South Africa

Overview

South Africa gives you more variety per kilometre than almost anywhere: malaria-free game reserves within a day of Johannesburg, a wine region beneath a granite mountain, and a Wild Coast of Xhosa villages and empty beaches. It also asks for more situational awareness than most destinations, which is best treated as ordinary planning rather than alarm.

Things to see and do

Four things worth building an itinerary around, rather than a list of everything.

• 01

  Cape Winelands

  Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, with a wine tram and chenin blanc that outperforms its price everywhere.

• 02

  Kruger self-drive

  Rest camps, a good road network and the cheapest way to see the big five without a guided lodge.

• 03

  The Wild Coast

  Hiking between Xhosa villages on the old Transkei shore, staying in family homesteads.

• 04

  Drakensberg

  Basalt escarpment walking and 40,000 San rock paintings, the largest concentration on earth.

When to go

The usable window is Oct–Apr. February is typically the warmest month and December the wettest; the shoulder weeks either side of the peak give you most of the weather at a fraction of the price.

Getting there and around

International arrivals concentrate on Cape Town, and for most visitors that is the sensible entry point even when it is not the first place you want to be.

Overland

Roads follow the valleys, which means the shortest line on the map is rarely the fastest route. Buses are cheap and slow; a shared car is often the better use of a day.

Local transport

In Cape Town, use the metered taxi or a ride app rather than negotiating at the kerb, and carry small notes — change is a genuine problem in most of the country. Intercity travel is worth booking a day ahead during the Oct–Apr peak.

Food and drink

Eat where the turnover is fastest. In South Africa that usually means the market stalls at lunch and the neighbourhood places that open at seven and stop serving when the pot is empty.

Portions, timings and the position of the main meal in the day all vary from what you are used to. Ask what the kitchen is doing well today rather than reading down the menu, and order what the next table is eating.

Passport and visa

Current position: Visa-free 90 days for many nationalities.

Most nationalities need a passport valid for six months beyond the date of entry, with at least two blank pages. Onward or return tickets are checked at the gate more often than at the border, and airlines apply the rule more strictly than immigration does.

• Check your own government’s travel advice as well as the destination’s rules — they update at different speeds.
• Where an e-visa or travel authorisation applies, apply through the official government portal. Search results are full of paid intermediaries.
• Keep a photo of your passport page and any approval separately from the documents themselves.

Money and costs

The currency is the South African rand (ZAR). Card acceptance is normal in cities and patchy outside them; carry enough cash for two days of small purchases at all times.

Tipping

Rounding up is normal and welcomed; a set percentage is not universal. Check whether service is already on the bill before adding to it.

Health and safety

Standard travel advice applies: routine vaccinations up to date, comprehensive insurance that covers the activities you actually intend to do, and a pharmacy plan for the ordinary things rather than the dramatic ones.

• Carry oral rehydration salts. Most travel stomach upsets resolve in a day, and fluid loss is the part that causes trouble.
• Check whether your insurance covers altitude and trekking above 3,000m — many policies exclude it by default.
• Save the local emergency number to your phone on arrival, and note the nearest hospital to where you are staying.

Petty theft in busy tourist areas is the most common problem visitors report. Situational awareness handles nearly all of it.

Culture and etiquette

The official language is 11 official languages. Learning six words — hello, please, thank you, yes, no, and the number two — changes how a trip goes far more than the effort suggests.

Load-shedding schedules still affect some areas — check the app, and pick lodgings with a backup supply.

City guides in South Africa

City guide

Cape Town

A mountain in the middle, two oceans either side.

July 28, 2026 1 min