Chobe River Cruise from Victoria Falls: Boat, game drive & lunch

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.70 (256 reviews) 79% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/8

Duration9h

GroupUp to 100

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Boat cruise at dawn, game drive through the park, lunch between the two

You spend the full day on the water and in open vehicles watching wildlife in Chobe National Park, with a professional guide handling navigation and animal spotting. Boat cruise, game drive, lunch, and all park fees are included, plus transfers from Victoria Falls. You don't arrange transport or tickets yourself — everything is coordinated, which matters when you're crossing a border and timing matters.

Step-by-step itinerary

Chobe boat cruise and game drive

Enjoy tea and coffee before start
Drive from Victoria Falls through park
Take Chobe River boat cruise
Have lunch during the trip
Go on game drive with park fees included
Drink mineral water and refreshments

The Experience

I wasn't ready for how many there were. The boat pushes out from the dock just after sunrise, and within minutes the riverbank is lined with elephants — not one or two, but herds moving in and out of the water like it's the most ordinary thing in the world. Tea and coffee arrive before you leave the lodge, and then the drive into Chobe National Park starts, winding through acacia scrub where giraffes stand frozen mid-stride and buffalo graze in clusters. The park fees are already handled, so you're not stopping at gates or doing paperwork; you're just moving through the landscape with a professional guide who knows where to look.

The boat cruise on the Chobe River is the heart of the day. You're on the water for hours, watching animals come down to drink — elephants, hippos, crocodiles, antelope — and the guide points out behavior you'd miss on your own. Lunch happens mid-day, solid and warm, and mineral water keeps coming. After that there's a game drive through the park itself, a different angle on the same animals, and the light changes everything. By late afternoon you're heading back toward Victoria Falls, the drive retracing the same route but somehow it feels different when you've been inside the park all day.

One thing to know upfront: if you're traveling with children under 18, you'll need certified copies of their birth certificates at the border. If one parent isn't traveling, the other parent needs to provide a signed affidavit. It sounds bureaucratic, but it's a real requirement and worth sorting before you book. Yellow fever certificates are also mandatory if you've been through Central or East Africa recently. The minimum age is two years old, and infants sit on a parent's lap during the boat and game drive.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup from Victoria Falls, the drive to Chobe National Park with wildlife viewing en route, a full boat cruise on the Chobe River with tea and coffee before departure, a game drive through the park, lunch, mineral water and refreshments throughout, all park fees, and return transfer to Victoria Falls. A professional guide accompanies you for the entire day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Africa Zim Travel & Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see large concentrations of African wildlife in one day without arranging your own transport, border crossings, or park entry — the fixed itinerary and included transfers mean you show up and the day unfolds on schedule.