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South Africa is geared towards travel by private car, with some very good highways but limited and expensive public transport. If you want to cover a lot of the country in a limited time, hiring or buying a car might be necessary. If you don't have much money but have time to spare, hitching is often possible (but not highly recommended), and if you don't mind a modicum of discomfort, there's an extensive network of minibus taxis, buses and trains.

Translux buses operate on major routes and will usually be pretty comfortable.

Money & Costs

Currency: rand

• Budget meal: US$5-10

• Mid-range meal: US$10-20

• Top-end meal: US$20-40
  
  

• Budget hotel: US$7-25

• Mid-range hotel: US$25-50

• Top-end hotel: US$50-100

Shoestring travellers prepared to camp or stay in hostels and self-cater could just about scrape by on US$10 a day. Travelling, other than hitching, will bump this up considerably as the road is long and public transport can be expensive.

Those who prefer to stay in hotels with private facilities, eat restaurant meals a couple of times a day and travel freely by bus or train are looking at US$40-60 per person.

Most banks change travellers' cheques in major currencies, usually at a commission of around 1%. Although the First National Bank has a higher minimum charge, it takes a lower commission so it can work out cheaper if you're changing a few cheques. Keep a few exhange receipts as you'll need them to reconvert your rands when you leave. South Africa has introduced new coins and notes, but old coins are still common so it's hard to become familiar with what you're jangling. The R200 note looks a lot like the R20 note, so take care.

Credit cards, especially Visa and Mastercard, are widely accepted. More and more ATMs will give cash advances, but you shouldn't rely on this service away from major centres. Check with your bank at home to find out if you can access funds through Cirrus-friendly ATMs.

Tipping is pretty well mandatory because of the very low wages. Around 10-15% is usual.