Kasane

The town at the edge of Chobe

Kasane is the administrative centre of Botswana's Chobe District, in the far north-east of the country on the south bank of the Chobe River, close to the point where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe almost meet. It is small, and almost everything a visitor wants lies just outside it: the Chobe Riverfront of Chobe National Park, the river itself, and the road to Victoria Falls.

The Botswana Tourism Organisation calls the Chobe Riverfront "the most accessible and frequently visited of Botswana's big game country," and a dry-season afternoon drive there can show hundreds of elephants at one time. Wikipedia's entry for the park likewise describes the Serondela riverfront section, with Kasane as its northern entrance town, as likely the park's most visited. That is why Kasane has the infrastructure of a safari gateway, an international airport, lodges along the river and operators offering cruises and drives, even though the town itself is modest.

Four areas that matter

Kasane is compact, so the useful question is not which neighbourhood but which side of the river-and-gate geography you want to sleep on. These are the areas that matter for a visit.

Kasane town centre Banks · Supermarkets · Practical stop

The town centre is where the practical errands happen. It has banks with ATMs, including ABSA, First National, Stanbic and Standard Chartered, and grocery stores including Spar, Choppies and a Shoprite Mini. Stock up here before a self-drive or camping trip.

The Chobe River lodge strip River views · Cruises from the lodge · Closest to the gate

Most visitors stay along the riverbank. Chobe Safari Lodge, for example, sits on the Chobe River in Kasane next to the national park, about 10 minutes' drive from the park entrance gate and from Kasane International Airport. It runs its own river cruises and game drives.

Inside Chobe National Park Most remote · River-edge lodge

Chobe Game Lodge sits on the banks of the Chobe River inside the national park itself, so you wake up in the park rather than driving to it.

Kazungula Border village · 8 km east

The Botswana village of Kazungula is about 8 km east of Kasane, where the border post serves the Kazungula Bridge over the Zambezi to Zambia. You will pass through it if you are crossing to Livingstone or Victoria Falls.

River lodges and a riverfront campsite

Kasane's accommodation is built around the river. These picks are verified against each property's own site; check current rates directly, since we do not list prices we cannot source.

Chobe Game Lodge describes itself as the oldest 5-star lodge in Botswana, set on the Chobe River inside Chobe National Park. It has 40 rooms and four suites, each with a private terrace overlooking the river, a 250-metre boardwalk along the bank, and solar-powered boats and safari vehicles, introduced in 2014 for quiet safaris.

Chobe Safari Lodge, established in 1959, offers Safari Rooms, River Rooms, Classic Rondavels and a riverfront campsite, plus a separate boutique property, Chobe Bush Lodge. Its dining includes the Sedudu Bar and Grill, and it runs river cruises, morning and evening game drives, tiger fishing, village tours, scenic flights and Victoria Falls day excursions. Wikipedia notes it is where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton spent their honeymoon in 1975.

Cresta Mowana Safari Resort & Spa offers standard double and twin rooms and a range of suites. It has a spa and a sundeck overlooking the Chobe River, and a 9-hole golf course is noted at the resort in guides to the area.

For wider choice and current prices, the Kasane listing on Booking.com shows the full range of guesthouses and lodges.

Lodge dining on the river

Kasane is not a restaurant destination in the way a big city is. Most memorable meals happen at the lodges, with a river view, and day-to-day food comes from town supermarkets.

Sedudu Bar and Grill Chobe Safari Lodge · Deck dining

The lodge's recently opened grill, with dinner served on the deck. Chobe Safari Lodge also has a bar on the river that reviewers recommend for sunset drinks, and a breakfast with plenty of choice.

Serondella Restaurant and Savuti bar Cresta Mowana · River view

Cresta Mowana's main restaurant overlooks the Chobe River and the Namibian floodplains and is open through the day, with a buffet breakfast. The Savuti cocktail bar faces the water and is a good place for a sundowner.

Self-catering Spar · Choppies · Shoprite Mini

For campers and self-drivers, the town's supermarkets are the practical option for supplies.

