Flights to Botswana
There are no direct long-haul flights to Botswana from outside Africa, so nearly every visitor connects through Johannesburg, with Airlink and Air Botswana handling the bulk of onward services into Maun, Kasane and Gaborone. Ethiopian Airlines offers the one long-haul route that skips South Africa. Botswana is a landlocked southern African country served by four airports with scheduled passenger flights, of which Maun and Kasane are the gateways that matter for a safari.
How to Fly to Botswana for a Safari
Everything about routing into Botswana follows from one fact: no intercontinental carrier flies here directly. You will connect somewhere, and where you connect shapes the rest of your trip.
Johannesburg is the dominant hub and the default answer. British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and others all serve OR Tambo from Europe, the Gulf, North America and Asia, and from there Airlink and Air Botswana run frequent short hops into all three main Botswana airports.
Cape Town is the second option, though the network has thinned recently. Airlink has operated a Cape Town to Maun service, and Air Botswana links Gaborone and Cape Town.
Addis Ababa is the interesting alternative. Ethiopian Airlines connects Gaborone with its Addis hub on a route of roughly five hours, and has also served Maun, opening a path from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia that avoids South Africa entirely.
Harare and Lusaka both connect to Botswana too, which matters for anyone combining a safari with Victoria Falls or Zambia.
Airlines Flying Into Botswana
Seven airlines operate scheduled services into the country, and two of them carry the large majority of traffic.
Airlink, the South African regional carrier, runs the routes most safari travellers use, connecting Johannesburg with Maun and Kasane and Cape Town with Maun. Many travellers who fly both rate its punctuality above the alternatives, and it allows multi-leg bookings, so an itinerary flying into one Botswana airport and out of another can be ticketed together.
Air Botswana is the national carrier, based at Sir Seretse Khama International in Gaborone. It flies four domestic points and serves South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, covering Gaborone to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare and Lusaka, plus the domestic network linking Gaborone, Maun, Kasane and Francistown.
Ethiopian Airlines provides the long-haul link through Addis Ababa. South African Airways and other regional carriers add further connections.
Note that no low-cost airlines currently operate into Botswana, which is part of why fares run higher than for comparable distances elsewhere in the region.
Book the Johannesburg connection with a generous layover. Baggage pilfering at OR Tambo is a long-running problem, and a tight connection leaves no room if a bag needs re-checking. Keep cameras, electronics and medication in your carry-on regardless of how long you have.
Choosing Between Maun, Kasane and Gaborone
The airport you fly into determines what your first day looks like, and this is a decision worth making deliberately rather than by fare.
Maun is the gateway to the Okavango Delta, Moremi and the Kalahari. It is where the light aircraft charters to Delta camps depart, and by aircraft movements it is among the busiest airports in southern Africa purely because of that traffic. If your trip centres on the Delta, you fly to Maun.
Kasane serves Chobe, Linyanti and Savuti, and sits minutes from the Sedudu Gate into Chobe National Park. It is also the closest Botswana airport to Victoria Falls, around 80 kilometres by road, which makes it the natural entry point for anyone combining the two.
Gaborone is the capital’s airport and the country’s busiest by scheduled flight numbers, handling the majority of international arrivals from within Africa. It is not a safari gateway in any practical sense, sitting a very long way from the northern parks.
Francistown handles domestic flights only and serves the northeast rather than tourism.
Open Jaw Routing for a Botswana Safari
Here is the routing trick that experienced Botswana travellers use and first-timers rarely think of.
Rather than flying into Maun and back out of Maun, fly into Kasane and out of Maun, or the reverse. Chobe sits at one end of the classic circuit and the Delta at the other, and backtracking to your arrival airport wastes a day and sometimes a charter leg.
Airlink permits multi-leg bookings of this kind, so the whole thing can be ticketed on one reservation. Ask your operator to price it both ways, since the saving in time is often larger than any difference in fare.
The same logic applies to Victoria Falls. Arriving into Kasane, working westward through Chobe and the Delta, and departing from Maun leaves the Falls as a clean start or finish rather than a detour.
Fly into Maun. For the Okavango Delta, Moremi, Linyanti by air and the Central Kalahari. The hub for light aircraft charters to Delta camps.
Fly into Kasane. For Chobe, the Chobe riverfront, Savuti and Victoria Falls. Minutes from the park gate and reachable without any internal charter, which makes it the cheapest safari area to access.
Fly into Gaborone. For business, the capital, the Tuli Block and the southern Kalahari. Not a practical starting point for a northern safari.
Timing Your Arrival for Onward Charter Flights
This is the scheduling detail that quietly costs people a night at camp, and almost nobody warns them.
