Botswana Currency and Money Guide

The quick answer

Botswana's currency is the pula, ISO code BWP, issued by the Bank of Botswana. It divides into 100 thebe. Cards work in the towns and at established lodges; carry pula for everywhere else.

The name is worth knowing

Pula means rain in Setswana. Thebe means shield. In a country that is largely Kalahari, naming your money after rain tells you what has always been most valuable here — and Pula! is also the national motto, and the word Batswana call out together at the end of a speech or a celebration, the way another country might raise a glass.

Say it back when you hear it. It lands well.

Cash, cards and the bush

Cards

Card acceptance is good by regional standards in Gaborone, Maun, Kasane and Francistown, and at established hotels, lodges and restaurants. It thins quickly away from them, and connectivity can fail even where a terminal exists.

Tell your bank you are traveling, and carry more than one card from more than one network.

Cash

You need pula for markets, craft stalls, small restaurants, fuel in remote places, community fees and tips. ATMs are common in the towns and effectively absent in the delta and the Kalahari. Draw what you need before you fly into a camp.

Carry a mix of denominations; breaking a large note in a village shop can be difficult.

Most of your trip is already paid for

This is the practical difference between Botswana and a self-organized trip elsewhere. Safari camps here are generally fully inclusive and prepaid — accommodation, meals, activities, park fees and often drinks are settled before you arrive. What you actually spend money on in-country is tips, curios, and anything in town at either end.

So the amount of cash to bring is usually much smaller than people expect. Ask your operator what is and is not included rather than guessing high.

Foreign currency

US dollars, South African rand and euros are readily exchanged at banks and licensed bureaux in the towns. Some lodges quote extras in dollars. Change money at banks or bureaux rather than with individuals offering a better rate on the street, and bring clean recent notes if you bring dollars — older or heavily worn ones are sometimes refused.

Tipping

Tipping is customary in the safari trade and it matters to the people who receive it. Most camps explain their own convention on arrival, usually distinguishing a guide from a general staff fund. Ask rather than guess, and tip in pula or dollars according to what the camp suggests.

What this page will not tell you

No exchange rates, no ATM limits, no typical prices. They move, and a stale figure is worse than none. The Bank of Botswana is the authority on the currency; your own bank is the authority on what your card will do abroad.

Planning with LABUSA Travel

We will tell you which parts of your itinerary are prepaid, which are settled locally and which are genuinely cash-only, so you can draw once rather than improvising somewhere with no bank.