The river and the riverfront

Everything worth doing here comes down to the Chobe River and the park beside it. A good visit combines time on the water with time on the road.

Chobe River boat cruises

The Botswana Tourism Organisation recommends river cruises for views of hippo, crocodile and water birds from the water. Three-hour boat safaris are common, including sunset cruises, and many are run by the lodges themselves.

Game drives on the Chobe Riverfront

The riverfront, reached via the Sedudu Gate near Kasane, is where elephants and buffalo converge on the water in the dry winter months. A drive near the riverbank can show around 15 species in one outing, according to the Botswana Tourism Organisation. Self-driving inside the park requires a 4x4; the park covers about 11,700 square kilometres and records more than 450 bird species.

Beyond the riverfront

Further into the park, Savuti Marsh and the Linyanti Marsh are remote and usually reached by fly-in or as part of a multi-day trip. Other activities offered from Kasane's lodges include tiger fishing, village tours, scenic flights and mokoro canoe trips.

One, two or three days around the river

Kasane works best as a short, focused stop. These routes use only the activities and day trips covered above.

A small airport, a long road and a new bridge

Kasane Airport (BBK) is on the A33 road, about 4 km south of the town, and mainly serves tourism because of its proximity to Chobe National Park. Air Botswana lists scheduled routes to Gaborone, Johannesburg, Maun, Cape Town, Mbombela and Windhoek, and Airlink flies to Johannesburg; schedules vary, so confirm with the airlines before booking. Most lodges in the area offer airport shuttles.

By road, Kasane is about 8 hours from Maun, and the town is 15 to 20 minutes from the Kazungula border. The Kazungula Bridge, which opened on 10 May 2021 and replaced the old Kazungula Ferry, crosses the Zambezi to Zambia; it is 923 metres long and has pedestrian walkways. A separate road runs 70 km east to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, a passenger ferry crosses the Chobe River to the Kasika border crossing in Namibia, and a tarred road runs 51 km west to the Namibian border at Ngoma.

What you pay for, and where to check the price

We have not found a reliable, current, official rate sheet for Kasane, and published prices for cruises and park fees disagree between sources, so this guide does not quote figures it cannot verify. Here is what the costs consist of and who to ask.

A Level 2 country, with wildlife and malaria to plan for

The US State Department rates Botswana Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution (advisory issued June 2026), mainly because of crime: petty crime and crimes of opportunity are common, and potentially violent crimes such as home invasions, muggings and vehicle smash-and-grabs also occur. Keep valuables out of sight and out of parked vehicles.

Two concerns are specific to the Kasane area: wildlife and mosquitoes. Elephants and hippos live along the river, so follow your guide's instructions on cruises and drives. The CDC lists Chobe, including Chobe National Park, as a malaria transmission area in Botswana, and recommends prescription medicine to prevent malaria when visiting such areas; options include atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine, and some must be started days before travel, so talk to a travel health provider early. Emergency numbers are 999 for police and 997 for an ambulance, according to a University of Pennsylvania Botswana partnership guide. For scams and travel alerts, see our Botswana travel alerts page.

Waterfalls, a border island and the next country

Kasane's position near the meeting point of four countries makes it a natural base for short cross-border trips. Check visa and border requirements for your nationality in advance.

Victoria Falls 70 km by road

The road east from Kasane runs 70 km to Victoria Falls. Chobe Safari Lodge offers Victoria Falls day excursions, and a bus service runs between Kasane and Victoria Falls. Browse Victoria Falls tours if you would rather not organise it yourself.

Livingstone Just over an hour by road

Livingstone in Zambia is just over an hour's drive from Kasane, over the Kazungula Bridge, which also has pedestrian walkways.

Impalila Island Namibian island across the river

The Namibian island of Impalila lies across the river from Kasane. Day trips for Botswana visitors without a visa are possible, according to one guide; confirm entry requirements before travelling.

The Okavango Delta Via Maun · separate leg

Maun, the Okavango Delta gateway, is a long drive or a short flight away and is better treated as its own leg of a trip. See our Maun city guide.