Find places in Botswana

Must-Haves

• Three Dikgosi Monument (Central Business District)
  Giant bronze statues of the three chiefs who travelled to London in 1895 to keep Botswana free of Cecil Rhodes.
• National Museum and Art Gallery (Independence Avenue)
  A compact introduction to Tswana history, San culture, wildlife and contemporary Botswana art.
• Thapong Visual Arts Centre (Village)
  An artists' workshop and gallery in an old colonial house, showing painters and sculptors from across the country.

Great for Date Night

• Maitisong Cultural Centre (Maruapula)
  The city's main stage for theatre, music and the long running Maitisong Festival.

Off the Beaten Path

• Manyana Rock Paintings (Manyana)
  Faded San rock paintings under a fig tree overhang, an easy half day trip from the capital.

Must-Haves

• Mokolodi Nature Reserve (Mokolodi)
  A community nature reserve just south of the city with game drives, rhino tracking and bush walks.

Fun for Everyone

• Kgale Hill (Kgale)
  A short, steep hike with baboons for company and the best view over Gaborone and its dam.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Gaborone Game Reserve (Broadhurst)
  A small reserve inside the city where zebra, wildebeest and kudu graze minutes from the traffic.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gaborone Dam (Kgale)
  A wide reservoir where locals walk, fish and watch the sunset over the water.

Must-Haves

• Botswanacraft (Main Mall area)
  The best single place for San jewellery, Etsha baskets and Thamaga pottery, with a courtyard restaurant.

Fun for Everyone

• Main Mall (Central Business District)
  The original pedestrian mall, with street traders, cheap snacks and the everyday buzz of the capital.
• Riverwalk Mall (Riverwalk)
  A popular mall with cafés, a cinema and plenty of shady places to sit.
• Game City (Kgale View)
  The largest mall in the city, handy for supplies, SIM cards and a cinema night.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Airport Junction Mall (Block 10)
  A big mall on the road to the airport, useful for last minute shopping before you fly.

Must-Haves

• Courtyard Restaurant at Botswanacraft (Main Mall area)
  Leafy courtyard lunches of local dishes next to the country's best craft shop.

Great for Date Night

• Caravela Portuguese Restaurant (Village)
  Portuguese grills and seafood in a long established, candlelit favourite.
• Mokolodi Restaurant (Mokolodi Nature Reserve)
  Dinner overlooking a waterhole inside the nature reserve.

Fun for Everyone

• Bull and Bush (Village)
  A legendary pub restaurant with a big garden, pizzas, steaks and live sport.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Seswaa stalls at the Main Mall (Central Business District)
  Plastic chairs, pap and slow cooked seswaa: the way most Batswana eat lunch.

Must-Haves

• Sanitas Tea Garden (Gaborone South)
  A garden centre café among plants and trees, loved by families for weekend breakfasts.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Magwinya stands at the bus rank (Bus Rank)
  Hot fat cakes straight from the oil, a classic Gaborone breakfast on the go.

Must-Haves

• Maitisong Festival (Maruapula)
  The country's biggest performing arts festival, with theatre, jazz and dance each autumn.

Fun for Everyone

• Independence Day celebrations (National Stadium)
  Parades, music and fireworks around 30 September, when the whole country turns blue, black and white.

Must-Haves

• Avani Gaborone Resort and Casino (Kgale)
  A large resort with pools and a casino, a reliable choice for first nights.

Great for Date Night

• Peermont Mondior Gaborone (Central Business District)
  Modern rooms in the CBD with a rooftop feel and easy access to restaurants.

Fun for Everyone

• Grand Palm Hotel (Molepolole Road)
  A sprawling hotel and casino complex with pools and several restaurants.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mokolodi Chalets (Mokolodi Nature Reserve)
  Self catering chalets inside the reserve, with game wandering past at dawn.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Cresta Lodge Gaborone (Samora Machel Drive)
  A dependable mid-range hotel with gardens, close to the city centre.

