eSIM for Botswana

Orange, on 4G. There is nothing to choose or configure. Your phone attaches to it automatically once you switch the line on and turn data roaming on for it.

Botswana has three mobile operators: Mascom, Orange and BTC, whose mobile brand was called beMobile until 2017. At the end of March 2022 Mascom had just over 43% of the mobile market, Orange almost 39% and BTC about 18%, according to Omdia figures.

Orange launched 5G in Greater Gaborone and Francistown in November 2022, but this plan does not carry it, so we do not claim 5G here. On a safari trip that matters less than you might think: 4G is plenty for maps, WhatsApp and uploading photos.

This is a Botswana plan, and it works in Botswana only. The moment you cross a border it stops, because each of these countries is a separate mobile market with its own networks.

It matters on a northern Botswana trip because the borders are close. Kasane sits near the point where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe almost meet, and the Kazungula border post is about 8 km east of town. From there the road runs about 70 km to Victoria Falls. If your route also takes in South Africa, that is another separate plan.

You can install several eSIMs on the same phone and switch between them as you cross. See our Zimbabwe eSIM and Zambia eSIM pages for the Victoria Falls legs, and our South Africa page if you head south.

Victoria Falls sits on the Zimbabwe and Zambia border. It is not in Botswana, so a Botswana plan will not give you data at the falls, however close Kasane feels on the map.

Kasane itself, on the edge of Chobe National Park, is in Botswana, and so is Maun, where many Okavango Delta trips start. Your Botswana plan works in both, and in Gaborone and Francistown, wherever Orange has signal.

Plan your connected time around the towns. Orange says its faster 4G+ already covers Greater Gaborone and Francistown, and Maun and Kasane are where most safari trips start and end.

Inside the parks is a different story, and you should plan for it rather than hope. The safari operator Aardvark Safaris puts Botswana among the countries where the fewest camps and lodges get any mobile signal. Llama Travel tells guests on its Botswana mobile safaris to expect no phone signal, internet or WiFi at all.

Download offline maps for your whole route before you leave Maun or Kasane, tell people at home you may be quiet for a few days, and do anything needing a real connection, such as flight check in or bank approvals, while you are still in town.

Checked on 30 September 2026, in US dollars, on their own Botswana pages.

Our 1 GB plan runs more than twice as long as theirs for less money, and our 3 GB plan runs four times as long. Saily starts at $6.99 for Botswana, and our unlimited day pass is $6.05. Competitor prices are a snapshot from 30 September 2026 and do move.

Full speed for the first 1 GB each day, then the connection continues at up to 512 Kbps for the rest of that day, and resets the following day. It does not cut off and you do not get billed extra.

We publish that number rather than just saying unlimited, so you know exactly where the limit sits. At 512 Kbps, messaging, email, maps and music keep working, but video will be low quality at best.

A day pass is $6.05 and a week is $42.34. If your days are mostly spent in a vehicle or in camp, a fixed bucket like 3 GB for 30 days at $19.04 usually works out cheaper, because you are not online enough to use a daily allowance.

The currency is the Pula. Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in hotels, lodges, restaurants, supermarkets and larger shops, and there are bank machines in most towns, including Gaborone, Francistown, Maun and Kasane.

Carry some Pula in cash anyway, for tips for guides and trackers, curio stalls and small roadside stops.

Draw Pula in town before you head into the parks.

Yes. Orange, Mascom and BTC all sell prepaid SIMs through their shops. For foreign visitors a passport is the only document accepted for registration, according to Orange Botswana, and the SIM will not work for calls, texts or data until your identity is verified.

What it costs you is time on arrival, finding a shop and waiting while the SIM is registered, at the exact moment you would rather be moving. An eSIM bought beforehand skips all of it and works the moment you land. If your trip is long and you need a Botswana number for local calls, a local SIM is still the better tool, and there is nothing stopping you carrying both.