South Africa

Getting there & away

Land

Botswana

From Jo’burg/Pretoria, Intercape Mainliner (0861 287 287, 021-380 4400; www.intercape.co.za) runs daily buses to Gaborone (US$20, six hours). A cheaper, but less safe and less comfortable, alternative is one of the minibuses that run throughout the day between Jo’burg and Gaborone (about US$1.40, six hours) via Mafikeng (North-West Province). In Jo’burg, departures are from Park Station. To do the trip in stages, take a City Link bus from Jo’burg to Mafikeng, from where there are direct minibuses over the border to Lobatse (1½ hours).

Lesotho

Big Sky Coaches (www.bigskycoaches.co.za) runs two buses daily in each direction between Bloemfontein and Maseru Bridge (US$4.70, three hours). Via minibus taxi, the quickest connections are from Bloemfontein to Botshabelo (US$4, one hour), and then from there to Maseru (US$2, 1½ hours). There are also at least three buses weekly between Jo’burg and Maseru (six to seven hours).

Other useful connections include a daily minibus taxi between Mokhotlong (Lesotho) and Underberg (South Africa) via Sani Pass; and several taxis daily between Qacha’s Nek (Lesotho) and Matatiele (South Africa; about US$2, 45 minutes).

Mozambique

Several large ‘luxury’ buses run daily between Jo’burg/Pretoria and Maputo via Nelspruit and Komatipoort (US$20 to US$38, eight to nine hours). These include Greyhound, Intercape Mainliner, Panthera Azul and Translux. Panthera Azul connects Durban and Maputo (US$31, 8½ hours).

Alternatively, the Baz Bus (021-422 5202; www.bazbus.com) links Jo’burg/Pretoria, Nelspruit and Durban with Manzini (Swaziland), from where you can get a minibus taxi to Maputo.

The daily (except Saturday) Komati train operated by Shosholoza Meyl (0860-008 888, 011-774 4555) links Jo’burg and Komatipoort via Pretoria and Nelspruit (1st/2nd/3rd class from US$25/17/9, 13 to 14 hours). Once at Komatipoort, you can change to the Mozambican train to Maputo (Mtc15, 000, economy class only, five hours), but it’s better to take a minibus (US$3.50, 1½ hours).

Visas for Mozambique are available at the borders. (South African nationals don’t need a visa for Mozambique.) It’s cheaper to arrange your visa in advance at the Mozambican High Commission in Mbabane, or in Nelspruit. Both issue express visas in 24 hours. Nonexpress Mozambique visas take one week.

Namibia

Intercape Mainliner (www.intercape.co.za) runs four times weekly between Cape Town and Windhoek via Upington (US$65, 20 hours). It’s also possible to travel between Jo’burg and Windhoek with Intercape Mainliner (US$83, 25 hours) on these same days, with a change of buses in Upington.

Swaziland

The best connections are on the Baz Bus (021-422 5202; www.bazbus.com), which runs from Jo’burg/Pretoria to Manzini via Nelspruit, and between Durban and Manzini via the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

Minibus taxis run daily between Jo’burg (Park Station), Mbabane and Manzini (US$0.90, four hours), between Manzini and Durban (US$16, eight hours), and between Manzini and Maputo (Mozambique; US$4.50, 2½ hours).

Zimbabwe

At the time of research, bus services between Jo’burg and Zimbabwe were suspended, due in part to fuel shortages.

^ Back to top

Air

The major air hub for South Africa, and for the entire surrounding region, is Johannesburg International Airport (JIA or JNB; 011-921 6262; www.worldairportguides.com/johannesburg-jnb). Cape Town International Airport (CPT; 021-937 1200; www.airports.co.za) receives numerous direct flights from Europe, and is becoming an increasingly important gateway. The smaller Durban International Airport (DUR; 031-451 6758; www.airports.co.za) handles several regional flights, as does Mpumalanga Kruger International Airport (MQP; 013-753 7500; www.kmiairport.co.za) near Nelspruit and Kruger National Park.

South African Airways (SAA; airline code SA; 0861-359 722, 011-978 5313; www.flysaa.com; hub JIA) is the national airline, with an excellent route network and safety record. In addition to its international routes, it operates regional flights together with its subsidiaries South African Airlink (SAAirlink; 011-978 5313; www.saairlink.co.za) and South African Express (011-978 5577; www.saexpress.co.za).

Some other international carriers flying to/from Jo’burg (except as noted) :

Air France (AF; 0860-340 340; www.airfrance.fr) Hub: Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris.

British Airways (BA; www.britishairways.com) Jo’burg (011-441 8600); Cape Town (021-936 1200) Hub: Heathrow Airport, London. Also serves Cape Town.

Cathay Pacific (CX; 011-700 8900; www.cathaypacific.com) Hub: Hong Kong International Airport.

Egyptair (MS; 011-312 2202, 011-880 4126/9; www.egyptair.com.eg) Hub: Cairo International Airport.

Emirates Airlines (EK; 011-883 8420; www.emirates.com) Hub: Dubai International Airport.

Kenya Airways (KQ; 011-881 9795, 011-571 8817; www.kenya-airways.com) Hub: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.

KLM (KL; 0860-247 474, 011-881 9696; www.klm.com) Hub: Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Also serves Cape Town.

Lufthansa (LH; 0861-842 538, 021-415 3506; www.lufthansa.com) Hub: Frankfurt International Airport. Also serves Cape Town.

Qantas (QF; 011-441 8550; www.qantas.com.au) Hub: Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney.

Singapore Airlines (SQ; www.singaporeair.com) Jo’burg (011-880 8560); Cape Town (021-674 0601) Hub: Singapore Changi Airport. Also serves Cape Town.

Virgin Atlantic (VS; 011-340 3400; www.virgin-atlantic.com) Hub: London. Also serves Cape Town.

^ Back to top