The Best of The Chobe
From $5,495 pps
7 Days
March to November
We firmly believe that The Chobe is one of the best wildlife photography destinations in Southern Africa – if not the whole continent. This 7-day photo safari is the perfect opportunity to learn new wildlife photography skills under the supervision of your Pangolin Photo Host, staying on both the Pangolin Voyager Houseboat and the award-winning Pangolin Chobe Hotel. If you are travelling without a camera, then we can also supply you with cameras and telephoto lenses to use for the duration, free of charge.
If you have ever wanted to learn or indeed improve your wildlife photography skills but never found the time, then this is the safari for you…in the greatest classroom in the world!
These safaris are offered on set departure dates throughout the year, with no more than eight clients accompanied by a Pangolin Photo Host. If you are a group of friends or a family, this can also be booked on an exclusive basis.
The Pangolin Voyager cruises up and down a long stretch of the Chobe River with three dedicated mooring points at which you will spend one night. The order in which we visit the mooring points depends on water levels and the conditions of the river.
The houseboat is built over two floors with 5 cabins at the bottom, a lounge and dining area leading out to a glorious sun deck on the upper floor – a beautiful place for an early morning coffee, mid-afternoon relaxation with a good book, and to admire the African night sky after dinner.
The Cabins
Each of the cabins can be configured as either one double bed or twin beds. There is an ensuite shower and toilet as well as air conditioning, plug points and storage space. Guests are invited to use the dedicated editing suite on the upper floor during the day, where you are free to attend image review sessions with the photo host.
The order of the day is very relaxed. We get up early and have a coffee and a snack before heading out on the 8-seater electric photo boat, which is moored alongside the houseboat. Everyone has their seat, which rotates 360 degrees and has a camera mount built into the chair. The boats are vast and stable, and this allows the photo host to interact with every client to help them with their photography. Whether you are just getting started in wildlife photography or are more accomplished, the photo host can tailor his or her tuition to suit your requirements.
After the morning cruise looking for subjects along the river, we return to the houseboat for a well-earned brunch as we set sail for our next destination along the river. We encourage our clients to keep their cameras ready and accessible, as we often come across photo opportunities during these cruises.
After brunch, you are free to relax in your cabin, the lounge, the sun deck or join the photo host at the dining table for an image review of the pictures you have taken so far. These sessions are less about post-production and editing and more about analysing your images and seeing how we can help you improve on your techniques. We do not have computers or laptops for you to use, so please bring your own to join in these sessions.
A couple of hours before sunset, we head out again from our new mooring point to see what we can find to photograph, leading up to the “golden hour” at the end of the day. On all our cruises, we take refreshments with us to keep you well hydrated – especially for Sundowners!
The dinner is a three-course meal taken around the dining table, lovingly prepared by the galley staff from fresh local ingredients. All meals and drinks are included in your package at both properties. With the National Park on the other bank, you can often hear the call of lions and hyenas at night! Truly Africa
On the fourth day, after brunch, we will disembark and head back into Botswana to The Pangolin Chobe Hotel for the next part of the safari.
The Pangolin Chobe Hotel sits on the plateau overlooking the Chobe River and the Caprivi Floodplains below. Completed in 2018 the hotel has 14 rooms and is designed around a wildlife photography gallery featuring inspiring images from Africa and beyond.
Activities
Being on the Botswana side, we have access to the Chobe National Park for game drives as well as the Southern Channel, which is inaccessible from the Namibian side. We will divide our time between game drives and a couple of cruises on the channel so that you get to experience the river in its entirety.
By this time, you will have improved your photography and will be feeling confident shooting on the manual camera settings. This will allow you more creative control over your images, and we will spend more time at sightings perfecting various photographic techniques.
We use custom-designed Land Cruisers The Chobe National Park, with a maximum of four guests per vehicle. Everyone has a window seat and a camera rest to support their lenses. Again, you will be accompanied on all activities by the same Photo Host.
