Botswana: best time to visit, entry, travel facts

For wildlife sightings in Botswana one factor decides everything: water. From May to October practically no rain falls, the pans and pools in the bush dry out, and the animals move to the few rivers that remain: the Chobe, the Khwai, the Boteti and the channels of the Okavango Delta. On the Chobe riverfront near Kasane, elephant herds of several hundred animals stand at the water in August and September, alongside buffalo, hippos and the lions waiting for them. Botswana holds around 130,000 elephants, the largest population in Africa, and in the dry season a large share of them concentrates on a strip a few kilometres wide along the river.

In the Okavango Delta and in Moremi, June to October is the clear peak: the grass is grazed down, visibility reaches far, and the waterholes are predictable. Wild dogs raise their pups in dens from June to August, which noticeably raises the chance of finding a pack in Khwai. From October the weather tips: 35 degrees and more by day, the animals practically cling to the water, sightings are at their densest, but the stay is at its most exhausting.

The rainy season from November to March turns the picture around. Impala and wildebeest drop their young in November and December within a few weeks, which draws in the predators. Up to 20,000 zebra move from the Chobe and the Boteti River onto the green grasslands of Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan, and the herds stay there from December to March. The Central Kalahari is green then, and oryx, springbok and the cheetahs and lions of Deception Valley are easier to see than at any other time. More than 500 bird species are recorded in the country; the migrants arrive in November and stay until March.

In short: Chobe, Moremi and Khwai from June to October, Makgadikgadi, Nxai Pan and the Kalahari from December to March. If you want both in one trip, travel in April or May, when the north is drying out and the south is still green.

Northern Botswana lies at around 940 m and is semi-desert with summer rain. Maun receives about 450 mm of rain a year, Kasane on the Chobe around 600 mm, and almost all of it falls between November and March as afternoon thunderstorms: 1 to 2 hours of heavy rain, then the sky opens up again. A whole rained-out day is rare; a soaked track the next morning is the norm.

From May to August it is winter: 25 to 28 degrees by day under a cloudless sky, cooling to 5 to 9 degrees at night, and down to freezing in the Kalahari. On the open deck of a safari vehicle on the 6 a.m. morning drive you need a beanie and gloves. September brings the turn: 33 degrees in the shade, 35 to 38 degrees in October, humidity drops below 30 percent and the wind carries dust. From November the night temperatures rise to 20 degrees, humidity climbs above 60 percent, and the days turn muggy.

Botswana's rainy season (November to March) makes the sand tracks in the Okavango Delta and around Moremi impassable in places - black cotton soil turns into deep, sticky mud after rain, in which even experienced riders get stuck. The tarred roads (A3 Maun-Nata-Kasane) stay rideable year-round, but the actual destinations - Khwai, Moremi, the tracks towards the Chobe riverfront - lie off that road.

The flood in the Okavango Delta is the opposite of the rain: it originates in the Angolan highlands, takes months to travel the roughly 1,000 km to Botswana, and reaches the Delta in the middle of the dry season, usually peaking in June and July. That is why the best time to travel here coincides with the dry season rather than contradicting it: firm tracks and full water at the same time.

Only one region is listed, because our tours focus on the northeast (Maun, Khwai, Moremi, Nata, Kasane) - the drier south of the country (Kalahari, Gaborone) follows a different pattern, less tied to the flood, and is not relevant for a motorcycle trip here.

With a German, Austrian or Swiss passport you enter Botswana visa-free. At the border post, immigration stamps a free visitor status valid for up to 90 days per calendar year into your passport - no embassy, no form in advance. Your passport must still be valid for at least 6 months at entry and have at least 2 blank pages, or entry can be refused at some posts.

Anyone wanting to stay longer than 90 days must apply for an extension at the immigration office in Gaborone, Maun or Kasane before the period expires - this is not possible at the border itself.

For your own motorcycle, a Carnet de Passages is not enough, because Botswana does not require one: a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) is issued directly at the border post by the Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS), free of charge, valid for the length of your stay. In addition, every foreign-registered vehicle pays a National Road Safety Fund Levy of 40 Pula, in cash, valid until 31 December of the current year regardless of your entry date.

Botswana is one of the least complicated countries in southern Africa for your own motorcycle: a Carnet de Passages is not required. At the border post, BURS issues a free Temporary Import Permit, plus the 40 BWP Road Safety Levy (see the visa table). You must carry the vehicle registration document in your own name - if you are riding a motorcycle not registered to you (a rental, or a friend's machine), some border officials ask for a written, ideally notarised power of attorney from the owner. Without it, entry at the counter can take longer or be refused.

Third-party insurance for the vehicle is mandatory. Botswana is not a member of the COMESA Yellow Card system common in East Africa - the green card from Europe does not apply here. Private insurance counters sit right at the border post and sell short-term third-party cover for the length of your stay; without this proof, the vehicle is not processed at the counter.

Inland, you will repeatedly encounter veterinary checkpoints (vet gates): Botswana is divided into foot-and-mouth-disease control zones, separated by double fences. At every checkpoint you ride your front wheel through a disinfection trough and disinfect your boot soles in a provided tray; any raw meat, dairy products or fresh fruit carried from another zone is confiscated. Keep your boots within reach - the process only takes a few minutes, but you do dismount.

The relevant border crossings for a motorcycle trip are Mamuno/Trans-Kalahari (from Namibia), Ngoma (from the Caprivi/Zambezi region) and Kazungula (from Zambia/Zimbabwe, no ferry since the new bridge). All three are open daily and routinely handle motorcycles. Taking a rental motorcycle directly in Maun or Kasane is the simpler alternative if you only want to ride the Delta region - for a route linking countries (Namibia-Botswana-Zimbabwe), bringing your own motorcycle is still worthwhile, because the formalities here are this easy.

