Travel Budget for Drakensberg Visit Drakensberg on a Budget or Travel in Style

Drakensberg, Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

How much does it cost to travel to Drakensberg?

You should plan to spend around $89 (R1,688) per day on your vacation in Drakensberg. This is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors.

Past travelers have spent, on average for one day:

  • $16 (R307) on meals
  • $67 (R1,276) on local transportation
  • $74 (R1,404) on hotels

A one week trip to Drakensberg for two people costs, on average, $1,239 (R23,626). This includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

All of these average travel prices have been collected from other travelers to help you plan your own travel budget.

  • Average Daily Cost Per person, per day
    $89
    R1,688
  • One Week Per person
    $620
    R11,813
  • 2 Weeks Per person
    $1,239
    R23,626
  • One Month Per person
    $2,656
    R50,626
  • One Week For a couple
    $1,239
    R23,626
  • 2 Weeks For a couple
    $2,479
    R47,251
  • One Month For a couple
    $5,312
    R101,253
This data comes from the travel budgets of real travelers - How it works. Put these numbers on your website.


How much does a one week, two week, or one month trip to Drakensberg cost?

A one week trip to Drakensberg usually costs around $620 (R11,813) for one person and $1,239 (R23,626) for two people. This includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

A two week trip to Drakensberg on average costs around $1,239 (R23,626) for one person and $2,479 (R47,251) for two people. This cost includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

Please note, prices can vary based on your travel style, speed, and other variables. If you're traveling as a family of three or four people, the price per person often goes down because kid's tickets are cheaper and hotel rooms can be shared. If you travel slower over a longer period of time then your daily budget will also go down. Two people traveling together for one month in Drakensberg will often have a lower daily budget per person than one person traveling alone for one week.

A one month trip to Drakensberg on average costs around $2,656 (R50,626) for one person and $5,312 (R101,253) for two people. The more places you visit, the higher the daily price will become due to increased transportation costs.




Independent Travel

Traveling Independently to Drakensberg has many benefits including affordabilty, freedom, flexibility, and the opportunity to control your own experiences.

All of the travel costs below are based on the experiences of other independent travelers.

Is Drakensberg expensive to visit?

Prices in Drakensberg are reasonable and comparable to your average travel destination. Hotels, food, and sightseeing are generally within normal price ranges.

Within Africa, Drakensberg is a moderately priced destination compared to other places. The overall cost of travel here is fair for the region and comparable to Antsiranana or Tsavo National Park.

For more details, and to find out if it's within your travel budget, see Is Drakensberg Expensive?

How much money do I need for a trip to Drakensberg?

The average Drakensberg trip cost is broken down by category here for independent travelers. All of these Drakensberg travel prices are calculated from the budgets of real travelers.


Category Cost
Accommodation 1 (Double Occupancy) R1,404 ($74)
Local Transportation 1 R1,276 ($67)
Food 2 R307 ($16)
Entertainment 1 R161 ($8)
Alcohol 2 R35 - 105 ($2 - 6)
Accommodation Budget in Drakensberg
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

The average price paid for one person for accommodation in Drakensberg is $37 (R702). For two people sharing a typical double-occupancy hotel room, the average price paid for a hotel room in Drakensberg is $74 (R1,404). This cost is from the reported spending of actual travelers.


  • Accommodation1 Hotel or hostel for one person
    $37
    R702
  • Accommodation1 Typical double-occupancy room
    $74
    R1,404

Hotel Prices in Drakensberg

Looking for a hotel in Drakensberg? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options.

Find the best hotel for your travel style.

Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world.


Recommended Properties


Transportation Budget in Drakensberg
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • The cost of a taxi ride in Drakensberg is significantly more than public transportation. On average, past travelers have spent $67 (R1,276) per person, per day, on local transportation in Drakensberg.


  • Transportation1 Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    $67
    R1,276


Flights to Drakensberg
How much does it cost to go to Drakensberg? Naturally, it depends on the dates. We recommend Kayak because they can find the best deals across all airlines.

Rental Cars in Drakensberg
The price of renting a car in Drakensberg will depends on dates, the type of car, the location, and your age. We recommend Kayak because they can find the best deals across all car rental companies.



Food Budget in Drakensberg
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • While meal prices in Drakensberg can vary, the average cost of food in Drakensberg is $16 (R307) per day. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out an average meal in Drakensberg should cost around $6.45 (R123) per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner. The price of food in sit-down restaurants in Drakensberg is often higher than fast food prices or street food prices.


  • Food2 Meals for one day
    $16
    R307


Entertainment Budget in Drakensberg
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • Entertainment and activities in Drakensberg typically cost an average of $8.47 (R161) per person, per day based on the spending of previous travelers. This includes fees paid for admission tickets to museums and attractions, day tours, and other sightseeing expenses.


