Travel and Tourism Information

Travel - International

AIR

The national airline is Air Botswana (BP) which only operates within Africa.

International Airports Sir Seretse Khama International (GBE) is 15km (9 miles) northwest of Gaborone. There are no regular bus services to and from the airport but several hotels run minibuses (combis). Taxis are available to the city centre (travel time - 15 minutes). Airport facilities include left luggage (0530-1800), bank (Barclays Bank available for all flights), bar (0800-1830), snack bar (0800-1830), restaurant (0800-1830), post office (0800-1700), shops and car rental (Avis and Imperial). There is a major airport at Kasane (north Botswana) and at Selebi-Phikwe, which take international flights.

Maun International Airport (MUB) receives direct flights from Johannesburg, Windhoek and Gaborone. This gateway to the Okavango Delta is served by Air Botswana, Air Namibia and several charters. For information on charters, see the Travel – Internal section.

RIVER

A car ferry operates across the Zambezi River to Zambia.

RAIL

There are good connections between South Africa and Botswana (Johannesburg–Mafikeng–Ramatlhabama–Gaborone) and Botswana and Zimbabwe (Gaborone–Francistown–Bulawayo–Harare). From Gaborone to Bulawayo takes 20 hours; passengers are advised to take their own food and drink as the buffet has a limited range. There are three classes, and sleeping compartments are available. First-class cars have comfortable reclining seats. Complicated formalities may be necessary for crossing the border from Zimbabwe and to or from South Africa, where the South African Customs Union agreement is in operation. Botswana has assisted in the construction of the Limpopo line from Zimbabwe to Mozambique, an act which will speed up the availability of alternative routes into Botswana. Other plans include extending the network into Namibia.

ROAD

There are reasonable roads running roughly along the same routes as the railway, linking Botswana with South Africa and Zimbabwe. There is also road access from Namibia. Bus: Services are available from Namibia and Zimbabwe. Frequent services also operate between Gaborone and Johannesburg.

Travel - Internal

AIR

Major areas of the country are linked by air. There are airports in Francistown, Ghanzi, Jwaneny, Kasane, Maun, Pont Drift and Selebi-Phikwe. Many visitors use charter companies based in Maun to fly to the various lodges in Botswana. These include Delta Air, Mack Air, Moremi Air Services, Northern Air, Sefofane and Wildlife Helicopters. Kalahari Air Services offers charters within Botswana and to Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

RAIL

The main railway line runs between Ramatlhabama and Francistown. Work on upgrading and extending the rail network continues. In Botswana, children under seven travel free and children aged seven to 11 pay half fare.

ROAD

Botswana has good tarmac roads on the following routes: running from south to north from Lobatse to Francistown up to Ramokgwebana and from Lobatse to Jwaneng; running from Francistown to Kazungula via Nata. There are over 2500km (1500 miles) of bitumised roads in the country. Others are either gravel or sand tracks. Drivers should be careful as many drivers ignore safety rules. There are plans to construct a road network with more major highways. Reserve fuel and at least 20l of water, plus emergency supplies, should always be carried on journeys into more remote areas, and visitors are advised to make careful enquiries before setting out. Wildlife and stray livestock may occasionally pose a hazard, especially in more remote areas. Bus: There are bus services between Gaborone and Francistown, and from Francistown to Nata and Maun. Buses from Francistown to Maun run every day. The journey takes about six hours. Timetables can be obtained from bus operators. Taxi: There is taxi service in all major towns, and it is generally safe. Prices should, however, be agreed before embarking on journey. Car hire: Services are available in Gaborone, Francistown or Maun. 4-wheel-drive vehicles are necessary in many areas. Toyota Double Cabs are particularly recommended. Traffic drives on the left and seat belts must be worn. It is advisable to keep the petrol tank at least half full as distances between towns can be long. There is a speed limit of 120kph (75mph) outside built-up areas, and about 60kph (37mph) in built-up areas. Speed limits are strongly enforced with high fines.

Documentation: An International Driving Permit is not legally required, but is recommended for stays of up to six months, but a European licence valid for six months after arrival will also usually suffice; thereafter, a Botswana driving licence must be obtained, which will be issued without a test if a valid British licence is produced.

URBAN

Public transport within towns consists of share-taxis or minibus services operating at controlled flat fares. Exclusive use of taxis is sometimes available at a higher charge although fares should always be agreed before setting off.

