Travel Guide Maun

Maun is the tourist capital of the country. The hub of the great northern game reserves, it is strategically located along the Thamalakane River, at the crossroads of the magnificent Okavango Delta and the salt flats. For most international travelers, this town will only be a transit point between two bush planes, to which one will only devote a few hours. Yet Maun is of paramount importance to all of Botswana's tourism, the backroom where all the strings are pulled, with the majority of agencies and tour operators based here. With its 70,000 inhabitants scattered in a maze of long, sprawling streets, Maun still doesn't have the soul of a dynamic and entertaining town, at least at first glance. You have to get to know it well, to immerse yourself in it before you can understand how to enjoy it. Today it has a unique mix of local Botswanans and expatriates who all find themselves working in the tourism industry. Some of the expatriates have been here for ages and can tell you how the town was once a small town with no paved roads. Today, it is a town divided between two eras and two cultures, a contrast that can be seen in the image of the small tin tuck shops next to the grey cement headquarters of Western companies. Maun has some very quiet and cheap cafes, where it is pleasant to stroll around in the afternoon.