Cheap flights to Botswana

• Emirates
• Kenya Airways
• Air France
• South African Airways
• British Airways
• Qatar Airways
• Ethiopian Airlines

• Most flights to Botswana are codeshare flights. Depending on the route you take, the time taken to get to Botswana from London Heathrow Airport is about 14 to 19 hours. Cheaper tickets are offered by the codeshared flight of Emirates, Qatar Airways and South African Airways, but they have a longer duration. Those who want to save time and desire not to be fatigued by the two stopovers choose to take a direct flight to Johannesburg and then hop on the next plane bound for Gaborone.
• The trip to Botswana’s capital city, Gaborone, from Manchester, takes 22 hours to reach its destination. These flights usually come with two stopovers: one in the Middle East and the other in Johannesburg.
• Birmingham to Botswana flight is also 18 to 21 hours long, with two stops. The first stopover can be in Paris or Dubai, but the second one is almost always in Johannesburg.
• The flight from London Gatwick Airport to Botswana’s Sir Seretse Khama International Airport has a total duration of 21 hours as well. These flights also come with a stopover in Dubai and another one in South Africa.
• Code shared flight from London Heathrow Airport to Maun, a town near the Okavango in northern Botswana, reaches its destination in 21 hours. The air-journey comes with two stopovers.

For now, there are no direct flights to Botswana offered by any airline operating from the United Kingdom. Passengers prefer to take the cheaper route with two stopovers and save a few hundred pounds. These affordable flights are 20 to 22 hours long with layovers, most probably, in Dubai and Johannesburg. People travelling with kids search for one-stop Botswana flights and take a costlier direct flight to Johannesburg before taking a connecting flight to Gaborone.

Even though there are cheaper tickets available for your trip to Botswana, offered by multiple airlines in codeshare agreements, these flights are long and hectic. Cheap flights to Botswana by South African Airways have the best value. For just a few extra pounds, your journey to Botswana would be over quickly and it will have only one stopover. South African Airways is the best airline for people going on a trip to the Okavango Delta with kids and family.

The first half of the journey is from the UK to Johannesburg. South African Airways flight number SA 235 leaves London Heathrow Airport at 7 PM every single day and land in Johannesburg at 7 in the morning, after travelling for 11 hours. The second portion of your Botswana trip would be a lot shorter. South African operates about 20 flights to Gaborone each week, one of which is the SA 8458 flight. This flight takes off from Johannesburg at 5 PM, every day of the week, and reaches the Botswanan capital at 6 PM. South African Airways also takes passengers from Johannesburg to Maun, in SA 8300, which departs at noon and touches down on Botswanan soil at 1:30 PM every day.

Botswana does not receive much rain, even in the rainy season. The showers are sudden and intense but dissipate as quickly as they form. Coming to Botswana in the rainy season that extends from December to February can let you enjoy your vacations without maxing out your credit cards. The rainy season brings life to Botswana and transforms swaths of the Kalahari Desert into vibrant grassland. Even though the life-bringing floods do not reach their full potential until the end of July, you can still admire the rebirth of the land. In southern Botswana, the weather is pleasant as well. The average temperature remains at an enjoyable 28°C. Cheaper hotel rooms and tickets are readily available to tourists over the Christmas break.

There are a total of four international airports in Botswana; however, the busiest three are listed below. Most British travellers prefer to visit the country via the airport in the capital city, Gaborone.

• Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is the primary gateway to the nation of Botswana, in Gaborone. The airport is named after the first president of the country and has scheduled flight of regional and international airlines, including Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. The airport is only 13 kilometres from the intersection of Nelson Mandela Drive and Molepolole Road. From there, it only takes 20 minutes to reach the airport by car.
• Kasane Airport (BBK) is an airport near the northern border of Botswana. The airport is popular with tourists due to its proximity to the Chobe National Park. Victoria Falls is quite near to the airport, and a shuttle service takes passengers from the airfield to the falls. Only Air Botswana operates flights to this airport, even though the Kasane Airport has been allocated for international arrivals as well. The airport is only 4 kilometres from the city centre.
• Maun Airport (MUB) is situated right at the doorstep of the Okavango River delta. The airport plays an essential part in bringing tourism to the seasonal wetlands of Botswana and Moremi Game Reserve. Apart from Air Botswana, South African Airways also connects this remote but captivating region of the country with the rest of Africa. From the Tewana – Sekgoma intersection, the airport is only 7 minutes away by car.

Travellers with British passports do not require a visa to enter Botswana if their trip does not last for more than ninety days. Please make sure that your passport does not expire in six months after you enter Botswana. The British government advises all travellers to take proper medical precautions. Please read Botswana’s Foreign Travel Advisory on gov.uk for a better understanding.

