The Chobe Safari Day Trip takes you from Livingstone into Botswana’s Chobe National Park and home again in a single day — river cruise, lunch and game drive from $190 per person.
Chobe is famous for holding one of Africa’s largest elephant populations, and it sits close enough to Livingstone to raid for a day. The Kazungula border is roughly 45 to 60 minutes’ drive away, and since the Kazungula Bridge opened in 2021 the crossing itself has been quick and orderly.
POTUS builds the day as one seamless booking: your transfer, the border, the boat, the lunch and the game drive, with our concierge reachable throughout. You carry a passport and a camera; we carry everything else.
What does the day look like?
The classic structure has earned its place — water in the morning when the light is soft, land in the afternoon when the game is moving. Expect a shape like this:
- Around 07:00 — collection from your Livingstone hotel
- Kazungula border — immigration on both sides, assisted
- Morning — boat cruise on the Chobe River
- Midday — lunch
- Afternoon — game drive in Chobe National Park
- Evening — return crossing and drive back to Livingstone
The border operates from 06:00 to 22:00, which is why the day starts early and why it never feels rushed — the schedule has hours of slack built in on both ends.
How much does the day cost?
The trip starts from $190 per person, and it earns the “all-inclusive” label honestly. Rates are confirmed at booking and subject to operator availability; we send a personalised proforma first, payable by bank transfer, mobile money or POS.
A full-day, all-inclusive safari on the Chobe River and in the Chobe game park — light breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks during the excursion.
POTUS Rentals & Tours
That description is the whole deal: once the day starts, your wallet can stay in the bag until the curio stalls.
Do you need a visa for Botswana?
For most travellers, no — Botswana admits more than 100 nationalities visa-free, including visitors from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. You will clear immigration at Kazungula in both directions, so bring the passport you entered Zambia on.
Nationalities outside the visa-free list need paperwork arranged before travel. Tell us your passport when you enquire and we will confirm the requirements as part of your quotation — border admin is precisely the kind of detail a concierge exists to absorb.
What wildlife can you expect?
Elephant, in numbers almost nowhere else can match — herds drink, swim and squabble along the Chobe River, and the boat puts you at water level while they do it. The park’s full cast ranges far beyond that, and the afternoon drive covers ground the river cannot.
No wildlife is ever guaranteed, anywhere, and Chobe is still the closest thing to a sure bet in this region — it is the trip we recommend first to guests with one spare day and a safari itch. The independent listing at visit-livingstone.com outlines the same format if you want a second reading.
When is the best time to go?
Chobe rewards visitors all year, but the dry season from May to October is when its legendary elephant herds concentrate on the river — thousands of animals drawn to the only permanent water for miles, alongside buffalo, hippo, crocodile and the predators that follow them. The green season from November brings newborn game, migrant birds and lush light for photography. The morning river cruise and afternoon game drive structure works in every month; only the density of game shifts.
The Kazungula border opens at 06:00, and the new bridge has turned what was once a slow ferry queue into a smooth crossing — POTUS collects you around 07:00, handles the immigration formalities on both sides and has you on the water by mid-morning. The $190 per person rate covers transfers, park and river fees and lunch. Add a night at Avani and the day becomes part of a full Livingstone package.
Bring your passport, a hat and a camera with a long lens — the elephants come remarkably close on the water. POTUS confirms the border requirements for your nationality before you travel, so there are no surprises at Kazungula, and the day runs on a fixed, comfortable schedule with an experienced guide throughout. It is the single best way to add a Big-Five safari and a second country to a Victoria Falls holiday.
Most guests rate the Chobe day among the highlights of their entire trip, and it is the one excursion we suggest booking early, since the best river-cruise slots go first in peak season. Pair it with a night at a falls-estate hotel and a sunset cruise, and you have three of Livingstone’s finest experiences in a single, well-sequenced package that POTUS quotes as one price.
Book with POTUS
POTUS Rentals & Tours runs its own chauffeured fleet, so your Chobe day starts and ends in our care, not a stranger’s. Request a personalised quotation on the booking page or WhatsApp +260 955 747 769 — round the clock, since 2018. You are welcome.
