From Wikitravel

Gaborone is the capital of Botswana and located in the south of the country, near the border to South Africa.

Contents 1 Get in 2 Travel 3 Get around 3.1 Taxis 3.2 Combis 3.3 Buses 3.4 Trains 4 See 5 Do 5.1 Game Reserves 5.1.1 Mokolodi 5.1.2 Gaborone Game Reserve 6 Buy 7 Eat 7.1 KFC 7.2 Nando's Chicken 7.3 Pie Time (Pies) 7.4 Groceries 8 Drink 8.1 Bull and Bush 8.2 Irish Pub 8.3 Club Satchmo 9 Sleep 10 Get out 10.1 Cinemas

Get in

Customs is not very difficult to get through (as I assume is the case for most of Africa). Have an address on hand for where you will be staying and they hardly give you a hassle. If you are worried about customs, a useful place to visit is the Botswana Embassy in Washington, DC.

Travel

• Air Botswana provides services to Francistown, Harare, Johannesburg, Kasane and Maun
  • Office is in the Main Mall
  • Phone: 395 1921
  • Typical fares from Gabs are in USD 200 - 400 range.
• South African Express flies in from Cape Town.
  • Offices in the Game City Mall and Broadhurst Mall
  • Phone: 397 2397 (Game City), 309 5740 (Broadhurst)

Get around

• Travelers not used to left side of the road driving should exercise caution while driving and crossing the street, as most of Southern Africa (Gabroone, Botswana included) drives on the left.

Taxis

• Public transportation can be identified by their blue license plates.
• To give directions, its usually better to give Plot numbers or easily identified places rather than street names (which aren't commonly used).
• If a driver gives you a good rate, ask him for his cell phone number and remind him of the place where you are staying. Using one driver the whole time you are in Gabs can end up saving you money.
• Don't worry if you hail a cab with someone inside. Offer to split the fare for the destination and save each other some cash.
• (AB Cab: 390 9927)

Combis

• Combis are white vans that are like mini-buses.
• Combis cost 2 Pula.
• They have different lines so just ask the driver if that line passes where you need to go. (There are no route maps)
• If you know the direction you need to go, start walking there. Combis will honk at you as they are passing to let you know they're behind you!

Buses

• You can get to most big cities by bus.
• Typical times:
  • Gabs - Francistown: approx. 6 hours, 35 Pula / person
  • Francistown - Maun: approx 6 hours, 40 Pula / person

Trains

• The train goes from Gabs to Lobatse or Francistown.
• They generally leave twice / day.
• You can buy either economy, second, or first class (seat/sleeper guaranteed).
• Reservations recommended.
• The train station is right next to Gaborone bus station.
• The train will probably take longer than a bus, but it likely to be more comfortable.
• Cost is 100 Pula / person

See

Do

Game Reserves

Mokolodi

• The highlight of many people's time is a cheetah visit where you can actually pet a cheetah.
• On a two hour game drive you might see Baboons, Giraffe, Wart hogs, Zebra, Elephant, Hippo, etc
• The guides are always very nice.
• See the website for prices.

Gaborone Game Reserve

• One of the smaller game reserves, if you have a car you can just drive yourself around.
• Mostly birds, but some monkeys, Wart hogs and Ostrich
• See the website for prices and other information.

Buy

Eat

KFC

• Much better here than it is in the USA.
• Costs about 20 Pula for a meal (chicken, soda, chips).
• You can find KFC's in many (if not all) of the malls.

Nando's Chicken

• Nando's is a bit more spicy, and much better chicken.
• Costs about 25 Pula for a meal (chicken, soda, chips).
• Located in the African Mall.

Pie Time (Pies)

• Pies are flaky dough filled with meat or vegetables (called Patties in some other parts of the world).
• Costs about 3 Pula for a pie.
• 3.75 Pula for a soda.
• Wide variety of fillings.
• Located in the main mall.

Groceries

• Prices are very reasonable at many grocery stores.
• SPAR in the Main Mall seems to be the cheapest for juices (about 5.25 Pula for 1 Litre of 100% fruit juice).
• For a budget, buy a pie at Pie Time and then a drink at SPAR! (8.25 Pula for a full meal)

Drink

Bull and Bush

• "English Pub" in north part of [Gaborone].
• A common ex-pat hangout.
• Friday night is usually for the younger kids, saturday night for the adults.
• Big Screen TV, Pool tables.
• The food is not usually excellent, but decent pizza.

Irish Pub

• Irish pub in Game City Mall
• Decent food, mix of ex-pats and Batswana

Club Satchmo

• Jazz club
• Decent drinks, great music

Sleep

Get out

Cinemas

• Movies typically cost 25 Pula per seat.
• It is assigned seating, so tell the cashier your preference when buying the ticket.
• Usually show big name movies (as a small theatre in the US would)
• There are two cinemas in Gabs, one in Riverwalk Mall and one in Game City Mall.

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