Air Travel

Airports

In this huge, often inaccessible country, air travel is the easiest way to get around. Sir Seretse Khama Airport, 15 km (9½ miles) from Gaborone's city center, is Botswana's main point of entry. Kasane International Airport is 3 km (2 miles) from the entrance to Chobe National Park, and small but very busy Maun Airport, the gateway to the Okavango Delta, is 1 km (½ mile) from the city center of this northern safari capital. All three are easy to find your way around in and rarely crowded.

Airports

Kasane International Airport. Upper Rd., Kasane, North West. 625–0133.

Maun Airport. Mathiba I St., Maun, North West. 686–0238.

Sir Seretse Khama Airport. Airport Rd., Phakalane, Gaborone, South East. 395–1191.

Flights

Air Botswana has scheduled flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone and Maun on a daily basis. The airline also flies Johannesburg to Kasane on Tuesday and from Cape Town to Gaborone and Maun on Thursday and Sunday. SA Airlink also has daily flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone, Maun, and Kasane.

Mack Air, Wilderness Air and Delta Air fly directly between Johannesburg's Lanseria airport and Maun on private charters.

Airlines

Air Botswana. 395–1921; www.airbotswana.co.bw.

Delta Air. 686–0044; www.deltal.com.

Mack Air. 686–0675; www.mackair.co.bw.

SA Airlink. 27–11/451–7300; 395–1820; www.flyairlink.com.

Wilderness Air. 686–0778; www.wilderness-air.com.

Charter Flights

Air charter companies operate small planes from Kasane and Maun to all the camps. Flown by some of the youngest-looking pilots in the world, these flights, which your travel agent will arrange, are reliable, reasonably cheap, and average between 25 and 50 minutes. Maximum baggage allowance is 12 kilograms (26 pounds) in a soft sports/duffel bag (no hard cases allowed), excluding the weight of camera equipment (within reason). Because of the thermal air currents over Botswana, and because most flights are around midday, when thermals are at their strongest, flights can sometimes be very bumpy. Take air-sickness pills if you're susceptible to motion sickness; then sit back and enjoy the fabulous bird's-eye views. You're sure to spot elephants and hippos from the air.