Resorts & Excursions

The South East

Botswana is a vast, flat dry land, as big as France, but with a population of only 1.6 million, many of whom live in or near the two main cities of Gaborone and Francistown. Over 80 per cent of the country is semi-desert, but, in spite of this, abundant wildlife thrives, and with so few people, Botswana boasts the largest percentage of land given over to wildlife in the world - a remarkable 17 per cent is national park, and with the many huge private concessions in the Okavango Delta and Tuli Block, it reaches a staggering 38 per cent. All national parks and game reserves have camping areas. For all information and reservations within the National Parks, contact the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, PO Box 20365, next to Police Station, Maun; (tel: 661 265; fax: 661 264); and PO Box 131, Queens Road, Government Enclave, Gaborone; (tel: 580 774; fax: 580 775; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; website: www.gov.bw/tourism)

GABORONE: The capital, Gaborone, is situated in the southeast of the country. There is an excellent National Museum open from Tues-Fri 0900-1800 and weekends 0900-1700, with natural history and ethnological exhibitions. As well as permanent displays, there are also temporary exhibitions and various symposia and conferences. Gaborone has several good bookshops and libraries, including the University of Botswana Library which has a 'Botswana Room' devoted solely to publications on the country. There are good craft shops and markets in the town, where pottery, basketwork, leatherwork and handwoven objects can be bought

Excursions: The 600 ha Gaborone Game Reserve, along the Ngotwane River, about 5km east of central Gaborone, is nothing like as good for game as the major parks, but does have a number of species of antelope. Ten kilometres southwest of the city is the privately operated, 3000 ha Mokolodi Nature Reserve, where visitors can go on guided game walks amongst the elephant, cheetah, leopard, and antelope. Both reserves have small numbers of white rhino. The St Claire Lion Park, 14km from the city on the Lobatse road, is a good place to see the animals up close, but in a situation far from a natural environment. It also has a vulture restaurant, children's playground, riding and other entertainments.

The Gaborone Dam is a centre for watersports, and day trips can be made to see local crafts at Oodi, Thamaga and Pilane. A trip to the weaving centre at Lentswe-La-Odi, just north of Gaborone, is especially recommended. Local craftwork can be bought here at a fraction of its cost in the big cities. The centre is a non-profitmaking organisation, with proceeds going back to the craftspeople. Mochudi, also north of Gaborone, is the regional capital of the Bakgatla tribe. The Phuthadikobo Museum chronicles the history of the Bakgatla people in fascinating detail

SEROWE: Halfway between Gaborone and Francistown, Serowe is one of the largest villages in Botswana, the seat of the Bangwato tribe, and the birthplace of Botswana's charismatic first president, Sir Seretse Khama. He is buried in the local graveyard. The Khama III Memorial Museum, located in the Red House at the base of the Serowe Hill has memorabilia of the Khama Family. On Khama III's grave (Sir Seretse's grandfather) is a bronze duiker sculpted by the famous South African artist Anton van Wouw. Thathaganyana Hill is home to the ruins of an 11th-century settlement.

Nearby, the small Khama Rhino Sanctuary houses almost all of Botswana's rhino collection, gathered here to protect them from poachers. There are also 28 other animal species and over 150 bird species.

THE TULI BLOCK: This patchwork of private game ranches and concessions covers about 120,000 hectares in the southeastern corner of the country adjacent to South Africa. It is quite different to anywhere else in Botswana with ruggedly beautiful countryside famed for both its birdwatching potential and its large herds of elephant. The pot pourri of rocks, varying in age from 2700 million to 3700 million years old, makes for incredible scenery. Horseriding safaris are available as are mountain bike tours. Mashatu main camp and Mashatu tented camp are in the are

The Northeast

FRANCISTOWN: Francistown is a stopping-off point for visitors on the way to the Okavango, Moremi and Chobe game reserves. The area has been inhabited for about 80,000 years, but the town was created in 1867 with the discovery of gold. There are still mines working in the area. The Supa-Ngwao Museum has displays on local history, an information centre and a craft shop with books and maps. There are several reasonable hotels and restaurants, and some of Botswana's best nightlife, which is still somewhat limited

MAKGADIKGADI AND NXAI PANS: Situated only 37km (23 miles) north of the main Francistown to Maun road, the entrance to Nxai Pan National Park marks the start of a vast area (roughly the size of Portugal) once covered in giant, shallow salt lakes. Only rare shallow islands of palms and baobabs break the flatness of the countryside. The 2578 sq km park, incorporating the Nxai and Kgama-Kgama Pans, is grassland, teeming with plain animals such as zebra and wildebeest.

