Okavango & Beyond: Self-Launched Victoria Falls to Johannesburg Budget Safari

Land at Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) and take a shared taxi or the airport shuttle into town (US$15-20, ~£13). Check into a budget lodge or backpackers in the Falls area. In the late afternoon walk to the Victoria Falls Rainforest entrance (US$50 park fee, ~£40) and follow the viewpoints to the spray-soaked bridge — budget 2 hours. In the evening, instead of the tour's included cultural dinner, book a community-run township dinner or eat at a local spot in Chinotimba for goat stew and sadza (~£10); several Victoria Falls hostels run village visits and cultural evenings for £15-25 if you want the performance element.

🚌Airport shuttle or shared taxi from VFA (~£13). Everything in town is walkable.

🛏Budget lodge or backpackers dorm/private room, Victoria Falls (~£20)

• →Victoria Falls Rainforest walk (US$50 entry)
• →Chinotimba township walk and local dinner
• →Optional: sunset drinks at the falls-facing lodges

Morning visit to the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (entry around US$10-15, ~£10), the community conservation and wildlife rescue project the tour includes — it's easily reached by local taxi and you can join a short guided walk yourself. Midday, take a shared taxi or local combi across the Kazungula border to Kasane, Botswana (US$20-30 per vehicle, ~£20; have your passport ready and pay any visa-on-arrival fees). Dump your bag at a Kasane guesthouse and book a Chobe sunset boat cruise directly with one of the river operators on the waterfront (roughly US$35-45 plus US$10 park fee, ~£35-45) — the 3-hour cruise is the same product the group tour sells, with hippos, elephants and fish eagles right off the boat.

🚌Shared taxi over the Kazungula border (~£20); boat cruise pickup included by operator

🛏Kasane guesthouse or safari camp, en-suite twin (~£30)

• →Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust visit
• →Chobe River sunset cruise with local guide

Take an early-morning open-vehicle game drive in Chobe National Park booked direct in Kasane (US$60-80 including park fees, ~£55) if your budget allows — otherwise skip it and bank the money for the Delta. Late morning, get to Nata by shared minibus or bus via Kazungula (about 3-4 hours, ~£12-18). From Nata, arrange a pickup with your Gweta lodge or hop a shared taxi for the final 100km to Gweta (~£10). In the afternoon, walk out to the giant baobabs around Gweta and, with your lodge, join a meerkat experience on the pan edge (often £15-25) and a Makgadikgadi salt-pan sunset with stargazing and a simple pan-side dinner (~£35-50) — this is exactly the tour's Day 3 content, booked as a lodge add-on.

🚌Shared minibus Kasane–Nata (~£15); pickup/shared taxi Nata–Gweta (~£10)

🛏Gweta lodge or permanent tent (~£28)

• →Chobe open-vehicle game drive (optional)
• →Baobab walk near Gweta
• →Meerkat experience
• →Salt-pan sunset, stargazing and pan dinner

Bus or shared minibus from Gweta to Maun (4-5 hours, ~£15). In Maun, the Delta gateway, book a two-night mokoro trip direct with a community trust or a Maun operator (roughly US$180-260 per person including polers, camping equipment, food, transfers and Delta fees, ~£160-210) — this replaces the tour's bush camp and is the single best-value experience on the whole route. Leave in the afternoon by open 4x4 to the mokoro station, then pole through the reeds to a tented bush camp on an island. Dinner is cooked by the polers at camp.

🚌Bus/minibus Gweta–Maun (~£15); 4x4 Delta transfer included in trip

🛏Tented bush camp in the Okavango Delta (included in mokoro trip cost)

• →Mokoro safari into the Delta with local polers
• →Island bush camp and evening around the fire

Up before dawn for a guided sunrise walk on the island with your poler-guide — tracking game on foot, listening for hyena and birds. Back to camp for breakfast, then a slow middle of the day (this is genuinely the highlight: no truck, no schedule). In the afternoon, take another mokoro excursion or a second walk, and swim only if your guide says the channel is safe. Eat with the camp crew. Bring your own water, sun protection and a headtorch — there's no shop out here.

🚌On foot and by mokoro

🛏Tented bush camp in the Okavango Delta (included in mokoro trip cost)

• →Sunrise guided bush walk
• →Afternoon mokoro excursion
• →Second island walk (optional)

Final morning mokoro paddle back to the station and 4x4 transfer to Maun by early afternoon (all included). Check into a Maun backpackers or guesthouse, do laundry and restock cash — Maun has ATMs. Optional scenic helicopter or fixed-wing flight over the Delta can be booked same-day at Maun airport (from about US$150 for a short flip, ~£120; expensive, so skip unless it's a priority). Evening at a local restaurant on the Thamalakane River, or a braai at the hostel.

🚌4x4 transfer included; local taxi in Maun (~£4)

🛏Maun backpackers or budget guesthouse (~£22)

• →Optional Delta scenic flight from Maun
• →Rest and resupply in Maun

Take the morning bus or shared minibus from Maun towards Serowe/Palapye (5-6 hours, ~£15). Get dropped at the turn-off for Khama Rhino Sanctuary and take a local taxi in (~£8), or arrange it with your accommodation in advance. Book a sanctuary chalet or campsite (chalet ~£35, campsite ~£12) and join the sanctuary's own open-vehicle sunset game drive with a ranger (about US$30-40 plus entry, ~£30) — white rhino sightings here are close to guaranteed. Dinner at the sanctuary restaurant or self-cater.

🚌Intercity bus Maun–Serowe/Palapye (~£15); local taxi to sanctuary (~£8)

🛏Khama Rhino Sanctuary chalet or permanent tent (~£32)

• →Sunset game drive in open safari vehicle with sanctuary ranger
• →Rhino Sanctuary entry and self-guided hide visit

Early taxi to Palapye, then the cross-border bus to Johannesburg (roughly 7-8 hours including the Martin's Drift/Grobler's Bridge border, about £22-30). Alternatively fly Gaborone–Johannesburg if you can grab a cheap seat (~£45-70) — it saves a long day. Arrive Joburg, take the Gautrain or an e-hailing taxi to your accommodation in Maboneng, Braamfontein or Melville (~£8). Evening: eat at a Maboneng food market or a cheap local grill; Joburg isn't a walking city after dark, so stick to your e-hailing app.

🚌Shared taxi to Palapye (~£5); cross-border bus to Joburg (~£26); Gautrain/e-hailing (~£8)

🛏Joburg backpackers or budget hotel, Maboneng/Melville (~£25)

• →Border crossing and travel day
• →Maboneng evening food market (optional)

Book a Soweto bicycle tour direct with a local operator (about £30-40, 3-4 hours) — the standard route covers Vilakazi Street, Mandela's and Tutu's houses from outside, and a former migrant workers' hostel, with a guide explaining the 1976 uprising. Independently, you can then visit the Hector Pieterson Museum (£5) and walk through Orlando West; use an e-hailing taxi from Joburg CBD (~£10 each way) rather than a group bus. Finish with a kota or braai lunch in Soweto (~£6), then head back to the airport or extend your stay — Joburg deserves another day if you have it.

🚌E-hailing taxi to Soweto and back (~£20)

🛏Not included (departure day) — add a night at ~£25 if needed

• →Soweto guided bicycle tour
• →Former migrant workers' hostel visit
• →Hector Pieterson Museum