Kenyan Man Breaks Down Cost Of Travelling By Road To South Africa, Other African Countries

• Two Kenyan men embarked on a personal trip from Nairobi, Kenya, to Cape Town, South Africa, by road
• Victor Matara revealed that the journey took them 52 days through nine countries, including Tanzania and Malawi
• Matara, who travelled with his friend Vincent Ondari as a co-driver, shared the cost of the trip, including fuel, accommodation and other fees

TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia brings over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

For most people, like Victor Matara and Vincent Ondari, travelling (especially by road) is a hobby.

The two friends embarked on a 13,398-kilometer-long journey from Nairobi to South Africa by road.

What inspired the road trip to South Africa?

In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, Matara revealed that throughout the journey, they passed through nine countries, including Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and finally South Africa.

"It was a personal trip with a friend called Vincent Ondari, who was my co-driver. We enjoyed it. Africa is diversely beautiful!" said Matara.

He shared the cost incurred for the trip to be successful, saying some countries had border crossing charges.

Border crossing charges

In Zambia, Matara and Ondari paid KSh 12,590, while in Botswana, KSh 6,820 as border crossing charges.

One of the border charges in Malawi is a carbon tax, which increased total fees to KSh 5,619, while in Namibia, they paid KSh 3,300.

He said there are no border charges in Tanzania and South Africa as long as you have a Kenyan passport.

Lesotho border charges amounted to KSh 670.

Fuel, accommodation and food costs

The avid traveller noted that fuel costs amounted to KSh 263,555, plus other fees related to car servicing.

"I have not yet accounted for the other charges. Only fuel has the exact figure of KSh 263,555. Our accommodation was roughly around KSh 250,000," he said.

He noted that they camped twice and did mostly Airbnb and hotels at some points where there were no Airbnb options.

Matara estimated the total trip cost for fuel and other fees to around KSh 600,000.

Airbnb could've saved the cost

In a previous interview with TUKO.co.ke, world travel consultant Mary Ndaranga recommended staying at Airbnb to cut accommodation costs.

She advised travellers to consider utilising cottage services at Airbnb, which are cheaper than hotels.

"Most people will prefer AirBnB to cut travel costs. Airbnb is cheaper than hotels by far. It could be a person's house, which is not classified as a hotel (five-star, standard, executive, or presidential). They are useful for expensive destinations," said Ndaranga.