The sands of the Makgadikgadi Pans, part of which is protected by a 4900 sq km national park, gleam white with salt in the dry season, transform into a shimmering lake in the rainy season, when thousands of brilliant pink flamingoes arrive to paddle in the brine. Herds of zebra and wildebeest also come to drink here. When the Makgadikgadi loses its water the animals move on to the Boteti River where they remain until the following rainy season, which heralds their movement northwards again to the Nxai Pan. A new cultural village, Planet Baobab, has been established close to the Nxai Pan, and luxury camps in this area include Jack's Camp and San Camp. Non-game-viewing activities include quad biking in the dry seaso

The Northwest

Kasane: Both border crossing and safari town, Kasane lies on the Chobe River between the Chobe National Park and the Zimbabwean border. It is a pleasant little town, with a good range of lodges, hotels and campsites including the Cresta Mowana, Chobe Game Lodge, Chobe Chilwero and Chobe Valley Lodge (all in the luxury end of the market); and Kubu Lodge and Chobe Safari Lodge and Kasane Marina Lodge (standard accommodation). It also has an airport, used mainly by charter flights taking people deep into the Delta or southern Chobe; most international arrivals use Victoria Falls, only 40 minutes' drive away, in Zimbabwe. Like Maun, Kasane has a wide range of tour operators and facilities such as banks

CHOBE NATIONAL PARK: An area of 10,566 sq km (4081 square miles) this is the home of a splendid variety of wildlife, including elephants who move in their thousands along the well-worn paths of the Chobe River every afternoon to drink. Chobe boasts the highest elephant population in the world, with an estimated 45,000 to 90,000 elephant. There are also large herds of buffalo to be seen at the river's edge, as well as hippo, lechwe, kudu, impala, roan and puku. The tourists, like the elephants all tend to congregate in a narrow, 20km (12 mile) strip in the north of the park, doing game drives from the lodges in Kasane. It is undoubtedly spectacular, but it is also very crowded with other vehicles and boats.

In an effort to spread people and elephants out and save the river's eco-system, the park authorities are now pumping water to a series of waterholes in the Nogatsaa area, about 65km (40 miles) south. As yet, there are only simple campsites in this dry area, but better facilities are being planned.

Further south and west, the Linyanti Marshes are a mini-version of the Okavango, a river twisted by a volcanic fault to splay out into a lush green, animal rich oasis. Nearby the Savuti area marks the northern shore of what was once the giant superlake which covered most of Botswana, its flat dry lakebed now a sea of grass, scattered by rocky kopjes beloved of leopards and baboons.

With the exception of certain sections, which are closed in the rainy season during November to April, the park is open throughout the year. The best time to visit it is between May and September when it is possible to see several thousand animals in a day. In the Linyanti region the camps include Kings Pool Camp, Selinda Camp, Zibalianja and Lebala Lodge. Although this is the most developed of Botswana's parks and reserves, many of the roads in the area are passable only by four-wheel-drive vehicles.

THE TSODILO HILLS: Situated northwest of the Okavango Delta close to the border with the Caprivi Strip (Namibia), these four granite ridged hills (Male, Female and Child Hills, plus a fourth, unnamed and said to be the first, discarded wife) are considered to be a sacred site by the Basarwa (San or Bushmen), who regard them as the final resting place of the dead, and the home of the gods. Known to have been inhabited for at least 100,000 years, they have been decorated with around 4000 rock paintings, mostly portraying animal life; the eldest of the paintings is believed to date back more than 4000 years. The hills are reached by air or road but there are no camping facilities or water supplies so visitors should allow for water, food and fuel needs. The Caprivi strip is currently suffering from security problems, so visitors should take advice before travelling in this area

The Delta

MAUN: On the southern edge of the Okavango Delta, nearly 950km northwest of Gaborone, Maun is the main jumping off point for most tourists visiting Botswana. It is a sprawling, scruffy little town, founded in 1915 as the administrative centre for the Batawana people. It has an international airport and a number of reasonable hotels, including Riley's Hotel, Sedia Hotel and Maun Lodge while lodges include Crocodile Camp, Audi Camp and Island Safari Lodge. Okavango River Lodge is a campsite. Most hotels have a swimming pool as well as bar and restaurant. This is also the best place to book safaris, with many tour operators' offices, a National Park office and the only banks for several hundred miles.

There is an 8 sq km game reserve with several pleasant walking trails along the Thamalakane River near Riley's Hotel.

OKAVANGO DELTA: Undoubtedly the most striking region in the north of the country, situated in the Kgalagadi (or Kalahari) Desert and easily accessible from Maun. It is the greatest inland delta system in the world. The region is extremely beautiful, covering an area of about 15,000 sq km (5600 sq miles) and composed of vast grass flats, low tree-covered ridges and a widespread network of narrow waterways opening into lagoons. The thick reeds and grasses which thrive in these waters make much of the delta section impenetrable except by dug-out canoe (mokoro), which is the local people's traditional form of transport. The waters are clear, and crocodiles, hippos and hundreds of fabulous birds can be seen, as well as elephants, zebras and giraffes.

