We’ve taken a lot of really cool and unique cruises in our lives. Some of our favorites have taken us down the Nile River, to orca pods in Norway’s frozen fjords, and all the way to the North Pole. But the Zambezi Queen river cruise safari might be our all time favorite cruise.
Somewhere along the border of Botswana and Namibia is a portion of the Chobe River known as Africa’s Garden of Eden. Here, elephants bathe, hippos nap in the shallows, and giraffes casually stroll along the shore. All of this is happening right outside your boat.
A cruise onboard the Zambezi River provides 3 days of front row seats to wildlife encounters that you usually only see in nature documentaries. Here’s what it’s like to experience a river cruise safari.
The Zambezi Queen: A Floating Boutique Safari Lodge
More of a floating boutique lodge than a cruise ship, the Zambezi Queen is the most luxurious way to go on a safari.
The bottom two floors of the boat are lodging. Each room has AC and a king or 2 twin-sized beds complete with fluffy pillows and safari animal-themed linens. The private balcony lets in lots of natural light and gives panoramic views of the African landscape outside. It’s very likely you’ll be able to spot hippos and elephants right from your balcony!
The suites’ private bathrooms are very modern and spacious for a ship, stocked with luxurious toiletries.
On the top level of the ship are the boat’s shared spaces: a dining room, bar, spa, lounge, and open-air deck with sun loungers and a small pool. The entire space is decorated elegantly, in natural fibers and colors that compliment the beauty surrounding the ship.
A safari cruise on the Zambezi Queen lasts three days. Here’s a sample itinerary of a day onboard.
Early Morning Excursion
Guests have the option to start their day with a 6:30 am excursion to either go fishing or bird watching. I chose to go fishing the first morning, and while we did try (and fail) to catch fish, the wildlife encounters turned out to be the best part of the excursion. As the sun rose over the river, we spotted dozens of hippos, elephants, and birds coming out for their morning bathing.
If you’re not a morning person, you can enjoy a slow morning onboard the ship instead. While I fished, Kara enjoyed sipping coffee on our balcony and doing yoga on the top deck while spotting crocodiles and hippos.
Breakfast
Breakfast cooked each morning by award-winning chefs includes a variety of things like omelets, oatmeal, and of course, coffee.
Morning Excursion
After breakfast, it’s time for your first (yes, first) safari of the day. You’ll board a smaller ship and be handed a chilled glass of South African wine to enjoy during the cruise. If you’re an animal lover, which we assume you are, be prepared to cry real tears of joy during this excursion.
In just a couple of hours, we spotted eagles sitting on trees, swimming crocodiles, giraffes, and groups of hippos all napping in the water. Our favorite part was the families of elephants chilling along the shore. Seriously, the teeny tiny baby elephant trunks were beyond precious. There were safari trucks on land seeing the same thing as us, but our boat let us get 5 times closer to the animals.
Lunch & Recharge
After the morning excursion, we liked to do a quick workout on the deck before lunch. One afternoon, we literally saw 40+ elephants right near the boat as we worked out. That moment alone would have made this whole cruise 100% worth it.
Lunch is served buffet-style, including a wide range of options like freshly baked bread, a cheese platter, beef and veggie pies, quiche, thai salad, and melt-in-your-mouth lemon meringue.
Afternoon Excursion
The best thing about this cruise is that the itinerary is completely customizable. If you prefer a more relaxing vacation, you can ditch any of the excursions and chill on the boat. Plus, you’ll totally be able to see wildlife from the boat, so you won’t miss out on much.
But if you want adventure, the afternoon calls for another boat safari. One afternoon, our boat got so close to a crocodile that we could see all of its huge, sharp teeth. Honestly, that was a little scary. With being so close to all this wildlife, we were able to observe them just living their lives. We saw elephants collecting river grass for eating, cleaning off the dirt so it wouldn’t ruin their teeth. On the nearby shore, a group of baboons was breastfeeding their babies and giving each other baths. So cool, right?!
Dinner & Relaxing
After returning from the afternoon excursion, you can treat yourself with a massage or facial in the ship’s spa.
Dinner every night is an amazing 4 course meal. Expect dishes like bowls of creamy butternut squash soup, roasted pesto eggplant, juicy steak, grilled fish, and white chocolate mousse.
After dinner, we would spend hours relaxing on the deck together. We drank glasses of wine on lounge chairs and watched the sunset over the river while chilling in the pool. African sunsets are absolutely mindblowing, with more vibrant colors than we’ve seen anywhere else in the world.
The turn-down service each night means you return to your room after a long day of exploring with the bed all ready for you. Sleep tight!
We had such high expectations before going into this trip and somehow they were all wildly exceeded. The cruise aspect of the safari allowed us to get so up close and personal with the animals. We’re not sure if we’ll ever be able to go back to an on-land safari after this.
Want to see our full experience on the Zambezi Queen river cruise? Check out the video below!
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