Kasane

Introduction

Chobe National Park

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Kasane is a small town in the far northeast of Botswana situated on the Chobe River. It is the administrative centre for the Chobe District and has a population of under 10,000. It's close to Africa's 'Four Corners' where the borders of four countries almost (but don't quite) meet: Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It is the gateway to those countries as well as to nearby Chobe National Park.

Sights and Activities

The town sits at the northeastern boundary of the Chobe National Park, and is quite often a stop-off for tourists looking to visit the Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls and the Caprivi Strip.

Getting There

By Plane

Kasane Airport (BBK) serves a few destinations including Maun and Gaborone in Botswana and Johannesburg in South Africa.

By Car

Kasane is connected by good tarred roads to the rest of Botswana and to the borders with Namibia, Zambia (to the ferry) and Zimbabwe. Getting off the beaten track (for example to Chobe National Park) requires a 4wd vehicle though, except if you are travelling through the park on your way to Namibia.

By Bus

There are minibuses to Maun and Francistown, leaving when full. Note that the Maun minibuses go via Nata - you would be advised to take one of the earlier minibuses (around 6:00am) from Kasane in order that you can ensure a connection in Nata to make it through to Maun in one day.
There are transfers by minibus in the morning to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (2 hours), some of them organized by lodges and for guests only. Coming the other way, your options to reach the border from Victoria Falls are a shared taxi costing $6 (Oct 2009), a private taxi costing $25 (Oct 2009), or hitching (possibly with one of the rafting companies that goes to the border empty in order to bring back customers - expect to pay about $10). A minibus from the border to Kasane takes about 20 minutes and costs P3 (Oct 2009).

By Boat

Although not immediately starting in Kasane, the nearby river crossing to Zambia by the Kazungula Ferry is an option often used by travellers who don't want to travel through Zimbabwe.

Getting Around

By Foot

Most of the town itself is easily navigated on foot.

Sleep

Budget

Cheap accommodation in Kasane is in short supply, so book in advance unless you come in low season.

Budget

• Old House
• Thebe Lodge and Camping
• Water Lily Lodge
• Toro Lodge and Camping

Mid-Range

• Chobe Safari Lodge
• Kubu Lodge
• The Garden Lodge

Upscale

• Mowana Safari Lodge
• Chobe Game Lodge
• Ichobezi River Lodges
• Chobe Marina Lodge

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet in the town centre costs P25 per hour (Oct 2009).

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Botswana is 267. To make an international call from Botswana, the code is 00.

Post

BotswanaPost is the national postal service of Botswana. It is operating more than 100 post offices and 70 agencies throughout the country and is fairly reliable, albeit not overly fast. All post has to go overland through Gaborone first and international mail by plane might go via Johannesburg, so count on several weeks for your postcard or letter to be delivered to places in Europe or North America. You can use them for parcels as well, though faster and more expensive services are available by companies like TNT, UPS or DHL.