3 months... but how to move?

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boske
boske

Hi all,

I'm considering à 3 months trip through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana (july-september) but I'm not sure about how to get around and I'd like your opinion on what would be the cheapest and/or best way to move about. I'm a 26 yrs old male. somewhat experienced backpacker (asia/south america) but I've never been to africa and it scares me a little bit (in a good way though :-)

In previous travels I used public transport, which is quite often the cheapest; but I understand that in Botswana and Namibia there's slim to no public transport and it's almost impossible to get to the most remote places?
Renting a car for 3 months seems quite expensive: Appearently it's about 40USD a day to rent a car, so that would be 3600USD for three months. Especially considering the fact I will be travelling solo... Or is it easy to meet fellow travellers who join me for certain parts of the trip (and split the costs)? Quite expensive -> Hence the question: would it be cheaper to buy a car for those 3 months as soon as I land? Is it easy to buy a reliable second hand car for that budget?

Then I had the idea of buying a motorcicle, which would be cheaper than a car i suppose. Am I right? But what about travelling on a motorcycle: will my luggage get stolen the first time I leave it all unattended for 1 hour?

Does anyone know where to start to buy a decent vehicle as soon as I get there? Any idea about the cost? What about selling it once I'm done with the trip?

Or maybe it's best to travel by public transport through South Africa and only rent a car for Namibia/Botswana?

And on an unrelated note: are there many backpackers hostels with dormbeds in Namibia? (to travel cheaply and meet people...)

I've tried to make my questions as clear as possible. Hope I haven't failed too much :-)

Thanks for your completely subjective opinion on this matter. The more the merrier!

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eden0844686
eden0844686

I'm posting on this thread so I can follow the results as I'm interested in doing something similar.

In the meantime I've found this for trains but could do with some info on local buses, minivans, hiring cars and drivers and tourist buses.

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ambarush
ambarush

There are public shared taxis in Namibia but they only go to the towns (not many of them) and you have to wait till they're full before they leave. No use for going to Etosha, Sossusvlei etc. The distances between places makes it difficult too. There is a train, I believe, between Windhoek and Swakopmund but it takes forever. There used to be one between Gabaronne and Francistown, not sure if it is still running - haven't tried to use public transport in Bots recently.
You could try to organise a few people to share a hired car or go on a 7/10 day trip with the smaller tour operators in Namibia - Crazy Kudu,Chameleon... check out Cardboard Box website.
Backpackers- in Windhoek - there are quite a few, I've only ever stayed in Chameleon and Cardboard Box both get pretty full and have dorms and singles and notice boards.

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eden0844686
eden0844686

What about buses, even tour buses?

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britinnamibia
britinnamibia

Back-packing is totally possible in Namibia. There are the more 'reputable' shuttles which are essentially geared for tourists. These travel to Etosha, Sossusvlei, and Swakopmund. The other form of transport is to use the local shuttle buses. Like most local african shuttle buses, these are often very busy and fully laden, but it is of course an African experience. The larger towns, Walvis, Swakopmund, Rundu, Katima, Tsumeb also have local taxi services, again mainly used by the locals, so getting around in these towns is also possible. In September the weather should be great, so camping is a real option if you really want to see Namibia on a budget. If you do find a friend to travel with and want to hire an economic car, let me know. My recommendation would also be to hire a 4x4 fully equipped with camping gear. This will certainly work out cheaper than hiring a regular car and moving from lodge to lodge.

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