Best Time to Visit Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park, a protected region in Botswana near the country's famous Okavango Delta, is known for its massive population of elephants as well as a premier safari destination. However, travellers should carefully consider the time of their visit, as this can dictate available activities and animal visibility. Read on to discover the best time to visit Chobe National Park!

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When is the best time to visit Chobe National Park?

Chobe National Park is truly a year-round destination - no matter what month travellers decide to visit, they'll have an amazing safari experience. In saying that, however, the dry season of August to October often provides the best wildlife viewing when animals congregate around available water. The high season is from July to October, but be prepared for large crowds and, in October, scorching heat.

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Seasons in Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park tends to experience two main seasons: wet and dry. The wet season, which lasts from November to March (though sometimes extends into late April) is the time when travellers can expect fewer crowds at the expense of plenty of rain, muddy conditions, and some limited availability of amenities. The dry season, which lasts from June to October, brings with it larger crowds and higher concentrations of animals near available watering holes. The hottest month of the year is October when temperatures can soar to 45°C (113°F).

Both the wet and dry season can provide a fantastic safari experience, depending on what activities travellers would like to participate in and how much heat they can withstand.

Wet season

The wet season takes place from November until March (sometimes lasting until late April, depending on the year), and, while travellers can expect afternoon thunderstorms at the beginning of the season to turn into larger, longer periods of rainfall as the wet season progresses, visiting Chobe National Park during the wet season doesn't mean your safari will be rained out. On the contrary, while a safari during the wet season may mean less visibility as animals take shelter from the rain, the season is actually the best time to visit the parks for birdwatching.

Dry season

The dry season, from May to October, sees morning temperatures as low as 8°C (47°F) in the cooler months of June through August. However, by the end of the season in October, the average afternoon temperature is 35°C (95°F). The dry season is the best time to visit for wildlife viewing, as this is when the most animals gather around the river to drink. However, travellers should keep in mind that the dry season is also the most popular time to visit Chobe National Park, and they may experience peak-season costs and larger crowds.

Average temperatures in Chobe National Park

While temperatures in Chobe National Park tend to be consistent throughout the year, expect extremely dry and hot weather during the dry season from May to October, especially the latter month which is known - even amongst locals - as an extremely hot, difficult time. During the wet season, the coolest temperatures can be found from June to August, when travellers will likely need to dress in layers for chilly early-morning starts that gradually warm up as the day continues.

	AVG TEMP °C	AVG TEMP °F
January	24°C	75°F
February	23°C	73°F
March	23°C	73°F
April	22°C	72°F
May	17°C	63°F
June	15°C	59°F
July	14°C	57°F
August	19°C	66°F
September	22°C	72°F
October	25°C	77°F
November	26°C	79°F
December	24°C	75°F

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Chobe safari reviews

Victoria Falls and Chobe

"Perfect trip! We loved our guides, welcoming, informative and always ready to assist. We enjoyed the "free day" at Vic Falls, it allowed us to choose from many actives available there. We did the helicopter and elephant tours. Our guide set it up, including transfers. It was great! If you have space, bring things to give away to local people, they appreciate anything. We added a day in Chobe for a full day safari. So happy we did!" Read more