Who we are
About Us
Locally run, expert-guided motorcycle expeditions in KwaZulu-Natal, the Drakensberg and Lesotho.
Ride With Locals South Africa runs guided off-road motorcycle expeditions from the KwaZulu-Natal coast into the Drakensberg and over the border into Lesotho. We are based in Salt Rock, on the Dolphin Coast just north of Ballito, and every tour starts and ends at King Shaka International Airport in Durban.
We ride the ground we live on. The jungle single-track above Glendale, the ridgelines of the Valley of 1000 Hills, the bushveld around St Lucia and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, the mountain passes up to Sani Top — these are not lines drawn on a map for visitors. They are the trails we ride the rest of the year.
Small groups, local guides
A maximum of six riders on our enduro tours, eight on the adventure bikes, with two Ride With Locals guides on every trip. Three riders is the minimum for a tour to run.
Small numbers are the whole point. Six riders can take alternative lines through a technical section — an easier pass or a harder climb — without holding anyone up. Twenty cannot. It also means we can change the day around the group in front of us: the weather, how everyone is riding, whether the appetite is for another climb or a swim in the Indian Ocean.
What we carry so you do not have to
Every tour runs with a support vehicle and full mechanical backup. Fuel, spare parts, consumables and repairs are ours to worry about. Luggage moves between hotels while you ride, so you are never carrying a week on your back.
Accommodation, all meals and airport transfers are included, from beachside resorts on the Dolphin Coast to a boutique hotel on the edge of Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. You arrive, you ride, and the logistics happen around you.
More than the riding
South Africa is not only trails. Our seven-day enduro tour includes two days in a game reserve with a guided Big 5 safari and a sunset cruise among the hippo and crocodile on the St Lucia estuary. The adventure-bike route crosses into Lesotho, the mountain kingdom, on roads that spend most of their length above two thousand metres.
For travelling partners who would rather not ride, our Partner Package runs alongside the enduro tour — beaches, spa days, cultural walks and the same two-day safari — so you travel together and meet each evening to swap stories over dinner.
Who these tours are for
Riders with intermediate off-road experience and a valid licence for a heavy motorcycle. The terrain is varied and genuinely technical in places, and you should be comfortable on the type of bike you choose — a KTM or Husqvarna EXC two-stroke on the enduro tours, a CF Moto 450MT on the adventure routes.
You bring your own riding gear and medical travel insurance. We bring everything else.
Life on the road
