Cape Town to Kruger Safari — Self-Launched (14 Days)

Start in Cape Town and take the Intercape or Greyhound coach (approx 6-7 hrs, ~£20-28) over the Outeniqua Mountains to Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo. Check into a backpackers on the main strip (Backpackers Paradise or similar, dorm ~£12-16). In the afternoon join a self-booked guided tour of the Cango Caves (book direct or via GetYourGuide, ~£8-10) — the 1-hour Heritage Tour covers the main chambers. If you have energy left, hire a bike and spin the UNESCO Swartberg Pass road; otherwise sign up for a Karoo braai dinner on a working ostrich farm (~£15).

🚌Intercape/Greyhound coach ~6-7 hrs (~£20-28)

🛏Backpackers dorm, Oudtshoorn (~£12-16/night)

• →Intercape coach Cape Town to Oudtshoorn
• →Cango Caves guided tour
• →Optional: Swartberg Pass bike ride
• →Optional: Karoo braai farm dinner

Coach down to Gqeberha (approx 5 hrs, ~£15-22) and check into a hostel in the city centre or Summerstrand (dorm ~£12-18). Book onto a shared afternoon/evening game drive into Addo Elephant National Park — most hostels and local operators run daily trips with pick-up (~£35-50 including park fees). Addo is one of the best places in Africa to see free-roaming elephant herds at close range, plus buffalo, zebra and lion in the northern section.

🚌Intercape coach ~5 hrs (~£15-22); shared game drive pickup

🛏Hostel dorm, Gqeberha (~£12-18/night)

• →Coach to Gqeberha
• →Shared game drive in Addo Elephant National Park
• →Optional: karaoke bar on the beachfront

Full day in the Eastern Cape reserves. Book a self-drive or partnered day trip into a private reserve (Schotia Safaris is the classic budget-friendly option, ~£60-80 for a half-day drive plus a bush dinner; Shamwari and Amakhala charge more for Big Five drives, ~£90-120). Two drives in a day (morning and sunset) give you the best chance of lion, rhino and giraffe. If you'd rather do it yourself, hire a car for the day (~£30-40 split between travellers) and drive into Addo's southern gate.

🚌Shared game drive transfer or self-drive hire

🛏Hostel dorm, Gqeberha (~£12-18/night)

• →Two game drives in Eastern Cape private reserves
• →Optional: bush braai dinner
• →Optional: karaoke bar in the evening

Take the Baz Bus or Intercape along the Garden Route toward Knysna (approx 4 hrs, ~£14-20), jumping off at Tsitsikamma National Park on the way. Walk the Storms River Mouth trail and cross the famous suspension bridges over the gorge (park entry ~£12). Optional add-ons: a surf lesson at Jeffreys Bay (~£30) or a kayak up the Storms River mouth (~£35). Continue to Knysna and check into a backpackers overlooking the lagoon (dorm ~£14-20).

🚌Baz Bus / Intercape ~4 hrs (~£14-20); park entry ~£12

🛏Backpackers dorm, Knysna (~£14-20/night)

• →Storms River Bridge hike in Tsitsikamma National Park
• →Optional: surfing lesson at Jeffreys Bay
• →Optional: kayaking Storms River mouth

Slow day on the Garden Route. Breakfast at a lagoon-side café, then choose: a marine safari out of Knysna or Plettenberg Bay to look for whales, dolphins and seals (~£45-60), a township walking tour with a local guide (~£20-25), or a sunset lagoon cruise (~£25). In the evening the hostels and waterfront bars run group dinners and nights out — an easy way to meet other travellers heading the same direction.

🚌Local tuktuk / shared taxi / on foot

🛏Backpackers dorm, Knysna (~£14-20/night)

• →Marine safari (whales, dolphins, seals)
• →Township walking tour in Knysna
• →Knysna lagoon sunset cruise
• →Group dinner by the water

Long coach day back to Cape Town (approx 6-7 hrs, ~£20-28). Break the journey at Stony Point Nature Reserve in Betty's Bay to see African penguins on the boardwalk for a fraction of Boulders Beach's crowd (~£5). If it's whale season (Jun-Nov), stop off in Hermanus for a clifftop land-based whale watch — you can often see southern right whales from the shore for free. Arrive in Cape Town and check into a hostel in Green Point or the city centre (dorm ~£15-22).

🚌Intercape coach ~6-7 hrs (~£20-28); reserve entry ~£5

🛏Hostel dorm, Cape Town (~£15-22/night)

• →Stony Point Nature Reserve penguin boardwalk
• →Optional: whale spotting in Hermanus (Jun-Nov)
• →Evening in Cape Town

Free morning in Cape Town — walk the V&A Waterfront, Bo-Kaap or the Company's Garden. In the afternoon take a self-arranged winelands trip to Stellenbosch: the Winelands tram or a shared shuttle from Cape Town runs day trips (~£40-60 including 3-4 tastings), or take the Metro train to Stellenbosch (~£2) and walk between two or three estates. Optional extras: a helicopter flip over the Atlantic seaboard (~£150-200) or an evening Cape Malay cooking class with music and drinks (~£35-45).

