 °C before rising to around 27 °C, so bring a fleece even in a Botswana summer. Binoculars, a camera and cash for the park fee and gratuities complete the kit.
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Nine hours door to door, starting with pickup from your hotel or lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The drive to Chobe passes through park land, so wildlife sightings can begin before you've even checked in. Tea and coffee are served before the day's activities start. The day runs in three parts: a boat cruise on the Chobe River, lunch, and a game drive inside the park. Park fees are included, along with mineral water and refreshments during the activities. A professional English-speaking guide leads the trip throughout. Two paperwork points for families. Children 16 and under need their birth certificates, and if one parent isn't travelling, you'll need an affidavit from that parent consenting to the trip. Gratuities aren't included; everything else listed is.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
Pickup runs 6:50–7:30 AM from hotels and lodges around Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, followed by a 70 km drive to the Kazungula border. From about 9:00 AM you take either a boat cruise up the Chobe River or a jeep safari inside the park, running until 12:30 PM. Lunch is a buffet with refreshments at Cresta Mowana Lodge. The afternoon flips to the other activity — boat if you did the jeep in the morning, or the reverse — until roughly 4:20 PM, when the Chobe operator drops you at the border. You're back at your Victoria Falls hotel around 5:45 PM. Total trip time is about 10 hours. Included are lunch, bottled water, a professional guide and driver, and round-trip shared transfers. Guides speak English. Gratuities are not included. Zambia-side hotels aren't covered by default — pickup there costs an extra fee paid directly to a Zambian company, which brings you to the Zimbabwe-side border crossing in the morning and returns you in the evening. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
This 10-hour day trip runs from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, across the border into Botswana. You're picked up at your hotel lobby and transferred to the Kazungula border crossing, where a Botswana-based guide takes over and drives you on to Chobe. Hotel pickup and drop-off in Victoria Falls are both included. Once there, the tour splits into two parts: an open 4x4 game drive inside the park and a boat cruise on the Chobe River. Doing both water and land in one day gives you two vantage points on the wildlife, and the park's large elephant herds are frequently seen from either. A buffet lunch at Cresta Mowana Safari Lodge is included, along with bottled drinking water during the activities. Guides speak English. One cost sits outside the price: Botswana's national park entrance fee, USD 20 per person, payable in cash on the day. Border assistance is handled for you. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
This tour runs from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, across the border into Botswana for game viewing in Chobe. A guide handles the border crossing, which is the main reason to book this rather than going independently — the paperwork and queues can eat up a morning on your own. Game viewing happens two ways: from a boat on the river and from a vehicle on land. The guide speaks English throughout. Lunch is included, and transport is in an air-conditioned vehicle. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
This is a 15-hour day built around one idea: leave early enough to catch cats at dawn and stay out late enough to catch them again. Pickup is before dawn from your hotel, lodge, or campsite — coverage runs across all of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe as well as Kasane in Botswana. The early start is deliberate. Dawn is the choicest window for big cats and nocturnal animals in both the Zambezi and Chobe park areas. The core of the day is a full-day game drive in Chobe National Park (roughly 900 minutes with the travel time around it). On the return leg, the tour doesn't leave the Botswana border until 7:00 pm, which buys a second game drive through Zambezi National Park in the fading light. A river sunset may be possible too, but it's seasonal — the park requires everyone off the Chobe River by 6:00 pm, so in some months you'll miss it. A packed breakfast, lunch, and refreshments are included, along with park fees, a professional English-speaking guide, and transport in an air-conditioned minivan. Gratuities are not. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
This 6-hour trip runs from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, across the border into Chobe, and it packs in both a boat cruise on the river and a game drive on land — two very different angles on the same wildlife. A guide handles the border paperwork, which is the main practical reason to do this crossing with a tour rather than solo. Pickup is available from any location in Victoria Falls, not just the listed hotels and lodges. Guides work in English or French. The vehicle has air conditioning. Included: professional guides, the boat cruise, the game drive in Chobe National Park, lunch, and mineral water. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English, French
This 11-hour day trip runs out of Victoria Falls town, picking up from any hotel or lodge between 07:00 and 07:30 depending on where you're staying. Pickup and drop-off are both included, as are all activities. The day splits into two game-viewing blocks. First, a 120-minute cruise on the Chobe River, where you can expect large elephant herds, hippos, and wildlife gathered on the banks. After lunch, an afternoon game drive inside the park lasts 180 minutes. A professional English-speaking guide leads both. Included in the price: the US$20-per-person Chobe park fee, lunch, snacks, bottled water, other beverages, and all activities. Gratuities aren't included. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
This is a nine-hour day trip built around two game-viewing sessions: an early morning game drive, then an afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River. A picnic lunch in the park sits between them. Expect elephants and lions from the vehicle in the morning; hippos, crocodiles, and birds from the water in the afternoon. An English-speaking guide runs the game drive. Transport is private and round-trip from Victoria Falls, so you're not sharing the vehicle with other bookings. Lunch and other meals are included in the price. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
An 11-hour day that pairs a 4x4 game drive with a river cruise on the Chobe, so you cover both land and water animals in a single outing. Animals concentrate along the Chobe River, which is why both activities run close to the water. Guides speak English. Pickup is at 07:00 from your hotel or lodge in Victoria Falls. From there it's about an hour's drive through Zambezi National Park to the Kazungula border — eat breakfast before you leave, and bring your passport for the crossing into Botswana. Lunch is included. Park fees for Chobe are not, so budget for them separately. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English
This 11-hour shared day trip starts at 06:50 with an air-conditioned transfer from your Victoria Falls hotel, covering the 70 km north to the Kazungula border post between Zimbabwe and Botswana. After immigration, a 4x4 open-sided safari vehicle takes over, and you stop at the local office for tea or coffee before the morning activity. The first half is a three-hour boat cruise on the Chobe River, passing close to hippos, crocodiles, and elephants at the water. Lunch follows, then a three-hour game drive into the park in the afternoon before returning to the border and your air-conditioned vehicle. Hotel drop-off in Victoria Falls is by 17:30. The price covers all transfers, a professional English-speaking guide, park fees and taxes, lunch, and both the cruise and the game drive. Your guide meets you holding a name tag. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English