Getting About in South Africa

South Africa is over 1,200,000 square kilometres and has a coastline of 2,954 kilometers (1,836 miles), with the cold Atlantic Ocean on the west coast and the Indian Ocean on the east coast. It slightly bigger then Holland, Belgium, Italy, France, and Germany combined.

Getting about the country by road can be time consuming, so most visitors opt to travel by air between the larger cities. The country has a number of domestic airlines that operate between the popular destainations such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kruger, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Aside from the national carrier, South African Airlines there are 2 smaller subsidaries, SA Airlink and SA Express that fly to some of the smaller regional hubs and 2 ‘low cost, no frills’ airlines that fly between the majot cities.

Coaches

There is a good network of coaches that operate to a fixed schedule between the cities. These double deck coaches offer reclining seats and stop en route for ‘comfort breaks’ and an opportunity to buy snacks. They are a good low cost alternative but journeys can be tiring, and take many hours if not days.

Travelling by Train

Rail There are a number of options for travelling by train but these are really sightseeing rather than as a viable means to get from place to place. Rovos Rail and the Blue Train are high end operators offering the African equivalent of the Orient Express, superb food, sumptuous accommodation, all at a price.

Shogololo Express and Premiere Classe offer more affordable options, either for touring or for travelling from Johannesberg/Pretoria to Cape Town.

Driving in South Africa

Self Drive Roads in South Africa and good and well signposted, and they drive on the left, the same as in the UK. We recommend several areas for self driving such as the Garden Route, around Durban and Cape Town. We provide our clients with a personalised Travel Digest which gives detailed driving direction for every leg of the journey as well as maps, places of interest, suggested self drive day trips and contact numbers.

We can also arrange GPS systems in the hire car, for anyone who prefers it. Our hire cars are sourced from the major suppliers such as Avis, Hertz or Europcar and have 24 hour help lines, and numerous regional offices who can assist in case of accidents or breakdowns.

Escorted Tours & Day Tours Many of our guests  prefer to join an escorted tour, either moving from place to place os simply as a day excursion. We offer a number of different styles of tours from a private guided day tour to small group tours that offer a chance to travel with like-mided people and enjoy the commentary of a qualified tour guide. We offer a number of routes, some which cover the whole country over 2 or 3 weeks and some which last just 3 or 4 days, such as the highlights of the Garden Route. These tours can be combined with a city stay or a safari.