With just four or five cabins each, they’re perfect for small groups or families looking to enjoy the river in privacy and comfort. Book out an entire boat and you’ll have your own private floating retreat on the Namibian side of the Chobe River, just a few kilometres from where Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet.
Each day begins with a gentle cruise along the Chobe River—up to 50 kilometres—offering a peaceful and immersive way to explore this remarkable wilderness. The houseboats moor each afternoon, providing time to take in the surroundings or head out on smaller tender boats for closer wildlife encounters.
All meals are served onboard and prepared with care, with tea, coffee and fresh home-baked treats available throughout the day from the bar on the entertainment deck.
Two of the houseboats feature four suites each, while the third offers five. All cabins are air conditioned and come with en-suite bathrooms (shower, toilet and basin), and can be configured with either a king-sized bed or twin beds. The highlight is the large sliding window in each cabin, offering uninterrupted views of the ever-changing river landscape—best enjoyed from the comfort of your bed.
You're basically living on safari. A water-based safari.
Every morning you'll clamber into the tender boat to see if any of the huge herds of elephant, buffalo, lion, crocodile and zebra wear contact lenses. You do get a close up view with your guides... You'll also see a lot of plants and birds.
If you want to totally overdo the wildlife come in the drier winter months from May to October. This is peak animal package tour time, mammal school holidays, they pack the joint out. In the summer months from November to April the birds go wild as the summer migrants swan up. If you like to fish come whenever you like. It's good all the time.
Some say no trip to the Chobe is complete without trying your hand at a fishing safari. Hook a tiger fish, one of the many bream species, African pike, tilapia, catfish or upper Zambezi yellowfish. Miles and miles of messing about on the Chobe River. Rods, tackle and bait all supplied. You put a tiger fish back if you catch one.
For bird lovers there are over 450 species which lounge around the Chobe River. Birding season starts in September, when the first migrants arrive. Go off with the guide in a tender boat for your birding safari. This will mean spending many hours spotting birds such as African skimmers, rock pratincoles and the African finfoot as well as cattle egrets, fish eagles, open-billed storks, lesser-striped swallows, pied kingfishers and the carmine bee-eater.
If photography's your thing make sure you ask for the customised photographic safari boat when you make your booking. There's only one houseboat customised for photographers and you'll want it. There are 6 special swivel chairs that give you greater stability and 360-degree views. Every seat has a mounting for resting SLR cameras of all types and you'll get your own experienced guide. The optimal lens to bring is an 80-400mm zoom.
Another option is to travel by tender boat to Ijambwe, a local Namibian village on the floodplains of the East Caprivi. It's a 100-year-old village. You can meet village elders and locals and learn about their traditions and how they live. You can buy woven baskets, beaded jewellery, carved wooden animals. If you want to give the children something bring school stationery, books and clothing. There will also be a display of traditional dancing and singing.
Want to get off? Ok. Try the walking tour. You'll wander off to meet a 2,000-year old baobab tree. You'll learn about the medicinal and spiritual value of Impalila Island's flora.
"A dream come true"
We had the most amazing family holiday, everything worked so perfectly, the arrangements and accommodation was spectacular!
"Unforgettable trip to Namibia – Thank you Namibia Tours & Safaris!"
We are a group of four from Romania and spent 3 unforgettable weeks in Namibia. We can't recommend them enough, and for any future travels in Namibia or other parts of Africa, we will definitely use their services again.
"We had a great experience"
From the time we put the key in the ignition till we boarded the plane in Windhoek nothing went wrong.
"Unforgettable bird photography trip in Namibia"
It was a fantastic experience, everything was very well organised, went smooth and according to expectations. It was our first self drive in Africa and it was a great, unforgettable time.
