Things to do in Gaborone
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Gaborone
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: dry winter, 25 to 28C days, cold mornings, wildlife easiest to see and Kgale climbing comfortable.
Good shoulder: April is green and warm as rains end; September is dry and warming, with Independence celebrations.
Hot shoulder to plan carefully: regularly 35C plus, worth it only if the Maitisong Festival is on.
Worst months: hot wet summer with storms, muddy reserve roads, mosquitoes and dispersed wildlife. February is weakest.
What's on
- Maitisong Festival 3-12 October
The city's premier arts event, a ten day multi venue festival of dance, music, comedy and theatre. Confirm current year dates.
- Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race June
Botswana's biggest spectator sporting event, but no longer Gaborone based; check the current year's host town.
- Independence Day (Boipuso) 30 September
The national day, with official celebrations centred on Gaborone, closed offices and full hotels around the date.
- President's Day mid-July
The holiday and its arts competitions in choral, traditional music and spoken word, in peak dry season weather.
- Gaborone International Music and Culture Week (GIMC) late August / September
A week of music, comedy, poetry and fashion across city venues, intermittent in recent years; check current listings.
Best things to do in Gaborone
Three Dikgosi Monument
Three towering chiefs in the new CBD tell the founding story of Botswana in one open plaza visit.
National Museum and Art Gallery
One manageable visit covering Botswana natural history, crafts, rock art material and contemporary painting.
Botswanacraft
The quality end of Botswana craft, with Okavango baskets, jewellery and textiles bought by residents for gifts.
Thapong Visual Arts Centre
Working studios and exhibitions where you can meet Botswana artists and buy work without a shop markup.
Maitisong Theatre
Botswana's flagship stage for traditional dance, choral music, stand up and touring productions when a show is on.
Main Mall
The original pedestrianised centre for people watching, small shops and everyday Gaborone life.
Sri Balaji Temple
A traditional South Indian temple from the capital's long established Hindu community, calm and welcoming to visitors.
ISKCON Gaborone
An ornate Krishna temple unlike anything else in the city, quiet, clean and welcoming to respectful visitors.
Where to stay in Gaborone
The New CBD
first trip, all-round base
Best business hotels and easiest evening restaurant access, tidy and lit, though streets empty early.
Phakalane
golf, quiet and a resort feel
Landscaped, secure and green around the golf estate, with space and pools but a drive to everything.
The Village / River Walk area
mid-ground, local feel
Lived in guesthouse and cafe area handier for Sanitas, the dam, Mokolodi and Kgale than the CBD.
Main Mall / Old Town
budget and everyday life
Cheapest beds, most local eating and the museum on the doorstep, but older stock and scruffier after dark.
Think twice about
- Old Naledi
Oldest low income township area, with high reported crime. No visitor accommodation or reason to base there.
- Bontleng / White City
Police and health officials described widespread drug problems and numerous drug houses here in February 2026. No visitor beds, do not base there.
- The Bus Rank / Station area at night
Transport hubs are the city's pickpocketing and phone snatch hotspot. Passing through by day is normal, staying or drinking there late is avoidable.
- Isolated stretches around Gaborone Dam and the Kgale Hill car parks
Named across safety sources for muggings at dawn, dusk and quiet times. Visit in company and in busy hours.
Best restaurants in Gaborone
The Courtyard Restaurant
The single essential Gaborone meal: seswaa, oxtail and morogo in potjie pots beside Botswanacraft, at lunch.
Sanitas Tea Garden
A shady garden centre tea garden for wood fired pizza, salads, gelato and unhurried weekend lunches.
Café Dijo
The daytime cafe residents queue for, with breakfasts, daily lunch specials, wraps, salads and good coffee.
Beef Baron Grill & Rib Room
Botswana beef treated as fine dining in the Grand Palm's wood panelled grill room, the splurge dinner of a stay.
Bull & Bush Pub
The legendary garden pub for generous steaks, sports screens and Monday half price ribs with locals and expats.
Table 50Two
The new CBD occasion room with a contemporary menu and tower views from the Room50Two restaurant and terrace.
Chutney
The local pick for North Indian cooking, with a strong vegetarian and vegan range after days of beef.
The Moghul
A smaller, older school curry house rated among the capital's best despite its lowest price band.
