By Bus in Cape Town

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By Bus

Intercape Mainliner travels to Johannesburg, Durban, towns in the southwest Cape, and Windhoek, in Namibia. Greyhound offers daily overnight service to Johannesburg and Tshwane, but for Western Cape destinations Intercape Mainliner is a better option. Translux runs luxury vehicles between major cities, and its sister company City-to-City serves less well-serviced destinations like Umtata in addition to mainstream routes. BazBus offers a hop-on/hop-off service and other flexible tours aimed mostly at backpackers who don't want to travel vast distances in one day and can't easily get to train and bus stations. BazBus is more expensive than a regular bus but more convenient for covering distances in short stages. All the main bus companies operate from the bus terminal alongside the central train station on Adderley Street, and most have their offices there.

Daily overnight service to Johannesburg and Tshwane costs around R450-R500 one way. Cape Town to Springbok is about R250-R300, to Windhoek R450-R550, to George R150, and to Durban R450-R500. Round-trip tickets are roughly double. A BazBus Durban hopper ticket via the Wild Coast costs about R1,800 one way and R2,310 round-trip; travel cards are R850 for a seven-day pass and R1,600 for a 14-day pass.

Within Cape Town, Golden Arrow runs an extensive network of routes from the main Golden Acre terminal on the Grand Parade (Castle Street side). These subsidized buses are by far the cheapest form of transportation (much to the frustration of the minibus taxi operators). You'll get to most destinations for R5-R10, and you can save by buying 10-ride clip cards. The service has a timetable, but buses often run late and you'll need a certain level of knowledge regarding its operation. Bus shelters and lamppost markers indicate stops. Route maps are not available in leaflet form, but they are displayed at all major depots. Alternatively, phone the Golden Arrow hotline, or ask people at a bus stop for info on which ones go your way.

For short trips locals generally use minibus taxis, which waste no time getting you to your destination and, for the modest fare of R5-R20, provide you with some local atmosphere. You can hop on and off the combis (vans) quite easily; small gatherings on the roadside usually indicate a stop. However, don't expect to leave the starting point until the taxi is full, which can slow you down outside of peak hours or away from busy routes. The main minibus stop in the city center is above the train station on Adderley Street, but you can flag combis down just about anywhere. Most taxis are sound, but watch out for those held together with tape and wire (literally). There are no route maps for minibus taxis; ask the drivers where they're going. If you don't have the exact change, you may have to wait until the guy taking the fares gets your change. Overcharging is not that common, but it's best to discreetly ask other passengers what the fare should be. Taxis are crowded, so watch out for pickpockets.

A few shuttle buses operate tourist-friendly routes around the city center. Shuttles to Kirstenbosch (R40 per person) and the Table Mountain cableway (R30) can be obtained from the V&A Waterfront's Cape Town Tourism office. A regular bus runs from the central train station to the Waterfront (R2.50), and there's also service from the Cape Town Tourism Information Office in the city center.

Bus Lines

BazBus (021/439-2323. www.bazbus.co.za). Golden Arrow (080/121-2111. www.gabs.co.za). Greyhound (083/915-9000. www.greyhound.co.za). Intercape Mainliner (0861/287-287 or 0861/287-329. www.intercape.co.za). Translux/City-to-City (0861/589-282. www.translux.co.za).