Backpacking South Africa: 11 best places to visit
The most rewarding stops for backpackers in South Africa, ranked and mapped — and real routes through them, written by travellers who went.
Read South Africa stories1
Cape Town
Western Cape
Table Mountain over the sea.
2
Kruger National Park
Mpumalanga
The great safari park.
- 3
Garden Route
Western Cape
Coast, forest, lagoons drive.
4
Stellenbosch
Western Cape
Winelands and Cape Dutch.
5
Drakensberg
KwaZulu-Natal
Dramatic escarpment peaks.
6
Johannesburg
Gauteng
Gritty, energetic, historic.
7
Blyde River Canyon
Mpumalanga
Vast green canyon.
8
Hermanus
Western Cape
Land-based whale watching.
9
Cape Winelands
Western Cape
Franschhoek estates and food.
10
Durban
KwaZulu-Natal
Warm Indian-Ocean beaches.
11
Addo Elephant Park
Eastern Cape
Malaria-free elephant safari.
Backpacking routes through South Africa
Real trips through South Africa, drawn on maps by the people who took them.
Joburg to the Wild Coast: Drakensberg Peaks, Sani Pass and Coffee Bay
An inland South Africa route: Johannesburg, Clarens, the Drakensberg Amphitheatre, Sani Pass into Lesotho, Durban and the Wild Coast at Coffee Bay.
The Garden Route Properly: Cape Town to Gqeberha Without a Car
Backpacking South Africa's Garden Route by hop-on bus: Cape Town, Hermanus whales, Wilderness, Knysna and Tsitsikamma to Gqeberha. Costs and timing.
Been backpacking in South Africa?
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