Kruger & Victoria Falls to Serengeti: The Self-Launched Overland Route

Take the Gautrain or a minibus from OR Tambo/Johannesburg to Pretoria, then a Baz Bus or Greyhound/City to Joburg coach onward toward Nelspruit (Mbombela) and a local minibus taxi up to Hazyview — the backpacker hub for Kruger's southern gate. Settle into a Hazyview hostel and join a low-key evening: several lodges host local Shangaan dance and singing performances around a fire for a small fee or free with dinner.

🚌Gautrain/minibus + intercity coach + local minibus taxi, ~£25-30 total

🛏Hazyview backpackers dorm or tented camp (~£12-16/night)

• →Baz Bus/coach Joburg–Nelspruit (~£15-20)
• →Minibus taxi Nelspruit–Hazyview (~£5)
• →Evening Shangaan dance & singing at a Hazyview lodge (~£5-8)

Book a full-day open-vehicle game drive through Kruger with a Hazyview operator (GetYourGuide, Viator or direct with the lodge) or, cheaper, hire a group self-drive car and buy the SANParks day permit. Aim for the Sabie/Skukuza loop for the best big-five odds. Bring your own water and snacks — park shops are pricey.

🚌Included in day-tour pickup or shared hire car

🛏Hazyview backpackers (~£12-16)

• →Full-day Kruger game drive with operator (~£55-75) OR self-drive car split + SANParks day permit (~£20-30 each)
• →Skukuza rest camp stop for lunch

Travel north by minibus taxi via Phalaborwa or Tzaneen to Tshipise, a low-key resort built around natural hot springs near the Limpopo. Long travel day — leave early. Soak in the warm pools in the evening after the road.

🚌Shared minibus taxis, ~£15

🛏Tshipise budget resort chalet or campsite (~£12-18)

• →Hot springs soak (~£5-8 entry)
• →Minibus taxi connections via Tzaneen/Phalaborwa (~£12-15)

Cross at Beitbridge — the busiest land border in Africa, so allow 2-4 hours. Intercape and other coaches run Joburg–Bulawayo; join at Musina or take a minibus to the border, cross on foot, then a shared taxi to Bulawayo. Carry USD cash for Zimbabwe (cards are patchy) and pay the visa/entry fees on arrival. Base in Bulawayo or a Matobo-area guesthouse.

🚌Cross-border coach/shared taxi, ~£25

🛏Bulawayo guesthouse dorm (~£12-18)

• →Beitbridge border crossing
• →Intercape coach or minibus + shared taxi to Bulawayo (~£20-25)

Book a day trip from Bulawayo with a local guide (Matobo Hills lodges, Amalinda, or ask your guesthouse) for the classic Matobo experience: a 4x4 drive into the granite kopjes, a guided wilderness walk tracking white rhino on foot, and stops at San rock-art caves and Cecil Rhodes' grave. Self-drive is possible but a resident guide massively improves rhino odds.

🚌Day-tour 4x4 pickup included

🛏Bulawayo guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Guided rhino walk & 4x4 nature drive (~£60-80)
• →San rock art sites and World's View
• →Matobo National Park entry (~£10)

Take the overnight train (NRZ Bulawayo–Victoria Falls, ~£8-15 in sleeper, famously slow and atmospheric) or a morning Intercape coach (~£15-20, ~6 hours). Arrive, check into a Victoria Falls backpackers, and walk into the rainforest at Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park at golden hour for your first look at the Falls (~£25 entry, or use the Zimbabwe side pass).

🚌Train or coach ~£15

🛏Victoria Falls backpackers dorm (~£15-22)

• →Overnight/morning train or coach (~£10-20)
• →Victoria Falls rainforest walk, Zimbabwe side (~£25 entry)

Pick your poison: bungy jump or gorge swing off the Victoria Falls Bridge (~£80-120, walk across the border to the Zambia side to book), white-water rafting the Batoka Gorge (~£90-110 including the hike out), or a gentler bridge tour and village walk. Book direct with operators in Livingstone or via GetYourGuide a day ahead. Cross to Livingstone for cheaper accommodation.

🚌Border walk + shared taxi, ~£5

🛏Livingstone backpackers dorm (~£10-15)

• →Bungy jump or gorge swing (~£90)
• →Or white-water rafting (~£100)
• →Bridge tour (~£10)

A quieter day. Do a morning game walk in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (~£45-60, good for rhino and giraffe on foot), a Mukuni Village cultural tour (~£15-20), or just relax by the Zambezi. Restock cash — ATMs in Livingstone work but get USD and kwacha both.

