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Although international flights arrive in Gaborone courtesy of several African and British airlines, it's usually cheaper to do your long-haul flying to Harare (Zimbabwe), Windhoek (Namibia) or Johannesburg (South Africa), then travel overland. You can enter overland from all of Botswana's neighbours, though you'll have to put your car tyres and your shoes through cattle-dip (to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease) before Botswana will let you in. The Trans-Namib bus runs between Ghanzi and Gobabis (Namibia). Minibuses run between Gaborone and Johannesburg. Buses to Zimbabwe include the Gaborone to Francistown, Bulawayo and Harare service and the Kasane to Victoria Falls service. The bus line between Livingstone (Zambia), Victoria Falls and Windhoek passes through Kasane. To get to Zambia otherwise, you need to catch the Kazungula ferry over the Zambezi River.

Money & Costs

Currency: pula

Meals


• Budget: US$2-5

• Mid-range: US$5-10

• Top-end: US$10 and upwards
  
  Lodging
  

• Budget: US$15-40

• Mid-range: US$40-60

• Top-end: US$60 and upwards

With hopes of preserving the country's natural assets while deriving the benefits of tourism, the government has instituted a policy of courting only high-cost, low-volume tourism. Finding budget accommodation and transport can be so difficult that the best of Botswana is practically inaccessible to the shoestring traveller. Even mid-range budgets will be stretched. There are a few inexpensive campsites and some reasonably priced trips through the country's main tourist draw, the Okavango Delta. If you eschew the national parks (and you'd be mad to), self-cater and camp out, you can probably get by on US$30 a day. A more realistic budget, including a wildlife tour or two, will start at around US$75 a day and only go upwards. Double that figure at least for high-end safaris.

Full banking services are available in major towns, and there's no trouble exchanging travellers' cheques. In remote towns and villages where there are no established banks, travelling banks are available weekly or monthly. These rural banking services may change foreign travellers' cheques but are unlikely to deal with cash. To exchange money at a roving bank, it's vital that you queue early and set aside the entire morning for the task. Most major credit cards are accepted at tourist hotels and restaurants in the larger cities and towns.

While tipping isn't exactly required, it's now expected in many tourist hotels and restaurants. However, it is recommended that you tip only for exceptional service. In most places a service charge is added as a matter of course, so if you feel the urge to augment that, about 10% should suffice. Taxi drivers generally aren't tipped.