Waymark

Botswana travel guide

Best time to visit from the UK, weather, festivals, flights from London and FCDO travel advice.

Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta. Photo: Joachim Huber, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
11h 15mflight from London
Pulacurrency
No visafor UK passports
Type D, G, Mplugs

Mokoro trips through the Okavango and huge elephant herds

Don't miss

  1. Okavango Delta
  2. Chobe National Park
  3. Makgadikgadi Pans
Good forWildlife & safariAdventure

Best time to visit Botswana from the UK

Best value: Apr, Oct. May–Oct for the Okavango Delta and wildlife. Busiest and priciest: May–Sep.

26.2 C26°J25.6 C26°F23.8 C24°M20.5 C20°A16.9 C17°M13.4 C13°J13 C13°J16.6 C17°A20.9 C21°S24.2 C24°O25.3 C25°N26 C26°D
Best valueBusy and pricierQuietAverage temperature in Gaborone, °C, 2001–2025 (NASA POWER).

Each bar is the average temperature in Gaborone for that month, and its colour shows the season for visitors: best value (good weather, fewer crowds and lower prices), busiest and priciest, or quiet (off-peak, sometimes because the weather is poorer).

  • Our pick: April and OctoberThe warmest of the best-value months (20–24°C), with fewer crowds than peak season.
  • Peak season: May–SepUsually 13–21°C. The busiest time, so book flights and rooms early and expect higher prices.
  • Quiet season: Nov–MarAround 24–26°C. The cheapest and least crowded time, though often because of rain or heat.
  • Warmest: January (26°C) · coolest: July (13°C)A 13°C swing between the warmest and coolest months.
Temperatures as a table
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
26.225.623.820.516.913.41316.620.924.225.326

Festivals and events

  • Maitisong Festival Mar · Gaborone
  • Kuru Dance Festival Aug · D'Kar

Festival dates move from year to year: check before you book.

Getting there from the UK

Flight time
About 11h 15m
Distance
8,848 km
Main airport
GBE

Flight times are straight-line estimates for a direct flight from Heathrow; journeys with a change take longer.

Add Botswana to your bucket list Search flights to GBE

Practical info and travel guidance

PulaCapital: Gaborone
Type D, G, M · 230VUK plugs fit
Drive on the leftSame as the UK
999
EmergencyAmbulance 997
Safe in citiesBottled elsewhere
  • VisaNo visa neededUp to 90 days
  • HealthcareNo free healthcareYou pay for treatment, so travel insurance with medical cover is essential.
  • LGBT+ travellersLegal, but attitudes can be conservativePublic affection may draw attention.
  • Women travellersFCDO warns of sexual assault or harassmentTake extra care at night and with drinks.

For British passport holders, summarised from the FCDO's advice for Botswana, checked October 2026. FCDO page last updated 1 June 2026. Rules change: read the official FCDO travel advice for Botswana before you book and again before you go.

Open Botswana on the map Log it as visited, drop pins for the places you went, or plan it as your next trip.