Botswana holidays

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• Overview
• Country info
• Holiday ideas
• Holiday offers

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Destinations » Africa holidays » Botswana holidays

"The miraculous thing about the Kalahari is that it is a desert only in the sense that it contains no permanent surface water. Otherwise its deep fertile sands are covered with grass glistening in the wind like fields of gallant corn." Laurens Van Der Post, 1958

Taken from The Traveller's Handbook.

Botswana holiday experts at WEXAS will tailor-make all aspects of your itinerary to create a Botswana holiday, personal to you.

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Botswana tailor-made holiday highlights

Okavango Delta
Described as 'the river that never finds the sea'. Paddle through the maze of waterways and islands in the world's greatest inland delta, teeming with wildlife and as remote as you can get. Travel is by speedboat or dug-out canoe, accommodation is in tents beneath the big African moon.

Chobe National Park
Catch sight of thousands of elephants in perhaps Africa's top park for the pachyderm. A sunset cruise along the Chobe River will bring you up close and personal to crocodile, hippo, gazelle, giraffe and others too.

Kalahari
Marvel at the vastness and greenness of this empty quarter, equivalent to 85 per cent of the country. The Kalahari is home to the last remaining San Bushmen. Tsodilo Hills Visit 4,000 rock paintings daubed here by ancestral Bushmen in times gone by, when the land was theirs and these four granite hills were worshipped as the home of the gods. The hills are sacred to the San, in much the same way as Uluru is to Australia's aborigines.

Gaborone
Sprawling modern capital city. Its premier attraction is the National Museum & Art Gallery, including historic artefacts and some pieces of San artwork.

Makgadikgadi Pans
The bed of a once-massive super-lake that covered much of central and northern Botswana. This flat salt-laked expanse is transformed in the rainy season into a wonderful watery landscape full of birds and wildlife.

People & place

Botswana facts

Capital: Gaborone
Language: English and Setswana.
People: Tswana (98%).
Religion:
Size (sq km): 581,730.
Population: 1,680,863.
Population density/sq km: 2.9

Etiquette

As most people in Botswana follow their traditional pattern of life, visitors should be sensitive to local customs. This is particularly true in rural areas, where people may be unaccustomed to visitors.

Shopping

Woodcarvings, handcrafted jewellery and basketry.

Food & drink

Basic outside major hotels. Local dishes include Morama, an underground tuber, Mopane worm, boiled, cooked or fried, and the Kalahari truffle.

International Airports

Gaborone Sir Seretse Khama International (GBE), 15 km from the city, Maun International Airport (MUB).

Internal travel

Air Botswana runs flights between major cities. Good train links between Francistown, Gaborone and Lobatse. Six major bus routes. Car hire can be arranged in Gaborone, Francistown or Maun. Taxis available in major towns. Hitchhiking is so institutionalised it carries a set charge.

Red tape

Visas

(UK/US) None.

Vaccinations

BCG, Cholera, Hep. A, Hep. B, Malaria, Polio, Rabies, Typhoid, Y. Fever2

Driving requirements

An International Driving Permit not legally required but recommended for longer stays, otherwise a UK licence must be carried. After 6 months a Botswana licence must be carried.

Reps in UK/US

UK: 6 Stratford Place, London W1C 1AY, tel (020) 7499 0031, fax (020) 7495 8595. US: 1531 - 33 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036, tel (202) 244 4990, fax (202) 244 4164, email cratsiripe@gov.bw

UK/US reps in Botswana

UK: Private Bag 0023, Gaborone, tel 395 2841, fax 395 6105, email bhc@botsnet.bw. US: PO Box 90 Gaborone, tel 395 3982, fax 395 6947, email ircgaborone@state.gov

Currency

Pula (P) = 100 thebe.

Finance

Limited acceptance of credit cards. Hotels accept traveller's cheques but the surcharge can be high.

Business hours

0800-1700 April-October, 0730-1630 October-April.

Safety & life expectancy

Safety information

Safe.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy: M 33.89, F 33.84.

Useful websites for travel

www.botswanaembassy.org, http://gaborone.usembassy.gov, www.botswana.uk.com, http://botswana.embassyhomepage.com

Local media

Botswana Daily News is produced daily in Setswana and English, The Botswana Gazette, The Botswana Guardian, Mmegi and The Midweek Sun are weekly English-language papers. Two TV channels, one state-owned, three radio stations, one state-owned.

Tourist boards

UK: As embassy address tel (020) 7647 1018

Below is a selection of some ideas for holidays to Botswana. This is simply a taste of what we can offer. If you're interested in a specific Botswana itinerary then please call one of our consultants on 0845 643 6562.

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Botswana Wilderness Safari

Spend an amazing six nights in the wilderness areas of the Okavango Delta and the Linyanti Concession, viewing game in safari vehicles or by canoe through the waterways of the delta. Stay in tented lodges and fly between them to maximise your time in this pris...

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4-day Zambezi Queen River Safari

The banks of the Chobe River not only divide Namibia’s Caprivi Strip from Botswana’s Chobe National Park, they also boast one of the densest populations of wildlife on the African continent, including lion, leopard, buffalo, waterbuck, roan, eland,...

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Luxury Botswana safari

This laidback yet luxurious safari visits three of the beautiful lodges owned by high-end safari specialist and conservation company &Beyond, a close partner of WEXAS. Enjoy an air-safari around the famous Chobe National Park and the sprawling wetlands of ...

Please call 0845 643 6562 for price details.

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Botswana Uncovered with Victoria Falls

This safari takes in the wilderness area of the Okavango Delta in Botswana with its bountiful game and bird life. This is one of the last true wilderness areas in the world and remains unspoiled. The sumptuous accommodation is provided by &Beyond who aside...

Please call 0845 643 6562 for price details.

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