Please note: This Photo Safari package provides a Canon mirrorless camera complete with a powerful telephoto lens. If you’d like to use a second camera body, or if you’re travelling with someone who doesn’t own a camera, it’s already included in the package price, along with a handful of memory cards for your images. Many non-photographers accompany our safaris, and they always appreciate the chance to work with cameras of this standard. Before long, they are capturing professional-quality shots with ease!
In between the activities, you can relax at the eco-pool or make use of our air-conditioned editing room at the end of the gallery. Your photo host will be on hand during the day to help you with image review sessions. Access to computers is limited in the Chobe, so we suggest that you bring a laptop with you for image review sessions. Otherwise, we will give you plenty of memory cards to fill throughout the safari to take your images home with you.
Savour meals on the deck or in the dining room, where our chefs – masters of cooking with fire, bring locally sourced ingredients to life with smoky, aromatic flavours. Every dish is crafted with care, and most dietary requirements can be accommodated. Upstairs, the Pangolin Bar beckons with panoramic views and some of Kasane’s finest cocktails, while the sunken fire pit invites you to linger under the stars, enjoying the warmth and ambiance after a memorable dinner.
By the end of this safari, you will be a far better photographer than when you arrived. You will have a complete understanding of the camera functions and how to employ them in different situations for maximum creative effect. Not only that, but you will also have a fistful of memory cards full of beautiful images and memories that you will treasure forever. All of the photographic skills you will learn will apply to all photo situations as we advance, beyond wildlife photography. If you always meant to sign up for a photo course and never found the time, then this is the perfect safari for you.
On the final day, we can either transfer you to Kasane airport if you are heading home, or we can arrange extensions at any of our partner properties in The Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls and even Cape Town, South Africa, to carry on your photo adventure. Please chat with your safari planner about options.
2026 Prices
We have multiple dates throughout the year when this safari begins. Please contact us for a date that best suits your requirements.
- $3,000 Single Supplement
3 nights on The Pangolin Voyager Houseboat
3 nights at Pangolin Chobe Hotel
Twice daily game activities
Photography guidance from The Pangolin Photo Host
Canon Mirrorless Cameras, telephoto lenses and memory cards
Daily photo review sessions (own laptop needed)
All meals and drinks
Airport transfers (if required)
Park fees and tourism levies
Laundry, gratuities and items of a personal nature
Visa fees if required
International flights
Single supplement for solo travellers
EXCELLENTVerified Pangolin provided a "one of a kind" India experience beyond just tigers I just returned from the Pangolin India Tiger Safari. It was an amazing experience. Before the trip Daniella at the office was very helpful and answered any email question promptly. The tour Hosts, Sabine and Charls, are very knowledgable regarding wildlife photography, both how to properly photograph the animal and then processing techniques. This old curmudgeon was able to learn and retain a couple of new techniques from them. The lodges are some of the nicest that I have stayed in. They were Bagh Tola, Pench Tree Lodge, and the Bori Safari Lodge. The were Bandhavgarh NP, Pench NP, and the Bori Wildlife Sanctuary at Stapura NP. I liked the first and last parks the best, but had incredible Wile Dog sitings at Pench. One important items that I learned is that unlike some lodges in other locations that allow you to include gratuities on your credit card in India that was not possible and currency exchange outside of the airport or ATM use was not convenient. The local "handler", and lodge owner of Bagh Tola, Jason Fernandes, was an extremely gracious and made the trip one of a kind by providing a life altering experience during the "Holi" holiday. Almost all of the naturalists/drivers were great, but my personal favorite was TK at Bori Safari Lodge.Posted onVerified Professional, Luxurious, Safe High quality experience that left me wanting to experience Botswana again. