Roadtrip in South Africa

For seven years I’ve been dreaming about Africa. Then one day I decided that I’m doing something about it. I’ve been working really hard the last couple of years to make this happen. For a student money is always an issue.

For a long time it looked like I had to go on my own. None of my friends wanted to join. Time and money was always a problem. Then my American friend came to the rescue. In March he offered to join me, and since then I’ve been planning this trip. Down to every detail as far as it’s possible. Yet it’s also important to have room for changes. You never know how things will actually turn out.

I made a post about this trip ages ago, but now that the trip is starting to take shape I thought I’ll give you all an update. Maybe it’ll help other who’s planning the same thing too.

The flight
I booked the flight early. The sooner you book, the cheaper flight you’ll get. I got my roundtrip ticket for 6909NOK which is about $987. That’s from Oslo to Cape Town. My friend who’s joining had to pay almost twice as much I think, but he’s also coming to Norway two days before we leave. The only change we’ll have to do is in London. Meals are of course included.

The budget
A clever thing to do before you book anything at all is to make a budget. My budget is on about $3860, that’s included everything. Flight, accommodation, safari, rental car, meals etc.
If you try to stick to the budget you’ll get most out of your money, plus you’re not broke when you get back home.

Rental car
For a while we were considering the BazBus. But after doing some calculating it’s not actually the cheapest way to go. Since we’re both photographers we were looking for a way to get around without having to do a lot of waiting. Rental car is the way to go. Yes, it’ll cost a bit more than other options, like Greyhound buses and such, but then again, you’ll get the full freedom to go wherever, whenever. I checked prices for a long time, looking for the best offer. And I think I’ve found it. Aroundaboutcars.com offers rental cars for $27 a day. That’s included insurance. No fees for crossing borders to Swaziland, Lesotho or Namibia either.

Accommodation
Since we’re both on a tight budget hostels seem to be the way to go. It’s more comfortable than tents and a lot cheaper that the hotels. Hostels offer both single rooms, double rooms and dorms. Most of them also have a self-catering area, so you can cook your own meals. That way you also save money. It’s not needed to out every day.

The plan
We’re arriving Cape Town on the 21st of January. We’re planning on staying here for a few days, I’m thinking about 4 days or so, that way we can relax after a long flight, plus see and explore the city. After seeing Cape Town we’ll rent a car and drive along the Garden Route where we’ll see the beautiful beaches. Then we’ll continue along the Wild Coast with more beautiful beaches. Then we’re driving towards the Drakensberg, where we probably will do some hiking. After that we’ll drive through Swaziland on our way to Kruger for the safari.

In Kruger we’ll book a 6 day safari through Viva Safaris. They offer good prices. $570 for 6 days. That’s including accommodation, night drives, two meals a day and all transfers. Plus you get to see the most known things in Kruger.
After the safari we’re planning on renting a house in Marloth Park, near Kruger to have a couple of days where we just relax.

Then we’ll drive through Pretoria towards Kimberly and Upington, before we’re heading back to Cape Town.

All in all we’ll have 39 days to complete this trip. And I do believe we’ve got enough time to see what we really want to see.

Some of the things we most likely will see/do:
Cape Town: Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, the Waterfront, Robben Island, different markets, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Good Hope, the penguins etc.

Oudtshoorn: Cango Caves

Port Elizabeth: Addo Elephant Park

Upington: Kalahari Tour

Sites you could check out
Safari:
http://www.bundusafaris.com
http://www.vivasafaris.com/
http://www.wagontrails.co.za/

Rental car:
http://www.arguscarhire.com
http://www.aroundaboutcars.com
http://www.sa-venues.com/travel/wc_carhire.htm

Accommodation:
http://www.hostelworld.com
http://www.visitafrica.co.za

Discounts:
http://www.vipbackpackers.com/

So.. if you guys have any questions, or tips for this trip, don’t keep your mouth shut

On the hostels, did you do a search or book or whatever, noticed the hostel link, was that your primary source for information. How did you decide on the particular places? Regarding the meals, are you planning on cooking? That would seem to be difficult with moving around all of the time.

