Jo’Burg Up To Botswana

To get from Jo’Burg, South Africa up to Gaborone, Botswana I booked a seat online, on the Intercape Bus, which departs from Park City Transit Centre in Johannesburg. Seats are not designated on this bus line and the man who stowed my pack underneath told me I could have any seat apart from the drivers. Travel tips included

The bus stopped a few times before Pretoria where we had a lengthy stop. The woman sitting behind me had ordered a chicken dinner and we had to wait for it to arrive.  If only I’d know it was ok to order in.

Advice For Traveling Intercape

My advice for traveling on the Intercape Line is to have your own sounds and some headphones. They do advertise that they “Promote the Christian faith on our coaches” which is fine. If you are a Christian or thinking about converting but the same track of worship played multiple times can get a bit monotonous. They did, however, show non-Christian related movies which were a blessing, no pun intended.

Crossing The Border

I had heard rumours about being left behind when crossing the border into Mozambique because the bus wouldn’t wait for people having to get a visa.  No such problems crossing into Botswana.  It was a breeze leaving South Africa and on the Botswana side, they simply ask you how long you intend to stay and provide you with the stamp.

Transiting In Gaborone

The buses final destination is the Intercape Office, Kudu Shell Service Station, Queens Road and thankfully there are “taxis” there waiting. Although not registered taxis ie no meter or taxi sign, I felt safe catching a ride as my driver helped try and find me a sim card and drop me at the train station, for the poultry cost of 40 Pula ($3.60 USD) Although the bus had been late arriving (I hope the lady enjoyed her chicken dinner, completely jealous) I still had plenty of time before my trains 9.25pm departure.

BR Express

The passenger train service in Botswana ended in 2009 but thankfully started up again with nice new trains in March 2016 to much fanfare and problems.  Some of these problems seem to still be happening, I guess as they try to iron out the creases.

I attempted to book my sleeper online.  Firstly, there are no sleepers available as yet, July 2016, (those carriages must be still in transit) even though it’s an option on their booking screen. Then there was an error with the booking dates, it would default to today’s date. I ended up ringing Botswana and a very helpful Botswanian BR Express IT man helped me by phoning me with updates and finally finding a suitable solution.  Already I was beginning to get a good vibe.

This site is great for information on train travel in Africa and all over the world: Seat 61

The Non-Sleeper

Did I mention I love train travel? Especially when it’s a sleeper. For this train trip, I was in a business class “sitter” (146 Pula $13.50 usd) I’m not sure what the differentiator of “business class” was except potentially more leg room. The seats only reclined an inch, there was nothing to put your feet up off the ground onto, the lights remained on all night and movies played at full volume right throughout the night.  I was luckily enough not to have anyone sitting next to me and was short enough to be able to stretch my legs out across the two seats.

Buffet Carriage

They did have a buffet carriage where I managed to get a coffee and a decent tasting pie and a lady ordering next to me got a spaghetti bolognese.  There’s no alcohol on the Botswana railway and I was really gasping for that “relaxing-you’ve-survived-your-trip-beer.

Luggage Storage and Bathrooms

The train was all spanky new and clean.  The toilets the same, they had toilet paper but unfortunately no hand soap.  The luggage storage on the carriage is above your seat and way above your head.  There was no way I was strong enough to do what amounted to a 17kg bench press to get my backpack up there.  A very helpful local man assisted me without having to ask, thankfully!

On arrival in Francistown, spot on time at 6am, they announced that you could pick up your luggage from the luggage cart.  So one exists, if only I’d  known.  But now you know so please ask and you won’t have to attempt the weightlifting exercise like I did.

At the time of writing, no other bus companies go to Botswana and there are no trains.

It’s easy enough to find the Intercape office on the ground floor of the Park Station building.  You’ll need the credit card you booked with and your passport to receive your ticket

New Zealanders, Australians, people from the UK don’t require a visa and no proof of onwards transport was asked for. Here’s a link for the complete list of the countries not requiring a visa.

There are two waiting rooms at Gaborone, and Francistown train stations – one for Business Class patrons and one for other patrons.  As the train arrived so early in the morning, in Francistown I had to wait for my pick up.  If you have to do the same, go to the Business Class waiting room – it’s a lot better heated!