Self-Launched Best of Cape Town, Kruger & Namibia

Arrive in Cape Town at any time. Take the MyCiTi Airport Bus (Route A01) from Cape Town International Airport to the city centre for around £1.50, or a metered taxi for ~£20. Check into your hostel or guesthouse in the De Waterkant or Long Street area. Spend the evening exploring the V&A Waterfront on foot and grab dinner at one of the many casual restaurants.

🚌MyCiTi Airport Bus (~£1.50) or metered taxi (~£20)

🛏Ashanti Lodge Gardens or Once in Cape Town Guesthouse (~£20–30/night)

• →Arrive and settle in
• →Walk the V&A Waterfront
• →Explore Long Street for dinner options

Start your morning with a self-guided walk through the colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood — entirely free and unmissable. Book a half-day Cape Peninsula tour via GetYourGuide (~£35–45pp) that covers Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Boulders Beach penguin colony, and the Cape of Good Hope. Alternatively, hire a car for the day (~£40) and do it yourself at your own pace.

🚌Shared Cape Peninsula day tour minibus (~£35–45) or car hire (~£40/day)

🛏Ashanti Lodge Gardens or Once in Cape Town Guesthouse (~£20–30/night)

• →Self-guided walk through Bo-Kaap
• →Visit Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
• →See African penguins at Boulders Beach
• →Cape of Good Hope — southwesternmost point of Africa

Make the most of your free day. Hike up Table Mountain via the Platteklip Gorge trail (free, ~2–3 hours up) or take the cable car (~£18 return). Alternatively, take a shared shuttle to Stellenbosch (~£8 each way) for wine tastings and food pairings in the Cape Winelands. Several wine estates offer tasting flights for £10–20.

🚌Walk to Table Mountain trailhead or Uber (~£5); shared shuttle to Stellenbosch (~£8 each way)

🛏Ashanti Lodge Gardens or Once in Cape Town Guesthouse (~£20–30/night)

• →Hike Platteklip Gorge to Table Mountain summit (free)
• →OR take the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (~£18 return)
• →OR day trip to Stellenbosch and Cape Winelands wine tasting (~£20–30)

Catch a budget flight from Cape Town (CPT) to Johannesburg (JNB) with FlySafair or Kulula (~£50–70 booked in advance). On arrival, book a Soweto township guided tour via GetYourGuide or direct (~£25–35pp), visiting Vilakazi Street, the Mandela House Museum, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial. In the evening, head to a local shisa nyama (South African braai/BBQ) restaurant in Soweto for an authentic dinner.

🚌Budget domestic flight CPT–JNB (~£50–70); Uber from OR Tambo airport to Soweto (~£10)

🛏Curiocity Backpackers Johannesburg or Joburg Backpackers (~£18–25/night)

• →Fly Cape Town to Johannesburg (~£50–70)
• →Guided Soweto township tour (~£25–35pp)
• →Visit Mandela House Museum
• →Traditional South African braai dinner

Rent a car or join a shared transfer to drive the scenic Panorama Route (~4–5 hours from Joburg). Stop at Blyde River Canyon (one of the world's largest green canyons), Bourke's Luck Potholes, and God's Window for sweeping escarpment views. Arrive in the Greater Kruger area (Hazyview or Hoedspruit) by late afternoon and check into your guesthouse.

🚌Car hire from Joburg (~£45/day) or shared shuttle (~£30–40pp)

🛏Kruger Park Backpackers or Hazyview Guesthouse (~£20–28/night)

• →Blyde River Canyon viewpoint
• →Bourke's Luck Potholes
• →God's Window panoramic viewpoint
• →Scenic Panorama Route drive

Book a full-day open vehicle safari drive in Kruger National Park through GetYourGuide or directly with a licensed operator (~£65–85pp). Your qualified guide will search for the Big Five — lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo — plus giraffe, hippo, zebra, and more. Pack snacks and water; most operators include a bush lunch stop.

🚌Shared safari vehicle included in tour; car hire or guesthouse transfer to meeting point

🛏Kruger Park Backpackers or Hazyview Guesthouse (~£20–28/night)

• →Full-day open 4x4 safari drive in Kruger (~£65–85pp)
• →Big Five wildlife spotting
• →Bush lunch stop

Transfer from the greater Kruger area north to Karongwe Private Game Reserve (~2.5 hours by road). This smaller private reserve offers more exclusive safari experiences with fewer crowds. Check into a tented safari camp and enjoy the late-afternoon game drive included with many camp bookings. Self-drive to Karongwe via car hire, or arrange a shared transfer through your accommodation.

