Kruger, Victoria Falls & Botswana Safari — Self-Launched

Land at OR Tambo (JNB) and take the Gautrain or a metered taxi/ride-hail to a hostel in Maboneng or Melville (roughly £6–12). Shop for a SIM/data bundle, withdraw rand and stock up on snacks for the road. Evening: walk Maboneng's Market on Main area if it's a weekend, or a cheap braai dinner. Get an early night — you're on a long road day tomorrow.

🚌Gautrain / taxi from OR Tambo (~£8)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Johannesburg (£15–22)

• →Self transfer into the city
• →SIM card and cash run
• →Maboneng or Melville neighbourhood wander

Take an intercity coach (Intercape or Greyhound/Citiliner, book online, ~£18–25) from Johannesburg to Nelspruit/Mbombela, then a minibus taxi or pre-booked shuttle to Hazyview. If you'd rather see the Panorama Route properly, hire a car in Johannesburg (~£25–35/day split between two) and drive the R532: Blyde River Canyon viewpoint, Bourke's Luck Potholes and God's Window, each with a small entry fee of £3–5. Sleep in Hazyview, 20 minutes from the park gate.

🚌Intercity coach + minibus taxi, or shared car hire (~£25)

🛏Budget lodge or backpackers in Hazyview (£18–28)

• →Blyde River Canyon viewpoint
• →Bourke's Luck Potholes
• →God's Window

Book a full-day open-vehicle game drive with a Hazyview or Kruger Gate operator (getyourguide, Klook or direct with a local company like Kurt Safari, ~£70–95 including park entry). Alternatively, self-drive into the park in a hired car — the R40/Skukuza loop is superb — and pay the ~£25 conservation fee yourself. Sunset drive from camp in the evening if you have energy (~£25). Camp or lodge outside the gate tonight.

🚌Operator pickup / self-drive

🛏Safari camp or backpackers near Kruger Gate (£20–30)

• →Full-day open-vehicle Kruger safari drive
• →Optional sunset drive
• →Waterhole watching from camp deck

Travel to a private reserve in the Greater Kruger area (Klaserie, Timbavati or Balule are cheaper than Sabi Sand). Budget safari camps here offer 2-nights-plus with game drives from around £115–150 per night full board — check specials on SafariBookings or book direct. If that's over budget, run a second self-drive day in Kruger and do an afternoon drive with a community tourism operator instead. Evening sundowner drive looking for the Big Five.

🚌Shared transfer (~£30)

🛏Budget safari camp, Greater Kruger (£70–90 dorm/room share of full-board rate)

• →Transfer to Greater Kruger reserve
• →Afternoon/evening open-vehicle game drive
• →Community tourism excursion option

Early morning drive with the reserve's ranger and tracker, brunch back at camp, then free time by the pool. High tea before the late-afternoon drive, and a sundowner in the bush as the Drakensberg escarpment turns gold. This is the day the private reserve earns its money — two drives, expert trackers and off-road access that national parks don't allow.

🚌Included in camp rate

🛏Budget safari camp, Greater Kruger (£70–90)

• →Sunrise game drive
• →Afternoon game drive with sundowner

One last morning drive, then a shared shuttle or coach back to Johannesburg (~£25–35). Stay in a hostel in Melville or Rosebank. Evening: a proper South African braai at a cheap neighbourhood grill, or pick up biltong and a bottle of Chenin from a supermarket and eat in.

🚌Shuttle/coach (~£30)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Johannesburg (£15–22)

• →Morning game drive
• →Return transfer
• →Braai dinner

Fly Johannesburg to Victoria Falls (VFA) with Fastjet or Airlink — book early and it's often £100–140 one way. Alternatively fly to Livingstone (Zambia) and cross the border. Buy the KAZA UNIVISA at the airport (~£40) if your nationality qualifies — it covers Zimbabwe and Zambia and lets you hop sides of the falls. Settle into a hostel in the Vic Falls town and take an easy sunset walk to the bridge.

🚌Internal flight JNB–VFA (~£120) + airport shuttle (~£8)

🛏Backpackers/hostel, Victoria Falls town (£12–20)

• →Flight to Victoria Falls
• →UNIVISA purchase
• →Victoria Falls Bridge sunset walk

Get to the falls early — the rainforest walk self-guided costs ~£24 and takes 2 hours; go before 9am for rainbows and fewer crowds. Afternoon options: Zambezi whitewater rafting (~£95–125, book direct with a licensed operator), a sunset cruise (~£40–55), or the 15-minute helicopter flip over the falls (~£130–150). Book through GetYourGuide, Klook or a local activity desk and compare prices.

🚌Walking / local taxi (~£5)

🛏Backpackers/hostel, Victoria Falls town (£12–20)

• →Victoria Falls rainforest walk (self-guided)
• →Optional whitewater rafting
• →Optional sunset cruise or helicopter flight

Cross the border to Livingstone (10 min taxi, ~£8) and see the falls from the Zambian side — the Knife Edge walk gives the classic close-up spray shot. Visit the Livingstone Museum (~£5) or do a village/craft market wander. Stay on the Zambian side tonight so you're closer to the Botswana transfer in the morning, or return to Vic Falls town if you prefer.

