Highlights of South Africa, Zambia & Botswana — Self-Launched
21 days · Southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Zambia
G Adventures charges £4,700
No-markup version: ~£2,250 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched version of G Adventures' 21-day Cape Town to Victoria Falls run — same route, same parks, none of the group-tour markup. You'll start in Cape Town with Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula penguins, take a budget flight up to Johannesburg for a Panorama Route road trip, then do Kruger self-drive plus a cheap unfenced bushveld rest camp, cross into Zimbabwe for Victoria Falls, hop to Kasane for Chobe boat and game drives, and finish with a mobile-safari style trip into the Okavango Delta and Moremi. Everything is booked direct or via GetYourGuide/Klook — public buses, budget flights, minivan shuttles and self-drive hire replace the touring vehicle. Expect cheaper lodgings (hostels, guesthouses, permanent tents, a delta mokoro camp) and self-catering where it makes sense. Costs are rough backpacker/mid-budget estimates in GBP and exclude international flights to/from Africa.
Day-by-day
Arrive Cape Town — settle into the City Bowl
Cape Town, South Africa
Land at Cape Town International and take the MyCiTi bus or an Uber (~£12-15) into the City Bowl rather than a pre-booked transfer. Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in Gardens or Green Point. Spend the afternoon walking to the V&A Waterfront and the Bo-Kaap for photos and a cheap bobotie or Gatsby sandwich. Sort your Kruger self-drive car hire online tonight, and prebook Table Mountain cable car for tomorrow morning (weather-dependent).
🚌MyCiTi bus or Uber from airport
🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, City Bowl/Green Point
- →V&A Waterfront wander
- →Bo-Kaap walk
- →Car hire research
Table Mountain + Cape Peninsula day trip
Cape Town, South Africa
Do the Table Mountain cable car yourself first thing (book on the official TableMountain.net site, ~£15 return) — go early to dodge queues and wind closures. Then join a shared Cape Peninsula day tour booked on GetYourGuide or Viator (~£35-45) covering Cape Point, the Cape of Good Hope and Boulders Beach penguins, or drive it yourself if you've hired a car. Self-cater dinner back in town.
🚌Shared day-tour minivan
🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, City Bowl/Green Point
- →Table Mountain cable car
- →Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope
- →Boulders Beach penguins
Robben Island or Stellenbosch wine day
Cape Town, South Africa
Pick your free day: Robben Island ferry and tour booked direct on the official Robben Island Museum site (~£25, book weeks ahead — it sells out), or a cheap Winelands day on the Metro train to Stellenbosch (~£2 each way) with two or three cellar-door tastings paid individually (~£5-8 each) rather than a £45 package tour. Evening: cheap eats on Long Street.
🚌Metro train / ferry
🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, City Bowl/Green Point
- →Robben Island tour
- →Stellenbosch wine tastings
Fly to Johannesburg — braai night
Cape Town → Johannesburg, South Africa
Book a budget domestic flight (FlySafair, Lift or Kulula) Cape Town to OR Tambo, ~£50-70 booked a few weeks out. Take the Gautrain from the airport to Rosebank or Sandton (~£8) and check into a hostel or budget hotel. In the evening join a Maboneng or Braamfontein food-and-braai walking tour booked via GetYourGuide (~£30) for the traditional barbecue experience without the group-tour welcome dinner.
🚌Domestic flight + Gautrain
🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Rosebank/Braamfontein
- →Gautrain ride
- →Braai / street food evening tour
Panorama Route road trip to Hazyview
Johannesburg → Hazyview / Kruger area
Collect your self-drive hire car (~£30-40/day including insurance; a small SUV is ideal) and drive the Panorama Route: Blyde River Canyon's Three Rondavels, Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window and Lisbon Falls, all payable on arrival (~£3-5 per site). Overnight in a backpackers or permanent-tent camp near Hazyview or in one of Kruger's own rest camps (book SANParks accommodation online months ahead — Skukuza and Lower Sabie are ~£45-70 for a bungalow or ~£20 for a safari tent).
🚌Self-drive hire car
🛏Backpackers or SANParks safari tent, Hazyview/Kruger
- →Three Rondavels
- →Bourke's Luck Potholes
- →God's Window
Kruger self-drive game viewing
Kruger National Park
Buy your Kruger conservation fee at the gate (~£30/day for international visitors) and self-drive the park's tar and gravel loops for a full day of elephants, giraffe, zebra and big cats — it's the cheapest safari on earth. Alternatively book a morning or full-day open-vehicle drive through SANParks or a Hazyview operator (~£50-110). Evening at camp: braai at your own fire and a drink on the deck watching the waterhole.
