Travel to Botswana to backpack, study, intern, volunteer, work,

or live as a digital nomad, expat or emigrant?

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 Botswana

Intro

Backpacking or traveling in Botswana?

  • Botswana boasts one of Africa's finest natural treasures with the game parks of the Okavango Delta! The country offers a remote, serene atmosphere that is ideal for adventurers and nature lovers. Wildlife safaris are the biggest draw here, where you get to interact with some of the world's most iconic animals.
  • It's not a very easy country to travel in if you don't have your own car, but don't let that stop you!
  • Activity spotting: going on safari in Chobe National Park; exploring the Okavango Delta; visiting the Makgadikgadi salt pans; hiking safari in Moremi Game Reserve; cultural tours to the San communities; discovering rock paintings in the Tsodilo Hills; stargazing on the salt pans; visiting Nxai Pan National Park. 
  • Animal spotting: of course that's what you go to Botswana for! It is one of the best places in the world to spot wild animals in their natural habitat. You can spot elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, hippos, giraffes, wild dogs, hyenas, antelopes (including kudu and impala), osprey, spoonbills, pelicans, African bald eagle, Nile crocodile, yellow-throated dragon, bullfrog, among others. 
  • Food spotting: seswaa (stewed meat, usually with corn porridge), porridge (cornmeal porridge), morogo (wild spinach), fat cake (fried bread), braai (BBQ), mopane worms (delicacy for the adventurous eater ;)), gem squash (popular vegetable). 

Studying in Botswana?

  • Botswana offers solid educational opportunities, especially in environmental studies, development and medical studies. The University of Botswana in Gaborone is the largest and most prestigious university in the country. Higher education in Botswana has developed significantly, with English as the primary language of instruction.
  • Environmental science, health care, engineering and development economics are popular studies.
  • Study cities: Gaborone, Francistown, Maun. 
  • Language: English. 

Internship in Botswana?

  • There are several opportunities for internships in Botswana, especially in the fields of conservation, international development and health care. Well-known natural areas such as the Okavango Delta offer opportunities for work in ecotourism and environmental research.
  • Competencies: knowledge of conservation and sustainability, professional English, intercultural communication, working with local communities and international organizations. 

Volunteer in Botswana?

  • There are a huge number of options for volunteering in Botswana. The work often revolves around conservation and community development. Examples include working in game reserves, with wildlife, at local schools or health projects. Most options focus on endangered species conservation or helping local communities.

Working in Botswana?

  • Foreigners often find work in tourism, conservation, health care and education. There are also opportunities in the mining industry, one of the most important sectors of the economy. You can usually find work in larger cities such as Gaborone, Maun and Francistown.

Working as a digital nomad in Botswana?

  • Although Botswana is not known as a hotspot for digital nomads, there are opportunities to work remotely and combine it with many adventurous activities. Not wrong right?
  • However, reliable Internet connections are more limited outside the major cities.
  • Favorite locations: Gaborone and Maun. 

Living in Botswana?

  • Living in the land of elephants, among wildlife, with the convenience of the English language and at a friendly price. Botswana is becoming an increasingly popular expat country, and for good reason! 
  • It is also a pretty safe country, but be aware that due to the large difference between rich and poor, petty crime does occur.
  • For families with children there are international schools available, especially in Gaborone. 
  • The official language is English, but if you also want to make friends in the remote areas (or just be polite and able to communicate), make sure you know some words of Setswana as well. 
  • Climate: Botswana has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild winters. The dry seasons are ideal for wildlife safaris, while the rainy seasons transform the country into a green oasis.
  • Culture: The colorful culture is one of the best things about living in Botswana. As such, locals are very proud of it. Furthermore, locals are incredibly friendly and helpful. 
  • Health insurance: public health care is not always of sufficient quality in remote places. Private care and medical evacuation can be expensive, so make sure you have your own well-covered health insurance.

Supporting content

Botswana Country Bundle: suggestions, stories and tips

Botswana Country Bundle: suggestions, stories and tips

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Content about Botswana on WorldSupporter

Botswana: Updates & Travel

Botswana: Updates & Travel

Travel in Botswana?

