Elephant Trail Guesthouse and Backpackers — Hotel in Chobe District

A unique, quirky and the most affordable stay in Kasane. It's actually a bit out of the main Kasane town in a remote neighborhood; the guesthouse doesn't discourage walking, but locals were strongly advising that walking after dusk was not safe due to wildlife and potential crime, and you need to factor that when arranging taxis around as some taxis drop off at a location that requires walking a distance...ensure the taxi will drop you directly at the guesthouse.||The accommodation is very comfortable, great beds, but be aware that the onsite services are limited. It's intended for those that self-cater, and the kitchen is reasonably equipped for basic meal preparation; they do have a braai/BBQ available to use, which some guests from the regional area used quite a bit, so give it a try. Bar had nothing to offer except beer, not even water or soft drinks, so shop at the local grocery accordingly. ||Bathroom had a few showers with hot water, and some that didn't, and they have a canvass zip up up closure. The hot water was plentiful and powerful. They provide towels and bathroom tissue, but of course you'll need your own other toiletries.||Staff were nice and kind, if not completely up-to-speed. The kind of service where they smile if you have a request for some type of assistance, but then walk away and not follow up. For example, the activities are by far the least expensive you'll find for Chobe (and I've been about 15 times), but you also get what you pay for, and they don't explain any details when booking the activities. The Chobe safari is always incredible, but the guide only had basic knowledge, so don't expect any wildlife lessons. I will compliment the guesthouse for providing extremely warm robes to wear for the early and freezing time that we departed...I would have had hypothermia without them, and I noted no other safari vehicle passengers had the same warm clothing provided by their operator. Standard sunset safari cruises have beverages, nibbles and a toilet, but not the operator they use, which has a very small boat...there is a wine and spirits shop directly off the pier that it departs from, so stock up....as for the bathroom, when a fellow passenger had to use the bathroom the guide connected with another boat and did a transfer back/forth mid river...so there's always a solution. The river safari guide was better than the land guide, and I really respected that he was very sensitive to our proximity to wildlife, especially the elephants, to not negatively impact them....whereas other boats would get WAY too close and disturb the elephants, and those boats really impacted the wildlife negatively and visibly. I recommend booking your activities with the guesthouse, but plan accordingly with the above advice.||Almost forgot...they are completing a very good looking pool on the property. Looks great for a...

Unfortunatly, I have to remove two stars due to our disappointing experience with the safari. We had booked a "combo day" that included a morning safari and a boat cruise for sunset. The boat cruise went very well: the guide was knowledgeable and the atmosphere was enjoyable. However, the safari was a real letdown. While it started off well, with interesting explanations and photo stops, things took a turn as the guide became increasingly impatient. He stopped making photo breaks, drove way too fast, didn’t turn off the engine, and no longer allowed us to observe the animals properly. In the end, we had to ask him to stop so that elephants could pass in front of us. The worst moment came when we encountered two lionesses. The guide made a loud and clumsy U-turn, which startled one of the lionesses and caused her to walk away—preventing us from catching her eyes. It was incredibly frustrating. We couldn’t enjoy that moment. At the end, No closing words, no goodbye, no request for feedback at the end. We shared our disappointment at the reception because it was important for us. The three of us shared this feeling of frustration.

This safari left us disappointed, and we were actually relieved to go back to our self-drive the next day.

In summary: Elephant Backpackers is a place we would recommend, but please be more mindful of the guides you work with for the safaris !!!

Otherwise : Great place. The staff is friendly and accommodating. We wanted to book a second night on the same day, and they kindly transferred our belongings for us. The place is pleasant, with a beautiful pool, clean and comfortable rooms. We had no issues with safety or theft...

We upgrade to the "Garden Room" witch is supposed to be the best. What a joke!|This is a dump. The bed was dirty, toilet seat broken and it looks like someone just had a shower, it was brown inside with dirt.|Fridge in the room was not working. ||The air-conditioning unit looks like it came out of a war zone, it worked for 5 min then died, it is literally held together with duck tape. ||The room size is that of a prison cell and is purple. ||Upon arrival we had a tour, there is a shared kitchen with no utensils and a broken down fridge witch does not keep anything cold.|There is a braai area but no braai grid or braai utensils.|When we enqiured about this the receptionist said there is none and we can buy our own by the shops in town. ||The food they serve (no choice at all) looks like prison food and has an awful smell. There is also no vegetarian or vegan options. This is survival. ||The bar area is nothing like on the web site, it is the size of a single room, cramped, dark and decapitated. ||The whole backpackers is held together by a prayer and is situated in the hart of a rural area with nothing around but houses and nothing is in walking distance. ||The staff is extremely rude and unhelpful, any positive reviews was surely posted by them or there friend's. ||Rather burn your money or flush it down the toilet. This is really cheap and nasty.|This is a horror show. Do not go there.|Sic...