Fodor's Expert Review Cresta Mowana Safari Resort & Spa

Built around an 800-year-old baobab tree situated among lovely private gardens on the banks of the Chobe River, you'll find this lodge just 8 km (5 miles) from the entrance to Chobe National Park. Like its older sister, Chobe Safari Lodge, farther downstream, this lodge is more like a hotel than a safari lodge. That's not to say that you still won't get your full safari experience; you'll just be a bit cocooned away from the actual wilderness. Pleasantly decorated with an ethnic African theme, all 106 air-conditioned rooms overlook the river, on which you'll probably spend a fair amount of time bird-watching, game-viewing, or fishing. Morning and evening drives are available, but because the river roads are few, your game-viewing can sometimes become rather crowded in peak season. You can take a short flight or helicopter ride over the nearby Victoria Falls, go white-water rafting on the Zambezi, indulge in a spa treatment, or try a host of other activities. Children under 12 stay free.