Baz Blog: Grand Finale and Baz Bus FAQ!

SA Blog is touring South Africa on the Baz Bus, following the adventures of intrepid Baz Blogger Kathy – a.k.a. “Trekker“.

Greetings and salutations all fellow travelers! Hope you are all on fantastic trips and awesome adventures.

This is going to be the last (sniff!) of the Baz Blog series – but never fear, any questions you might have can be posted here as comments (or anywhere, really), and Ben or I will get back to you.

In this post we revisit Baz Bus basics and take a second look at the options for backpacking travel in SA. But first, a links summary of my coverage of the complete Baz Bus route:

• Leg One (Cape Town, Garden Route, and part of the Eastern Cape)
• Leg Two (the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast and Durban)
• Leg Three (“the Loop”: Durban to Joburg and back, via the Drakensberg, the Kruger Park, Swaziland and the game reserves of KwaZulu Natal)
• See Baz Bus route map | Book Baz Bus ticket
• Complete Baz Bus coverage on SA Blog
• Find a backpackers/hostel in South Africa

A quick Baz Bus re-cap:

• The Baz Bus is a hostel-to-hostel shuttle service that runs from Cape Town to SA’s far northeast, via Durban, Joburg and Swazliand. It has been successfully transporting backpackers of all ages for over ten years now, and hits practically every hostel on its route.
• The bus runs year-round, but be sure to double-check your schedule, because certain legs only run on certain days.
• You can book your ticket online through the link above (which is what I did), or you can call the Baz Bus hotline in South Africa: +27 (0) 21 439 2323.
• Each 21-seater bus has a VCR or DVD system in it – you can sit back and enjoy some classics on Baz Bus Entertainment Theatre!
• There are several drivers for each leg of the journey, and if you are on the bus long enough you will get to know them all.

Baz Bus travel options:

• For short stays I recommend the TRAVEL PASSES. These are:
  • 7 day pass – R850
  • 14 day pass – R1600
  • 21 day pass – R2200

  Travel passes are valid from the day you start to the end of 7, 14 or 21 consecutive days. You can take the bus in any direction with these passes, which means you can leave Cape Town, go as far to the northeast as you can manage, and then head back down to catch your flight without having to buy a new ticket.

• For those of you who have a little extra time, how about a HOP-ON HOP-OFF TOUR all the way up the coast:
  • From R810 to R2400.

  You can get these tickets as one way or return, and take as much time as you need to complete the section you have chosen. However, you can only travel in one direction if you’ve bought a one-way ticket – and if you have a return ticket, once you change direction you can’t change again.

• Personally, I opted for the ULTIMATE BAZ BUS EXPERIENCE, heading from Cape Town all the way to Durban, looping inland to Joburg, down through Swaziland and back to the coast, where I headed back to Cape Town:
  • One Way – R1900 (via Drakensburg) or R2300 (via Swaziland)
  • Return – R3300.

You can travel for as long as you like (I started out with two months, and kept going for another three). It’s convenient to get a one-way if you are leaving from a different airport than your arrival.

• Finally there are the LOCAL TOURS! These include:
  • The Cape Peninsula Tour (a day-long tour) – R350
  • Baz Bus Flexi-Tours (designed for independent travelers, a Flexi-Tour Adventure includes a Baz Bus ticket, a selection of interactive cultural day tours and a safari):
    • Tour 1 – R5700
    • Tour 2 – R6200

Discounts:

• 5% off a ticket to holders of most travel discount cards (except Flexi Tour packages).
• R30 off your Cape Peninsula Tour when booking a Baz Bus ticket over R500.

Once again, thanks for acting as my co-pilot and exploring South Africa with me. I am sure I will see you all again with new adventures to be had!

Until then, keep trekkin’…

Trekker