Outdoor things to do in Gaborone
Mokolodi Nature Reserve
Tracking white rhino on foot with a guide and tracker is the exceptional wildlife experience near the capital.
Gaborone Game Reserve
A fenced reserve inside the capital with zebra, impala and picnic sites, self driveable in an ordinary car.
Kgale Hill
The city's signature climb gives its best view over Gaborone and the dam, safest mid morning with others around.
Phakalane Golf Estate
An 18 hole championship course with 75 bunkers and water hazards, plus a clubhouse terrace for non golfers.
Gaborone Golf Club
The older central 18 hole club is easier from CBD hotels and gives a relaxed local member experience.
Gaborone Dam
The capital's reservoir is its sailing and sunset drive territory, centred on the long standing yacht club.
Khutse Game Reserve
A genuine Kalahari wilderness of pans and dunes with lion and giraffe, for guided or fully equipped 4x4 trips.
Manyelanong Game Reserve
A specialist birding half day at a protected Cape vulture breeding colony on the Manyelanong hills.
Best hotels in Gaborone
Peermont Walmont at The Grand Palm
The grande dame resort hotel with gardens, casino and convention centre, trading space and grounds for newness.
Room50Two
Design led rooms high in the i-Towers with city views and the best wake up in new Gaborone feel.
Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel Resort
Eighty rooms, two pools and a spa on the fairways, where the golf estate itself is the destination.
Protea Hotel by Marriott Gaborone Masa Square
A reliable CBD base with a pool terrace on Masa Square and the Three Dikgosi a short walk away.
Hilton Garden Inn Gaborone
The newest feel international chain option in the CBD, 700 metres from the Three Dikgosi Monument.
Peermont Mondior Gaborone
A long standing regional business favourite with a pool, well regarded restaurant and free airport shuttle.
Cresta Lodge Gaborone
Botswana's own chain gives a garden lodge feel with a pool, a pleasant change from tower hotels.
Mokolodi chalets and bush accommodation
Self catering chalets inside the reserve let wildlife first travellers sleep in the bush 20 minutes from the capital.
Is Gaborone expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | BWP 650 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | BWP 1,300 a person |
| Splurge | BWP 3,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Maitisong Theatre: a few days ahead
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Gaborone: a few days ahead
- Mokolodi Nature Reserve: weeks ahead
- Phakalane Golf Estate: a few days ahead
- Khutse Game Reserve: weeks ahead
- Mokolodi chalets and bush accommodation: weeks ahead
- Beef Baron Grill & Rib Room: a few days ahead
- Table 50Two: a few days ahead
- Book Mokolodi rhino tracking ahead, as small groups sell out, plus Maitisong headline shows and Phakalane tee times.
- Book Beef Baron and Table 50Two for weekend dinners, and Khutse park camping and entry well ahead if self driving.
- Leisure travellers often get the best hotel rates Friday to Sunday, as Gaborone fills midweek with business.
Is Gaborone safe?
- Botswana is one of Africa's most peaceful countries and Gaborone is calm by day, but opportunistic property crime is the real pattern.
- Keep valuables in the hotel safe, phones tucked away at the bus rank and in crowds, and take taxis door to door at night.
- Kgale Hill and Gaborone Dam are named for muggings at dawn, dusk and quiet times; go in a group in busy hours.
- Emergency numbers are Police 999, Fire 998 and Ambulance 997. Sun is a genuine hazard even in winter.
Gaborone travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not treat Gaborone as a safari substitute for Chobe or the Delta; its two small reserves are a warm up, not the main event.
- The standard Mokolodi game drive is variable and oversold; the rhino tracking is the star product.
- Mall afternoons at Game City, River Walk and Airport Junction are generic when a game reserve sits inside the city.
- Avoid midday sightseeing in summer and late dinners, as kitchens close early and several best places are lunch only.
Getting around Gaborone: public transport and more
- You need wheels: hire a car or use hotel arranged taxis, as Gaborone is sprawling with no metro and shadeless arterial walks.
- Kombis are cheap and frequent on main routes but crowded and often poorly maintained, best for confident daytime hops only.
- Agree taxi fares before moving or keep one trusted driver from your hotel for repeat trips.
- Drive on the left, lock doors at traffic lights and keep nothing visible on seats against smash and grab theft.
Who Gaborone suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Gaborone your trip
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