Hotels and Guesthouses
Hotels and guesthouses in Botswana cluster in Maun, Kasane, Gaborone and Francistown, serving as arrival and departure nights either side of a safari rather than destinations in themselves. Maun in particular has grown from a stopover into a place worth a night or two, with riverside lodges along the Thamalakane. Botswana is a southern African safari country where town accommodation costs a fraction of a bush camp, which makes a buffer night both practical and cheap insurance against a delayed flight.
Why You Need a Town Night on a Botswana Safari
This is the argument for booking town accommodation at all, and it is stronger than most people expect.
Charter flights to Delta camps run on a fixed afternoon schedule. Most international arrivals into Maun land around midday, and if your connection through Johannesburg slips, the last charter goes without you. A camp night lost this way is rarely refundable, and a bush camp costs many times what a Maun guesthouse does.
A buffer night at the start turns that risk into a non-event. You arrive, sleep, and catch the morning charter with the whole day ahead of you.
There is a second reason. A long-haul flight followed immediately by a light aircraft transfer and an afternoon game drive is a great deal in one day. Arriving a night early means your first morning in the bush is spent awake.
Maun is frequently preferred to Johannesburg for this purpose, since it is small, friendly and already feels like the trip has started.
Book the buffer night at the start rather than the end. A delay on the way out costs you a camp night you have already paid for. A delay on the way home costs you an airport lounge.
Where to Stay in Maun
Maun’s accommodation has moved on considerably from being a place people passed through, and there is now a proper range.
The riverside properties along the Thamalakane are the pick for most visitors, offering chalets and rooms overlooking the water within a short drive of the airport. They make a good buffer between a long flight and the bush, and several have pools and decent restaurants.
In town, established hotels sit close to the airport, some only a few kilometres away, and work well for a single night when you simply need a bed and a lift in the morning.
On the outskirts, a few properties sit within private game reserves with walking trails and resident wildlife, which is a gentle introduction at the start of a trip or a soft landing at the end.
At the budget end, Maun has guesthouses, self-catering cottages, backpacker options and campsites, several of which rate very well. Self-catering suits self-drive travellers stocking up before heading into the parks.
Where to Stay in Kasane
Kasane is the other town most safari visitors sleep in, and it works differently from Maun.
Because Chobe is minutes from the airport and the Sedudu Gate, Kasane accommodation is not just a buffer, it is a viable safari base. You can stay in town or on the riverfront and go out on game drives and boat cruises daily without ever taking a charter flight.
The riverfront properties range from large resort-style lodges with spas and pools to smaller bush lodges just outside the park boundary. These are proper safari accommodation rather than town hotels, and they sit at a much lower price point than a Delta camp.
In town, budget hotels, guesthouses and backpacker lodges serve travellers on tighter budgets and overlanders passing between borders. Kasane sits close to the Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia frontiers, so it sees a good deal of cross-border traffic.
This combination is why Kasane is the sensible answer for a short Botswana trip, a first safari on a budget, or anyone nervous about small aircraft.
Hotels in Gaborone and Francistown
The capital is not a safari destination and its hotels reflect that, serving business, government and conference traffic.
Gaborone has full-service hotels including resort-style properties close to the centre, alongside business hotels and a wide spread of guesthouses. Budget accommodation clusters in a few neighbourhoods, and the city has the best facilities in the country including banks, hospitals and shopping.
You would stay here if you are flying in or out of Sir Seretse Khama International, combining a trip with business, or heading for the Tuli Block, Khutse or the southern Kalahari.
Francistown, the second city, has hotels serving business travellers and people moving between the South African and Zimbabwean borders. Very few safari itineraries stop there.
Both cities have a cultural side that safari visitors miss entirely, with museums, galleries and markets, which is worth a day if your flights force one on you.
Maun. Buffer night before Delta charters. Riverside lodges on the Thamalakane, town hotels near the airport, guesthouses and self-catering. Book a night on arrival, not just departure.
Kasane. Both a buffer and a genuine safari base, since Chobe is minutes away and needs no charter flight. Riverfront lodges, budget hotels, guesthouses and backpackers.
Gaborone and Francistown. Business and transit rather than safari. Full-service hotels, conference facilities, the best medical and banking services in the country. Useful for the Tuli Block and southern Kalahari.
