By air. Gqeberha Airport (officially renamed from Port Elizabeth Airport in 2021, though most airlines still list it as PLZ) sits about 5 km from the city centre. FlySafair, Airlink, and South African Airways operate frequent daily flights from Johannesburg (about 1h45m) and Cape Town (about 1h20m). There are no direct international flights; you'll connect through Johannesburg or Cape Town. The airport is small and pleasant to navigate — arrivals and departures share one terminal, and taxis into town are metered and reliable.
By bus. Intercape, Greyhound, and Translux all run daily coaches between PE and Cape Town (roughly 12 hours) and Durban (roughly 14 hours), stopping at smaller towns along the N2 Garden Route corridor. The Bus2Cape and Baz Bus services cater specifically to backpackers, stopping at hostels along the route and allowing hop-on/hop-off flexibility. Long-distance buses arrive and depart from the Greenacres shopping centre terminus.
By car. The N2 highway runs east and west from PE — west towards the Garden Route and Cape Town, east toward East London and the Wild Coast. The N10 runs north through the Karoo toward Middelburg and eventually Johannesburg. Driving is straightforward and the roads are in reasonable condition. The drive from Cape Town takes around 7 to 8 hours; from Durban, about 12 to 13 hours.