  • Entertainment1 Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    $8.47
    R161


Alcohol Budget in Drakensberg
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • The average person spends about $3.67 (R70) on alcoholic beverages in Drakensberg per day. The more you spend on alcohol, the more fun you might be having despite your higher budget.


  • Alcohol2 Drinks for one day
    $3.67
    R70


Drakensberg On a Budget
Drakensberg Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa
Drakensberg, whose name derives from the Dutch and means "mountains of the dragons," is a mountainous region which encompasses a vast amount of South Africa's interior, extending into neighboring countries as well. It hugs the eastern border of Lesotho, attracting visitors for hiking, backpacking, and admiring the natural wonders of the landscape.
Sights
Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site centered on the Drakensberg mountain range. One of the highest peaks in the park is Champagne Castle, towering at a height of 3,377 meters above sea level. While the higher peaks consist mostly of basalt rock, the lower elevations are mostly sandstone and even have caves with rock paintings left by the San people. Some 20,000 individual rock paintings have been recorded at 500 different sites between the Drakensberg Royal Natal National Park at the northern end and Bushman's Nek in the south. The flora and fauna of the park are additional attractions to the mountainous region. Wildlife like bushbuck, oribi, mountain reedbuck, tiny duiker, vultures, baboon, and the largest of South Africa's antelope species, the eland, as well as many others can be found here. The spring gives life to carpets of wildflowers and other plant species, while the autumn gives color to the blossoms of the lower reaches of the Drakensberg.

While Royal Natal National Park is a separate entity, it also forms a part of the Drakensberg range. Highlights of this park include the Amphitheatre (visible from most of the park), the Cascades (set of waterfalls), and the Tugela Falls (the world's second highest waterfall with a total drop of 947 meters in 5 leaps).
Neighborhoods
Towns and cities in the Drakensberg area include Matatiele and Barkly East in the Eastern Cape Province, plus Ladysmith, Newcastle, Ulundi (the former Zulu capital), Dundee, and Ixopo in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The mountains also encompass much of Lesotho, whose capital is Maseru. Matatiele and Barkly East are on the southern end of the range-Matatiele being a mid-sized town rooted in dairy farming, and Barkly East a small community in an area characterized by rugged mountains and green valleys. The towns of the KwaZulu-Natal province also each have their trades from textiles, farming, and coal to a bigger city like Newcastle which has all the comforts of a metropolis. Maseru in Lesotho is another bigger city, often a home base for travels deeper into the country. The nearest major cities to the Drakensberg area are Johannesburg to the north and Durban to the south, making them the hubs from which visitors begin due to convenience of transportation.

Activities
In the Drakensberg, most visitors look to the outdoors for daily activities and entertainment. With striking mountain scenery, wildlife, and thriving vegetation, the area is popular with those hoping to go hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, and much more-anything that fully immerses oneself into the mountain environment.
Food and Dining
Cuisine of South Africa is characterized by a combination of indigenous, Dutch, French, and Indian influences. The indigenous side of things mainly consisted of harvesting fruits, nuts, bulbs, leaves, and other items gathered from wild plants as well as the hunting of wild game, though eventually domestic cattle were introduced as well as grain crops like maize. Today, a staple meal remains mieliepap-a kind of porridge or polenta made from ground maize. Meat also remains central to the South African diet with braai (barbeque) and biltong (dried & preserved) being the most common methods of preparation. Beef, mutton, goat, and chicken are all found in South African dishes. As far as foreign influences go, the Dutch brought spices like nutmeg and chili peppers as well as pickled fish and a variety of fish stews, the French brought wines and traditional recipes from France, and the Indians brought curry dishes, chutneys, and fried snacks, amongst other items. In addition to this adopted fare, the major cities of the region will have a variety of dining options for all tastes and budgets.

Transportation
There are no major airports in the region surrounding Drakensberg. The nearest international airport is King Shaka International Airport in Durban, located about 2-3 hours to the east on the coast of South Africa. Pietermaritzburg (a little over an hour closer than Durban) has a smaller regional airport with daily domestic flights.

By car, the N3 highway is the major throughway connecting Durban in the south to Johannesburg in the north. There is also bus service which runs between Durban and Johannesburg/Pretoria with stops in Pietermaritzburg and at the Ampitheater in the Royal Natal National Park (just to the north of the Drakensberg mountain range).


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We've been gathering travel costs from tens of thousands of actual travelers since 2010, and we use the data to calculate average daily travel costs for destinations around the world. We also systematically analyze the prices of hotels, hostels, and tours from travel providers such as Kayak, HostelWorld, TourRadar, Viator, and others. This combination of expenses from actual travelers, combined with pricing data from major travel companies, gives us a uniqe insight into the overall cost of travel for thousands of cities in countries around the world. You can see more here: How it Works.



1 Categories averaged on a per-item basis.
2 Categories averaged on a per-day basis.
For example, the Food2 daily average is for all meals for an entire day, while Entertainment1 is for each individual purchase. Thus, the overall daily average cost is not a summation of the individual categories.