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Getting Around By Air
Several airlines operate domestic routes with regular links between Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth and relatively frequent flights to several smaller towns and cities too. Main operators are South Africa Airways (SAA) (www.flysaa.com); Comair, a division of British Airways (BA) (www.ba.com); Mango (JE) (www.flymango.com); Kulula (MN) (www.kulula.com); 1time (1T) (www.1time.co.za); and Airlink (4Z) (www.flyairlink.com).
Getting Around by Water
The main ports of Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth are industrial or geared towards international cruise liners rather than domestic ferry routes.
Getting Around by Rail
Intercity services are run by Shosholoza Meyl (tel: 011 774 4555; www.shosholozameyl.co.za), with trains between Johannesburg, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Trains are extremely slow and most go overnight. Tourist class has a restaurant car and sleeping compartments with shared showers; economy class just provides seats and a snack bar. Children under four travel free. Children aged four to 12 pay half fare.
Luxury trains: Premier Classe (tel: 086 000 8888; www.premierclasse.co.za) runs between Johannesburg and Cape Town twice a week, and is more comfortable than the regular train. The Blue Train (tel: 021 449 2672; www.bluetrain.co.za) and Rovos Rail (tel: 021 421 4020; www.rovosrail.co.za) offer luxurious cabins and gourmet food in elaborate dining cars and run occasionally between Pretoria and Cape Town. Gautrain Rapid Rail Link: This underground and overground railway is still under construction and when completed will link Johannesburg, Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport (tel: 011 891 7108; www.gautrain.co.za). Getting Around by Road
Traffic drives on the left. Roads and national highways link all the major areas and the only untarred roads are in rural areas and in some game reserves. Severe rains and a lack of maintenance have left many roads scarred with potholes, however. Road signs are in English. National highways are denoted with an ‘N' and some are toll roads. Credit cards cannot be used to pay for fuel so carry cash.
Coach/bus: Coaches criss-cross the country between most major towns and cities, although distances are far and journeys are long. Operators include Intercape (tel: 0861 287 287; www.intercape.co.za), Greyhound (tel: 0839 159 000; www.greyhound.co.za), and Translux (tel: 021 774 3333; www.translux.co.za). The Baz Bus (tel: 021 439 2323; www.bazbus.com) is aimed at backpackers and runs along the coast between Cape Town and Durban, then links to Johannesburg. Tickets can also be bought through Computicket (tel: 011 340 8000; www.computicket.co.za), which has online booking and kiosks in some shopping malls. Taxi: Available in all towns, hotels and airports, with meters fitted. They are not particularly cheap. Taxis do not cruise and must be ordered by phone or at a taxi rank. Car hire: Dozens of care hire firms are operating, including the major international players. Regulations: The legal driving age is 18 years, though car hire companies often require drivers to be at least 23. The speed limit on highways is 120kph (75mph), 80-100kph (50-62mph) on national roads and 60kph (37mph) in urban areas. Licences must be carried at all times and seatbelts must be worn. Car theft and hijacking is a problem, so keep doors locked and don't pick up hitchhikers. Emergency breakdown service: The AA (tel: 0838 4322; www.aa.co.za). Yellow SOS telephones are available on major routes. Documentation: Foreign licences are valid if they are in English with a photograph of the holder, but the AA recommends an International Driving Permit to prevent potential complications. Getting Around Towns and Cities
Public transport is generally dreadful. Although there are bus networks in all main towns reliability is dubious. Routes for the minibus taxis used by local commuters are too confusing to even try to explain to a short-term visitor.
Cape Town buses are run by Golden Arrow and in Johannesburg by Metrobus. Metrorail trains in larger cities used by commuters are generally not recommended to visitors due to the crime risk. Journey Times
The following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours and minutes) from Cape Town to other major cities/towns in South Africa.
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