Fun for Everyone

• Khama Rhino Sanctuary (Serowe)
  A community sanctuary where white and black rhino are easy to see, a few hours north of the capital.

Must-Haves

• Mokoro trip in the Okavango Delta (Boro and Delta channels)
  Glide through papyrus and water lilies in a dugout poled by a local guide.
• Scenic flight over the Okavango Delta (Maun Airport)
  A short flight that shows the Delta's channels, islands and herds from above.
• Helicopter Horizons (Maun Airport)
  Doors off helicopter flights over the Delta for unbeatable photographs.

Off the Beaten Path

• Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust (Boro)
  Book mokoro trips through the community trust so the money stays with local polers.

Must-Haves

• Moremi Game Reserve (South Gate)
  The Delta's protected heart, famous for wild dogs, leopards and big cat sightings.

Fun for Everyone

• Thamalakane River (Maun)
  The river through town where you can watch hippos and birds from the lodges.

Off the Beaten Path

• Tsodilo Hills (Ngamiland)
  A UNESCO World Heritage Site holding thousands of San rock paintings, called the Louvre of the Desert.
• Okavango Panhandle (Shakawe)
  The narrow northern Delta, loved by anglers and birders for tigerfish and Pel's fishing owl.

Must-Haves

• Nhabe Museum (Maun)
  A small museum and craft shop in a former military building, telling Ngamiland's story.

Must-Haves

• Hilary's (Mathiba I Road)
  A garden café beloved for homemade breads, soups and generous breakfasts.

Fun for Everyone

• The Duck Café (Airport Road)
  A busy café opposite the airport, perfect before or after a bush flight.

Great for Date Night

• Old Bridge Backpackers bar and restaurant (Thamalakane River)
  Riverside dinners and a sociable bar where every safari story gets told.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Maun market food stalls (Old Mall)
  Seswaa, pap and grilled meat where locals eat, cheap and filling.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Maun Old Mall (Old Mall)
  The town's original shopping street, with banks, supermarkets and craft sellers.

Off the Beaten Path

• Etsha 6 basket weavers (Etsha)
  Villages where Hambukushu women weave the Delta's famous palm baskets.

Must-Haves

• Riley's Hotel (Old Mall)
  Maun's historic hotel, now a comfortable base by the river.

Fun for Everyone

• Old Bridge Backpackers (Thamalakane River)
  Riverside camping and tents with a famous bar, the social hub of Maun.
• Island Safari Lodge (Thamalakane River)
  A long running riverside lodge with chalets, campsites and a pool.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Audi Camp (Shorobe Road)
  A friendly campsite and tented camp that books mokoro and Moremi trips.

Great for Date Night

• Thamalakane River Lodge (Thamalakane River)
  Stone chalets right on the river, peaceful and romantic.

Must-Haves

• Chobe Riverfront (Chobe National Park)
  The densest elephant gatherings in Africa, best on a late afternoon drive.

Off the Beaten Path

• Savuti (Chobe National Park)
  A remote corner of Chobe famous for lions and the strange, returning Savuti Channel.
• Linyanti (Northern Botswana)
  Private concessions with wild dogs and big elephant herds far from other vehicles.

Must-Haves

• Chobe river sunset cruise (Chobe River)
  Elephants swimming, hippos yawning and buffalo on the floodplain, all from a boat.

Fun for Everyone

• Photographic boat safari (Chobe River)
  Boats with swivel camera seats for close, low angle wildlife photographs.
• Victoria Falls day trip (Kazungula)
  Cross into Zimbabwe or Zambia for a day at one of the world's great waterfalls.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kazungula Bridge (Kazungula)
  The striking bridge where four countries almost meet on the Zambezi.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kasane Prison Baobab (Kasane)
  A huge hollow baobab once used as a holding cell, now a curious roadside landmark.

Must-Haves

• The Old House (Kasane)
  A riverside garden restaurant with pizzas, curries and cold drinks.

