Budget safari holiday in South Africa

South Africa is well-suited to budget travellers. There are backpacker hostels and affordable B&Bs as well as self-catering options in all major centres. There are also very affordable and well-equipped campsites, usually with hot water in the ablution blocks and electricity. For transport, the perennially popular hop-on, hop-off Baz Bus connects Johannesburg to Cape Town via the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and the Garden Route. Good and very affordable coach services run along these and most other trunk routes.

Most backpacker hostels offer or can arrange a variety of excursions – from half-day, wine-tasting trips out of Cape Town to multi-night Kruger safaris out of Johannesburg – at prices that cater to their intended clientele. Although restaurants in South Africa are very affordable by international standards, the cost of eating out three times a day will add up, and you can save a lot of money by self-catering and buying ingredients and drinks directly from supermarkets and liquor stores. Most travellers opt to book a vehicle with car hire South Africa to accommodate their travel

Straight From The Driver's Seat

Read about real adventures and routes through Africa from the people who drove them.

8 days 137 km

Two Generations, One Toyota Hilux, and the Magic of Botswana

Pallav set out on his fourth consecutive annual expedition into Botswana’s wild north. But this time, he brought along his parents. Together, they went on a self-drive adventure from Maun to Magotho…