  • Botswana owes its name to the people the Tswana. Bo means “land” in Setwana. So Botswana means land of the Tswana. Botswana has always been one of the least corrupt countries in Africa. Botswana is 70% desert. The beautiful Kalahari Desert is not the only natural beauty to be found in Botswana. The game parks and the Okavango Delta are also worth a visit. It is a not too cheap country, but it is enormously beautiful. By African standards, you should bring a bag of money. Then immediately, if all goes well, everything is better arranged and you can see the outstanding game parks.
  • Go shopping in Gaborone: The Mall is the central shopping area in Gaborone. Many upscale stores are located here. The African Mall is a shopping area with some less chic and more authentic stores.
  • Throughout Botswana several markets are organized. Almost all markets sell fruits and vegetables, sometimes meat as well. There are also all kinds of handmade items for sale, such as wood carvings, colorful wooden masks and stone statues. At markets and stalls, it is normal to haggle.
  • Not so long ago, Maun consisted of a number of authentic African huts. Today it is the gateway to the Okavango Delta and is also called the safari capital of Botswana. The tourist center of Maun is modern, but on the outskirts are still the traditional huts of the locals. The city has an international airport and for many travelers is the starting and ending point of a trip through Botswana.
  • Tsodillo Hills: In the Kalahari, northwest of the Okavango Delta, lie these mysterious rock formations with more than 2,500 petroglyphs of the legendary Bushmen.
  • Soccer is the national sport of Botswana. At the international level, Botswana does not count (yet), but in Gaborone there is a 20,000-seat stadium. The national team Gaborone United was founded in 1967. That same year they became national champions for the first time. Watching a match is a great experience!
  • Check the central Kalahari Game Reserve. It is a beautiful desert known for its colorful, red sand dunes and lots of different wildlife. You can participate in a bushmen-led survival trek.
  • Chobe National Park is about 11,700 km² in size. It is mostly home to many elephants. It is estimated between 50,000 to 100,000 elephants. The park is divided into four different eco-systems: Serondela, with its dense forests and lush plains; the Savuti Swamps; the Linyanti Swamps and the hot, dry area in the middle.
  • The Okavango Delta is without doubt the most fascinating area of Botswana it is a maze of rivers, canals, lagoons and islands filled with palm trees.
  • The Makgadikgadi Pans used to be a large lake, with sections more than 30 meters deep. Nowadays there are mostly salt pans, but if there is any rain it attracts rhinos, waterbucks, antelope and lions.
  • Be prepared should you rent a car in Botswana, note that you must drive on the left!

Updates Botswana

  • More about Botswana, updates and contributions, see the link below.

 

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My personal Autumn Care reading tip is the whole series of The Number one Ladies' Detective Agency written by the Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. It is definitely is one of my favorites bookseries. It is an easy read and funny. The nice thing is that it is as if you are also in Botswana.&nbs...

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From language courses to gap year abroad, from work experience to volunteering abroad, from paid work to internship abroad, from mountaineering to diving and from backpacking to travel around the world

    What social activities can you do abroad?

    • Opportunities are found in the areas of helping, learning or studying. You can get involved to volunteer in a social project at a school in Africa, Asia or Latin America. You can get involved in nature, in a project with animals or cleaning the sea or beaches. Those who want to learn more can choose for example a language course in Latin America, Spain or South Africa.

    What work related activities can you do abroad?

    • If you want to gain work experience, and/or also earn money, go and work abroad. You can combine backpacking in Australia with temporary work. You can work on campsites in Europe or bush camps in Africa. You can pretty much go all over the world to work in the hospitality industry, hotels and hostels, in the healthcare sector or for example at a diving school.

    What sports activities to do abroad?

    • Have you ever thought of mountain biking, rafting (going down a wild river on a raft or rubber dinghy, climbing or canoeing), survival (which involves building rafts, climbing or canoeing), abseiling (descending a rock face while secured to ropes), zip-lining (whizzing down a cable), canyoning (starting at the top of a river and then climbing, swimming, diving down the bed) or caving (scrambling, wriggling and crawling through caves and crevices)?
    • Maybe you feel more comfortable on a bodyboard (on a half-wave surfboard, you surf the high waves lying down-with flippers), on a hang glider or while paragliding (with a parachute you float down a mountain or dune), hydrospeeding (on a bodyboard with flippers and a wetsuit on you go down a wild river via rapids) or Tiefschneeskiing (racing down through powder snow)?

    Check the pages below for more activities and inspiration and where to go and how to arrange it

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