🚌Local taxis ~£5

🛏Livingstone backpackers (~£10-15)

• →Game walk in Mosi-oa-Tunya NP (~£50)
• →Mukuni Village tour (~£18)

Long bus day. Mazhandu Family Bus Services or similar run Livingstone–Lusaka in ~7 hours (~£12-18). Alternatively fly if seats are cheap. Lusaka is a functional stopover — stay near the bus station and eat at a local nshima joint.

🚌Coach ~£15

🛏Lusaka budget guesthouse/lodge (~£15-22)

• →Intercity bus Livingstone–Lusaka (~£15)

Head east on the Great East Road toward Petauke — a staging point before turning north to South Luangwa. Shared minibuses and coaches run this corridor cheaply (~£8-12). It's a simple rural town; book a guesthouse in advance as options are few.

🚌Shared minibus ~£10

🛏Petauke guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Shared minibus Lusaka–Petauke (~£10)
• →Great East Road scenery

Continue north and west to Mfuwe, the gateway to South Luangwa — Zambia's finest walking-safari park. Transport is the awkward bit: minibuses to Chipata, then a shared taxi or lodge transfer to Mfuwe (~£10-15 total). Once there, book a walking safari with a lodge or the park's own guides for the afternoon/next morning (~£40-60 walk, plus park fees ~£30).

🚌Minibus + shared taxi ~£15

🛏Mfuwe budget safari camp/tented dorm (~£20-30)

• →Transfer to Mfuwe (~£12)
• →Afternoon walking safari (~£50)
• →South Luangwa park entry (~£30)

Dawn game drive in an open vehicle with a local ranger — South Luangwa has huge leopard and elephant concentrations and the dry-season concentrations are spectacular (~£45-60 + fees). Afterwards, transfer back to Chipata for the night to position yourself for Malawi.

🚌Shared taxi/minibus ~£12

🛏Chipata guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Dawn open-vehicle game drive with ranger (~£50)
• →Transfer to Chipata (~£12)

Cross at Mwami border on foot or by shared taxi, then minibus to Lilongwe and on to Kande Beach on the lakeshore (~£15-20 total). Kande Beach has a cluster of backpacker lodges with dorms right on the sand — this is where the pace drops.

🚌Shared taxis and minibuses ~£20

🛏Kande Beach lakeside backpackers dorm (~£10-14)

• →Mwami border crossing
• →Minibus relay Chipata–Lilongwe–Kande (~£18)

A full lake day. Do a guided village walk with a local host (~£10-15), snorkel or kayak among the cichlids (~£10), or simply do nothing on the beach. Meals at the lodge are cheap and good.

🚌On foot

🛏Kande Beach backpackers (~£10-14)

• →Village walk (~£12)
• →Snorkel/kayak hire (~£10)
• →Beach day

Take the lakeshore minibus north to Nkhata Bay (~£8-12), the liveliest backpacker town on the lake, or base near Mzuzu. If you're lucky with timing, the MV Ilala ferry runs the lake — check schedules well ahead as it's infrequent, but it's one of Africa's great slow-travel experiences.

🚌Minibus ~£10

🛏Nkhata Bay lakeside lodge dorm (~£10-14)

• →Minibus north along the lake (~£10)
• →Nkhata Bay swim and sundowners
• →Optional MV Ilala ferry segment

Long transit day. Cross at Songwe/Karonga border after the minibus to Karonga, then shared transport or a coach toward Mbeya. Tanzania is a big step up in distance — expect a full, dusty day. Change money to Tanzanian shillings at the border; carry small notes.

🚌Shared transport ~£18

🛏Mbeya/Iringa guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Karonga border crossing
• →Minibus + shared taxi into Tanzania (~£15-20)

Continue north on the TANZAM highway to Mikumi. Coaches and shared buses run regularly (~£10-15). Take an optional late-afternoon game drive into Mikumi (~£45-60 + ~£25 park fee) — it's a small, accessible park on the highway with good elephant and lion sightings.

🚌Coach ~£12

🛏Mikumi budget lodge near the park gate (~£15-20)

• →Bus Iringa–Mikumi (~£12)
• →Optional afternoon game drive (~£50)
• →Mikumi park fee (~£25)

Early bus through the park corridor (keep your camera out — you may see game from the road) and down to Dar. Arrive in the afternoon, sort your Zanzibar ferry ticket for tomorrow, and eat at a roadside grill in the city.

🚌Coach ~£12

🛏Dar es Salaam budget hotel near Kigamboni/ferry (~£15-22)

• →Bus Mikumi–Dar es Salaam (~£10-12)
• →Dar waterfront walk

Take the fast Azam Marine ferry to Stone Town (~£20-28, ~2 hours; book online or at the port a day ahead). Spend the afternoon getting lost in the alleys: Old Fort, the House of Wonders, Darajani market, and the Forodhani night food market where you can eat grilled seafood for pennies.

