🚌 Getting to Malealea Lodge by Public Transport

đź“Ť From Bloemfontein (South Africa)

Catch a Translux, Greyhound, or Intercape bus to Bloemfontein. Please check bus schedules directly with the companies.
From the Bloemfontein tourist office, take a local taxi to the Bloemfontein Central Bus Station.
From there, take a minibus or Interstate bus to Wepener or Maseru. Minibuses run all day but only depart once full, so some waiting time is normal.

⚠️ Border Tip

We recommend avoiding the Maseru Border Post if possible, as it can be extremely busy with long queues, especially during weekends and holidays. Instead, it’s often faster and less stressful to travel via the Van Rooyen’s Hek Border Post near Wepener. However, if you do prefer or need to travel via Maseru, we’ve provided full instructions for both routes below.

Option 1: Via Van Rooyen's Hek (Wepener/Mafeteng)  - Avoiding Maseru (Quieter Route)

1.  From Bloemfontein Central Bus Station, catch a minibus to Wepener Taxi Rank.
2.  From Wepener, take a minibus or taxi to Van Rooyen’s Hek Border Post.
3.  Get your passport stamped at both border posts (South Africa and Lesotho).
4.  On the Lesotho side, take a minibus or take a 4+1 taxi (white car with yellow stripe) from the border post to the Mafeteng taxi rank.
5. Once in Mafeteng, ask local residents where to catch the minibus to Malealea—they’re usually happy to help. Alternatively, you can contact Bob, the Malealea Lodge Manager, on +266 5883 9646 for assistance. Bob can help coordinate with the direct minibus from Mafeteng to Malealea and find out what time it will be departing on the day of your travel.

6.  If no direct Malealea minibus is available, take a minibus heading tnorht owards Maseru and get off at Motsekuoa (26 km from Mafeteng). Wait there for a Malealea minibus, which will drop you right at our lodge gates.

🛏 Need to Overnight in Bloemfontein?

  • We recommend: Aloe Guest Rooms đź“ž +27 76 830 9679 ; 📧 aloehellobloem@gmail.com

Option 2: Via Maseru Border 

đź“Ť From Maseru (Lesotho)

1. From Bloemfontein Central Bus Station, catch a minibus to Maseru Border Post.

2. Get your passport stamped at both border posts (South Africa and Lesotho).

3. After crossing the border, take a 4+1 taxi (white car with yellow stripe) from the border post to the Maseru taxi rank.
4. At the taxi rank, ask for a minibus heading in the direction of Mafeteng or Quthing. Take the first available minibus going south. Alternatively, you can contact Bob, the Malealea Lodge Manager, on +266 5883 9646 for assistance. Bob can get in touch with the direct minibus to Malealea from Maseru, which usually leaves Maseru at 3 o’clock. However, this service does not run every day, so it’s important to check with Bob in advance to confirm whether it will be operating on the day you plan to travel.

5.  If you do not the direct Maseru to Malealea minibus taxi, get off at Motsekuoa (approx. 50 km south of Maseru). Wait here for a Malealea minibus – just ask around; the locals are very helpful. The Malealea minibus will drop you right in front of the lodge gates.

âś… Travel Tips
Always get your passport stamped at both sides of the border.
Ask locals if you’re unsure – Basotho people are famously friendly and happy to help!
Carry small change for taxis and minibuses.

🛏 Need to Overnight in Maseru?

We recommend: Kick4life 📞 +266 28320707; 📧  bookings@kick4life.org

Option 3: Private Transfer

If you prefer a more comfortable and hassle-free journey, private transfers are available from both Bloemfontein and Maseru.

đź“ž Please contact the numbers below to book your transfer:

Private Transfers From Bloemfontein

Bush Junkies Safaris
Contact: Tony Horn:
Tel: + 27 82 953 0737
Email: tony@bushjunkies.co.za
Private Transfers From Maseru

Bakubung Shuttle Tours
Contact: David Tlali
Tel: +266 5911 1939
Email: mpinaneb@gmail.com

⏰ Delayed? Need to overnight if it's getting too dark to travel?

If you’ve left Maseru or Mafeteng very late and are unable to catch the last taxis from Motsekuoa to Malealea Lodge, we recommend you overnight at Morija Guesthouse (10kms north of Motsekuoa). Please see contact details below:

https://www.morijaguesthouses.com/

Public Transport from Malealea/SaniPass/Jhb/ Durban (written by a traveller on 19 July, 2016)
Mini bus from Malealea to Maseru - Maseru to Butha-Buthe - Then Butha Buthe to Mokhotlong - then Mokhotlong to Sani

There is indeed a bus at 6AM bus from Mokhotlong. I'm not sure if it was supposed to leave at 6AM, but it left at 6:35AM in part because there were so many people in line. I say a bus because it was a true bus--not a minibus taxi. I would suggest people considering taking it to arrive early to get a seat, since the bus was PACKED, with many people standing the entire journey. It cost 128 rand and arrived at the final bus rink in Mokhotlong at around 4:15PM.
Minibus taxis from Mokhotlong to Sani, I am told, run from 8AM-11AM. However, since I took the minibus on a Sunday, when there are fewer travellers, the 8AM bus didn't fill up until around 9:15AM, so left later. It cost 110 rand. Although Lonely Planet says that the bus runs from Mokhotlong to Underberg, after going through the Sani Pass, about 1 km away from the Sani Lodge, the minibus stopped, and then another minibus from Underberg took us in the Underberg direction. I was told the driver might charge another 35 rand, but that didn't happen. I arrived in Underberg around 1:30PM.
The minibus taxi from Underberg to Pietermaritzburg cost 95 rand and left from the same taxi rink as where the minibus from Sani Pass dropped us off. Easy transfer. I think it took around 1.5-2 hours.
There were lots of minibus taxis from Pietermaritzburg to Johannesburg (6 hours, 250 rand) and to Durban (45 minutes, 55 rand). I wanted to see a bit of Durban, and then took an overnight bus back to Johannesburg on Sunday night, arriving early Monday morning. There was no need for an advanced reservation; every single bus company had seats available for night buses to Johannesburg.