If you are travelling around South Africa, especially if you’re on your own, the best tip I can give you is to use the Baz Bus. This is a hop on, hop off bus that goes to most of the hostels on the tourist routes. It is the easiest way to travel around South Africa. All you do is phone their number the night before and tell them you need to be collected the next day. The guide book you are provided when you buy a Baz Bus ticket tells you what time to expect them, you hop on, then hop off at the door of your next hostel, no lugging big heavy bags around public transport, no trying to navigate your way through complicated public transport systems or worry about your safety and security. This service made travelling through South Africa a dream!
Travelling Alone
Don’t worry if you’re alone, most other travellers are alone too and if you strike up a conversation on the bus or in a hostel, you can almost guarantee that it will be well received. You will no doubt see the same people throughout your journey as most tourists are travelling the same route, so you’ll probably make friends very easily. If you get to a hostel and you want someone to share a trip with and are too scared to approach anyone, just ask the hostel owners and they will link you up with someone.
Where To Stay
If you want to meet people, the best place to meet people is in hostels, they are sociable and fun environments with other like minded people who are also travelling around South Africa. They are usually very safe and will have loads of information about trips that are arranged straight from your hostel door.
Staying Safe
Even though you’ll be having fun, you still need to ensure you’re being safe, and cities in South Africa can be very dangerous places. However if you bear this in mind, and stay with a group of people, stay with your tour guide, in your hostel or on your tourist bus you should have no problems whatsoever. It’s better not to walk around on your own after dark, and be careful getting money out of cash machine that you are in a group. Ensure you always have the name of your hostel and contact details on you when you’re out and about, and I liked to carry some cash (notes) and some contact details in my shoe in case my bag was stolen.