🚌Border taxi (~£8)

🛏Backpackers/hostel, Livingstone (£12–22)

• →Knife Edge Point, Zambia
• →Livingstone Museum
• →Craft market

Take a shared taxi to the Kazungula border (ferry or road bridge) and on to Kasane, Botswana (~£15–25 total). Departure tax at the Zimbabwe border is small (~£4). Settle in, then book your Chobe river cruise for the afternoon — sunset cruises from Kasane cost ~£25–35 and are one of the best-value wildlife experiences in Africa (hundreds of elephants at the water).

🚌Shared taxi + border crossing (~£20)

🛏Camp or guesthouse in Kasane (£15–25)

• →Kazungula border crossing
• →Chobe River sunset cruise

Full-day or half-day open-vehicle game drive into Chobe. Book direct with a Kasane operator (~£55–75 for a half day including park fees, ~£90 for a full day with lunch) or through GetYourGuide. Chobe has the highest elephant concentration on earth, plus lion, buffalo, sable and huge herds along the Chobe River. Don't double-book a river cruise and a drive on the same evening — split them across two days.

🚌Operator pickup

🛏Camp or guesthouse in Kasane (£15–25)

• →Open-vehicle Chobe game drive
• →Optional evening photo safari on the Chobe River

Take the bus or a shared kombi to Maun via Nata (~£18–28, roughly 9–11 hours — an early start). Maun is a dusty frontier town with good backpackers' hostels, ATMs and supermarkets. Evening: book your Okavango Delta trip at the hostel — a 2-night mokoro (dugout canoe) camping trip with a local poler guide runs around £110–160 all in; slightly plushier 4x4 lodge-and-tented-camp versions are £150–230.

🚌Bus/kombi (~£22)

🛏Backpackers, Maun (£12–20)

• →Bus transfer to Maun
• →Book Okavango Delta trip
• →Optional scenic flight over the delta

The self-launched answer to the tour's houseboat: a mokoro trip. A guide poles you into the reed channels of the world's largest inland delta; you set up a wild bush camp on an island, swim in clear channels (crocodile-free zones chosen by your poler), and do guided walks looking for elephant, zebra, giraffe and the delta's astonishing bird life. Sunset over the papyrus with a cold drink from the cool box.

🚌4x4 transfer to launch point + mokoro

🛏Bush camp in the delta (included in trip price, ~£65/night share)

• →Mokoro canoe excursion
• →Guided delta bush walk
• →Island bush camping and sunset

Early morning walk or mokoro paddle before the heat, breakfast in camp, then back to Maun by early afternoon. Shower, laundry and an afternoon at the hostel pool. Optional: a 45-minute scenic flight over the delta (~£85–110) — expensive but stunning, and cheaper than the tour's equivalent add-on. Evening briefing for tomorrow's Khwai/Moremi day trip.

🚌4x4 back to Maun

🛏Backpackers, Maun (£12–20)

• →Sunrise delta walk
• →Return to Maun
• →Optional delta scenic flight

Book a full-day 4x4 excursion from Maun into Moremi Game Reserve or the Khwai River area (~£100–140 with park fees and lunch). Or, to cut costs, join a shared-safari-vehicle seat if a hostel is filling one (ask the night before). Moremi is where the delta meets dry land — wild dog, leopard and buffalo are all possible. Long, bumpy, brilliant.

🚌Open 4x4 with operator

🛏Backpackers, Maun (£12–20)

• →Full-day Moremi/Khwai 4x4 game drive
• →Hostel-arranged shared safari option

Swap the tour's pricey houseboat excursion for something genuinely local: a day trip toward Tsodilo Hills to see San Bushman rock paintings (long drive, ~£80–100 with a shared guide, or leave it if budget is tight) — or stay in Maun, hire a bike, visit the Nhabe Museum (~£2) and have a slow day. Evening: book your bus/flight out.

🚌Shared vehicle or walking

🛏Backpackers, Maun (£12–20)

• →Optional Tsodilo Hills rock art excursion
• →Nhabe Museum
• →Rest day by the pool

Bus back to Kasane (~£18), then cross to Victoria Falls for a last night (or stay in Kasane and cross the next morning). Use the evening for souvenirs at the Vic Falls curio market, a final sunset at the bridge, and to sort out tomorrow's airport transfer. Check your UNIVISA/single entry rules carefully if you're re-entering Zimbabwe.

🚌Bus + border taxi (~£28)

🛏Backpackers/hostel (£12–20)

• →Bus return via Nata
• →Curio market shopping
• →Sunset at the falls

Airport shuttle to VFA (~£8) or cross to Livingstone for LVI. Consider booking a flight home via Johannesburg rather than a direct one — it's usually significantly cheaper and the connections are frequent. Check baggage allowances if you've bought crafts; soft bags under 15kg make life easier on the small regional aircraft.

🚌Airport shuttle (~£8)

🛏—

• →Airport transfer
• →Optional final craft shopping