ADVENTURE
AIDS
AIRLINES
AIRPORT
AIRPORT BUS
ARCHAEOLOGY
ARCHITECTURE
ARCHIVES
ART GALLERIES
BANKS
BIRDING
BOOK EXCHANGE
BUDGET TRAVEL
BUSES
BUSHFIRE
BUSHMAN PAINTINGS
BUSHMEN
CAMPSITES
CAR HIRE
CARS and DRIVING
CATTLE
CLIMATE
COLONIALISM
CRIME
DRUGS
ECONOMY
HISTORY
IMMIGRATION
KINGS
MBABANE
NATURE RESERVES
POLICE
RITUAL CEREMONIES
SIBEBE TRAILS
TOUR COMPANIES
TRAVEL AGENCIES
Index to information in the guide
Most people in the country lead budget lives. There is no Government bus or train service. There are few if any special youth fares in the country. However the Baz bus is designed especially for budget travellers. It goes between Swaziland and Joburg and Durban, stopping at Backpackers Lodges, in effect giving a tediously slow door-to-door service. Phone 07 21 439 2323, info@bazbus.com and www.bazbus.com
Hitch-hiking around Swaziland is not much different from hitch-hiking elsewhere and the usual rules of the open road apply. You may be expected to share the cost of fuel if you get a lift. In any case, it's polite to ask.
An alternative to hitch-hiking is to use the local buses which serve almost the entire country. The buses are reasonably cheap, there are fixed schedules and fares, but they are often not displayed anywhere in public. There are large bus ranks in Mbabane and Manzini and smaller ones in all towns. Ask local residents for details of bus services. Be prepared to be the center of good-natured curiosity, as tourists are not typical passengers on board local buses.
Budget eating is fairly simple and cheap provided that you stick to local food. The local menu is generally restricted to curry or stew with rice or maize porridge or 'bunny chow' which is a hollowed out half-loaf of bread filled with gravy or stew. Inexpensive food is easily found at take-away food outlets, country stores, or at fruit and vegetable markets. The latter is the cheapest source of prepared food. Fruits and vegetables make an excellent meal, of course, and both are plentiful and reasonably priced in season.
Finding cheap accommodation apart from the backpackers lodges can present problems and campsites are the best option (see Campsites) in towns or in the Ezulwini valley.
In rural areas it is often possible to camp near the side of the road. If you want to camp outside of the towns, landowners will probably be quite amenable to you setting up your tent on their land, depending mainly on how you come across.
Appearance is important in the Kingdom, as in most third world countries. Camping in Nature Reserves is often cheap and it is usually easy to get lifts in and out from other residents.