Travelling to South Africa, Namibia and Zambia hasn't been as cheap as I would have hoped, but after spending a month backpacking Africa on our own, we did pretty well all things considered.
Here is my complete spending breakdown for three weeks in South Africa and one week combined between Namibia, Zambia, and a brief bus through Botswana:
Zambia
* Multi entry visa - $80 USD
* 2 Nights in Jollyboys Backpackers Hostel - $21 USD
* Victoria Falls entrance fee - $20 USD
* Safari and boat tour of Botswana's Chobe National Park - $157 USD
* Taxi - $17 USD
* Groceries - 144 Kwacha ($20.8 USD)
* Currency Exchange - 200 South African Rands ($15 USD)
Namibia
* Car rental and car crash damage cost - $679.1 USD
* Taxi - 6 USD (80 Namibian Dollars)
* Groceries - $25.77 USD
* Shuttle Driver Tip - $1.15 USD (15 Namibian Dollars)
* Airport shuttle service - $19.23 USD/ 250 Namibian Dollars (This is my half of the cost, with the total split into 2. The total cost of the shuttle to the airport is 500 Namibian Dollars)
* Phone Call - $0.15 USD (2 Namibian Dollars)
* Sossusvlei Shuttle - 10 USD (130 Namibian Dollars) *Note* The cost of the Sossusvlei Shuttle is 260 Namibian Dollars but Karen and myself split the cost
* Namib-Naukluft National Park Entrance Fee - $20 USD (260 Namibian Dollars)
South Africa
Karen and myself split the cost of our trip to South Africa. If it looks like most of the expenses are transportation and accommodation related, it's because Karen probably paid for food and I paid for gas.
* Pay Phone - 1 Rand
* Restaurant - 199 Rand
* Groceries - 126 Rand
* Shoestring Airport Lodge Hostel 4 Night Stay - 800 Rand
* Phone Plan and Universal Adapter - 670 Rand
* First Car Rental - 1183 Rand
* Toll Fee - 126 Rand
* Gas - 3210.93 Rand
* Fast Food - 114 Rand
* Intercape Bus - 1260 Rand
* Car Attendant Tip - 20 Rand
* Phone Plan 60 Minutes Extension - 110 Rand
* Cradle of Humankind - 190 Rand
* Lunch in Cradle of Humankind - 82.2 Rand
* Groceries - 507 Rand
* Laundry mat - 55 Rand
* Amphitheatre Backpackers 3 Night Stay + Tour of Lesotho - 1230 Rand
* Happy Hippo Backpackers 1 Night Stay - 180 Rand
* Sugarloaf Backpackers - 150 Rand
* Jeffreys Bay Cristal Cove Hostel - 540 Rand
* Great White Shark Backpackers Hostel 2 Night Stay - 1000 Rand
* Great White Shark Cage Diving - 1100 Rand
* Sea sickness pills - 60.6 Rand
* The Backpack Hostel in Cape Town 2 night stay - 620 Rand
* Table Mountain Cable Car - 255 Rand
* Japanese Food - 100 Rand
* Haircut - 110 Rand
* Towel Rental - 40 Rand
* Money Exchange Fee from Rand to USD - 11 Rand
* Money given to Karen - 50 Rand
* Swaziland border car fee - 50 Rand
* Snacks in Swaziland - 15 Rand
* Hertz Car Rental - 5,490.94 Rand
Overall, I think we did an awesome job with our South African spendings. If we never involved in a car accident, we could easily have shaved off $500 off our total spendings.
My total spending for South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho is a grand total of $2594.47 USD.
I was owed $416 USD by my fellow passengers from the Namibian car crash, with $208 USD having been paid back already, so you can say my total cost is down to $2,386.47 USD.
Once I get the remaining $208 USD back, the total cost for my entire trip in the African region will be $2,178.47 USD,.
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