Travel Insurance for Botswana 2024: Top Plans & Cost
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Travel Insurance for Botswana 2024: Top Plans & Cost

  • Your U.S. health insurance won’t cover you in Botswana, so it’s wise to get travel medical and evacuation coverage for your trip, even though it’s optional.
  • A comprehensive travel insurance policy will also protect against trip cancellations, interruptions, delays, lost baggage and more.
  • Our top picks for travel insurance for Botswana are from Tin Leg, Faye, HTH, & Nationwide (skip ahead to see these plans).
  • According to our sales data, travel insurance for Botswana costs approximately $44 per day.
  • Use our online comparison tool to easily compare multiple plans and find the best coverage for your needs.

Our top picks for Botswana travel insurance

Advertiser Disclosure
Best for Robust Coverage

Tin Leg

GET A QUOTE via Squaremouth’s secure website
4.6
Preferred Plan
Gold
Covers COVID
YES
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$500,000 / $500,000
Affordable & Quick Reimbursements

Faye Travel Insurance

Check Pricing via the Faye website
4.5
Preferred Plan
Faye Travel Protection Plan
Covers COVID
Yes
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$100,000 / $500,000
Best Comprehensive Travel Plan

HTH Travel Insurance

GET A QUOTE via Squaremouth’s secure website
4.2
Preferred Plan
TripProtector Preferred
Covers COVID
YES
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$500,000 / $1,000,000

Do I need travel insurance to visit Botswana?

There’s no legal requirement to purchase Botswana travel insurance, but we highly recommend that you build a comprehensive policy based on your unique needs.

Risk of pickpockets and petty crime

According to the Global Peace Index, Botswana is one of the safest countries in Africa, so attacks on tourists are rare. There is a slight risk of carjacking, break-ins and violent crime, however. For example, criminals have robbed tourists around Gaborone Dam and Kgale Hill. If someone steals your belongings, your travel insurance may pay to replace them. In some cases, travel insurance also covers lost or damaged items.

Insect bites, illness and disease

When you visit Botswana, there’s a risk of contracting insect-borne, food-borne or water-borne illnesses. For example, yellow fever, filariasis and malaria are widespread. If you’re entering from a country where yellow fever is endemic, you must get vaccinated before your trip. There’s also a high risk of HIV/AIDS.

You can reduce your risk of contracting these illnesses by washing your hands regularly, using insect repellent and getting vaccinated. To reduce the risk of HIV transmission, avoid handling blood and other body fluids.

If you develop one of these illnesses despite taking preventive measures, you’ll need professional medical care. U.S. health insurance doesn’t work in Botswana, so it’s important to have travel insurance with plenty of medical coverage included.

Adventure activities

If you plan to go mountain biking through the Northern Tuli Reserve or participate in another adventure activity, make sure you purchase an adventure add-on. Otherwise, it’s likely your standard travel insurance policy won’t cover any injuries arising from your participation.

Challenging terrain and road conditions

Botswana is known for its challenging terrain. It’s common for animals to run out in front of vehicles, increasing the risk of accidents. Some areas are extremely remote, making it difficult to access emergency assistance. Therefore, it’s important to purchase medical evacuation coverage before you visit.

More details on our best travel insurance plans for Botswana

Advertiser Disclosure

Best for Robust Coverage

Tin Leg

4.6
GET A QUOTE via Squaremouth’s secure website
Preferred Plan
Gold
Covers COVID
YES
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$500,000 / $500,000
Why We Like It

Editor's take

The Tin Leg Gold plan is one of our best-selling travel insurance plans thanks to its robust coverage and affordability. Tin Leg also has some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry.

This plan comes with no age limit and high medical coverage limits which can keep you safe while in Africa. It also covers your trip for up to 100% reimbursement for trip cancellations and 150% reimbursement for trip interruptions. You’ll also be covered for all types of Safaris, including hunting safaris.

This plan includes comprehensive baggage and trip delay coverage as well. All of this comes at a very affordable price. Therefore, we recommend this plan as one of the best options for 360º coverage during your travels to Botswana.

PROS

  • Excellent primary coverage for medical expenses
  • High limit for emergency evacuation coverage
  • Optional cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage available
  • Comes with coverage for hurricanes and inclement weather
  • Coverage for pre-existing conditions is available if purchased within 14 days of the trip deposit

CONS

  • Baggage delay coverage requires a 24-hour waiting period
  • Low coverage limits for baggage and personal effects

Affordable & Quick Reimbursements

Full Policy Details

Faye Travel Insurance

4.5
Check Pricing via the Faye website
Preferred Plan
Faye Travel Protection Plan
Covers COVID
Yes
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$100,000 / $500,000
Why We Like It

Editor's take

Faye is a newer provider and is taking the market by storm. It’s been called a “travel disruptor” thanks to its innovative approach to travel insurance.

