4 Best Hotels in Zambezi Region (Caprivi Strip), Namibia

You might be lucky enough to encounter wildlife in and around this unfenced, thatched lodge that’s located under huge jackalberry and mangosteen trees in a private concession within Mudumu National Park. As you sip on a G&T from the lodge’s elevated wooden deck, you can watch hippos wallow amid water lilies and crocs float along the backwaters of the Kwando River. Even if you don’t partake in the daily water cruises and game drives, the owner-run lodge is a peaceful place to relax and offers superb birding with more than 400 species. The chalets are spacious brick and thatch en-suite units that are suitably comfortable but somewhat dated, especially when compared to newer lodges; it can be booked on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.

On the edge of Nkasa Rupara National Park, this intimate, unfenced tented camp—which is part of the award-winning, joint-venture Wuparo conservancy program—offers the best of both worlds, namely river cruises and game drives through wetlands, woodlands, and grass plains. The unpretentious, double-story main lodge has a swimming pool, bar, and a lookout over a natural watering hole that connects to the Kwando-Linyanti river system after heavy rainfall. Bell frogs will sing you to sleep with their chorus that resembles the clinging of glass bells. The stilted, en suite tents are simple and may not meet travelers’ expectations when it comes to the price, but its eco-tourism model that minimizes guests’ carbon footprint and partners closely with local communities is impressive. Their nearby sister property (Jackalberry Tented Camp), also within a concession in the national park, is recommended for those looking for a slightly higher-end stay. 

Set on the banks of the Zambezi River, bordering Katima Mulilo in the Eastern Caprivi, Protea Hotels by Marriott Zambezi has rooms amid colorful bougainvillea bushes and flame trees that attract abundant birdlife. Look for the Cape clawless otters playing in the river. But far from the traditional sounds of Africa, the sounds you are most likely to hear are rap, hip-hop, and hard rock from the radios in the Zambian riverside villages just across the river. It's a convenient stopover offering clean, comfortable, tiled rooms with windows and double doors facing the river, garden, or pool areas. Food is quick and palatable, but don't hold your breath for something special.

The best time of year to visit Serondela Lodge, on the flood plains of the Chobe River, is just after the rainy season (October – March), when the Zambezi Region erupts in bursts of green and swells with an abundance of wildlife. The thatched southwest-facing lodge directly looks out onto Botswana’s Chobe National Park, a mere 200 meters across the river, which makes for delightful game spotting (especially elephants) from the wooden deck. A lunch-time or sundowners river cruise is a must for bird watching and photography. (The lodge can also be accessed from Kasane, Botswana, just 17km away).