🚌Car hire or pre-arranged shared transfer (~£20–30pp)

🛏Karongwe River Lodge tented camp or Transfrontier Africa budget tents (~£40–60/night including game drive)

• →Morning at leisure or optional Kruger self-drive
• →Transfer to Karongwe Private Reserve
• →Afternoon game drive at the reserve

Make the most of Karongwe with two open vehicle game drives — the early morning drive (departing ~5:30am) and the late afternoon/evening drive are the best times to spot predators and wildlife at waterholes. Your experienced ranger and local tracker will share incredible knowledge of the African bush. Most tented camp packages include both drives.

🚌Included with camp package

🛏Karongwe River Lodge tented camp (~£40–60/night including game drives)

• →Early morning open vehicle wildlife safari drive
• →Midday rest and swimming pool at camp
• →Afternoon/evening open vehicle safari drive with spotlight wildlife tracking

Enjoy a final early morning game drive before checking out. Begin the long drive or arrange an overland transfer northward toward the Namibian border. Many independent travellers overnight near the border town of Musina or continue through to Namibia on a multi-day self-drive. Alternatively, catch an overnight bus from Johannesburg to Windhoek with Intercape (~£40–60).

🚌Intercape bus Johannesburg to Windhoek (~£40–60) or self-drive with rental car

🛏Transit / overnight bus or budget guesthouse near border (~£15–20/night)

• →Final morning game drive
• →Depart toward Namibia
• →Optional: overnight Intercape bus Joburg–Windhoek (~£40–60)

Arrive in Windhoek, Namibia's capital. Check in and spend the afternoon exploring the compact city centre on foot — visit the Christuskirche, the Independence Memorial Museum, and browse the lively craft markets. Stock up on supplies and snacks for the upcoming desert journey. Windhoek is a great place to organise your Namibia car hire if self-driving onwards.

🚌Intercape bus arrival or self-drive

🛏Chameleon Backpackers & Guesthouse Windhoek (~£18–28/night)

• →Arrive in Windhoek
• →Walk to Christuskirche and Independence Memorial Museum
• →Browse craft markets for local souvenirs
• →Stock up on supplies for desert travel

Hire a car in Windhoek (highly recommended for Namibia — ~£45–60/day for a 2WD on tarred roads to Sesriem) and drive south along the C26/D1275 to Sesriem (~330km, 3.5–4 hours). Check in at the Sesriem campsite or a budget lodge just outside the park gate. The campsite inside Sesriem gate allows you to enter before sunrise — an unmissable advantage.

🚌Self-drive hired car (~£45–60/day); Namibia National Park entry fee ~£6pp/day

🛏Sesriem Campsite (inside gate, ~£10pp) or Desert Homestead Lodge (~£40–55/night)

• →Morning car hire collection in Windhoek
• →Scenic drive south through Namibia's arid landscapes
• →Arrive Sesriem and check in to campsite or budget lodge
• →Short evening walk to Sesriem Canyon (free with park entry)

Wake before dawn and drive into Sossusvlei as the gates open at sunrise. Hike up the famous Dune 45 (free with park entry) for breathtaking 360° views over the crimson dunes, then drive to the 4WD parking area (or take the park shuttle ~£3pp) to walk the final 1km to Deadvlei — the iconic white clay pan dotted with ancient dead camelthorn trees, framed by the world's highest dunes. Return to camp and rest through the midday heat.

🚌Self-drive to Sossusvlei 2WD car park; park shuttle to vlei (~£3pp) or 4WD

🛏Sesriem Campsite or Desert Homestead Lodge (~£10–55/night)

• →Sunrise climb of Dune 45
• →Walk to Deadvlei clay pan and ancient trees
• →Explore Sossusvlei salt and clay pan
• →Afternoon rest at camp

Drive north from Sesriem through the dramatic desert landscape toward the Atlantic coast (~380km, 4–5 hours). Stop briefly at Walvis Bay's famous flamingo lagoon (free viewpoint), then continue to Swakopmund, Namibia's adventure capital. This charming German colonial seaside town is a hub for adrenaline activities. Check in and explore the town's quirky mix of German bakeries and Namibian culture.