Most international arrivals into Maun land around the middle of the day. Shared charter flights out to Delta camps run on a fixed afternoon schedule, and once the last one has gone, it has gone. Arrive much past three in the afternoon and you will overnight in Maun rather than reaching camp.
The same applies in reverse on departure. Camps send you out on a morning charter timed to catch the afternoon international departure, which means your last morning is usually a short one.
Build a buffer day at the start if your international routing is long or involves a tight connection. A delayed flight from Europe that misses the Johannesburg connection cascades into a missed charter and a lost camp night that is rarely refundable. Flying home out of Victoria Falls is common enough that operators build it in, as on the 14 day Botswana and Victoria Falls safari.
Flying to Botswana From Victoria Falls
Combining Botswana with Victoria Falls is common and there are three ways to do it.
By road from Victoria Falls or Livingstone to Kasane takes a couple of hours including the border, and the crossing at Kazungula can be slow in peak season. Plenty of operators run this transfer daily.
By light aircraft, Mack Air operates a scheduled service between Kasane and Victoria Falls with a flight time of around twenty minutes, which removes the border queue entirely.
By scheduled airline, both Harare and Lusaka connect to Gaborone with Air Botswana, though that routing suits a broader regional trip rather than a Falls add-on.
Whichever you choose, Botswana entry rules apply afresh on arrival, including unabridged birth certificates for any minors, and a Botswana-registered drone may not cross an international boundary.
One more thing about the Falls routing. Zimbabwe and Zambia each run their own visa regime, and the KAZA UniVisa covering both is not always available. Check the current position for your nationality before assuming a day trip across the bridge is a formality, particularly if you hold a passport that needs a Botswana visa in the first place, since re-entering Botswana on a single-entry visa is not possible.
Frequently Asked Questions About Flights to Botswana
Are there direct flights to Botswana from Europe or the US?
No. No intercontinental carrier flies directly to Botswana, so every visitor from outside Africa connects, most commonly through Johannesburg where British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines all operate. Ethiopian Airlines provides the one route that avoids South Africa, connecting Addis Ababa with Gaborone on a flight of around five hours and ten minutes, and has also served Maun. Total travel time from the US commonly runs above 30 hours.
How much does it cost to fly to Botswana?
Round-trip fares from the United States have recently been found from around 1,400 US dollars to Gaborone, with Maun and Kasane typically running a few hundred dollars higher at roughly 1,770. From the UK, fares to Gaborone, Maun and Kasane have been listed between about 1,270 and 1,600 dollars depending on carrier and season. Regional hops are far cheaper, with Maun to Kasane found around 125 dollars return. No low-cost airlines serve Botswana, which keeps fares above comparable distances elsewhere.
Which airport should I fly into for a Botswana safari?
Maun if your trip centres on the Okavango Delta, Moremi or the Central Kalahari, since it is the hub for light aircraft charters to Delta camps. Kasane if you are visiting Chobe, Linyanti or Savuti, or combining with Victoria Falls, since it sits minutes from the Sedudu Gate and around 80 kilometres from the Falls. Gaborone serves the capital and the south and is not practical for a northern safari. Francistown handles domestic flights only.
Can I fly into one Botswana airport and out of another?
Yes, and it is usually the better plan. Chobe sits at one end of the classic safari circuit and the Delta at the other, so flying into Kasane and out of Maun avoids backtracking and can save a full day plus a charter leg. Airlink permits multi-leg bookings, so the whole itinerary can be ticketed on one reservation. Ask your operator to price both directions, since the time saving often outweighs any fare difference.
What time should I arrive in Maun for a Delta camp?
Before mid-afternoon. Most international arrivals land around midday and the shared charter flights out to camps run on a fixed afternoon schedule, so landing much past three means overnighting in Maun and losing a camp night that is rarely refundable. If your international routing is long or involves a tight Johannesburg connection, build in a buffer night at the start rather than gambling on it.
Which airline is best for flying to Botswana?
Airlink handles the routes most safari travellers use, connecting Johannesburg with Maun and Kasane and Cape Town with Maun, and travellers who fly both frequently rate its punctuality above the alternatives. Air Botswana is the national carrier, based in Gaborone, covering the domestic network plus South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Together the two handle around three quarters of all departures from the country. Ethiopian Airlines is the choice if you want to avoid connecting through South Africa.
Booking Your Botswana Trip
The safari companies and tour operators listed on this website put trips like this together for a living and know which camps, guides and routes actually deliver. We are an independent guide to Botswana; we do not book or sell tours ourselves.
When you are ready, arrange your safari, tour or holiday with one of the recognised operators listed here. Tell them your dates and what matters most, and a real person, not a form, will handle the itinerary, park bookings and logistics for you.