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable about both the wildlife and photography. Hands on experience was next level as they guided us on how to use camera equipment properly and capture the best shots. I’m profoundly grateful for my time there and will return with more friends/family. We were treated with respect, and our group felt very safe.Posted onVerified Experience of a Lifetime for everyone - Must do for Photographers Booking: My wife and I went on the Pangolin Chobe, Delta, Kalahari (CDK) photo safari in September 2025. The best way to describe the experience is SURREAL! I am a nature photographer and visiting Africa and photographing the wildlife was a bucket list trip for me and my wife. I have followed Pangolin photo safaris through their YouTube channel and website for a few years. When we decided to go on this trip, I filled out the form and Samantha McDonald, a lovely agent contacted me via email. After several weeks of email & phone conversations wit Sam, I booked us for the 10 day CDK safari experience a full year in advance! Sam was an amazing resource of knowledge, tips and patiently answered all our questions for the next whole year and throughout the trip! I highly recommend her! Experience: Pangolin is a first class operation. It is run by photographers for photographers. If you are a photographer, don't think twice - Book this trip now before they fill out for 2027. If you are not a photographer, don't worry. Just simply watching these animals and birds in their natural habitat is breathtaking. Their goal is to send us home with world class wildlife photos which your family and friends will think are worthy of being in magazines! To that end, they have an experienced Canon photographer with us offering excellent coaching on exposure, shutter speed and angles to get the best shots for that particular scenario. They give everyone interested a professional camera (Canon R6 MKII in 2025) and a great lens (Canon RF 100-500 in 2025) and abundant training. Our coach Sara Jenner was amazing and her energy and enthusiasm was infectious. Accommodations: The places where we stayed were 5*! The new Pangolin Voyager houseboat, The luxurious and spacious tents at Shinde Footsteps and Dinaka camp were incredibly well appointed for a place in the middle of wilderness! The food was amazing with a lot of local fare and it catered to everyone's needs, which included some Indian curry for me and many dishes for the guests who were vegetarians. Wildlife: The guides at Chobe, Delta and Kalahari were amazing! They knew where the animals and birds were and what the best locations for getting the best photos! They are expert trackers and follow footprints to locate the wildlife! We got to see so many varieties of birds and mammal species. Every day we did two game drives that were 4 hours in duration. The day starts with a 5:30 am breakfast, 6:30 am game drive for 4 hours, 11:30 lunch, a short break, 3:30 tea, 4 pm game drive, 8 pm dinner. The days are jam packed with opportunities to see wildlife. We saw a leopard, cheetahs, a rhino, so many hippos, lions & cubs, Hyenas, the endangered wild dog, wildebeest, elephants, elephants and elephants, giraffe, baboons, and hippos to name a few. Cost: This Chobe, Delta, Kalahari trip is not inexpensive. At $13,500/person for this and the round trip airfare from the US costs a good chunk and required a lot of planning and saving. I thought that it was expensive. Having completed this trip, I will confidently say that the experience was worth every penny and you'll end up with amazing memories and so many awesome pictures. I am an extremely value conscious, comparison shopper and I highly recommend that you do your own research about these safaris. I did mine. There is NO ONE that provides such an exclusive small group 5* experience at this price. I found that even those through Costco (We travel a lot through them) were almost twice the cost for a similar length and those did not include such intensive game drives. We are looking forward to booking our next Pangolin Safari in 2027. Hope to see you there!Posted onVerified I cannot recommend more highly this wonderful week - immersed in the wildlife of Botswana. We had an incredible week on the Chobe river with Pangolin Photo Safari. The wildlife was astounding and we were given excellent instruction and detailed description of all the birds and animals we were seeing. The Riverboat was wonderful - so comfortable and quiet (all electric). We then moved to the Chobe Hotel, which was first class with excellent food and delightful staff. In fact the staff throughout the whole week were amazing - so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Thank you all for making my holiday such a happy and memorable one.Posted onVerified Pangolin Photo Safaris - the very best! An unforgettable experience. I recently completed the Chobe River/Okavango Delta/Kalahari with Pangolin. The trip exceeded my hopes and expectations. Excellent accommodations at every step. The brand new (July 2025) houseboat on the Chobe was extremely comfortable, and the staff/service was excellent. We saw an amazing amount of wildlife almost constantly, and the river guide, Laskey, was fantastic. The river experience was uncrowded and we were able to go where we wanted without having to compete with other tour boats The Ker & Downey camp on the Okavango was very comfortable, and again excellent staff/service/food. The drives through the delta were an unforgettable experience, with plentiful animal and bird life. A great guide again, Bobbie, who really added to the experience, and we saw a tremendous amount of wildlife