Yes, I used the site to search for hostels. I bought a map over entire SA and chose places I've been recommended, and places I'd like to see myself. If they couldn't find accommodation in the place I was looking for I tried google, and google always find something..

About the meals. There will be some cooking. Most hostels have a kitchen you can use to cook your own meals. That way you don't have to eat out all the time. And since we're staying at most places 2 days or more, I don't think it'll be a problem.

Hi Frida,

How you tried to check out HostelBookers as well. You will find many hostels in South Africa.

To help you out mapping out your trip, we also have different sections with events and activities you can think about while booking the place to stay in. We also have a section where you can check out travel news to see what's going on in the world.

Hope all this information helped you out.

Enjoy your trip to South Africa,
nele10

Thank you very much. I didn't know about that site. It helps alot!

Frida, I have been to South Africa and your plans sound good. You will have a wonderful time, 39 days, WOW! Wish I was there that long. You will find that meals are very cheap in South Africa. I don't know how prices are in Norway, but to compare South Africa to the US, South Africa is much cheaper in most everything. I'm planning on going back soon and will spend more time in Northern & Eastern South Africa and into central Africa. You will notice it being different in the southern hemisphere then up in Norway. Kind of neat. The weather will be much warmer, lots of sun. Enjoy!
Greg

Thank you! I sure hope it's warmer.. cause when I leave it's around -25 degrees celsius in Norway, hehe.

The meals in Norway isn't very cheap. Not too bad in the grocery stores, but if you're eating out you have to pay. Everything from $20 and more.. all depends on what you're getting of course. If you're having a big pizza at one of the most known places you have to pay almost $40.. just for the pizza! (It's big, though.. but still.. just too much)

Frida, Just to give you an idea on the price of most meals, Dinners for two can be under $20 us dollars (no alcohol drinks though) Lunch- under $12, Breakfast- under $7. This is for two people. I'm sure you can find cheaper and go over that amount too. What I found that was different was that some of the restaurants gave you a bill with 4 different currencies on it that people may pay with. Rand, US dollars, Pounds and Euros. These places were mostly near or in a tourist section.
Greg

Thank you once again! And if those prices on meals are for two people, that's definitely a lot cheaper than Norway! Here a dinner would cost around $20 for one person..

The expenses in South Africa were affordable for a friend of mine. He's living in Canada, and although not earning very much, he could afford the trip. So Frida, i think your trip is gonna be fine. ENJOY!

Thank you very much! I will enjoy
I've been working my [censored] off for this trip.. just hope it'll be worth it.. and I bet it will.

Hello guys. Now it's less than two weeks till I leave. Everything is ready. At least most of it.

Looking forward to return with loads of photos and a trip report for you all

Frida--best wishes and fair winds on your monumental journey!! Looking forward to hearing all about it!!

Have a great trip and take all kinds of notes in the evening so you don't forget them. Last minute stuff:

Remember the note pad and pens/pencils! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" /> Have to take the notes! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" />

Hello Frida,

Have a great time. You will enjoy it! I see one of your hobbies is photography. My sister-in-law is flying out to Cape Town about the same time as you. She works for Kodak and they are paying for her trip. She's going out to photograph most of Cape Town and the surroundings for Kodak. She's going by her self. Must be nice.

When do you fly out? Will you be in Cape Town?

Greg

Hey, what happened? I was logged in when I started the above post. Any how, it was me.
Greg

Hey

I'm leaving Norway on the 20th and landing in Cape Town extreamly early (6:15) on the 21st. We'll stay in Cape Town for 4 days before we're starting the Garden Route and end up in Kruger.

I'm hoping to get a lot of great photos, since that's one of the main things why we're there. http://frk-kalbakk.deviantart.com/gallery <-- That's my gallery. Hopefully in a couple of months there will be a lot more exotic photos there