​Getting There – Makgadikgadi Pans NP

Anthony Ham
Expert
By Anthony Ham

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the Botswana & Namibia guide.

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of the Botswana & Namibia Lonely Planet guide.

Anthony is the author of the Botswana & Namibia Lonely Planet guide.

Map of Botswana Map of Botswana
Botswana Map

Most visitors on safari will enter Botswana through either Maun Airport (MUB) or Kasane Airport (BBK).

Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is located 190km/118mi east of Maun. The park can be reached on a self-drive safari, an organized mobile safari or a fly-in safari. The drive from Maun takes about 3 hours*.

The easiest way to get to the park is to fly by chartered plane to the airstrip at one of the lodges on the western boundary of the park. All lodges are quite far from the actual pans, but there are some campsites for mobile safaris closer to the pans.

It is also possible to fly into Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) in Zimbabwe and begin the journey from there. The distance from Victoria Falls is 500km/310mi and the drive takes about 7 hours*.

Charter flights between parks, and from Maun or Kasane, are normally booked for you by the tour operator as part of the safari package. There are no scheduled flights to Makgadikgadi Pans.

*Driving times are only a rough indication. You should always consider the possibility of significant delays.

24 Makgadikgadi Pans Safaris

Airlines & Ticket Prices

Please check Skyscanner to see which airlines can take you to Botswana or Zimbabwe, and what tickets would cost.

Passport, Visa & Other Entry Requirements

Please check our Getting There – Botswana page to learn more about passport, visa, COVID-19 and other entry requirements.

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24 Makgadikgadi Pans Safaris