Guesthouses, Self-Catering and Budget Options
Botswana has a reputation as an expensive destination, and that is true of the bush camps rather than the towns.
Guesthouses and bed and breakfasts operate in all four main towns at a fraction of camp rates, many of them small owner-run places with good reputations. Some of the highest-rated accommodation in Maun by guest score is at this end of the market rather than the top.
Self-catering cottages and apartments suit self-drive travellers, families and anyone staying more than a night or two. Maun and Kasane both have supermarkets adequate for provisioning a camping trip.
Backpacker lodges exist in Maun and Kasane, often with camping in the grounds alongside dorm and private rooms, and they double as informal meeting points for people assembling mobile safari groups or sharing vehicle costs.
Campsites operate on the edges of both towns too, which for anyone with a rooftop tent already fitted is the cheapest option of all.
One thing worth planning for if you do end up with a spare day in Maun: there is more to do than the town’s reputation as a transit point suggests. Scenic flights over the southern Delta leave from the airport and are among the best value activities in the country, giving you the channels, islands and herds from a few hundred feet in an hour. Day mokoro trips run from the river, there are craft outlets selling baskets woven in the villages north of town, and the Thamalakane itself is pleasant to sit beside with a drink after a long flight.
Booking Town Accommodation in Botswana
Advance booking matters more than the modest prices suggest, particularly in dry season.
Maun and Kasane are small towns handling large seasonal visitor numbers, and the good properties fill between June and September. A last-minute arrival can find itself in whatever is left rather than what it wanted.
Check transfers when booking. Most Maun properties offer airport pickup and drop-off, either included or for a small charge, and arranging it in advance is easier than negotiating on arrival.
Check the location against your morning charter. A lodge twenty minutes out along the river is lovely and adds a transfer to an early start.
Cards work at established hotels in all four towns, though smaller guesthouses may prefer cash, and ATMs exist in Maun, Kasane, Gaborone and Francistown but nowhere beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hotels in Botswana
How much do hotels cost in Botswana?
Far less than safari camps. Budget hotels and guesthouses in Maun have been listed from around 35 US dollars a night, with mid-range town hotels and riverside lodges running higher and resort-style properties in Gaborone and Kasane higher again. That compares with roughly 600 to 1,100 dollars per person per night at a mid-range bush camp. Pre and post-safari hotel nights in Maun or Kasane are commonly budgeted at 100 to 300 dollars, and Johannesburg airport hotels at 80 to 250.
Should I stay a night in Maun before my safari?
Yes, and it is one of the better decisions on a Botswana itinerary. Charter flights to Delta camps run on a fixed afternoon schedule, so a delayed international connection through Johannesburg means missing the last one and losing a camp night that is rarely refundable. A Maun guesthouse costs a fraction of that. It also means your first morning in the bush is spent awake rather than recovering from a long-haul flight.
Can I do a safari staying in a hotel rather than a bush camp?
In Kasane, yes, and it is the best value safari in the country. Chobe National Park is minutes from town and the Sedudu Gate, so you can stay at a riverfront lodge or a town hotel and go out on game drives and boat cruises daily without any charter flight. The Delta does not work this way, since camps there are reachable only by light aircraft and Maun itself is a long way from the wildlife.
Where is the best area to stay in Maun?
Along the Thamalakane River for most visitors, where riverside lodges and chalets sit within a short drive of the airport with pools and restaurants, making a good buffer between a long flight and the bush. In-town hotels a few kilometres from the airport suit a single night when you just need a bed and an early lift. Properties on the outskirts within private game reserves offer walking trails and resident wildlife as a gentle start or finish.
Are there budget places to stay in Botswana?
Plenty, in the towns. Guesthouses, bed and breakfasts, self-catering cottages, backpacker lodges and campsites operate in Maun, Kasane, Gaborone and Francistown at a small fraction of bush camp rates, and some of the highest guest-rated accommodation in Maun sits at this end of the market. Backpacker lodges also serve as informal meeting points for travellers assembling mobile safari groups or sharing vehicle costs.
Do Botswana hotels offer airport transfers?
Most Maun and Kasane properties do, either included in the rate or for a modest charge, and arranging it when you book is far easier than sorting it on arrival. Check the location against your onward charter time as well, since a lodge twenty minutes out along the river is delightful but adds a transfer to an early morning. Both towns are small, so nothing is very far from the airport.
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.