With Faye, you’ll not only get solid medical & medevac coverage, 100% trip cancellation reimbursement & 150% trip interruption coverage. You’ll also get a fully integrated travel app to manage your trip that includes handy features like flight tracking, travel updates, destination information, tailored playlists, travel concierge support, and more. Faye offers you a full travel experience.

The best part about Faye is that it’s quite affordable for expensive trips and vacations. Our research showed that where plans from other providers balloon as your trip cost increases, plans from Faye increase, but remain more affordable. Since Botswana is typically an expensive destination, this makes Faye a good choice.

Faye also offers quick and easy claims reimbursement through the app. Just snap a picture of receipts and documents and upload them to the customer service chat. Faye can reimburse you directly to a virtual wallet to use with Apple Pay or Google Pay, which makes spending your reimbursement painless and easy.

PROS

  • Friendly agents
  • Easy-to-use mobile app
  • Fast reimbursements for eligible claims
  • Prompt replies to questions

CONS

  • Long wait times for reimbursement
  • Difficulty reaching Faye outside of email & virtual chat

Best Comprehensive Travel Plan

Full Policy Details

HTH Travel Insurance

4.2
GET A QUOTE via Squaremouth’s secure website
Preferred Plan
TripProtector Preferred
Covers COVID
YES
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$500,000 / $1,000,000

Best for Trip Interruption & Travel Delay

Full Policy Details

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

4.0
GET A QUOTE via Squaremouth’s secure website
Preferred Plan
Prime
Covers COVID
Yes
Medical & Evacuation Limits Per Person
$150,000 / $1,000,000
Passport and Plane Ticket

What does travel insurance for Botswana cover?

Travel insurance for Botswana typically covers the circumstances below.

Travel medical insurance

Chobe National Park is a great place to look for elephants, but it has some difficult terrain. If you injure yourself, you’ll need medical insurance to cover the cost of your healthcare needs. Squaremouth recommends carrying at least $100,000 in medical coverage for your trip to Botswana.

Medical evacuation insurance

If you’re injured while traveling across the African savanna, you’ll need some way to get to an adequate medical facility. For example, you may need to be airlifted out of the savanna and to the nearest city. Squaremouth recommends having at least $250,000 in medical evacuation insurance to cover these expenses.

Trip cancellation insurance

Trip cancellation insurance reimburses your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason. Covered reasons typically include natural disasters, the death of a travel companion, terrorism and unforeseen illness.

For example, if you’re diagnosed with cancer one month before your trip, you may need to cancel to start treatment right away. Trip cancellation insurance covers this type of situation.

Cancel-for-any-reason insurance

Cancel-for-any-reason insurance allows you to cancel for a non-covered reason and still get some of your money back. For example, if you suddenly develop a fear of flying, you may be able to cancel and get back 75% of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs.

Trip interruption insurance

Imagine you’re visiting Orapa Diamond Mine when you trip and fracture one of the bones in your leg. Your itinerary is filled with adventure activities you can’t do with your leg in a cast. Trip interruption insurance reimburses you for the unused portion of your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if you have to return home earlier than expected.

Trip delay insurance

When you travel to Botswana, there’s a good chance you’ll have to take multiple flights, increasing the risk of delays. Trip delay insurance protects you if a delay causes you to miss part of your trip or forces you to incur additional expenses. For example, if you miss a prepaid excursion to one of the national parks, your insurance company may reimburse you.

Adventure activity coverage

Powerboating is one of the most popular activities for tourists visiting the Okavango Delta. If you plan to participate, it’s likely your standard travel insurance won’t cover any resulting injuries. Make sure you purchase an adventure sports add-on to give your travel companions extra peace of mind.

Baggage insurance

If your luggage goes missing, your travel insurance provider will reimburse you up to the limits of your policy.

What isn’t covered by travel insurance for Botswana?

Travel insurance may not cover the following:

How much does travel insurance for Botswana cost?

According to our sales data, travelers who purchased insurance for Botswana via our platform spent an average of $787 for an 18-day trip. We can, therefore, assume that coverage costs around $44 per day.

To help you better understand the cost range of travel insurance for Botswana, we obtained quotes from four leading providers. All our price quotes adhere to Squaremouth’s guidelines of at least $100,000 in emergency medical coverage and at least $250,000 in medical evacuation coverage.

We used this criteria for our quotes:

This first table shows our quotes for fundamental travel insurance, with prices ranging from around $1 to $4 per day.

Example Where Plan Doesn’t Reimburse the Full Trip Cost

Provider Plan Name Plan Cost Cancellation / Interruption Limits Medical / Medevac Limits
Tin Leg Luxury $64 $0 / $750 $100K / $250K
Trawick International Safe Travels Journey $56 $0 / $0 $150K / $500K
Seven Corners Trip Protection Basic $25 $0 / $1K $100K / $250K
AXA Assistance USA Gold $68 $0 / $1K $100K / $500K

This next table displays our quotes for more comprehensive travel insurance. These plans include coverage for trip cancellations and interruptions. We found that this coverage ranges from approximately $40 to $65 per day.

