Getting around the Eastern Cape

By far the best way to travel around the Eastern Cape and to get around in its towns and cities is by car. The road network in the Eastern Cape is generally excellent and car hire is readily available in all major towns and cities. If you are spending any length of time exploring all the Eastern Cape has to offer, we would definitely recommend hiring a car. There are some areas of the Wild Coast and the Baviaanskloof where you may find roads are a little difficult and will either need a 4x4 or may not be able to drive on some roads, however for the most part a small car will be more than enough for your Eastern Cape trip and hiring a car offers you the most flexibility whilst visiting the Eastern Cape as public transport is very limited.

 

Whilst there are some railway services available in the Eastern Cape, they are not very widely used by tourists and it is not the best or easiest way to travel. We would suggest avoiding travelling by public train.

 

There are two main Eastern Cape Airports and it is very easy to arrive in the Eastern Cape by air – check out our Eastern Cape airport information for more tips about travelling to the Eastern Cape by air. 

 

There is very little public transport in the Eastern Cape and most people travel by car. There are public taxis, although these are not usually used by tourists and the driving of these is not always safe. Whilst improvements are always being made to public transport in the Eastern Cape, currently it is not well established and it is advisable that you make transport arrangements before departing on your Eastern Cape trip. Hiring a car is the best option although below you will find a couple of other suggestions.

 

Many tour companies, accommodation providers and safari resorts will offer transfer and shuttle services to get visitors where they need to go in the Eastern Cape, so this is a good alternative if you don’t want to hire a car and have pre-booked your accommodation. 

 

A final transport option for those wishing to travel independently but not hire a car is the Baz Bus. The Baz Bus is a backpacker bus (although you don’t have to be a backpacker to use it), that offers a hop-on, hop-off bus service across the whole of South Africa. It stops at various hostels and backpacker accommodation along its route and is a reasonably priced way to get around the Eastern Cape.