🚌Self-drive hired car (~£45–60/day)

🛏Alte Brücke Resort or Desert Sky Backpackers Swakopmund (~£18–30/night)

• →Scenic drive through Namibian desert to the coast
• →Stop at Walvis Bay flamingo lagoon
• →Arrive Swakopmund — explore town centre
• →Browse craft market and try local seafood

Swakopmund is Namibia's adventure playground — choose from sandboarding on towering dunes (~£30), quad biking through the desert (~£40), a Skeleton Coast kayak tour with seals (~£40), or a relaxed dune buggy experience. Book via local operators in town or through Klook/GetYourGuide. In the evening, join a free stargazing session at the desert edge — the Namib sky is extraordinary.

🚌Activities include pickup from town centre

🛏Alte Brücke Resort or Desert Sky Backpackers Swakopmund (~£18–30/night)

• →Sandboarding on Swakopmund dunes (~£30pp)
• →OR quad biking through desert (~£40pp)
• →OR Walvis Bay kayaking with Cape fur seals (~£40pp)
• →Swakopmund craft beer and seafood dinner

Drive northeast into the remote and spectacular Damaraland region (~4 hours). This wild landscape of volcanic rock formations, ancient rock engravings, and desert-adapted wildlife is one of Namibia's hidden gems. Visit Twyfelfontein UNESCO World Heritage Site (~£4 entry) for 6,000-year-old San rock engravings. Keep an eye out for desert-adapted elephants and black rhino — free to spot from the road.

🚌Self-drive hired car; C35 road is gravel but manageable in 2WD with care (~£45–60/day)

🛏Damaraland Camp budget tents or Mowani Mountain Camp (~£35–55/night)

• →Scenic drive through Damaraland
• →Twyfelfontein rock engravings (UNESCO World Heritage Site, ~£4 entry)
• →Wildlife spotting: desert-adapted elephants, oryx, springbok

Drive north from Damaraland to Etosha National Park (~3 hours), entering through the Anderson Gate (south). Etosha is built around a massive salt pan visible from space, and its famous waterholes attract extraordinary concentrations of wildlife. Pay your park entry fee (~£6pp/day) and head to your camp at Okaukuejo Rest Camp. The floodlit waterhole at Okaukuejo is open 24 hours and is one of Africa's greatest free wildlife spectacles.

🚌Self-drive hired car; NamibRand park entry ~£6pp/day

🛏Okaukuejo Rest Camp (Namibia Wildlife Resorts, ~£25–40/night for bungalow/camping)

• →Drive to Etosha National Park
• →Self-drive afternoon game drive in open vehicle/car
• →Evening wildlife watching at Okaukuejo floodlit waterhole (free, open 24hrs)

Spend the entire day self-driving through Etosha's vast pans and waterholes, or book a guided open vehicle safari through your lodge (~£55–75pp). Wildlife regularly spotted includes lion, cheetah, elephant, black and white rhino, giraffe, zebra, and the rare black-faced impala. Focus your driving around the famous Okondeka, Rietfontein, and Klein Namutoni waterholes for the best game concentrations.

🚌Self-drive hired car included in trip; optional guided safari (~£55–75pp)

🛏Halali or Namutoni Rest Camp (NWR, ~£25–40/night)

• →Full-day self-drive or guided open vehicle safari in Etosha
• →Waterhole wildlife watching (lion, rhino, elephant, giraffe)
• →Evening at floodlit camp waterhole

Rise early for one final golden-hour game drive through Etosha before checkout. Exit through the Von Lindequist Gate (east) or Anderson Gate and drive south to Windhoek (~4.5–5 hours on the B1 highway). Drop off your hire car and spend the evening in Windhoek — enjoy a farewell dinner at Joe's Beerhouse, a Namibian institution famous for game meat dishes and local craft beer.

🚌Self-drive hired car (~£45–60/day); return car at Windhoek

🛏Chameleon Backpackers & Guesthouse Windhoek or Cardboard Box Backpackers (~£18–28/night)

• →Final early morning self-drive game drive in Etosha
• →Drive south to Windhoek on B1 highway
• →Car hire drop-off
• →Farewell dinner at Joe's Beerhouse, Windhoek

Your adventure ends in Windhoek. Hosea Kutako International Airport is ~45km from the city centre — book an airport shuttle or shared taxi (~£10–15pp). Depart at any time. If you have time before your flight, visit the Namibia Craft Centre for last-minute souvenirs, or grab breakfast at one of Windhoek's excellent German-Namibian cafes.

🚌Shared airport shuttle or taxi (~£10–15pp)

🛏Check out

• →Morning at leisure in Windhoek
• →Last-minute shopping at the Namibia Craft Centre
• →Transfer to Hosea Kutako International Airport (~£10–15pp)