Accessible Travel in Botswana

The quick answer

Botswana can be traveled by visitors with reduced mobility, and it takes more planning than almost anywhere else in this guide series. The country's whole model — small camps, deep sand, light aircraft, unfenced bush — is the opposite of a step-free environment.

It is also true that Botswana's lodges are small, well staffed and used to accommodating people individually. What is difficult here is the infrastructure, not the willingness.

The honest position on camps

Most delta and Kalahari camps are not step-free. They are built light and on raised decks — often deliberately, to keep guests above flood water and away from animals — and connected by sand paths that are unlit at night and shared with wildlife. Raised walkways with steps are the norm rather than the exception.

A minority of lodges, generally the larger and more permanent ones, have ground-level rooms, ramps and wider doorways, and some have been built or adapted with accessibility specifically in mind. They exist and they must be identified individually. There is no national standard to filter by, and a camp describing itself as "accessible" may mean only that one building has a ramp.

Deep sand is its own barrier, and it is the one people underestimate. A wheelchair does not roll on it. Ask specifically what the surface is between vehicle, room and dining area.

Game drives

Vehicles are high-clearance and open-sided, and boarding involves a significant step up. Operators can often provide a portable step or help with a transfer, and some vehicles can be adapted with notice. Ask before booking, not on arrival.

Water activities

A mokoro is not an accessible craft. It sits very low, it is unstable getting in and out, and boarding is usually from a bank rather than a jetty. That is worth saying plainly because it is the activity Botswana is famous for.

Motorboat cruises are a far better option, and on the Chobe in particular they deliver superb game viewing with none of the mokoro's difficulty. Boarding varies enormously between operators — some from a fixed jetty with a gentle ramp, others from a bank — so ask about the specific boat at the specific water level.

Light aircraft

The parks are reached by small aircraft, boarded by a short flight of steps with no jetway. Cabins are tight and most types have no lavatory. Wheelchair stowage depends on the aircraft and on the chair; a folding manual chair is usually manageable and a powered chair often is not. Charter operators need advance notice and are generally helpful.

Weight and balance calculations are real on these flights, which is why they ask direct questions.

Where it does work

Chobe and the Kasane area are the most workable base in the country: reachable by road, with larger hotels built to international standards, river cruises rather than mekoro, and game viewing that does not require a bush airstrip. Gaborone has the best general infrastructure but little wildlife.

A Chobe-and-Victoria-Falls itinerary is considerably more accessible than a delta one, and it is what we would suggest first.

Visual and hearing impairment

Guiding standards in Botswana are among the highest in Africa, and a good guide will narrate a sighting in extraordinary detail if you tell them that is what you need. Audio description, braille and hearing loops are not generally available; a private guide and vehicle is the practical answer.

Medical practicalities

Facilities are good in Gaborone and limited in the bush. Bring all medication and consumable supplies for the whole trip with a margin. Insurance with explicit medical evacuation cover matters more here than in most destinations — see our Botswana travel safety guide.

The questions to ask before booking

• How many steps between the vehicle drop-off, the room and the dining area?
• Is the path sand, boardwalk or hard surface — and is it lit at night?
• Is the room on a raised deck? What is the door width? Roll-in shower or fixed bath?
• How is the game-drive vehicle boarded, and can a step or transfer be arranged?
• Is there a motorboat alternative to the mokoro, and how is it boarded?
• What aircraft type, and what assistance is available at each airstrip?

Ask them of the specific camp, in writing, describing what you actually need. Generic questions get generic answers.

Planning with LABUSA Travel

Tell us your requirements in detail and we will check them property by property rather than filtering a list. If part of an itinerary will not work for you, we would far rather say so at the planning stage.