Cape Town to Victoria Falls — Self-Launched Overland Adventure

Land at Cape Town International and take the MyCiTi bus or a ~£15 Uber into the city centre. Check into a hostel in Green Point or the City Bowl (~£16-22/night dorm). Spend the afternoon wandering the V&A Waterfront and, if the weather is clear, ride the Table Mountain cable car (~£22 return, book online to skip queues) for sunset. Self-cater or grab a cheap curry at a Long Street spot — no group dinner required.

🚌MyCiTi bus from airport ~£8, or Uber ~£15

🛏Hostel dorm, Green Point/City Bowl (~£18)

• →Table Mountain cable car (self-booked, ~£22)
• →V&A Waterfront walk

Do the classic peninsula drive independently. Cheapest option is a scheduled Cape Peninsula day tour via GetYourGuide (~£45-60 including park entry) or, if you're a confident driver, split a rental car with hostel mates (~£25/day plus fuel). Either way you'll drive Chapman's Peak Drive (toll ~£3), hike the short lighthouse walk at Cape Point, stand at the Cape of Good Hope sign, and see the Boulders Beach penguins (~£10 entry). Skip the included wine farm and instead stop at a Constantia or Stellenbosch estate tasting on the way back (~£8-12).

🚌Cape Peninsula day tour ~£50 or shared car hire ~£25 + fuel

🛏Hostel dorm, Cape Town (~£18)

• →Chapman's Peak Drive
• →Cape Point lighthouse hike
• →Cape of Good Hope boardwalk
• →Boulders Beach penguins
• →Optional wine tasting (~£10)

Head north on the N7. The cheapest independent route is the Intercape or Greyhound coach from Cape Town to Citrusdal or Clanwilliam (~£18-25, 3.5-4 hrs) — book online a few days ahead. Base yourself in a Clanwilliam guesthouse or backpackers (~£20-28) and spend the afternoon hiking among the Cederberg rock formations or visiting a rooibos tea farm. This replaces Exodus's Highlanders Lodge stop with a comparable small-town stay.

🚌Intercape coach Cape Town–Clanwilliam ~£22

🛏Clanwilliam guesthouse/backpackers (~£24)

• →Cederberg hiking
• →Rooibos farm visit (optional, ~£5)

Continue north by coach to Springbok or Vioolsdrift (~£15), then cross the border on foot or with a shared taxi into Namibia and arrange a pickup to Felix Unite Cabanas near Noordoewer (~£25 shared transfer). The lodge's riverside cabins are the same property Exodus uses — book direct or via Booking.com for ~£30-40 per person in a shared cabin. Sunset over the Orange River gorge is the reward.

🚌Coach ~£15 + shared transfer ~£25

🛏Felix Unite Cabanas riverside cabin (~£35)

• →Border crossing to Namibia
• →Orange River sunset

Book the half-day Orange River canoe trip directly with Felix Unite (~£35-45, includes guide and gear) — the same product the tour includes. After lunch, arrange a shared shuttle or hitch a ride north to Hobas and the Fish River Canyon viewpoint (~£25-35 per person shared), then overnight at a canyon-area guesthouse or camp (~£25). Walk the rim trail at sunset — the second-largest canyon in the world and blissfully quiet without a tour group.

🚌Shared shuttle to Hobas ~£30

🛏Canyon-area guesthouse/camp (~£25)

• →Orange River canoe trip (~£40)
• →Fish River Canyon rim walk

This is the longest transfer of the trip (~500 km). Independent options: book a seat on a Namibia shuttle service or overland backpacker bus (e.g. a shared minibus via Keetmanshoop and Mariental, roughly £40-55), or join a hostel-arranged transfer. Overnight at a campsite or budget camp near Sesriem (~£12-18 camping, ~£30 for a small room). Stock up on water and food in Mariental — Sesriem's shop is limited and pricey.

🚌Shared minibus/shuttle ~£45

🛏Sesriem campsite/budget camp (~£18)

• →Long-distance transfer through southern Namibia

Enter the park at sunrise (Namib-Naukluft entry ~£8 plus ~£8 vehicle fee, split between passengers). The 4x4 shuttle into Sossusvlei/Hiddenvlei is ~£12 return per person — take it rather than the long sand walk. Climb Dune 45 on the way in, walk to Deadvlei's dead trees, and stop at Sesriem Canyon on the way out. Do it yourself with a shared 4x4 transfer from Sesriem (~£25-35 pp) or join a sunrise tour from your camp for ~£45.

🚌Shared 4x4 into the dunes ~£30

🛏Sesriem campsite/budget camp (~£18)

• →Dune 45 climb
• →Deadvlei walk
• →Sossusvlei 4x4 shuttle (~£12)
• →Sesriem Canyon

Take a shared shuttle or scheduled backpacker transfer from Sesriem to Swakopmund via Walvis Bay (~£40-50, 5-6 hrs). Ask the driver to stop at the Walvis Bay lagoon for flamingos (seasonal and free). In Swakopmund, check into a backpackers or budget guesthouse (~£20-28) — the town is compact and walkable, with a strong German colonial architectural legacy and excellent bakeries.

🚌Shared shuttle ~£45

🛏Swakopmund backpackers (~£24)

• →Walvis Bay flamingo lagoon
• →Swakopmund town walk

Build your own activity day. Popular self-bookable options: the Walvis Bay dolphin and seal catamaran cruise (~£55-70 via GetYourGuide, includes oysters and sherry), sandboarding on the dunes (~£30), skydiving or a scenic Skeleton Coast flight (~£150-250), or a township tour (~£25). Budget travellers can simply hike the dunes and eat cake. Book water activities a day ahead — they fill up.