The best time to visit Botswana is from April to September. Botswana primarily comprises of the Kalahari arid savannah and has few mountains or hills. Due to this reason, there are few local climatic pockets, and the weather patterns are usually the same all over the country. Located in the southern hemisphere, Botswana has winter in the middle of the year. The average temperature during this time moves between 17°C to 23°C, and there is little to no rain during this time. It is best to visit the country during these months as humidity and temperature are on the decline. Your expedition through the grasslands of Okavango and the Victoria Falls will be even better if you visit the country in July and August. In these two months, the Okavango floods the Kalahari Desert, and the Zambezi River is roaring with full might.

Botswana’s natural wonders are the country’s most prominent landmarks. Ever since its independence, the country has enjoyed stable democratic governments that have realized Botswana’s potential to be a tourist destination. The country continues to better its infrastructure and allows foreign tourists to explore Botswana’s natural heritage.

• The Chobe National Park is the most ecologically diverse natural reserve of Botswana. It is also the country’s oldest park and holds one of the largest concentrations of lions and elephants in all of Africa. More than 31,000 square kilometres in area, the park contains four regions of distinct ecosystems. The floodplains hold a substantial portion of thick forests, and the vegetation provides shelter for the spoonbills, storks and ducks of the area. The elephant and buffalos also roam this expanse. The Savuti Marsh was once a lake, but now only occasionally fills up. The long periods of dry weather and a sudden flow of water through hidden channels has resulted in a fantastic mix of flora and fauna. The rolling grasslands conceal warthogs and antelopes that are only visible when the grasses thin out. You can always admire at the hippos flicking his ears in the lagoons of the Linyanti River in Chobe National Park.
• Even though there is little rain in Botswana throughout the year, the Okavango River swells up after the rainfall in neighbouring Angola. The Okavango Delta is more of an alluvial fan because it does not fall into the sea. The river brings a lot of rich sediment each time it floods the Kalahari. These waters transform the arid and parched landscape of the Kalahari Plains into the one that is teeming with life. This transformation is so unique and swift that one can see the leaves grow a centimetre at a time. As the mammals migrate to the new lush pastures of the Okavango, the cheetah and the crocodile soon follow, completing the ecosystems that have been a part of the delta for centuries.
• Moremi Game Reserve is the best place to visit if you love birds of all shapes and sizes. The protected area contains forests and savannahs that are home to about five hundred bird species. Apart from the birds, there are black rhinos, giraffes and zebras roaming through the reserve’s domain. The Moremi Game Reserve is managed such that the environmental impact is minimal. There are four lodging area in the park only, which is why people tend to book these resorts months in advance. Take a helicopter ride above the Moremi Game Reserve and preserve the incredible views in your memory forever.

With an ever-growing economy, Botswana is among the few countries in Africa that has the resources to express all facets of its African culture fully. The World Wetlands Day is an event in February that highlights the importance of natural reserves, wildlife and climate change. For the next month, Botswanans educate their children about the environment and plant trees to preserve the wetlands in the northern half of the country. In March, there is the Maitisong Festival that showcases the traditional music and folk arts of the country. The joy of Botswana pours out on to the streets, and the traveller is forced to rejoice with the joyful clans of singing folk dancers. The Kuru dance festival is another cultural event where the British traveller can experience the authentic culture of the Batswana, with rain dances and goatskin drums. Christmas and the New Year are spent with family, in a warm embrace, like it is in the UK, but surrounded by exotic animals and green wetlands.

The best way to get around Botswana is by car or bus. There are a few roads that have been paved according to international standards, but most of the country still has dirt roads. Due to this, it is best to hire an experienced driver along with a rented car when exploring Botswana. When visiting parks and natural reserves, the Rangers have four by four vehicles to move you around quickly. You can also opt for an airlift to move from one park to the next – which can be expensive but fun. Many buses and coaches are running through the streets of Botswana that can take you from place to place cheaply. The buses are often crowded, not air-conditioned, and the passenger would have to wait in a line at the bus stations to get a seat.

There are a few five-star hotels in Botswana, but more affordable and low-cost hotels outnumber these luxury resorts. Most people coming to the country are nature lovers and spend their time discovering Botswana. Botswana encourages people to have an expedition and not to remain cooped up in a fancy hotel room. So choose a modest accommodation from one of the hotels below that you can return to after a long day exploring the Okavango.

• Cresta Mowana Safari Resort and Spa
• Peermont Mondior Gaborone
• Cresta Maun
• Peermont Walmont at The Grand Palm
• Avani Gaborone Resort & Casino