🚌Ferry ~£25

🛏Stone Town hostel dorm (~£12-18)

• →Azam fast ferry (~£25)
• →Stone Town self-guided walk (free)
• →Forodhani night market dinner (~£5)

Morning spice farm tour (~£20-25, book locally or on GetYourGuide), then a daladala or shared taxi north to the northern beaches (~£3-5). Nungwi and Kendwa have cheap beach guesthouses and the best swimming — no huge tide swings.

🚌Daladala/shared taxi ~£5

🛏Nungwi/Kendwa beach guesthouse dorm (~£12-18)

• →Spice farm tour (~£22)
• →Daladala north to Nungwi (~£4)
• →Beach sunset

Dive day — Zanzibar's reefs off Mnemba Atoll are excellent, with two-tank dives around £55-70 through a PADI shop, or a snorkel trip for ~£25-30. Or hire a kayak and drift. Evenings are for cheap grilled fish and a beer on the sand.

🚌On foot / boat

🛏Nungwi beach guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Two-tank dive (~£60) or Mnemba snorkel trip (~£28)
• →Beach relaxation

Give yourself a genuine rest day — you've earned it after the overland slog. Swim, read, maybe take a sunset dhow cruise (~£15-20) out of Nungwi with a local boatman.

🚌On foot

🛏Nungwi beach guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Sunset dhow cruise (~£18)
• →Beach day

Ferry back to Dar, then a shared taxi or bus north along the coast to Bagamoyo (~£5-8), the old Swahili trading port and former German colonial capital. Wander the Kaole ruins and the old town — it's quiet, cheap and atmospheric.

🚌Ferry + shared taxi ~£30

🛏Bagamoyo guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Ferry back to Dar (~£25)
• →Bagamoyo old town and Kaole ruins (~£5)

Head inland via Chalinze to Moshi and up to Marangu (~£12-18 in shared transport). Marangu sits at the foot of Kilimanjaro and has cheap guesthouses; on a clear evening the summit glows at sunset. Book a day hike for tomorrow or just acclimatise.

🚌Bus + shared taxi ~£15

🛏Marangu guesthouse (~£12-18)

• →Shared transport Bagamoyo–Marangu (~£15)
• →Kilimanjaro viewpoints

Morning walk in the Kilimanjaro foothills — a guided half-day hike toward Mandara Hut or to the Materuni waterfalls and coffee farms (~£25-40 with a local guide) is a great taste of the mountain without the permit cost. Then shared transport down to Arusha (~£8-12). Arusha is your base for the Serengeti leg — pick up supplies and cash here.

🚌Shared taxi/bus ~£10

🛏Arusha backpackers dorm (~£12-18)

• →Materuni waterfall & coffee farm hike (~£30)
• →Transfer to Arusha (~£10)

Join a 3-day group camping safari (booked ahead on GetYourGuide, Klook, or direct with an Arusha operator — group camping safaris run ~£350-450 including park fees, food, vehicle and guide). Drive west through the Great Rift Valley escarpment and Lake Manyara area, then into the Serengeti for an afternoon game drive. Camp inside or near the park under canvas.

🚌Operator 4x4 (included in safari price)

🛏Safari camp (included in safari price)

• →3-day Serengeti/Ngorongoro camping safari, day 1 (~£130-150/day incl. fees)
• →Afternoon Serengeti game drive
• →Great Rift Valley escarpment drive

Up before dawn for the classic Serengeti sunrise game drive (lions and cheetah at their most active). Then drive east to the Ngorongoro Crater rim, where you camp or lodge overnight at the top. Fees for the crater are included in the safari price — note the crater entry is expensive (~£60-80 per vehicle-day) but it's baked into the group rate.

🚌Operator 4x4 (included)

🛏Crater rim camp (included in safari price)

• →Dawn game drive in Serengeti
• →Ascent to Ngorongoro Crater rim

Early descent to the crater floor — black rhino, huge prides of lion and the soda lake with flamingos — then back up and drive to Arusha, arriving by evening. Pay your safari balance in USD cash if that's what you agreed.

🚌Operator 4x4 (included); onward shared taxi to hotel ~£5

🛏Arusha backpackers dorm (~£12-18)

• →Morning game drive on Ngorongoro Crater floor
• →Return drive to Arusha

Rugged but easy: shared minibuses from Arusha to Namanga border (~£8-12), cross on foot, then a shuttle or minibus up to Nairobi (~£10-15). Compare with the direct Impala Shuttle service (~£25) if you want one ticket. Arrive Nairobi, sort onward flights, and treat yourself to one final dinner.

🚌Shared shuttle + border crossing ~£22

🛏Nairobi hostel dorm (~£15-22, if staying)

• →Namanga border crossing
• →Shuttle/minibus to Nairobi (~£20)
• →Nairobi arrival