🚌Local taxis/walking ~£5

🛏Swakopmund backpackers (~£24)

• →Dolphin & seal catamaran cruise (~£60, optional)
• →Sandboarding (~£30, optional)
• →Skeleton Coast scenic flight (optional, expensive)

Arrange a shared transfer or hire a car north via Uis to Brandberg (~£45-60 shared, ~4 hrs). Stay at a Damaraland camp or the Brandberg White Lady Lodge area (~£25-35). In the afternoon, drive or arrange a local guide to the White Lady rock-art trail in Valley 45 — a two-hour walk to one of Namibia's most famous San paintings (guide ~£15-20, site fee ~£5).

🚌Shared transfer ~£50

🛏Brandberg/Damaraland lodge or camp (~£30)

• →White Lady rock art hike (~£20 with local guide)

Transfer north to Etosha (~£45 shared, 4-5 hrs) and check into the NWR camps inside or just outside the park (Okaukuejo/Halali camps ~£20-35 camping, ~£60-80 for a bush chalet shared). Pay the park entry (~£12) and vehicle fee (~£5). Take a self-drive or camp-organised sunset game drive (~£30-45 pp) — Etosha's waterholes are famous for elephant and black rhino sightings at dusk.

🚌Shared transfer ~£45

🛏Etosha NWR camp (~£30 camping)

• →Etosha sunset game drive (~£35)
• →Waterhole viewing

Spend a full day exploring the park's waterhole circuit. Cheapest option is a self-drive hire car shared between 3-4 travellers (~£40/day plus fuel and park fees split). Otherwise join guided morning and afternoon drives from the camp (~£35-45 each). Camp waterholes are lit at night — sit up with a beer and watch rhino and lion come to drink for free.

🚌Self-drive share ~£20 or guided drives ~£70

🛏Etosha NWR camp (~£30 camping)

• →Morning game drive
• →Afternoon game drive
• →Night waterhole viewing

Move toward the eastern side of the park (Namutoni) for a different waterhole circuit and a chance at the rare black-faced impala, or repeat your favourite drive with an early start when predators are active. Rack up sightings and use the day to rest, do laundry and refuel before the long push north-east.

🚌Self-drive share ~£20

🛏Etosha NWR camp, Namutoni side (~£30 camping)

• →Game drives
• →Waterhole watching

Drive or take a shared shuttle east to Rundu on the Kavango River (~£35-45, 4-5 hrs). Check into a riverside lodge or backpackers such as the Rainbow River Lodge area (~£25-35). The afternoon is for the pool, the river deck and sunset over the water — a slow-travel breather between safari legs.

🚌Shared shuttle ~£40

🛏Kavango riverside lodge (~£30)

• →Kavango River sunset

Book a mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) trip directly with your lodge or a local guide (~£20-30 for a couple of hours) — the same experience the tour includes, on the river that feeds the Okavango Delta. Add a community village walk with a local guide (~£15) if you want the cultural side. Birdlife is superb: kingfishers, fish eagles, hippos grunting in the reeds.

🚌Walking/local

🛏Kavango riverside lodge (~£30)

• →Mokoro canoe trip (~£25)
• →Community village tour (~£15, optional)

Cross into Botswana via the Mohembo or Katima Mulilo border and continue to Kasane by shared taxi and minibus (~£30-40 total, allow a full day). Kasane sits right on the Chobe River, next door to the park. Check into a lodge or backpackers such as the Kwalape Lodge area (~£30-40). Get your Botswana SIM and pula at the border.

🚌Shared taxis and minibuses ~£35

🛏Kasane lodge/backpackers (~£35)

• →Botswana border crossing
• →Chobe riverside evening

The classic Chobe combo: an early-morning 4x4 game drive (~£45-55 self-booked with a Kasane operator) for the huge elephant herds, then an afternoon Chobe River boat cruise (~£30-40) for hippos, crocodiles and elephants drinking at the water's edge. Book both directly through your lodge or via GetYourGuide — no group markup. Park fees are included in most activity prices but check.

🚌Activity pickups included

🛏Kasane lodge/backpackers (~£35)

• →Chobe morning game drive (~£50)
• →Chobe River sunset cruise (~£35)

Take a shared taxi to the Kazungula border (four-country crossing point) and on to Victoria Falls town (~£20-25 total). Check into a backpackers or budget lodge such as the Shearwater Explorers Village area (~£25-35). Visa on arrival for Zimbabwe is typically US$30 for UK passports (~£24) — bring USD cash. Spend the late afternoon walking the falls' rainforest path at golden hour (~£25 entry).

🚌Shared taxi ~£22

🛏Victoria Falls backpackers (~£30)

• →Kazungula border crossing
• →Victoria Falls rainforest walk (~£25)

Pick your own adventure. White-water rafting on the Zambezi is the headline act (~£85-110 self-booked), or take a microlight or helicopter flight over the falls (~£110-150). Budget travellers can walk across the Victoria Falls Bridge to Zambia and see the falls from the other side (~£20 KAZA visa) — note the Zambian side can run dry in low season. Cheaper thrills: sunset drinks on the bridge, or a gorge swing (~£60).

🚌Local walking/taxis ~£5

🛏Victoria Falls backpackers (~£30)

• →Zambezi white-water rafting (~£95, optional)
• →Helicopter/microlight flight (~£130, optional)
• →Zambia side visit via KAZA visa (~£20)

Final morning at the falls or a lazy breakfast at a riverside cafe. Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) is a short taxi ride away (~£15) with connections to Johannesburg, Nairobi and Harare, or take a bus to Bulawayo/Lusaka onward. Flights home and the international airfare are extra — this budget covers only the overland tour.

🚌Taxi to VFA airport ~£15

🛏None (departure day)

• →Free morning
• →Departure