🚌Self-drive / open safari vehicle
🛏Backpackers or SANParks safari tent, Kruger
- →Kruger self-drive game viewing
- →Optional guided open-vehicle safari
Manyeleti community visit + private reserve big game
Greater Kruger → Karongwe / Manyeleti area
Do the community element independently: pre-arrange a visit to a Manyeleti-area school or village project through a responsible-tourism operator, or simply stop at a craft cooperative outside the park. Then drive to a private reserve in the Greater Kruger area (Karongwe, Balule or Klaserie) and check into a budget permanent tent or bush camp (~£45-65) with afternoon game drive included.
🚌Self-drive hire car
🛏Permanent safari tent, private reserve
- →Community school/village visit
- →Afternoon game drive in open vehicle
Full day in the private reserve
Greater Kruger private reserve
Classic safari rhythm: sunrise game drive with the lodge's tracker, brunch back at camp, siesta, then a high-tea-and-sundowner drive at golden hour looking for the Big Five. Two drives a day is normally bundled into the nightly tent rate — confirm before booking so you're not paying Perth-style lodge prices.
🚌Open safari vehicle
🛏Permanent safari tent, private reserve
- →Morning game drive
- →Evening sundowner game drive
Back to Johannesburg — Afrikaans home-cooked dinner
Greater Kruger → Johannesburg
One last dawn drive, then drive back to Johannesburg (~5-6 hrs on the N4/N12) and drop the car at OR Tambo or the city depot. Check into a hostel in Melville or Rosebank. Book dinner at an Afrikaans-run guesthouse or a small family restaurant for bobotie, potjiekos or koeksisters — it's a £12-15 meal rather than a group dinner.
🚌Self-drive hire car
🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Johannesburg
- →Final dawn game drive
- →Afrikaans dinner
Fly to Victoria Falls — the Smoke That Thunders
Johannesburg → Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Book a direct budget flight Johannesburg–Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe side, VFA) — Fastjet and Airlink both run it, ~£130-170. Get the KAZA Univisa at the airport (~£40 / US$50), which covers Zimbabwe and Zambia for day trips. Check into a backpackers in Victoria Falls town (~£18-25 a night) and walk to the falls in the late afternoon with a self-guided rainforest ticket (~£25). Pay no guide fee — the signage is excellent.
🚌Domestic/regional flight + walk
🛏Backpackers, Victoria Falls town
- →Victoria Falls rainforest self-guided walk
Zambezi adrenaline or river sundowner
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Pick your one big-ticket extra and book direct with the operator or via GetYourGuide: whitewater rafting on the Zambezi day trip (~£95-120), a sunset cruise (~£35-45), a helicopter flip (~£110-140) or the bungee jump off the Victoria Falls bridge (~£130). Choose one — doing all of them is where group tours quietly burn £400+.
🚌Operator shuttle
🛏Backpackers, Victoria Falls town
- →Zambezi whitewater rafting OR sunset cruise
Cross to Livingstone, Zambia side of the falls
Victoria Falls → Livingstone, Zambia
Walk or take a shared taxi across the Victoria Falls bridge (the Univisa covers it), then a minivan into Livingstone (~£3-5). Check into a budget lodge or backpackers near the river. Afternoon at Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambian side (~£15-20 entry) — different angle, fewer crowds, plus a walk with the rhinos if you book ahead (~£25). Sort your Chobe transfer for tomorrow.
🚌Shared taxi + minivan
🛏Budget lodge or backpackers, Livingstone
- →Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
- →Optional rhino walk
Transfer to Kasane, Botswana — Chobe sunset cruise
Livingstone → Kasane, Botswana
Take the shared shuttle or minivan from Livingstone to Kasane (~2 hrs including the Kazungula border, ~£15-25). Check into a Kasane backpackers or lodge (~£20-30). Book Chobe park fees and a boat cruise direct through your lodge or a Kasane operator — the sunset cruise on the Chobe River (~£30-40) is the best-value wildlife hour in Southern Africa, with hundreds of elephants coming down to drink.