Example Where Plan Does Reimburse the Full Trip Cost

Provider Plan Name Plan Cost Cancellation / Interruption Limits Medical / Medevac Limits
Tin Leg Luxury $1,298 $16K / $24K $100K / $250K
Trawick International Safe Travels Journey $939 $16K / $20K $150K / $500K
Seven Corners Trip Protection Basic $750 $16K / $16K $100K / $250K
AXA Assistance USA Gold $772 $16K / $24K $100K / $500K

The cost of Botswana travel insurance varies based on several factors. This means your actual cost may not match the quotes shown. For accurate pricing, we advise getting a personalized quote.

Some factors that impact the cost of travel insurance include:

Tips for getting the best Botswana travel insurance

Before you purchase Botswana travel insurance, consider the following:

1

How will you get there?

How will you travel around Botswana during your stay? The more transportation methods you use, the more likely it is that you’ll experience a delay.

See More See Less
2

What do you plan to do during your trip?

If you plan to go mountain biking or participate in other adventure activities, you may need an adventure sports add-on. If you plan to visit remote areas, you may also need to purchase extra medical evacuation coverage. What you plan to do has a big impact on how much insurance you need.

See More See Less
3

When do you plan to travel?

We encourage you to buy insurance as early as possible.

See More See Less
Passport and Plane Ticket

What to consider when taking a trip to Botswana

Before you pack your bags for a trip to Botswana, consider the following factors.

Trips to Botswana are expensive

Botswana isn’t exactly a hop, a skip and a jump away, so most trips last for at least 20 days. Therefore, traveling to Botswana is much more expensive than traveling to many other destinations. In fact, Squaremouth reports that $18,000 was the average cost for a group to travel to Botswana in 2022. If you don’t want to lose thousands of dollars, we advise you to buy travel insurance for Botswana well in advance of your trip.

Traveling to Botswana

Traveling to Botswana is somewhat difficult, as you may have to make multiple airport connections. Botswana is also known for its hazardous roadways. Due to the high likelihood of delays and other travel issues, we recommend that you purchase comprehensive travel insurance to cover mishaps like trip cancellations, delays and interruptions.

Attractions in Botswana

Botswana has a little something for everyone. If you’re looking to relax, visit Botswana’s 2,000-year-old baobab trees or visit the San bushmen at Kalahari Plains Camp. For adventure activities, consider heading to Chobe National Park Botswana, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park or Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, a popular site for skydiving and parachuting.

If you plan to participate in adventure activities, you’ll need additional coverage. It’s also important to remember that many attractions are in remote areas far from adequate medical facilities.

Botswana travel information & requirements

Query Details
Requires tourist visa? No
Passport requirements Requires a valid U.S. passport with at least three blank pages; passport must be valid for at least 6 months past your planned departure date
Local currency Botswanan Pula
Language English
Average 30-day exchange rate 1 Botswanan Pula = $0.072997 USD
Vaccine requirements Only if entering from a country where yellow fever is endemic
COVID test required? No
Travel advisory level Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution
Emergency services phone number 997 - Ambulance
998 - Fire brigade
999 - Police
Accepts U.S. health insurance? No
Travel insurance required? Not required, but highly recommended

FAQ: Botswana travel insurance

Is it safe for tourists to visit Botswana?

Like every country, Botswana has some areas where pickpocketing and other petty crimes are relatively common. However, it’s one of the safest nations in Africa, according to the Global Peace Index. One of the greatest risks is the poor road conditions.

Do I need travel insurance to visit Botswana?

The government of Botswana doesn’t require tourists to purchase travel insurance, but we highly recommend having comprehensive coverage before your trip begins.

What does Botswana travel insurance cover?

Botswana travel insurance covers a wide range of risks, such as natural disasters, inclement weather that begins after your departure, the unexpected death of a family member and acts of terrorism.

Can I buy travel insurance after I’ve started my trip to Botswana?

Some companies allow you to buy insurance after your trip begins, but we highly recommend purchasing as far in advance as possible.

About the Author

Leigh Morgan
Leigh Morgan Personal Finance

Leigh Morgan is a seasoned personal finance contributor with over 15 years of experience writing on a diverse range of professional legal and financial topics. She specializes in subjects like navigating the complexities of insurance, savings, zero-based budgeting and emergency fund development.

In the last five years, she’s authored over 300 articles for credit unions, digital banks, and financial professionals. Morgan is also the author of “77 Tips for Preventing Elder Financial Abuse,” a book focused on helping caregivers protect the elderly from financial scams.

In addition to her writing skills, she brings real-world financial acumen thanks to her previous experience managing rental properties as part of a $34 million real estate portfolio.

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