Holders of a valid foreign driving licence may ride in Botswana for up to 90 days without an international driving permit (IDP). For a shorter motorcycle trip, your German, Austrian or Swiss card licence alone is enough. After that, the IDP becomes mandatory - since most trips are considerably shorter, this rule rarely applies, but anyone staying longer or combining several countries on one big loop should carry the IDP from the start anyway: some border posts and police expect it as a matter of course even within the 90 days. It is only valid together with your national licence, never alone.

At traffic checks - not uncommon on the highways between Maun, Nata and Kasane - you will routinely be asked for your driving licence, vehicle registration and proof of third-party insurance. Carry all three within reach, ideally in a waterproof document wallet.

Botswana's main artery for a motorcycle trip through the northeast is the A3 between Maun, Nata and Kasane - paved throughout, but with two very different sections. The moment you turn off the A3 towards Khwai or Moremi, the tar ends: deep Kalahari sand follows, with stretches of flooded wetland, and a proper 4x4/off-road motorcycle with deep-sand experience is a requirement, not an upgrade for straight-road travel enduros.

Wildlife crossing the road is real along the entire Nata-Kasane stretch, not just a figure of speech: elephants regularly cross the road, even during the day. Do not ride any stretch in Botswana after dark - this applies to car drivers just as much as riders, only the consequences of hitting an elephant are disproportionately greater on two wheels.

In built-up areas, such as through Gweta or Nata, cattle, goats and donkeys walk freely on the road - they have the right of way, because they will not move aside. Slow down well below the speed limit there. Since the new bridge, the Kazungula crossing (to Zambia or Zimbabwe) runs without a ferry across the Zambezi, which considerably simplifies the onward route to Livingstone or the southern Zambian leg of the trip.

Botswana has taken unleaded 93 (ULP93) off the market nationwide - at the pumps you consistently get ULP95, which suits any modern motorcycle without issue. There is no special high-octane fuel for high-compression engines; ULP95 is the only grade available.

The real issue is supply density: on the Maun-Nata-Kasane stretch, fuel stations exist only in the three towns themselves, nothing in between. Anyone planning the track via Chobe National Park between Kasane and Maun without the detour through Nata - roughly 611 km unpaved - rides the entire way with no fuel station at all; for a motorcycle with a standard tank, that is only manageable with a reserve canister. There is not a single fuel station inside the Khwai Reserve or Moremi itself.

Payment at the larger stations (Maun, Nata, Kasane) works by card; at smaller village stations, cash in Pula is the safer bet - card terminals fail there more often than expected. For any track off the A3: leave with a full tank and carry a reserve canister.

The European 112 is not a reliable option in Botswana. Police, ambulance and fire brigade have their own, nationally valid three-digit numbers, which also work in the mobile-signal-weak regions of the northeast, provided there is any signal at all - in Khwai, Moremi and the Chobe wilderness that is not guaranteed. Also keep the number of the lodge or camp where you are staying within reach - radio or satellite contact is usually available there, and staff often reach help faster than a call to a national number would. Police and army checkpoints on the main roads are routine and rarely take more than a couple of minutes if your papers are in order.

Botswana lies in a malaria area, mainly in the north (Okavango Delta, Chobe, Moremi) and more strongly during and shortly after the rainy season. Malaria prophylaxis, or at least a stand-by emergency medication, belongs in your travel medical kit, along with evening mosquito protection. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is only required if you are arriving from a yellow fever endemic area.

For medical emergencies away from the towns, air rescue (for example through providers such as Medical Rescue International) is the realistic option - the nearest clinic from Khwai or Moremi is several hours away. Travel insurance with an explicit rescue flight and motorcycle inclusion is not an extra here, but a requirement.

The national currency, Botswana Pula (BWP), is hard to obtain outside the country, so it is best to withdraw cash straight after arrival at an ATM in Maun or Kasane - Visa is accepted at most machines, Mastercard less often. Card payments work reliably in lodges, larger restaurants and fuel stations in the three main towns. In villages, at smaller fuel stations and for the short-term insurance at the border counter, you need cash.

US dollars or euros are often accepted as a supplement in lodges. ATM density is limited once you leave Maun, Nata or Kasane - top up your cash reserve there before moving on.

Mascom Wireless has the best nationwide coverage, followed by Orange Botswana and BTC. In Maun, Kasane and Francistown, 4G works reliably; along the A3 between towns, coverage is patchy. Once you turn into the Khwai Reserve, Moremi or the Chobe wilderness, mobile signal is mostly gone entirely - plan communication home accordingly, though many lodges offer satellite Wi-Fi at reception.

A local SIM card (Mascom or Orange) from a kiosk in Maun or Kasane is cheaper than international roaming; eSIM options from international providers also work on both networks if your device supports eSIM.

Botswana drives on the left, for most travellers from continental Europe the biggest mental adjustment - especially when overtaking and at roundabouts in Maun or Kasane. At the veterinary checkpoints, travellers are expected to dismount patiently and without argument - the staff follow a national disease-control regulation, not harassment.

Photograph people, especially in villages off the tourist routes, only after asking. Botswana is politically stable and its people notably welcoming towards travellers; polite treatment of older people (asking permission, not addressing them directly by first name) is appreciated. In the national parks, strict rules apply against riding off designated tracks - going cross-country is forbidden and penalised, however tempting a shortcut looks.