🚌Shared shuttle/minivan across border
🛏Backpackers or budget lodge, Kasane
- →Chobe River sunset cruise
Chobe National Park full-day game drive
Kasane, Botswana
Join a shared open-back 4x4 safari into Chobe booked direct with a Kasane operator (~£60-75 including park fees) — huge elephant herds, buffalo by the thousand and the highest density of lions in Botswana. Self-cater dinner or eat at the lodge restaurant. Cross into Chobe's western side mentally — you'll see more of it tomorrow.
🚌Open 4x4 safari vehicle
🛏Backpackers or budget lodge, Kasane
- →Full-day Chobe National Park game drive
Bus to Maun — gateway to the Delta
Kasane → Maun, Botswana
Take the daily bus or shared combi along the A33 to Maun (~5-6 hrs, ~£15-20) — long, dusty and part of the adventure. Check into a Maun backpackers or lodge (~£18-25). In the afternoon visit the Okavango Delta booking offices on the main street to arrange a 2-3 night mokoro/boat safari into the delta directly with a local guide (£130-175 per night including meals, tents and polers) rather than a lodge package.
🚌Public bus/shared combi
🛏Backpackers or lodge, Maun
- →Maun riverfront wander
- →Book delta mobile safari
Into the Okavango Delta by mokoro
Maun → Okavango Delta
Leave early by 4x4 to the delta fringe, then pole into the channels in a traditional mokoro with your guide (~1-2 hrs). Set up a bush camp on a palm island and spend the afternoon walking the islands looking for zebra, impala, giraffe and elephant tracks. It's the same delta as the houseboat itinerary, at a fraction of the price — and quieter.
🚌4x4 + mokoro canoe + walking
🛏Delta bush camp (tents supplied by operator)
- →Mokoro trip into the delta
- →Guided island bush walk
Full day exploring the delta channels
Okavango Delta
Morning and evening mokoro or motorboat excursions into the smaller channels for crocodile, hippo and incredible birdlife — herons, fish eagles, kingfishers. Swim only with your guide's say-so (hippos!), and read up on the Okavango's flood-pulse ecology over a fire-cooked dinner.
🚌Mokoro canoe + walking
🛏Delta bush camp
- →Delta mokoro excursions
- →Bird watching
Moremi Game Reserve and back to Maun
Okavango Delta → Moremi → Maun
Route back via the Moremi Game Reserve's Khwai area if your operator offers it (~£40-60 day fee and vehicle surcharge, split between passengers) — wild dog, leopard and elephant are realistic sightings. Return to Maun for a proper shower, a cold drink and your own bed in the backpackers.
🚌4x4 game-drive vehicle
🛏Backpackers or lodge, Maun
- →Moremi/Khwai game drive
Maun at leisure or scenic delta flight
Maun, Botswana
Slow day: sleep in, do laundry, visit the Maun craft market and the Nhabe Museum (~£2). If budget allows, a 45-minute scenic flight over the delta (~£90-120 via a local air charter) is the single best splurge on this route — prebook direct, not through a tour package. Reconfirm your onward transfer to Victoria Falls.
🚌Walking / local taxi
🛏Backpackers or lodge, Maun
- →Nhabe Museum
- →Optional scenic delta flight
Cross back to Victoria Falls town
Maun → Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Take the shared shuttle or combi Maun–Kasane and then the Kazungula crossing into Zimbabwe (~£25-35 total, 8-9 hrs with border time), or a budget flight if it's running (~£150). Check into the Victoria Falls backpackers. Final evening: sundowners at the lookout bar and a proper steak or sadza dinner.
🚌Shared shuttle + border crossing
🛏Backpackers, Victoria Falls town
- →Lookout sundowners
- →Farewell dinner
Departure from Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
A last morning coffee and a walk along the bridge if time allows, then an Uber or shared taxi to Victoria Falls airport (~£8-10) for your international flight home. If you're flying out of Livingstone instead, cross the border back into Zambia (~£5) — check your ticket before booking.
🚌Taxi/shared transfer to airport
🛏None (departure day)
- →Bridge walk
- →Airport transfer
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£2,250 | £4,700 |
| Duration | 21 days | 21 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £2,450 per person (52%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£2,250
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Highlights of South Africa, Zambia & Botswana — Self-Launched cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £2,250 per person for 21 days in Southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Zambia. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £4,700 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £2,250 — a saving of roughly £2,450 (52%) per person.
How long is the Southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Zambia trip?+
This itinerary runs 21 days, covering 21 day-by-day stops through Southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Zambia.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a adventure, wildlife, road-trip trip through Southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Zambia, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
Drop your comment below — if you've done a similar route, tell us what worked, what you'd add, or what you'd skip.
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