The few people who live here are mainly fishermen, in the west. The only part of the park that is officially protected is the Moremi National Park in the east (see below). Most of the land in the delta is carved up into giant private concessions, scattered by luxury lodges and camps, including Mombo, Xigera, Kwetsani, Xudum, Rann's, Gubanare, Chiefs Camp, Khwai River Lodge, Eagle Island Camp, Xaxanaxa, Shinde, Camp Okavango, Camp Moremi, Xugana, Tsaro, Nxabega and Sandibe. Bizarrely, with the channels and lagoons shifting every season, these lodges, as the only permanent landmarks, have become an integral part of mapping and navigating in the Delta.

The Delta has three main areas - the Panhandle, a 9 mile (15km) wide fault in the northwest, where the fishing is superb but the game-viewing less spectacular; the central permanent swamp, with its maze of pans and watermeadows; and the arid seasonal swamps to the south and east.

Although the Delta is home to about 36 species of large mammals, 480 species of birds, 80 species of fish and a wealth of flora, it is not the best place in Africa to find big game - there is plenty there, but it is often hard to see.

The Delta has its own micro-climate with three main seasons. It is warm to hot and dry in August to November, which is when the game-viewing is at its best, but the water is too low for many mokoro trips. December to March is hot and wet, the game vanishes into the undergrowth, but the bird and plant life is at its best. Many lodges close. April to August is cooler and dry, but with flood waters from the Angolan Highlands still fuelling the river channels.

MOREMI GAME RESERVE: This beautiful park covers 1812 sq km (700 sq miles) in the northeast corner of the Okavango Delta. It comprises permanently swamped areas, seasonally swamped areas and dry land. It not only offers water activities such as boat trips but also top game-viewing and incredible scenery, with giant bullrushes fringing hidden lagoons shining blue between the solid trunks of the baobabs, tottering termite mounds and the cracked red mud plains. Small boats travel around the delta, visiting lagoons like Xaxanaxa, Gcobega and Gcodikwe with their abundance of birdlife. Elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion and most other game can be viewed in abundance. Fishing, walking and night drives are possible outside the park boundaries. South of here, the Gcwihaba Caverns, about 240km (150 miles) from Tsau, contain beautiful stalactites. The name means 'Hyena's Hole' in the Quing language of the Bushmen

The Centre and South CENTRAL KALAHARI GAME RESERVE: This remote and virtually unexplored reserve was set up as a refuge both for animals and the country's few remaining San (Bushmen) people. The terrain is very varied, with open plains, salt pans, sand dunes and mopane scrub in the north (which also has the best game-viewing), bushveld in the centre and woodland in the south. There are five designated but undeveloped campgrounds. Self-drivers with four-wheel-drive vehicles can go year-round with a permit. The Deception Valley area is used by several upmarket mobile safari operators

KHUTSE GAME RESERVE: This 2500 sq km (965 square mile) expanse of dry savannah land in the centre of the Kalahari incorporates a series of shallow pans, which, when filled with water, attract hundreds of bird species as well as an abundance of springbok and ostrich, giraffe, gemsbok, lion, leopard and the rare brown hyena, amongst others. It joins the southern boundary of the Central Kalahari National Park, about 240km (150 miles) northwest of Gaborone. Camping facilities are basic, and water, food and fuel should be brought. Many of the campsites are on the edge of the pan, which enables one to game-watch from the comfort of a camp chair. There are still a few small bands of Basarwa (San) living in this region, one of the last Stone Age races on earth, some of whom guide visitors around the reserve and teach them about edible and moisture-bearing plants and how many of the animals survive despite the lack of water

KGALAGADI TRANSFRONTIER NATIONAL PARK: This remote park straddles the border with South Africa in the southwest of the country, the first of a number of 'peace parks' planned to cross national boundaries and re-open ancient animal migration routes. The park has deep fossil river beds and high sand dunes, and the area is also known for its salt pans which reflect amazing colour changes during the day. Many herds of gemsbok and springbok (as well as other species of antelope), cheetah and famous black-maned Kalahari lion can be seen here and brown hyenas and jackals occur in abundance. The best time to visit is from March to May. It can be reached by a paved road from Gaborone to Tsabong, after which a four-wheel-drive vehicle is necessary. The main entrance, easiest access point and accommodation are all on the South African side of the border in what was the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. At present there is no accommodation on the Botswanan side and you will need to take a tent and all supplies, including water and fuel