Travelling by public transport works really well in South Africa. (White) people will tell you that it is dangerous to take the ‘African taxis’ because ‘they drive like crazy’. In my experience, minibus drivers drive a lot safer in South Africa than they do in other parts of the world, like in Southeast-Asia or the Middle East for example. I found the road safety standards quite high, with some minibuses even featuring seat belts. Of course you should exercise the usual bit of caution when travelling in South Africa, e.g. do not show off your fancy phone or other valuable items, keep an eye on your bag and just be friendly with the people around you and they will treat you kindly as well.
I have been told by locals that hitch-hiking (simply called ‘hiking’) is not advisable in urban areas due to safety concerns, but I did hike a couple of times in more rural areas and it was completely fine. Be prepared for them to ask you to pay a little though. Also, the sign to hike is not sticking your thumb up, but rather raising your arm to shoulder height and waving your hand. A thumbs up will rather be a sign that you are OK, so not in need of a ride.
To take a minibus (i.e. van that is refurbished with seats inside), you can either flag it down on the side of the road as you would trying to ‘hike’, or go to a bus/taxi rank. If the driver motions a turning hand and drives past that means that the car is full and he cannot take you. Otherwise, they will usually stop unless the road conditions really do not permit it. To take a minibus from a taxi rank, just ask pretty much any local in the street or at a shop where the next taxi rank is. In bigger towns and cities there are several ones and you’ll have to specify also where you want to go. For example, in Pietermaritzburg I wanted to take a minibus to Underberg to then continue on to Sani Pass in Lesotho. (Yes, this can be done by public transport, no need to hire an expensive car!) So I asked around at one taxi rank where the minibuses to Underberg departed and they told me where to go. I then hailed a taxi that drove me to the right minibus.
Here is how the inter-city public transport works in South Africa (minibuses)
1, Ask around for the minibus/taxi rank to go to your destination. Often, there are several ranks, depending on the destinations, e.g. one rank for travel northwards, one rank for travel southwards.
2, Go to the right minibus/taxi rank. It is best to go rather early in the morning to be sure you get to your destination before dark and also because there sometimes aren’t that many minibuses leaving to some destinations, only e.g. one at 9.00 in the morning and one at 16.00 in the afternoon.
3, Ask either a driver or anybody who seems approachable where the bus going to XY is. Usually someone will ask you where you are going as soon as you approach the parked minibuses and even take your bag and show you to the right minibus.
3, At the indicated minibus, ask either a passenger, the conductor or the driver to confirm the destination. Then you can put your bag wherever they tell you to put it, but keep an eye on it.
4, Take a seat. In my experience it is best to sit rather in one of the front rows than in the back. This is because the driver will most likely blast music all the way and the speakers are usually in the back.
5, Ask the driver, conductor, or a passenger for the price to go to your destination. To go from Knysna to Port Elizabeht (i.e. Gherqha) I paid 250 rand (~13,2€) to give you an example.
5, For longer distances, there will be some kind of registration sheet where you put in your name and an emergency number and you need to pay upfront.
6, Wait for the minibus to fill up. It will only leave once every seat is taken by at least one person. This can take up to a couple of hours, depending on the time of the day and popularity of your destination.
7, The first stop usually is a service station to fuel up and then the driver will switch on the music and off you go!
8, In more rural areas or for short distances it is more likely that there is no registration sheet. In this case, you just pay along the way when the conductor asks for payment or when the others start handing money towards the front. Just do as the others do and hand the fee towards the front. If you don’t have the exact amount, tell the conductor or person sitting in the front seat who takes over the responsibility to take the payment of all passengers how much they owe you and they’ll pass it back to you. This might involve some yelling as it gets quite noisy with the music. If you sit in front the task might fall into your hands to collect payment from everybody. However, usually they find someone else to do it if there is a tourist sitting in front.
For longer distances and especially when crossing borders, I found the Intercape buses to be the best option and I have been told that they are the most reliable and safest option. You can book your tickets online in advance, you’ll have a seat (including seat belt!) for yourself, there is air-conditioning, and they do stop from time to time for you to stretch your legs, buy a snack and go to the toilet, even though they stop less frequently than in Namibia. I did the trip between Cape Town and Knysna in an Intercape bus and paid 313 rand (~16,5€). The Intercape network is very well developed within South Africa as well as going to main destinations in neighbouring countries like Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. You can just look it up on their website. Just be aware that the leg room in a normal (i.e. not a Sleepliner) bus is not great. I spent the night in one of these going from Port Elizabeth to Durban and couldn’t quite find space for my knees. Admittedly, I am quite tall, so most people won’t have a problem. There are several other bus companies as well, so if the Intercape schedule doesn’t suit you or if you don’t like the rather Christian films that are sometimes being played in the bus, there are many other options. (I wasn’t too bothered by the latter because the volume was so low, you couldn’t understand a word anyways.) There is even a hop-on hop-off bus along the Garden Route, but that one is more expensive. Sometimes, the departure time is really inconvenient from some places, but then there is always – I repeat, always – some kind of minibus taxi to be found.
Here is how to get around in the cities in South Africa
As a white tourist who is unfamiliar with their surroundings, you should be a little cautious in South African cities. Basically, just be street smart. Don’t walk around at night or alone in quiet side streets, don’t flash your phone, camera or other valuables. Just take the money you need for the day with you and leave your passport at home. Personally, I didn’t have any problems while I was travelling through the country for two months, but you hear stories. In cities (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Knysna) I mostly used Uber. It works very well and it is one of the safest options. In Cape Town there are also the red buses that go along the more touristy routes. I found the public buses to be more difficult to take, also because they mostly go to places where you don’t necessarily want to go as a tourist. Within the city centre it is also possible to take minibuses, especially to go back to the city centre is easy. They are cheap and follow the rules explained above. It’s just not super easy to understand their routes, but just ask the people around or in the minibuses. They are usually very helpful.
Metrorail in Cape Town
In Cape Town, there is also a train network (Metrorail). Some of the lines are really best to be avoided due to safety concerns it seems. However, the trains going out to Stellenbosch and the trains going out to Simon’s Town are supposed to be okay to take. I took the train out to Simon’s Town to see the penguins. (By the way, you can just continue on walking along the coast after the entry gate for the Boulders Beach and you’ll see penguins there without paying.) Going out it was completely fine, but coming back it was getting dark and the station in Cape Town was deserted already, which gave for a bit of a sketchy vibe. So I would recommend not travelling alone and getting back home in time before sunset to be on the safe side. Also, as always, just be aware of your belongings, and sit in a coach where other people and the security guards are sitting.