Do South Africans need a visa for Botswana?

Visa-freefor South African passports

South Africans don’t need a visa for Botswana. You can stay up to 90 days.

StayUp to 90 days

VisaFree

Difficulty 1 of 5

Last checkedChecked17 Oct 2026

What you need

Tick these off as you go. Your ticks are saved on this device.

Passport valid at least 6 months after your trip
Driving: vehicle papers, licence and a bank letter if financed
Hired car: cross-border letter from the rental company

How to do it

Flying: just go with your passport.
Driving: have the car’s papers ready and pay the road fees at the border.

We couldn’t open an official page for this country from our checker. Confirm with its embassy before you travel.

Airlines decide whether you can board using a database called Timatic. Before you fly, check your route on the IATA Travel Centre.

What it costs in rand

Item	Cost
Visa	Free

Rand amounts use the exchange rate on 9 October 2026 (R16.53 to the US dollar, R18.50 to the euro, R21.87 to the pound) and are rounded. Work out your whole trip in the budget calculator.

Common problems and fixes

Fresh food taken at the border or a veterinary fence

Meat, dairy and fresh produce are often confiscated. Shop after you cross.

Animals on the road at night

Roads are unfenced in many areas. Don’t drive after dark.

Plan your trip

Best timeMay to October

MoneyPula (BWP)

Return flight from Johannesburg (rough guide)R5,000–R8,000, or drive

Daily budget per person (rough guide)R1,200–R3,000

Three trip ideas

Okavango Delta

Mokoro trips and camping from Maun.

Chobe

A river cruise from Kasane to see elephants.

Makgadikgadi Pans

Salt pans, meerkats and huge night skies.

Good to know

Delta and Chobe lodges are expensive; self-drive camping is the budget way.
Malaria is a risk in the north.

Book

Flights Places to stay Tours and activities

Sources and checks

Checked17 Oct 2026

Checked on 17 Oct 2026 against the open visa dataset only: the official page couldn’t be opened from our checker. Confirm with the embassy before you book.

dataPassport Index Data (visa matrix for 199 passports, updated 17 Feb 2026) · imorte, continuing the dataset by Ilya Ilyankou (MIT licence) · published 17 Feb 2026

How we check: our method and every source we use.

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