throughout the visit The Kalahari visit was at another Ker & Downey camp, this time very luxurious and comfortable. The same excellent experience, plenty of wildlife, good food and service at the camp, all in all another great stay. Our local guide, KLB, was again absolutely first-rate. The overall trip management by Pangolin was first rate. They had people to help us at every stage on the tour, to ensure we had the best possible experience. Our trip host, Karolina, was fantastic - her friendly and positive approach contributed greatly to the group experience, and she gave all of the guests, regardless of experience level, really useful photography pointers. I can’t recommend Pangolin highly enough. If you are looking for a photo safari outfit, look no further!Posted onVerified Best Trip We've Ever Taken This trip, by far, was the best trip my wife and I have been on. Everything was top notch. From planning our trip with our Pangolin Safari Planner, to the photo host, guides, and staff on the Pangolin Voyager II and the Pangolin Hotel, everyone was friendly, courteous and helpful. We felt that an African Safari would be a once in a lifetime experience, but I'm already thinking about a return trip. Our photo host and guide worked to position us to get the best positioning for photo's, offered suggestions on composition, and assisted in whatever questions we had. Back at the Voyager II and hotel the food was great, and accommodations very comfortable. I highly recommend Pangolin Photo Safaris!Posted onVerified Fantastic Chobe, Delta and Kalahari Photo Safari Tour My husband and I utilized the services from Pangolin Photo Safaris who arranged the details for a pre-excursion visit to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwa and then joined our fabulous tour leader, Janine, and spent 10 days on their Chobe, Delta and Kalahari Photo Safari tour. Their attention to detail was fantastic. And Janine's guidance to hobbyist photographers on taking wildlife pictures was phenomenal. I know her voice will be in my mind whenever I look to take any fast action pictures to note the lighting, adjusting your exposure, and always remembering to check my ISO. Thanks Janine! Needless to say, I would highly recommend Pangolin for your future wildlife photo trips.Posted onVerified All round winner of a tour Wow! I am so glad I did this safari. After a Covid delay of five years we finally made it to the "Chobe, Delta and Kalahari" 10 day safari. My partner and I started this trip as "phone photographers" basically, and after the ten days tuition and guidance on provided cameras we are hooked. This tour has three nights on the Voyager houseboat , four nights at Okavango Delta, and two nights on the edge the Central Kalahari. These two camps were at Ker & Downey establishments and every place was fantastic. The Pangolin houseboat is a little bit old and is getting replaced soon, but on board everything was clean and comfortable. The staff were amazing - so friendly and meals were delicious. Up early for morning river trips or game drives with our wonderful photo host Will, for whom nothing was trouble, we were astounded by the wildlife and the skill of our driver/guides. Their placement of vehicles to get good shots, and Will's technical guidance helped us come home with memorable good photos. Afternoon brought another trip out for photographs and sundowners as the magical African sunsets coloured the sky. All arrangements booked through Pangolin were well planned and communication with our consultant was always timely. I have no hesitation in recommending Pangolin Photo Safaris and hope I can return one day.Posted onVerified Great Safari Product. Already booked my trip for next year. Pangolin has a great photo safari product. I had a group of 17 at the Pangolin Hotel. We were at Pangolin before starting our main safari in the Okavango Delta. The set ups in the boat with the gimbals and the swivel seats was brilliant! My guests who were not as interested in photography were loaned canon cameras and lenses and they had a professional photographer on the boat helping them with their settings. It was the best way to start a safari. By the time my guests were in the Okavango Delta, they already had a good foundation for wildlife photography.Posted onVerified Yet another amazing week with Pangolin Photo Safaris Yet another amazing week with Pangolin Photo Safaris on the Chobe river and National Park. Walter, out photo host, was encouraging us to stretch our photographic skills, always ready to give advice as to getting the best shot. Dan, our wildlife guide, boat driver and boat pilot, kept us safe even when charged by a hippo. We saw wild doge just having killed and eaten, a malachite kingfisher on our boat with a frog in it's beak and many other animals and birds. The staff at the Pangolin Chobe Lodge were as always, friendly, welcoming and providing excellent food. Thoroughly recommend this company for anyone interested in wildlife photography, beginners and experts.
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