Great for Date Night

• Mowana Safari Resort restaurant (Kasane)
  Dinner on a terrace built around a giant baobab by the river.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Kasane market stalls (Kasane)
  Grilled meat, fat cakes and fresh fruit from local vendors.

Fun for Everyone

• Chobe Safari Lodge bar (Kasane)
  Sundowners on a deck above the river, popular with every kind of traveller.

Great for Date Night

• Chobe Marina Lodge bar (Kasane)
  Riverside drinks with hippos below and a relaxed evening buzz.

Must-Haves

• Chobe Game Lodge (Chobe National Park)
  The only permanent lodge inside the park, famous for its all female guiding team.

Great for Date Night

• Chobe Chilwero (Kasane)
  A hilltop lodge with sweeping views over the river and floodplain.

Fun for Everyone

• Chobe Safari Lodge (Kasane)
  A big, friendly riverside lodge with rooms, camping and its own boats.
• Mowana Safari Resort and Spa (Kasane)
  A large resort on the river built around a famous baobab.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Thebe River Safaris (Kasane)
  Affordable riverside camping and chalets with park trips on offer.

Must-Haves

• Nxai Pan National Park (Nxai Pan)
  Wide grassland pans with springbok, giraffe and lions at the waterhole.
• Baines' Baobabs (Kudiakam Pan)
  A row of ancient baobabs painted by Thomas Baines in 1862 and barely changed since.
• Makgadikgadi Pans National Park (Boteti River)
  Riverside zebra and wildebeest during the dry season migration along the Boteti.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kubu Island (Sua Pan)
  A rocky granite island of baobabs rising from the white salt pan, magical at sunrise.

Fun for Everyone

• Nata Bird Sanctuary (Nata)
  A community sanctuary where flamingos and pelicans gather in the wet season.

Fun for Everyone

• Meerkat encounters (Ntwetwe Pan)
  Habituated meerkats that stand around you, using you as a lookout post.

Off the Beaten Path

• Quad biking on the pans (Ntwetwe Pan)
  Ride across the salt crust and sleep out under the stars in the dry season.

Must-Haves

• Jack's Camp (Ntwetwe Pan)
  A legendary camp of vintage canvas and Persian rugs on the edge of the pans.

Great for Date Night

• Camp Kalahari (Ntwetwe Pan)
  A relaxed tented camp offering meerkats, San walks and sleep outs.

Fun for Everyone

• Planet Baobab (Gweta)
  Quirky huts among baobabs with a fun bar, a pool and pan trips.

Off the Beaten Path

• Meno a Kwena (Boteti River)
  Tents on a cliff above the Boteti River where zebra come to drink.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Elephant Sands (Nata)
  Simple chalets and camping where wild elephants drink beside the bar.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Planet Baobab bar (Gweta)
  Cold drinks and simple meals under a giant baobab.

Must-Haves

• D'Kar Kuru Art Project (D'Kar, Ghanzi)
  A San artists' cooperative famous for colourful prints and paintings.

Must-Haves

• Supa Ngwao Museum (Francistown)
  A small museum on the region's gold rush history and Kalanga culture.

Off the Beaten Path

• Domboshaba Ruins (Domboshaba)
  Stone walled ruins linked to the Great Zimbabwe culture in quiet countryside.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Francistown Central Market (City centre)
  Fresh produce, phane and everyday goods in a busy local market.

Must-Haves

• Woodlands Stop Over (Tati River)
  Shady camping and chalets just outside town, a classic overland stop.

Fun for Everyone

• Cresta Thapama Hotel (City centre)
  A dependable hotel with a pool and restaurant in the middle of town.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Seswaa at Francistown bus rank (Bus Rank)
  Hearty local plates of pap and meat for travellers passing through.

Off the Beaten Path

• Shashe Dam (Shashe)
  A big reservoir south of town where locals picnic and watch birds.