🚌Metro train or shared winelands shuttle (~£2-60 depending on option)

🛏Hostel dorm, Cape Town (~£15-22/night)

• →Stellenbosch wine tasting (2-3 estates)
• →Optional: helicopter flight over Cape Town
• →Optional: Cape Malay cooking class in Bo-Kaap

Morning: ride the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (book online to skip the queue, ~£18-22; hike Platteklip Gorge instead if you want the free option) and do a self-guided walk of the city centre and V&A Waterfront. Mid-afternoon, fly Cape Town to Durban (Kulula/FlySafair/Mango, ~£50-90 one way if booked ahead) — much faster than the 20+ hour bus. Check into a hostel in Umhlanga or on the Golden Mile (dorm ~£13-18) and head out for a Durban curry — the city's signature dish, best around the Florida Road or Victoria Street markets (~£6-8).

🚌Cable car ~£18-22; domestic flight ~£50-90

🛏Hostel dorm, Durban (~£13-18/night)

• →Table Mountain cable car
• →Self-guided Cape Town & V&A Waterfront walk
• →Flight to Durban
• →Durban curry dinner and night out

Shuttle or Baz Bus from Durban to St Lucia (approx 3 hrs, ~£15-20) on the edge of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Check into a lodge or backpackers in the village (dorm ~£14-20). In the afternoon take a two-hour hippo and crocodile boat cruise on the St Lucia estuary (~£18-25) — you'll usually get very close to pods of hippo in the water. Optional evening: a cultural visit to a local Zulu village with a guided host (~£20-25), which supports community tourism in the area.

🚌Baz Bus / shuttle Durban to St Lucia ~3 hrs (~£15-20)

🛏Backpackers/lodge dorm, St Lucia (~£14-20/night)

• →Hippo & crocodile boat cruise on St Lucia estuary
• →Optional: Zulu village cultural visit
• →iSimangaliso Wetland Park orientation wander

Full day in iSimangaliso. Do a morning walking safari in the wetland park with a local ranger (~£25-35) — you're tracking rhino, buffalo and antelope on foot, which feels completely different from a vehicle. Afternoon marine safari out of St Lucia for whales (Jun-Nov), dolphins and turtles (~£40-55), or a boat trip onto the estuary. Finish with a sunset game drive ending in a traditional South African buffet dinner (~£40-50 all-in).

🚌Local operator pick-ups; wetland park entry ~£12

🛏Backpackers/lodge dorm, St Lucia (~£14-20/night)

• →Morning walking safari in iSimangaliso
• →Marine safari (whales, sharks, dolphins)
• →Sunset game drive with traditional buffet dinner

Early start for a half-day game drive in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve (~£45-60), South Africa's oldest reserve and one of the best places to see both black and white rhino. Afterwards cross into Eswatini (visa-free for most Western passports) and overnight in the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary bee-hive huts or the nearby backpackers (~£15-22 with a basic hut). Evening: an optional community cultural experience with local Swazi hosts, and a picnic lunch en route (~£6).

🚌Shared minibus / Baz Bus to Eswatini ~4-5 hrs (~£18-25); reserve entry ~£12

🛏Mlilwane bee-hive hut / backpackers (~£15-22/night)

• →Half-day game drive in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve
• →Cross into Eswatini
• →Optional: Swazi cultural experience

Morning safari walk on foot in Mlilwane with a local guide (~£15-20), where you'll spot zebra, wildebeest and antelope up close, or hire a mountain bike and ride the reserve tracks (~£10). Then transfer to Kruger — the easiest budget route is a shared shuttle or minibus via Nelspruit/Mbombela to Hazyview (~5-6 hrs, ~£25-35). Base yourself in a hostel or budget guesthouse at Hazyview (~£18-25) rather than inside the park where rest camps run £50+ per night in a rondavel. Late afternoon: join a self-booked sunset game drive into the park (~£35-45 plus conservation fee ~£25/day).

🚌Shared shuttle Eswatini to Hazyview ~5-6 hrs (~£25-35); Kruger conservation fee ~£25/day

🛏Hostel / budget guesthouse, Hazyview (~£18-25/night)

• →Morning safari walk in Mlilwane
• →Optional: mountain bike ride
• →Transfer to Kruger (Hazyview)
• →Sunset game drive into Kruger

Full day inside Kruger with a morning and an afternoon/evening game drive. The self-launched way: most Hazyview and Nelspruit hostels run shared drives with pick-up (~£35-45 per drive), or hire a car (~£35-45/day split between travellers) and self-drive the tarred southern circuit — Sabie River road, Skukuza and Lower Sabie are the classic Big Five stretches. End the day with a traditional South African braai back at your guesthouse, or join a guided bush braai (~£25-35).

🚌Shared game drive pick-up or self-drive hire; conservation fee ~£25/day

🛏Hostel / budget guesthouse, Hazyview (~£18-25/night)

• →Sunrise game drive in Kruger
• →Sunset game drive
• →Optional: traditional braai / bush BBQ dinner

Final early-morning game drive out of the park (many operators offer a short 3-hour sunrise drive, ~£28-35) before you head for Johannesburg. The simplest route is a shuttle from Hazyview/Nelspruit to Johannesburg (~5-6 hrs, ~£25-35), or take a bus from Nelspruit (Intercape/Greyhound, ~£15-22). Most travellers overnight near OR Tambo before their flight home (~£20-35 for a hostel dorm). Optional onward extensions: a Cape Town Explorer add-on or a Victoria Falls trip from Johannesburg if you have extra days.

🚌Shuttle Nelspruit/Hazyview to Johannesburg ~5-6 hrs (~£25-35)

🛏Hostel near OR Tambo (~£20-35/night, if staying overnight)

• →Final sunrise game drive
• →Transfer to Johannesburg
• →Optional: Victoria Falls or Cape Town extension